Linkys seem to be something that split opinions in the blogging world. Some bloggers swear by them, others think they are a waste of time. 
I fall into the love them category, or at least I did.
I believe linkys are a great way of getting posts seen that may not have done as well as you’d hoped, or posts you really feel passionate about. They are also a fantastic way to build up some connections with other bloggers, especially when you are new to the blogging world.
I still firmly believe that, and I also think they can be a lot of fun, especially the ones where everyone linking up takes part properly and not just link dumps (this is the height of rude in my opinion. You want other people linking up to read your posts – guess what? So do other people)
All that being said, towards the end of last year, linkys were starting to lose their appeal for me. It felt more and more like a chore linking up.
This was a combination of things – being forced to comment on certain posts instead of choosing ones that appeal to me (I get why bloggers make this a rule but I honestly feel the forced comments are usually quite apparent.), link dumpers, and the fact it took me way longer than it should have to get the badges to post properly when I moved sites.
All of these things added up to the point where I felt like linking up had become a chore. I felt like I was just going through the motions.
I made a decision during my blog break that I wasn’t going to join linkys on my return. This didn’t last long. I came back on Monday 4th and linked up to Twinkly Tuesday on the 5th. I tried to resist for the rest of the week and I managed it, but I felt like something was missing.
I now know what the problem was. I still enjoy linkys very much, but they are time consuming if you take part properly, especially when you are joining up to 6 a day.
I have now made the decision to cull some of the linkys I join. The trouble is, when someone tweets me their linky, or they are ones I’ve always took part in, I struggle to say no. However, going forward, it’s just something I’m going to have to do. I blog because I enjoy it, so I am no longer going to do things I don’t enjoy.
I have cut my schedule down to a more manageable two linkys a day (except Tuesdays, 3, and Fridays, 4. I just couldn’t bear to part with these ones, they are ones I’ve linked up to from day 1 of finding linkys.)
The ones I’ve kept are ones I feel benefit me the most. They are a mix of general themes or themed ones where I choose to write on that theme anyway. There are some I’ve done since day 1 and some newer ones.
None of the ones I’ve cut are because they are bad, or I don’t like them, it was a case of all or some – something had to give and I would rather concentrate on enjoying a select few than going through the motions on all of them. If yours is one of the ones I’ve had to cut, I apologise. Please don’t be offended, this is in no way personal.
I think what finally made me realise it was ok to not link up to them all, was when I asked myself if someone stopped linking up to #AnythingGoes how would I feel? I would be curious as to why they didn’t feel it was working for them. I might even feel a little bit sad, after all a successful linky relies on people joining in. But one thing I wouldn’t be is offended. It’s not personal, people have to do what feels right for them and their blogs, and I’m ok with that.
Do you enjoy linkys? Do you sometimes feel like you are joining too many rather than risk offending someone? Let me know in the comments 🙂
You can find me here: Twitter Bloglovin Pinterest and Instagram Please do stop by and say hi!
I love them but they can be very time consuming. Like you I set a limit on how many I do per week. The biggest time saver I did was create a template for all my posts. It has all the linky badges at the bottom so whenever I start a new post I copy and paste the whole thing then just delete the badges I am not going to ink up with. It’s saved me so much time. #twinklytuesday
That’s a brilliant idea! I might have to give that a go 🙂
I think I will be linking up with fewer this year. I struggle to keep up with which linkies I have remembered to comment on and it can be very time consuming. I will stick to 2-3 per week from now on to make sure I can give them the attention they deserve xxx #TwinklyTuesday
I think when you do too many, you feel like its a constant battle! I’m hoping I will start enjoying them again now 🙂 x
Great post Debbie. Since Christmas I have cut down posting and linking up. I enjoyed the break and realised my blog was only ever going to be a hobby so I needed to reign it in. I love linkies but 2 a day is my max and at the mo that’s only 4 times a week xx #twinklytuesday
I love linkies, but only join when I know I have time to comment as I hate it when people dump and run from my own. #TwinkleyTuesday
Yes, same here. I do have a few I join and go back to comment later but I only do that when the host has okayed it in advance.
Good points, I’ve cut down on a few of mine as I don’t have time to do them justice and that’s not really fair on everyone else.
Yes, that’s how I was feeling so I decided I would rather do less properly than all of them half heartedly.
I try and pick which of my posts seem to fit with what linkies. There are a few outdoors ones I haven’t hit in a while, simply because we haven’t done anything outdoors that I’ve written about. Finding this on Twinkly Tues, which I usually try and hit if I have something cute or funny. I like to link up stuff that isn’t really parenting related to yours. Being in the States, I’m often one of the last posts to link up and don’t always get a ton of reads
I like the idea of knowing which posts best fit which linkys, it takes a bit of pressure off. It can be frustrating on the massive linkys if you’re late and your post ends up being number 200+!
I do love linkies but I find them really time consuming to do the job properly meaning I don’t have much time to really write anything for myself. I think I will be linking up to less this year and see how it goes which is a shame as I really enjoy reading so many of the posts linked up! Need more hours in the day! Maybe one day I’ll get this blogging balance sorted. #TwinklyTuesday
I know what you mean. It had gotten to the point with me where by the time I joined all the linkys in a day, I just wanted to turn the laptop off instead of writing. If you find the secret to the balance, please let me know lol 🙂
I used to go to lots of links last year but this year I have cut back a lot. I felt that people were not doing their part. I choose carefully and so now I’m much less frazzled and only go to linkys where the hostesses are considerate.
Yes, they are so time consuming, especially if you feel like it is a bit one sided or you aren’t getting anything back.
I love linkies too but these days only join the ones that fit well with particular posts or that I especially enjoy taking part in. I’m happy to retweet other people’s linkies but don’t feel pressured to join in and would hope that people don’t feel pressured to join mine either – it’s lovely when they do but we’re all busy and there’s only so many hours in the day if you want to take part properly! I’d rather a smaller number of linkers who make it a proper community than a bigger number with people link dumping. I don’t always have time to comment when I first join but I always aim to go back later that day and catch up properly. Hope that taking a little step back and focusing on those linkies you enjoy most will help keep it fun for you. #TwinklyTuesday
Thanks Louise 🙂 I always made sure I commented but it got to the point where it felt like a chore and I don’t want to feel that way about reading posts because I really enjoy the blogs I read. I’m still happy to RT any as well
I am new to them and do find them very tine consuming. Also, sometimes I link and rhen the children need me and I have to stop before I’ve added the badge or commented and it gives me a bit of anxiety until I have time to go back! It is great fun reading other people’s posts when I have the time though so I do think I will try to do a few regularly. 🙂
They are time consuming, but they are worth it, especially if you are new to blogging as they get your posts out there and give you a chance to connect with other bloggers. Most hosts don’t mind if it takes a while to do your comments, sometimes things crop up. For me, it’s only a problem if people who join my linky don’t comment at all, I’m quite happy for them to pop back and comment later on in the week 🙂
I have mixed feelings on linkys too. I get frustrated when I dutifully comment on other people’s posts, but it’s clear most people don’t bother to read anyone else’s blog. I only do one or two a week. I’ve had way more success using Twitter hashtags, honestly.
I know what you mean, there is always someone spoils it for the rest. That’s another reason I’ve kept some of the ones I have because it’s usually the same group linking up each week and they are the ones that do comment etc. I get a lot more traffic from Twitter and Google searches than linkys but I do enjoy them as well.
I haven’t done a linky for a very long time. I haven’t actually even been blogging for a while – very busy with family and work. What I do like about link ups ( if I choose those that involve my topic styles) is I find some interesting blogs to read ( and comment and maybe follow) .
I agree, if you find a theme linky that covers something you love, you are sure to find a few blogs you will enjoy reading 🙂
I know exactly where your coming from here. Especially running a linky (or two in my case) I find my whole week was being dictacted by finding time to comment. I have strictly limied the ones I join now to two a day at most, except Mondays, and none at all at the weekend.
Im glad to say #Anythinggoes remains one of my favourite ones as the first linky I joined, so I will not be dropping you anytime soon xx
Thanks for linking up (we survived your cull, yaay) Tracey xx #abitofeverything
It gets to the point where you don’t enjoy it anymore and I never want to feel like my blog is a chore. I’m glad to hear #AnythingGoes is one of your favourites 🙂 x
Interesting post! I’ve been thinking a lot about linkys lately and whether or not I want to continue to participate, but it feels like I don’t see a lot of other bloggers feeling the same. They certainly bring an increase in page views, but a very high bounce rate as well. I’d love it if people visited my blog regularly and because they appreciated it rather than just once because they were obliged to to follow a linky rule. On the other hand I wonder if I’m being too unrealistic and should take views where I can find them…? Such a quandry 😉
Thank you 🙂 That’s a good point, it isn’t quite the same when you now some people are only reading because they have to. On the other hand though, I have found a lot of my favourite blogs through linkys and I some of my regular commenters first found my blog through linkys so they can be worth while. It is a quandary!