Tell me I’m not wrong, but has participation in weekly blog link-ups nearly evaporated in the past couple of years or so? Effect of the pandemic on blogging withstanding, it seems that even the number of link-ups has diminished with several longtime bloggers giving up on hosting them.
I do so enjoy an ironic blog post title. Considering the topic of the post and the fact that I’m hosting a link-up. In fact, today is the 26th one since I restarted my link-up at the beginning of the year. I totally understand why a blogger would decide to no longer host considering the extra time it takes to be a good host as well as the cost of the link-up service if you’re not using the free version.
But still, how much do those detractors outweigh the benefits of hosting? Or even the benefits of participating in blog link-ups? Maybe I’ve missed the writing on the wall about blogs and how what had been one of the best ways to promote them may no longer be so. When I started my blog nearly 6 years ago, I hadn’t considered how someone might stumble across it on the internet. Honestly, at first, I was more fearful of people finding it than worried that they wouldn’t. Through some research and common sense, I came to understand the importance of social media in that endeavor and I also quickly learned about link-up parties.
Back then it seemed like almost every fashion blogger worth her salt hosted a weekly link-up. Bloggers who didn’t host proudly displayed the badges of parties they joined in the sidebars of their blogs. Most of the link-ups I was aware of and joined got lots of links, well over 100 unless they opted to limit the number. I came to realize early on that you needed to get to the party soon after it opened if you wanted your link(s) to be among the first added and therefore, most visible as others joined the link-up. It made me feel a little like a stalker as I scoped out exactly when each bloggers’ weekly post would publish and the respective link-up would open so that I could then spring into action at the appointed time.
When reviewing my blog’s traffic statistics, I could/can tell which link-ups garnered the most traffic. Beyond attracting viewers to my blog, I found and still find that link-ups are a great way to discover blog posts that interest me as well as new blogs that I’d like to follow. Lately, however, growth in the participation in my link-up has somewhat stagnated. Along with that, it seemed to me that I was seeing more or less the same sets of links every week in each of the blog link-ups I was joining. So I decided to go on a hunt.
The hunt started with checking out the link-up lists that others often publish on their blogs. When I checked on the nearly 50 links on one gal’s link-up page, I found several that appear to no longer be active hosts. HOT TIP ALERT – I started a bookmark folder on my browser to which I added each of the blogs whose link-up I join regularly. For simplicity, I added the day of the week to each links’ label and then organized the list by day of the week. This has made it so much easier to “remember” the blog link-ups that I join regularly. Imagine my elation when I came across the link-up directory that’s available on the inlinkz website. How had I not been aware that this existed?
This is where I was able to do a deep dive and find some statistics about current blog link-ups or at least those run on inlinkz. The only other similar service that I’m aware of is Linky Tools which I have no experience with other than joining some link-ups. Back to inlinkz and numbers, there are 32 categories that a blogger can self-identify for their respective blog(s). Many tag their blogs with more than one category as appropriate for their niche(s) and/or target audience.
From a quick query of the directory, I found that there were 191 currently open parties hosted on 150 blogs as of last night (some blogs run more than one weekly link-up). I queried for the counts of parties/blogs for several of the 32 categories and my results were as follows;
General – 33 parties/24 blogs
Home – 41 parties/33 blogs
Fashion – 26 parties/21 blogs
Motherhood – 22 parties/16 blogs
Beauty – 17 parties/13 blogs
Crafts – 102 parties/77 blogs
Lifestyle – 62 parties/49 blogs
I found it interesting that blogs identifying as fashion-related account for only 14% of the blogs hosting link-ups. Apparently, crafters really like to party. The query filters also allow for the selection of parties by the number of entries in ranges of “any”, 0-20, 21-100, and over 100. When setting the number of entries filter to “over 100”, the results show that only 16 of the current 191 parties met that criteria. Narrowing down the list to those in the category of “fashion”, the results were that only 3 of the 26 current parties had more than 100 entries.
Before I take you any further down this rabbit hole, let me share a bit about my outfit. The tiered skirt was a thrift store find at the end of April that I bought after I’d published Thrift Store Finds & OOTDs: April 2021. The color orange was big with me that month as it also featured prominently in Statement Pants: Magnificent 8 Collaboration. As with most of my denim jackets, this one was also thrifted but a few years ago and recently rediscovered after being packed away since moving into our current home. My top was a retail purchase but it’s my sandals that I want to really draw attention to.
They are yet another example of summer sandals that aren’t flip-flops or flatform slides. And who doesn’t like a little bit of bling and sparkle in their footwear? I bought these embellished beauties two years ago and while they’re no longer available in blue, I recently saw them in black and I was truly tempted. But I resisted.
Let’s Wrap This Up
Now, onto the Fine-Whatever link-up. My featured blogger from last week is Pamela, an image consultant who shares her knowledge about the colors and shapes that nature designed for you on her blog Style Yourself Confident. Like me, Pamela has a preference for wide-leg pants in the summer as an alternate for shorts.
What conclusions can I draw from my exploration into the current status of blog link-ups? I’m not sure yet. Unfortunately, I don’t have statistics from prior years for comparison. I’m hoping that a few of the bloggers who read this post can offer their own perspective on if and how participation in their link-ups has changed in the past couple of years.
Something else that has caught my attention is the expansion in style-related challenges on Instagram as well as an increase in the use of personalized hashtags. Perhaps those engagement strategies have in part squeezed out link-ups as a marketing tool. Certainly, change is inevitable; I just wondering if we’re starting to see the end of blog link-ups. What are your thoughts on this subject?
Stay well and letโs keep in touch! Subscribe, tweet, follow, friend, pin โฆ all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Note: This is an unsponsored post; however, some or all of the links to clothing items are associated with an affiliate program where I earned a few cents for each click.
Photos: MMPerez
53 Comments
I’ve noticed the fading away of a few parties, and totally understand the reasons as well. It IS a lot of work.
I keep my inLinkz account because I use it for visual link directories or visual Tables of Contents, especially for my annual A-Z Blogging Challenge posts. (I haven’t figured out any other way with Blogger).
I haven’t run a party in a long time, it’s hard for me to blog consistently, which must be done when a timed party is involved. I was recently considering it though – another color themed thing. We’ll see. Not this summer!
Your research in inLinkz is interesting (I love this kind of thing). The Craft data – is that because COVID made us all stuck at home and what else was there to do?
I definitely use a lot of personalized hashtags on IG. It’s a way I sort posts for myself. And I partake of IG challenges a lot!
Anne, I remember your year-long color-themed link-up which was how I first came across your blog. Interesting theory about the popularity of crafting link-ups. Perhaps I should do a follow-up post with updated statistics in about 6 months?
I’ve noticed them fading away and a few of my favourites stopped over the last year. I stopped mine thought-out lockdown with the stress of thing’s happening around me. Mine are back on again now so maybe others will restart again too? Or may people do not blog as much now? Thanks for hosting.
Claire, it’ll be interesting to see if there will be changes as lockdowns are lifted.
Yes me too ๐ Thanks so much for linking up to Creative Mondays ๐ I hope you can join us today for The Weekend Link-Up? #CreativeMondays
Forgot to say, love your skirt and how you have styled it ๐
Thank you
I’ve noticed the same thing over the past several years. And the linkup that Carrie and host use to have over 175 links added while now it’s about 50. I still love them though. It’s a great way to support each other and find new blogs to follow!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Jill, that’s the way I see it too and I really appreciate your support. Link-ups are a great way to build a community and to support other bloggers. I join over 20 link-ups a week, a few with more than one host, and I always leave a comment on the posts for all hosts. I find it disappointing that I never get nearly that number of comments on my posts nor do some of those bloggers add their links to my link-ups.
I know personally I’ve been too busy to usually join in the linkups. I still love to visit and comment occasionally, but life has gotten in the way for sure.
LOVE, love, love the skirt too Rena,
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Jodie, I totally get that. It does take time to participate in link-ups but they’re usually on blogs that I would follow anyway so it gets me to read those posts that I might have missed otherwise.
Thank you so much for featuring me this week. I love easy comfort whether it’s elasticated waists or pretty skirts like you’re wearing today. I’ve got short legs and wide legs make me FEEL taller whether I look it or not!
Certainly far fewer link parties and I understand it because additional admin is hard work. But I really appreciate the time, effort and consistency that hosts like yourself put into it. Not only that but you devote even more time, care and interest by visiting the linkups to offer your comments.
A big thank you Rena
Pamela x
http://www.style-yourself-confident.com
Pamela, you are so welcome. I appreciate your support for my blog and for regularly joining the link-ups. There is added time for hosting because you should be visiting all the links that are added. Many of those posts I’ve already seen and commented on so I don’t feel it necessary to revisit those. But each blogger gets at least a comment on one of the posts they added.
Yep, I agree not loads about, I love to see what everyone is wearing and enjoy seeing my weekly linkup accounts. Thanks for sharing yours Rena. xx Jacqui
Jacqui, thank you for your support and for regularly joining my link-up.
This is a very interesting topic. Before I took 1 1/2 years off, I did host a once a month link up about sustainable fashion. but, it never seem to catch on and I decided it really wasn’t worth my money to keep it up.
Now, as far as linking up; you make a good point that if you aren’t the first in line, it’s not going to help your blog. The problem is that many time these linkups start at 3 AM Central time. I just got tired having to wake up in the middle of the night for something-there’s just more important things in life-like sleep!
Honestly, you are the only one I even link up to anymore because you are at a decent hour on Saturday morning.
I also agree that there are more linkups for crafters-that is, unless you sew garments and then there is nothing. Us sewests have to live in another universe. A lot of younger sewists live on Instagram and I get that.
I think that’s all and I will have my Style Imitating Art post on here next week and I admit that I should link that.
Take care-sort of rambles on this week Terri
P.S. I love your Southwestern take on the maxi skirt-reminds me that I need to wear mine next time we are out.
Terri, one of the reasons I picked Saturdays for the start of the link-up was that I’d hope it would be an easy day for most people to take a few minutes to join in. And that I would catch all the posts that had published during the week. I’ve also been stymied by the start times of some link-ups and that’s why I set mine for a more reasonable time in the morning (at least for those in the US). Some link-up hosts opt for the setting that randomizes the location of the links added so that there’s less advantage to being first. I’m not sure whether I like that approach but it’s something to consider.
Considering I just started a blog at a point everyone has moved to Instagram shows that I don’t exactly have my finger on the pulse! But I have read style blogs for years and agree that I am seeing fewer link-ups than I used to. I have found some of my favorite blogs through link-ups. It will be interesting to see where it leads.
Now for the outfit: love the orange skirt and especially the way you styled it!
Sally, thank you for the outfit love. I’ve also wondered how aware am I about what and how things are changing in the blog-o-sphere but then again, do I really care? I don’t do this for money, it’s a labor of love and it’s for me. I do it how I see fit.
That red maxi skirt is so beautiful – what a great print and mix of colours!
I agree, a lot of bloggers stopped doing link ups. For me I started mine to try give back a little. I’d love to feature more bloggers on my blog to share the love but with 2 little ones, it’s hard to find time to even get my regular posts out. So I figured a link up could let me link to others, and help me find new blogs to enjoy, with less effort than starting up a series. I like visiting all the blogs that link up with me each week ๐
I did used to do a lot of style challenges on Insta back in the day – but now I’m doing my 30 wears challenge I’m finding that inspires and motivates me to come up with outfits so I rarely participate in them now. I’m also sadly a bit behind with sharing everything so I often have the outfits already worn about a week before I get around to posting them on Insta so it’s rare to be able to fit into a challenge anyway!
Hope that you are having a nice weekend ๐ Another cold one here, but it has stopped raining!
Away From The Blue blog
Mica, I so agree with your sentiment about trying to give back a little. I want to support other bloggers. Perhaps too many have felt their voices squeezed out by the highly monetized blogs. Maybe the heyday of blogs is over? After all, if a savvy businessman who used to be president can’t get people to follow/read his blog, then how are we going to succeed at it. (I’m joking, of course.)
I was recently on an unplanned 2 week break, and I wasnโt sure I would return. I just got to feeling overwhelmed with both the blog reading and the blog writing. Iโm dipping my toe back in with less self-inflicted pressure to produce quantities of posts. Iโm also limiting my reading to those I actually have the attention for. Someone wrote a post about a topic they care about it, and it deserves all my attention when Iโm reading; not just a skim in order to get through the blog list. I canโt speak for anyone else, but thatโs where Iโm at.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Michelle, I totally understand the need to step away from blogging every once in a while. I’ve also found myself feeling overwhelmed at times which led to significant breaks in blog activity. Quality vs quantity is a good thing to consider and something I’m wrestling with as well. I appreciate the time you spend reading and commenting on my posts. Thank you for your support.
And P.S.: Those sandals are so cute! I love this outfit.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Love that maxi skirt, you wear it with flair. I still host my link up I just love to do it. But it is less busy. But the numbers on my blog also dropped down since Covid19. But it is what it is, and I love to blog!
Nancy, I’m glad that you like the skirt and the look I put together. Your love of blogging comes through in your posts and the your engagement with your readers.
I agree – the link-ups do seem to be dwindling a bit. But I do still enjoy finding new blogs and posts to read that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. I love your skirt, Rena and the sandals are absolutely gorgeous! I think if it was me, I wouldn’t have been able to resist the black ones lol!!
Have a fabulous week.
Big hugs
Suzy xx
Suzy, don’t go encouraging about those black sandals, LOL. I agree that link-ups are still useful for discovering other blogs.
Very interesting post Rena. I was surprised that so many beauty link-ups existed (16) because when I was trying to recruit beauty bloggers for my link-up a year or so ago, it seemed like this was something they did not do.
My own linky has been running for around 3 years now and seems to get the same number of participants, although they change occasionally. I start it at 6.30AM UK time in the hope that it’s not too late for US bloggers. I could easily start it earlier than that because it’s scheduled, and I will give that a go. You definitely get more hits the sooner you join a link-up: the day of the post gets the most hits. I do try to promote the link-up and the posts within it, but I don’t know yet if that generates much traffic.
Gail, I appreciate your consideration for US bloggers when you decided on the start time of your link-up. It seems to me that bloggers don’t join a link-up that’s older than 3 or 4 days. I’m thinking of running mine for less time so that I can stop checking if any new links have been added.
This is a really interesting topic because when I first started participating in link ups there were loads – I used to keep a list and link up on the day they opened. Quite a lot of those have dropped off and I try to update my “where I link up” page regularly, but it seems to be constantly changing. I think Instagram has squeezed blogs and made link ups less attractive, especially with the personalised hashtags. It says a lot that some of the big Instagrammers don’t have a blog but I think that’s a risky strategy as you can get hacked and lose it all – I’ve seen it happen to several people I follow. I guess a lot of it comes down to a waning attention span and people wanting to quickly scroll through photos rather than read a blog. Maybe that will change in the future. I still enjoy reading about what people have been doing as well as seeing outfits. I hope IG and TikTok don’t kill off interest in blogs. I love your skirt and sandals btw!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
Emma, I guess blogs are a bit old school in comparison to IG but I think that they still serve a purpose. As a blogger, you have so much more control of the platform but it’s not as flashy I guess.
I used to host a link-party (Shoe Shine!) and did it for a year, but it was way to hard to maintain, and visiting everyone who linked up took so much time. I truly do appreciate how much work goes into them, so thank you, Rena! Even posting in link parties takes a lot of time. I have been blogging for over 13 years and have seen a lot of “trends” in blogging come and go, but link-parties are such a great way to get traffic to one’s blog. I do notice an increase of about 10% for my traffic, depending on what outfit I link up with.
Love your flouncy orange skirt, and those are sweet sandals, Rena! I hope you’re having a fun weekend!
Sheila, being a good link-up party host does take time and I get a little disheartened when I don’t get comments from a few of the hosts. I probably should consider if my time to link up to those parties and comment on the post is worth the traffic I get in return. Regardless, I’m so glad that you’ve be joining my link-up as I adore your blog and your style.
The link ups are how I found this awesome group of bloggers so I love them but I definitely have taken the pressure off of trying to link up to a bunch: just takes too much time to link up and then visit 2-3 on each. So now I have 2 to 3 that I link up each day which makes it manageable.
I love this outfit! That skirt is gorgeous and the sandals are like none I have seen: love them!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
Mireille, it does take a lot of time to join link-ups, doesn’t it? I also need to do a cost/benefit analysis about some of the link-ups I join and consider dropping those that don’t comment or reciprocate and join mine.
I definitely have figured out which ones I want to take the time for nowadays.
Great post, Rena! I have also noticed a downturn in blog link parties. But I have kept mine going very consistently through all the ups and downs and I honestly haven’t noticed much of a decrease in participation. It does always slow down a bit in the summer months. But the number of links on my parties has hovered right around the 100 mark for years! Since I despise social media, I will continue to keep most of my focus on the blog part and will jeep hosting the parties as long as people keep joining them. I really like your outfit in this post. That skirt is so fun and your sandals are just wonderful! Such a lovely outfit!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
Shelbee, you are a star! A hostess with the mostest. I don’t know how you manage with two link-ups a week. I tried to do it a couple of years ago and quickly dropped the second one.
I just updated my where I party links and I’m on the fence if one is coming back so I haven’t dropped it yet. There are quite a few I had to delete and it was sad. Blog promotion is great but I also find some really interesting reads when I attend the blog hops and have added blogs to follow from the hops as well over the years.
I like the fact they take me out of my blogging zone and get me thinking and reading about other topics that aren’t always in my daily take.
Blog hops are indeed a great way to find blogs in niches other than your own. We all could use some broadening of our worldview every once in a while. Thank you for reading my post and sharing your experience.
Some interesting things you’ve learned. I confess I don’t know much about link ups even though I host one. I was asked to co-host one already in existence so I didn’t really have to figure anything out. But I think it’s good to know.
Lauren, being brought in to co-host an existing link-up is a great way to get your feet wet in the process.
I have noticed that quite a few no longer exist and two that I attended regularly stopped hosting recently. I’m so busy with my own that I find it hard to attend other parties right now. Thanks so much for linking up with me at the Unlimited Link Party 29.
Dee, how true it is that joining link-ups can be just as time-consuming as it is to host them.
That’s a beautiful skirt and I absolutely love those sandals!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Thank you, Lovely. I appreciate the compliments.
Always so interesting around here! I still consider myself a newbie when it comes to link parties- but I quite enjoy them. I personally love to blog hop, so tis is always fun for me…but- having said that, I don’t really find new bloggers- mostly the same people (and I guess I’m one of those too coz i’m posting at the same places too!!). I’m not so sure sometimes that everyone is as into blogs as I am- there’s that too. For instance, I find that communities are totally different depending on the platform. A long long time ago when I used to blog about history and book reviews, it was very different- it was the place to be! Now I’m not so sure. As for myself I just love writing and sharing so this is what I enjoy the most about blogging- so different from Instagram for example. I feel it’s my place (my real-estate lol!).
Btw, I’m crushing big time on those bling sandals!! Have a great week!
Lucy, it was seeing the same faces at each of the link-ups that got me looking into the subject. Like you, I also enjoy writing and sharing so I hold each comment as dear. Thank you for your support.
Thank you for the link up Rena, I had no idea you were hosting one – and this is your 26th? Apparently I have had my head up my you know where. I digress…yes, link ups are disappearing and I am not sure why. When I first started reading blogs it was the best way to discover many I still follow today. I think it has a lot to do with people migrating to social media – IG specifically and spending less time blogging. But that’s just a guess!
xo,
Kellyann
Such an interesting topic. I used to host a linkup maaaaany years ago but I wasn’t getting that much participation, so I quit. But I do/did enjoy participating in them. But I’ve slowed down a bit since my iPad keyboard broke because now I have to sit at the computer to join in and it just feels so much like work. That sounds awful… But as soon as I replace my keyboard, I’m back to it. I’m happy to find that you’re hosting.
I’m new to blogging and link-up parties, but I have noticed that a lot of the same people pin to each of these parties which is concerning to me. I appreciate the statistics and your perspective as a blogger for six years. I find not very people make comments on blogs which makes me question the value of the linkups. Thanks again for sharing. Great outfit!
Lisa, Visiting from Unlimited Link Party 29, #106
CONGRATS! Your post is FEATURED at my Unlimited Link Party 30!