I’ve seen a few tweets going round recently regarding bloggers being obsessed with numbers, and its true. Very rarely do I ever manage to scroll through my Twitter without seeing someone who’s just hit a follower milestone, or wishing to hit the next.
I have no issues with these posts, because when push comes to shove, readers and page views are all really important to blogging. What I do have an issue is other bloggers complaining that people who care about numbers are ‘blogging for the wrong reasons’. Nah.
I have always been fascinated by numbers. At work, I always love to know figures and targets and statistics; they appeal to my competitive self because there’s nothing I love more than being in competition with myself. Yes, I’m basically Monica from Friends.
You see, that’s how I see my blog stats – a way of beating and bettering myself. If my followers are going up, and my daily views are rocketing, that means I’ve done something right. Its nothing to do with beating others, its all me vs me. I get such a sense of pride seeing improvement in my little blog, and its the same with compliments – I don’t mind if I’m not getting them, but whenever I do its such a lovely part of what I’m doing.
Does this mean I’m blogging for the wrong reasons? Well I sure as hell don’t think so. Whether my stats are up or down, I still love blogging, and I still write because its what I love to do. But here’s the thing: NUMBERS CAN MATTER. I don’t make any form of steady income off my blog, but I know a number of full-time bloggers and freelance writers, and as far as they’re concerned, that’s what companies care about. Are they blogging for the wrong reasons? No, they’re trying to make a living.
Apologies if this has been a little bit ranty, but I can’t help but get a little bit offended when people get all ‘holier than thou’ telling other bloggers that they shouldn’t be thinking about the figures. Sure, I totally believe that numbers aren’t everything, and I always make an effort to not stress or obsess over them, but if I’m a few followers from a milestone, yes I’m gonna tweet about it, because d’you know what? Most other bloggers are lovely and I know they’re gonna hook me up.
So whether you look at numbers or not, just go out and smash it, because you’re awesome regardless.
Lottie Does 
I totally agree with you. Numbers help you to gauge how well your posts are being received by others.
You’re so awesome!
I loved this post. I think not only is there a lot of pressure to succeed when you’re doing stuff like this, and for people to enjoy your posts, but it’s also such a nice feeling when they do! I love blogging for the enjoyment it brings other people, and I think it’s totally unfair for people to say that wanting to be successful is a bad thing!
Totally agree with you! Numbers motivate me and help push me to do better, be better. I do care about them, but I love blogging regardless!