7 Things That Will Make Me Stop Reading Your Book Blog

I'll admit it -- I haven't been blogging for very long. I started Rambles from My Library in early 2019, and have only been seriously blogging since May of 2019. Since then, my blog and blogging style has gone through numerous changes, including a complete redesign and several different book review formats. I can't say I'm doing everything right. I can't say I'm an expert.

But I have noticed a few things during my time as a book blogger, working with my own blog and reading other book blogs across the internet. I've noticed several mistakes bloggers make in their blog design, writing, and quality that will make me, personally, stop reading. I'm sharing these mistakes, not to make anyone feel bad, but to help out new bloggers who may be making these mistakes (I know I made a few!)

But, just in case, a quick disclaimer: I am not trying to make any bloggers out there feel bad. I am not trying to call out any specific bloggers. I'm speaking about the book blogging community in general, not about any specific people or blogs. 
Okay! Without any further ado, let's get into it.

Blog headers are so important! When I first started my blog, I went for a very simple header, just my blog name typed in a plain font, with a description underneath. And while this header was fine, it wasn't attractive. And attractiveness is key when trying to stand out from the crowd. 

A simple line of text, or a small, easily overlooked header is not a good idea. Your header should reflect your brand, your niche, your unique style. 

On the other side of the spectrum are the blog headers that are just too much -- too many colours, too complicated a design, illegible fonts, or just too big. Try to strike a balance between plain and fancy. 

I used Canva, a free graphic design website, to create my blog header.

Yes, I know, we're all guilty of one or two typos. I know I am. But if your blog posts are riddled with glaring errors, or, worse, if your blog title or description have typos in them -- this is a huge turnoff for me. 

Remember, if you want to drive traffic to your blog, you have to treat it as a professional endeavor. Yes, one or two typos are fine on occasion, but please spell-and-grammar check your work before pressing "publish".

This goes right along with the blog header problem. No reader likes to try to decipher white text on a black background, or try to sort through a mess of colourful text in the post itself that clashes with the blog theme. 

Please, be nice to your readers and choose a few key, corresponding colours to use on your blog in your posts. Stick to the theme. Not only will it help to cement your brand, but it's much easier on the eyes. I went with an orange, white, and teal theme for my blog. 

And please, whatever you do, don't use a black background for your posts.

This is very book blog specific, but this always drives me crazy. I totally understand if you want to blog about your other interests -- by all means, go for it! But create a separate blog for those interests, and keep your book blog... book related.
I personally won't follow book blogs that have a lot of non-book related content, and I'm sure others who read book blogs are probably the same. It's nothing personal, I just don't want my Blogger reading list filled up with posts I have no personal interest in reading.

If the home page of a blog is cluttered with a million different posts, icons, and multiple sidebars, it's just too much for my eyes. I tend to prefer blogs with a single sidebar and a less jumbled home page. I also prefer if the graphics on the blog are clean and easy on the eyes, as opposed to dark, grainy, or cluttered graphics.

I totally get the fear that some bloggers get about using images (copyright law is a big deal). But there are loads of places to get free stock clip art and photos to spruce up your posts. And if you're making book lists or reviewing a book, please include images of the book(s) cover. It just makes the whole blog look more appealing.

This is probably one of the biggest turnoffs I have with book blogs and blogs in general. Yes, you can talk about your opinions. You don't have to sugarcoat your feelings. But at the same time, we don't need any more hate in the bookish community. We don't need bloggers who are very obviously rude or hateful towards a certain author or a certain group of readers (we're reviewing books, not people). While yes, we can be sarcastic, and yes, we don't have to like the same books, and yes, we can talk about our feelings about these books -- we can still be civil. After all, we are adults here, right?
Along the same lines, an excess of profanity will make me quit reading a blog. This might be just me, but profanity in blogs and reviews comes across as rude and angry. That may not be the tone the author of the blog is going for, but that's just how it comes off to me.

Well, I hope that this post was helpful and/or informative! Please comment down below with your thoughts (please keep it civil). And if you have any questions, feel free to ask! I'm not an expert by any means, but I'd love to be able to help if you need it! <3