Do you look at other blogs and enjoy the content, or do you envy their comments, traffic or subscriber numbers?
I was reading Michael Martine’s blog when I came across this great guest post by Alex Fayle of Someday Syndrome
In many situations comparisons are good (like a runner dropping in her minutes/per mile ratio – you want to compare such things to know that you’re making progress). Problems arise when we start comparing ourselves to others because we stop comparing apples to apples (our past selves with our present or future selves) and start comparing apples to oranges (ourselves to others).
I agree completely and believe these kinds of comparisons are destructive and counter productive.
- It leads to bad feelings in yourself – There will always be someone doing better, attracting a bigger audience, faster, making more money. Relax, learn from others but don’t feel bad about their success.
- Comparisons lead to competitiveness – We all do better when we cooperate, partner, and help each other out. Blogs do not need to be a competition, there is enough attention to go round.
- Nobody is the same as you – You might disagree but, as in the linked article, I doubt very much there is anyone who is directly in competition with you as we all attract our own unique audience in our own unique way.
Point 2 is an important one. Rather than looking at other blogs as competitors, look to see how you might guest post or partner with them.
For anyone interested in learning more about how a blogger can partner up with others, I have a free ebook on the subject that you can download right now.
Concentrate on serving your audience in the best way you can, forget about comparing yourself to others, but do learn from them.
Great post! I’ve had blog envy before, not regarding content but envy towards traffic. I have a lot of blogger friends that get insane amounts of traffic in a little time. But then I think about it and their blogs aren’t even in the same niche as me so I can’t be envious of it and compare my blog to theirs. And all that time I’m being jealous I could be writing and promoting.
Again, great post Chris!
-Andrew
I think we all feel this way from time to time. The best thing is to take notice of the feeling, examine where it is coming from and then throw it away. You’ll end up feeling so much better if you feel happy for the other’s accomplishments.
I think in some ways, blog envy is a natural result of the speed with which we consume media. We see *so many* blogs/sites/whatever in a day, that we get overwhelmed.
I totally agree with Kim above: notice the feeling, then toss it aside and get on with your life.
Easier said than done!
I’m a spam whore!
and actually a real life whore too!
-kate
Garden bloggers are a friendly group–we read each other’s blogs because we LIKE to drool over gorgeous plant photos and get great advice! We admit that we envy each other’s gardens — no worries.
That said, it’s disheartening because gardening is a “niche” topic, so there’s probably no way to ever get the number of readers up to the level of other blogs that cover the latest hot topics, entertainment or technology.
I am a technology expert, but gardening is fun. Therefore, I prefer to blog about gardening! :-)
Freda Cameron
Garden and Travel Writer
Defining Your Home Garden
I definitely have blog ency. Been looking at my stats compulsively over the last week; couple of times a day. Why isn’t my blog growing faster!!
:-) time to chill