Blogger Survey Results – Part 1: Book Bloggers

Blogger Survey Results - Part 1: Book Bloggers

I recently hosted a book blogger survey, where I asked bloggers a series of questions. There were three parts: about you (age, gender, etc.), about book bloggers specifically, and then about all blog readers (whether they’re bloggers themselves or not).

Today I’m sharing with you the results of part 1 and 2: general statistics about gender/age/etc., and about book bloggers and their blogs. Check back soon for the second set of results!

About the Bloggers/Readers

What is your gender?

Gender Results: 94% female, 6% male

How old are you?

Results for Age: 14 or under - 3%; 15-28 - 13%; 19-24 - 27%; 25-30 - 28%; 31-40 - 18%; 41-50 - 8%; 51+ - 3%

Do you have a book blog?

80% Yes and 20% No

Book Bloggers – About Your Blog

How long have you been blogging?

Less than 1 month - 2%; 1-5 months - 21%; 6-11 months - 21%; 1 year - 17%; 2 years - 22%; 3 years - 9%; 4+ years - 10%

These results are fairly evenly distributed, but they really go down a lot after 2 years. I guess that makes sense because it gets harder to stay interested after longer periods of time. People get bored or start university and have less time, etc.

What kind of books do you review?

Middle Grade - 13%; Young Adult - 33%; New Adult - 22%; Adult - 24%; Erotica - 8%

What blogging platform do you use?

WordPress - 52%; Blogger - 47%; Other - 1%

These results REALLY surprised me. Just from the blogs I’ve visited, it always seems like there are a lot more Blogger blogs than WordPress blogs. Maybe these results prove otherwise because of all the recent migrations to WordPress? Whatever the reason, I’m absolutely THRILLED to see that the majority of bloggers who took the survey are on WordPress!

Are you happy with your blogging platform

These results are also interesting. It does show that most bloggers are happy with their chosen platform. They may have a couple issues, but they’re mostly content. However, when I broke it down according to which blogging platform people use, it shows that WordPress users are generally happier with their platform than Blogger users (or they have fewer problems). And you can see that nobody on WordPress selected “No” at all!

Blogger Users: Do you plan on moving to WordPress?

No plans, but maybe later (60%); No (30%); Yes (10%)

I DON’T want to move because…

  • I’m lazy. It takes a lot of time and energy to move to WordPress.
  • I don’t know how.
  • Blogger is simpler and more straight forward.
  • I don’t want to have to relearn how to manage my blog.
  • WordPress costs money / I can’t afford it.
  • I’m not tech-savvy enough.
  • Moving to WordPress is scary. It looks complicated and overwhelming.
  • I tried WordPress once and I didn’t like it.
  • I don’t want to lose GFC.
  • I recently paid for a new Blogger design and now it would be a waste if I moved to WordPress because I wouldn’t be able to use the design.
  • It’s not worth the hassle because my blog doesn’t have enough readers/followers.
  • I don’t know if I’ll be blogging in the long-term and I don’t want to spend money if I’m not sure that I’ll be blogging a few years down the road.
  • I don’t want to have to reformat all of my posts.

I DO want to move to WordPress because…

  • I love all the plugins that are available with WordPress.
  • I want more options for customizing my blog.
  • You’re less likely to lose your content on WordPress. I’m scared of all the horror stories where Blogger users have had their blogs deleted.
  • I want to grow as a blogger and take the next step.
  • WordPress has a stronger future than blogger. Maybe Blogger is on the decline? But WordPress receives more frequent updates and has more room for expansion.
  • I’ve heard nothing but great things about WordPress.
  • Blogger has a lot of annoying glitches.
  • WordPress looks more professional.
  • I want to use the Ultimate Book Blogger Plugin.
  • I enjoy coding and web design and WordPress seems like a better choice for that.
  • WordPress is easier to use.
  • WordPress blogs have better designs.
  • I’ve had problems with Blogger not publishing my posts when it’s supposed to.

How many pageviews does your blog get per DAY?

Less than 50 (25%); 50-100 (27%); 101-300 (24%); 301-500 (6%); 501-800 (1%); 801-1,000 (2%); 1,001-2,000 (1 vote); 2,001-3,000 (1 vote); I don't track my page views (14%)

Do you want to keep growing your blog, increase your readership, and earn more pageviews?

Yes (95%); Neutral / Indifferent (15%)

You feel insecure about the success (or lack thereof) of your blog.

Strongly Disagree (8%); Disagree (19%); Neutral (43%); Agree (27%); Strongly Agree (3%)

What are the most popular kinds of posts on your blog? (The ones that get the most visits/comments)

Discussions (19%); Giveaways (20%); Memes (21%); Reviews (24%); My own feature (8%); Blog tips (3%); Other (3%); I don't know (2%)

Which of these are most important to you?

From highest to lowest: Recommending books to readers, getting a lot of comments, getting a lot of people discussing & linking to my blog, promoting books for authors, getting a lot of page views, getting a lot of followers, getting to know publishers/authors on a first name basis, getting a lot of ARCs, getting a lot of blog tour invites & review requests
Click to Enlarge

How would you rate the success of your blog overall?

Terrible (2%); Not Great (14%); Okay (49%); Pretty Good (31%); Excellent (4%)

What do you think about these results?

Did any of them surprise you? Which do you find the most interesting?

Check back soon for the next set of results: about the blogosphere.

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I'm a 30-something California girl living in England (I fell in love with a Brit!). My three great passions are: books, coding, and fitness. more »

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47 comments

  1. I was surprised by how many WordPress blogs are out there, cuz like you, I see more Blogger blogs right now. But there has been a large move recently.

    I am also surprised to find that my pageviews is not low but average to good. I always thought I had really low pageviews which made me sad, but looking at the stats, mine are pretty good.

    1. I know, right. Maybe the numbers were skewed because my blog attracts more WordPress users or something (because I have so many WordPress tips). But at the same time, tons of people have been moving to WordPress lately…

  2. Wow the result is really interesting. Not many bloggers keep their blog for years, as a full time employee I know how hard to manage time to read and blogging.
    I think I’m the only book blogger who uses weebly as my platform. It’s funny when I saw only 1% who use other platfrom beside WordPress and Blogger. I hope I’m not alone.

    1. Only 2 people selected “Other”. I guess you were one of them. I imagine the second one was probably either Weebly or Tumblr!

  3. Ah, this is so interesting! I’m glad you’re compiling this, because it’s a great insight into things I think many bloggers may wonder about but had no real way of knowing. Most of the results don’t surprise me very much, but I was slightly surprised by how many people have been blogging for less than 1 year, like me. I so often still feel like I’m the newest kid on the block! And the page views was REALLY surprising. I feel like so many people get hundreds and hundreds of pageviews per day, but it looks like the majority of bloggers have daily views somewhere between 50-300.

    Stormy @ Book.Blog.Bake. recently posted: Let’s Talk About Goodreads
  4. Fascinating! The ratio of WP to Blogger users surprised me too. It does feel like there are a LOT of Blogger users out there, but I’m wondering if maybe we just notice them more because we’re biased toward WP? (And I have to admit, I’m pretty disappointed that most Blogger users aren’t planning to move to WP anytime soon. :P)

    Kelley (Another Novel Read) recently posted: August Mini Reviews (2013)
  5. Thanks for posting this. It’s really interesting to see! I’m also surprised how many WordPress bloggers there are. Where are they hiding? Most of the blogs I see are Blogger.

    Sam recently posted: What's Next?
  6. It really surprised me to see the stats information, out of those who took this survey. Like…I think (to myself) that there are SO MANY “big name” bloggers with incredible stats, but then from this sampling, the majority of people fell more in line with my “good/average” stats. Very, very interesting.

  7. Thanks for posting this! I really enjoyed seeing the pageviews of other bloggers. I have always wondered where I sit in comparison with other bloggers and it turns out that I’m right in the average number of pageviews. It’s nice to know that and think that maybe I’m actually doing something right. 🙂

    Rebecca @ The Library Canary recently posted: Review: Slated by Teri Terry
  8. This post is so beautifully presented, with all of the graphics and whatnot. I found the age results to be of greatest interest. I enjoy seeing a slightly older demographic compared to other blogs I have followed in the past.

    Samantha recently posted: September In Books
  9. Thank you for this, Ashley! Whew! Some of the results confirmed my observations. What really caught my attention is that Reviews are still the most popular posts. Makes me confident that my posting of 3-4 reviews a week isn’t a bad thing. Hahaha.

    I hope other bloggers would see this very helpful post and use the data to improve their blog. <3

    I'm excited to see the rest of the results.

    Charlotte recently posted: Feature Follow Blog Hop {8}
  10. The results were really interesting. Especially the Blogger vs. WordPress users and the reasons why people want/don’t want to switch to WordPress. Basically it had all the thoughts whirling around in my head about WordPress. The page views per day makes me feel more secure about my blog. I always thought I had low stats, but now I know I’m average!

    Ashley @ The Book Addict's Ramblings recently posted: Review: Facade by Nyrae Dawn
  11. Shit.. I’m getting older… 🙂 So I definitely belong now to the “older” category which sucks, but it’s just true all the same!

    I was not so surprised by the WP/Blogger outcome. I read a lot of Blogs which are on WP now, or have moved during the past few years. Beginners tempt to start with Blogger because it’s easy and free.
    So once you become serious enough about your blogging and want to move a level up many switch to WP.

    What I found super interesting were the Pageviews! I expected more blogs to have higher Pageviews. And this actually makes me feel pretty good as I’m definitely in the upper quarter with my Pageviews.
    I think there are not so many Big Shot Bloggers out there. I believe I could name you the Top 5 Book Blogger out there. But these are just 5 among so many…

    Love this survey!

  12. I’m surprised at how many blogs there are over a year old, but not so much at the pageviews. It seems that most bloggers have a few blogs they read routinely, and those faithful readers generate your pageviews. From experience, it seems difficult to gain those faithful readers, but that’s always the goal!

    Sarah recently posted: Interview: Selah Janel
  13. I was so excited when I saw that you had the results of this survey put together! and the results are fascinating. I’m not too surprised about the number of blogs on WP – so many of the blogs I follow that were at blogger earlier this year are now on WP (including me), so I think the mass migration is showing.

    I was surprised by how many blogs are less than a year old! I keep thinking of myself as a newbie, but I guess at lot of people are right there with me. Awesome post! Can’t wait for part 2!

    Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun recently posted: Early Review | Tempt the Stars by Karen Chance
  14. Oh man, I wish I had seen this/had participated — I’m one of the few who has had my blog for 4+ years (hit 4 years in July). I have to agree with the comments about how after 2 years the novelty wears off — it’s why I try to change things up a lot, to keep it from getting stale.

    Also, love love love the love for WORDPRESS!

    I agree about it seeming like there are more blogger/blogspot blogs. Maybe those people are just more vocal/more noticed? Hmmm.

    Either way, these are interesting results. I can’t wait to see the other half of the survey!

    April Books & Wine recently posted: Burnout | Adrienne Maria Vrettos | Book Review
  15. I think what I am most surprised about are the number of views the blogs who participated are getting. This actually makes me feel better. I thought there would be more blogs out there with 500 + visits a day and it doesn’t seem like that is the case at all.

    Angie recently posted: Project Disney- Oliver and Company
  16. Very interesting, and good information to know. I’m approaching my two year anniversary, and I plan to keep it up. In the time I’ve been blogging, I’ve seen a lot of people quit. It’s time consuming, but I’m in a good rhythm and I like the connections I make via blogging. I LOVE Word Press- I migrated from Blogger about a year ago, and I have no regrets. For all those reasons listed. The page view info was comforting. Thanks for sharing your results.

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