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I have been hearing some interesting commentary from bloggers recently about burn out and frustration regarding their blogs. I find that so many bloggers are feeling disappointment in their online achievements. On examination, I think its plainly because they are 
doing too much trying to compete against what everyone else has going on out there. Taking every project, every review, every giveaway, every partnership, and opening up 10 sites to accomplish it all…basically spreading themselves amazingly thin online-and in their personal lives as a result. (Note: Not every idea you have must go to fruition)
So I am here to very curiously just ask…are you competitive, even if personally, over what other bloggers are doing on their blogs? Do you feel a need to achieve the same things as others do on their blogs and are you disappointed if you don’t?
I am going to expand on this in a longer article in the future, so call this research for now. Please leave me a comment as well because I would like to open some discussion on this to refer back to.
~Trisha
I am not competitive, not am I jealous of other bloggers. I put my energy into creating interesting and informative content. I also enjoy the companionship and community that bloggers share. If someone gets offered a great opportunity, I am happy for them.
I am competitive with myself, that’s for sure, but not necessarily with other bloggers. It doesn’t take much to stress me out so the pressure I put on myself quickly manifests to stress.
I just try to remember why I started my blog and to focus on writing about things I like. It makes it easier to write and more geniune and true to me and my blog. That’s what makes blogs different – people writing about their interests. If we all wrote about the same thing every day it would be pretty boring.
I do get jealous but I know those bloggers have worked their butts off for the opportunities they get.
Hello Trisha I’m a newbie mom blogger and I cannot say I feel competitive at this stage, I feel overwhelmed! I’m trying to find my voice through my writing and trying to reach latina mommies like me who haven’t found a place. I never imagine how time consuming this new adventure would be for me and my family, because I’ve decided to have my blog bilingual which take more time, I’m trying really hard to find a balance, among my writing, researching, talking to another great moms I had found, reading some different blogs daily etc, etc, it’s hard work!!; however, I absolutely love what I’m doing, I feel that now I have a place and I would love to see where I will be two years down the road!
Hi Trisha,
I’m not competitive with other bloggers–honestly, there are only about two other blogs that are similar to mine and, while we may have some reader overlap, we seem to have very different “audiences”. They might be looking for the same information but they want it delivered in a different manner–some want the DIY stuff, some want the seminars, some want the online support groups.
I’m mainly competitive with myself–I set goals and try to achieve them. And damn, I’m pumped when I do. Hee.
I can, however, see how some of the “mommy bloggers” who are writing lifestyle blogs & doing beaucoup product giveaways might get burned out and feel frustrated–there seem to be new ones cropping up every day and from my limited experience with product reviews/giveaways, it can be exhausting keeping track of it!!
I think it’s important to stay super-focused on the goal of your blog and to take the occasional break from it if you’re feeling burned out.
Thanks for the great survey!
Heather
I don’t get jealous because I know that I get lots of great opportunities that others think I don’t deserve…they like to email me and point out that fact which is hilarious to me.
I kinda do MY thing and ignore what others are doing unless it is note worthy {like Bloggers Give, etc.}
Here on MomDot you girls all get so many fab opps and I don’t get one bit of jealousy or envy because I know and respect you as ppl because you pass on just as many great opps to us all.
I look up to other blogs, yes, and strive to be more like blogs I love. Not copy them by any means, but just try to work harder at my personal goals. I’m always happy for someone who gets an awesome opportunity! Blogging for me is an outlet to to a giant world, I’ve met some really amazing people through blogging (Trisha, you are one them!). I love doing it, and do not feel that I am being competitive or jealous at all! I am just having fun, meeting people that are going through similar or not so similar but interesting experiences that I love to hear about!
for my mommy blog I’m not the slightest competitive (or I would post more!) I have been doing it since 2004 so it is really more for me than anyone else…
For my review blog- I wish I had TIME to be competitive. I know that It has a lot more potential and room to grow… but my focus has been on a product line (the bomb mom) and that has been my priority.
I definitely have experienced blogger burn out before. I had more sites at one point… learned I didn’t need to pursue everything. I have had to say no to opportunities and quit others as well. You are very wise in saying “not every idea must come to fruition”
I have felt jealous, but then realized that with hard work and dedication it’ll come with time. I have also felt burnt out, because it is a lot of hard work, but you know what?
I LOVE IT.
And because I love it, I’ll take the good and the bad, the hard and the easy, and run with it. GREAT things are already beginning to happen to me, and I think it’s only just the beginning. I have faith, and I will be patient
I’m with Sarah. Every blog has a different purpose. Mine is to write about my ideas on being a mother and explore them with other mothers. Not everyone is going to be interested in what I have to say, and that’s okay. I’m not going for quantity of visitors or subscribers…I’m trying to create something worthwhile. I *have* taken some steps towards promoting my blog as I know if I don’t no one will know it’s there, but increasing my number of followers is not my primary aim; and, of course, ideally, it would be nice if a lot of people were interested in my blog. LOL!
I feel happy for people with successful blogs. I’m glad they are receiving the rewards of their hard work. They deserve it!
I also agree with Sarah that too many judge the success of a blog strictly by the numbers. I have several goals for my blog, which include improving my writing, exploring and learning about an electronic creative medium, to work through my thoughts and ideas about mothering through writing, to engage with other moms about my ideas, etc. So far I think I’ve been very successful, even though I see plenty of room for improvement. I’m also not making blogging the center of my life, but a part of it.
I’m only going to continue to blog so long as I enjoy it.
Great question… I love that ‘no’ and ‘jealous’ are almost neck and neck. I admit I get jealous now and again; how can you not? There are some amazing women, moms, bloggers out there in this big ol’world. I am always happy into one of them that makes me crave just a little something. Keeps it fun.
Sarah- Ohana Mama wrote:
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But one thing I do to combat that is close myself off a bit. I don’t visit a ton of other blogs because I consider myself a community owner, not a blogger, so i concentrate on the forum communities, friday night live, etc. and it allows me to have a really centered view of the information I take in around me. Basically, if i stay off twitter, facebook, etc. I dont see what is going on, i dont put myself into what others are talking about, i dont see any negativity or competition. If its not brought TO me, generally I dont know about it. Its like living in a bubble. I like it.
Mama Kat wrote:
ha! You are one of the first blogs I found and I have always been *jealous* of what a great writer you are.
I love you for this post, Trisha! I really try to do my own thing and things I like. Period. And still I take on too much. lol
Sidenote – do you ever feel like others are competing with you? I know you do…I get that sense from time to time (from a very specific blogger, no names shall be told) and I hate it! It puts me in this competitive mode that I have promised myself not to be in.
So I just try not to follow them and what they are doing at all (and then I happen to see they are doing what I am doing…aaaaahhhh!) to each his/her own success though! That’s my motto! More women succeeding (in an honest way) the better!
I don’t feel like I am in competition. I really enjoy learning new things from other bloggers and just expanding on it with my own blog. The nice thing with my blog (I think) is the name I chose. It gives me the ability to do A LOT with my blog. talk about kids, myself, cooking, etc etc.
I completely agree with Steph. I do not get competitive but I am definitely jealous of some of the awesome trips and products that fellow bloggers receive. I want to get THAT big
I actually really enjoy finding other mom blogs, and the whole networking aspect. I love seeing moms take interest in the same things as I do and being able to make more friends. There are a crazy amount of blogs that I check daily to see what other moms think about things and it’s also fun to see how different people view things and the different ways they write. I don’t feel competitive, we’re all out there to support each other, right? How else would we be able to keep going
I’m totally jealous. I try to keep things light and happy in my little brain. I love the friends I’ve found doing this and that should be enough. Right?? I steer clear of blogs like Pioneer Woman and Dooce…I actually like them both a lot, but I WANT 40 GRAND A MONTH dammit. Why not me?? So yeah I don’t read those, and I’m pretty darn happy with my little spot in blogland.
I hear this going on everywhere. I think it comes down to, are you a jealous girl or mean girl in real life. I think it all comes out in cyberland too. Personally, I am just being me. I talk to nice people. I blog what I want to. I join groups and meet new people. I comment on cool entries. My thought process never goes further than that. I think all good things come with hard work in cyberland or in real life. If I see something I want or wish I had, I work hard to get it myself. Ya know? I am not big into reviews, giveaways, pr, needing to be noticed, etc. I find this type of jealousy and competitiveness appears mostly between blogs that do reviews and giveaways. Not so much regular ol’ bloggers, like myself, that just write to write about nonsense. LOL. Great topic.
I don’t feel like I’m competitive with other bloggers at all. I came to grips with it a long time ago that I am not going to be a “super blogger” because I’m not willing to put every ounce of energy into it.
The downside to that for me is that I feel like people don’t necessarily “respect” my blog. “Well, she doesn’t have big numbers therefore she must not be that good.” When really it’s just that I don’t want to spend my days promoting and sucking all the fun out of it for myself.
And the other downside (because every hill has two sides) is that people have to remember that not all blogs are the same genre. Not everyone reviews and does giveaways or has a corner on some topic or specialty. Some of us “just” write and that is just as important to us as reviewing is to reviewers and giveaways are to contest people etc.
Two cents – free of charge.
Here’s what I have learned in the past few months.
To be somewhat successful in the blogging world, you have to promote yourself. You’ve got to decide how much time you are going to commit to that. Are you going to join blogging groups, spam your blog on twitter, comment on other blogs, run contests, etc.
It can really take a lot of time to do that. Sometimes I just don’t have the time. I work full-time, have a child, and I try and have a life too.
Do I want to spend all day spamming and working on my blog, nope. Will I ever be one of those top bloggers, probably not.
But I’m happy with what I have…although I’m still a little jealous.
I have kind of a competitive nature so sometimes I look and think “why them and not me”. I’m happy for all of the blogger that I follow because I love them, but sometimes I just wish I was as successful as they are.
I guess I get a little jealous (not in a bad way), mainly because I don’t get much traffic to my site. I’m fairly new though, so I’m still learning stuff. Been reading about successful blogging & am hoping to put some of what I’ve learned into action pretty soon. =) Thanks for the links, Trisha…btw.
I think this is a great question. I don’t try to compete with other successful bloggers. If anything, it motivates me to keep trying to achieve at least some success.
I wouldn’t say I get jealous of other bloggers but do admire some of their experiences online.
I’m not a competitive or jealous person at all. I’m overall pretty happy with my own accomplishments. I get excited for bloggers who are getting great stuff…it gives me hope that I too can get those great things.
I don’t feel competitive with other bloggers, but I definitely get jealous. I see others getting great opportunities and I wonder what makes them different than me, and why I’m not getting them. I’ve started becoming more laid back though, and just enjoying what I do. I figured if it’s meant to be, it will happen.
I used to get really jealous and now I just kind of go with the flow. I do my own thing and I’m getting pretty darn good at it.
I am super competitive, though, so I clicked yes. That was mainly due to the crazy stunts I’m willing to do for the glory of winning antb!
I voted no, but get jealous, who wouldnt? If they are an established blogger who puts in the work then I can not be resentful or in competition since they earned it, but I can still be a little jealous! It is good though, it makes me want to do better
My complex and critical views (mostly with tongue in cheek) are all on twitter, Face book or my own satirical website, nevertheless, I will say I am finding more and more that, while I post comments, Blogs and political opinions all over the place, and while I do it for my own creative amusement – or because I find the need to speak out about some social injustice that has stirred up my feathers, that Twitter is totaly full of marketing hustlers that are ruthlessly relentless in their pursuit of selling things that any half baked moron could fond on the internet for squat…
Perhaps it’s just the sign of the times, but it appears that almost everyone is into internet hustling and using social networks to do it.
Although I am independently well-off and so don’t engage in this practice, I wonder of I really would should some of the people I bank with crash tomorrow. So, I best be careful not to say ‘It’s all wrong’ Perhaps, with economies crashing so rapidly, it’s all people can think of right now?
I like that you had the jealous option because I try to take it easy with my blog and don’t feel it really is a competition, BUT, there are times I am definitely jealous of other bloggers!! From exciting things they get to do or places they go or recognition they receive to the awesome things they get sent (ahem, like the Vivienne Tam mini lap tops!!!)…
Steph