Let’s face it, we all do it. And not just with blogs – with everything. It’s in our nature to compare, compare, compare (yes I read that in the ‘Go Compare’ voice) but comparing your blog constantly with other people’s can seriously weigh you down. I’ve been there and it sucks.

stop comparing

I’m a sucker for a pretty design, a cute layout, nice graphics and since starting my blog I’ve constantly battled trying to make my blog look pretty and attractive so I’m happy with it. It’s taken me all this time to finally be somewhat happy with the way my blog looks and I still find myself comparing it to other people’s. But it’s not always just the way a blog looks, I very much find myself green with envy over other people’s blog post ideas or their extremely well thought out review.

Here are a few things to think about and remember if you’re experiencing blogger envy:

1) More likely than not, there’s people out there comparing their blog to yours!

2) Healthy jealousy can sometimes encourage you to do better with your own. It can get the creative juices flowing and by seeing a fantastic post from someone else can make you strive to be better with your own. As long as the jealousy doesn’t take a nastier form or you actively copy someone else’s blog or posts then its all gravy baby!

3) You don’t necessarily want your blog to look like everybody else’s. It’s your blog for a reason. So even though you may not have the prettiest design, think about how your blog represents you, as a person. Just like your thoughts and feelings and personality represent you as a person, not your outer image.

4) Not everybody cares about a pretty layout. Painfully true, they don’t. But it’s what’s on the inside that counts (in this case, it’s what’s in your posts that counts). Its the same as judging a book by it’s cover – the prettiest cover doesn’t make up for a dreadful story. People are more likely to revisit your blog if they like what you have to say.

5) Everyone does it. It’s natural and it’s in our human nature to judge and compare. Don’t sweat it. Have a little cry and then move on and write an awesome blog post.

Now I definitely do need to take my own advice and remember some of these next time I have a hissy fit over how pretty someone’s blog is or how fantastic their photos are or how well written their blog posts are. It is hard sometimes but striving to be happy with your blog as well as appreciating other people’s is something we should try to do!

Are you a victim of blogger envy? How do you cope when your jealousy spikes? Do you have any of your own tips on the above? Let us know!

42 Comments

  1. I am indeed (a victim of blogger envy, that is). I think it’s natural for a newbie blogger like myself to feel those jelousy spikes. But I don’t let them go too our of control. When I see a beautiful post on a someone’s blog, I try to get inspired by it. Rather than jelous.
    And… well, l finally arrived to a good place with the way my blog looks (at least in my opinion). I don’t get all that much jelous anyomore 😉

  2. Yes I do suffer from it!

    Sometimes I see other blogs and get inspired and sometimes I look and think OMG my blog looks terrible.

    My main source of jealousy is the book blogs running on self-hosted WordPress with the Creative Whim design and the wonderful Ultimate Book Blog plugin which is supposed to save time with book reviews.

    But at the end of the day my blog represents me not anybody else! Great post!

    1. I have no idea what the Creative Whim design or the Ultimate Book Blog plugin is… But I guess if I knew I’d get even more jealous haha! I love your blog Heather, you’re a fantastic book blogger and you’re so right, as long as your blog represents you! (: xx

  3. Hmm, I wouldn’t say I’m envious of other people’s blogs. More that I admire them for the way their blog looks and the content they put out. Then I wish I’d be able to do that as well. But our blog is ours and people love us for what we do, and that’s just what you have to remember. Like you said, keep it in the positive spectrum and let it inspire you 🙂

    1. I get a bit of both; I deeply admire so many bloggers for a variety of reasons. Even for things they achieve outside of blogging. But sometimes I definitely do get envious but it mostly depends on my mood. If I’m having a particularly tough and self-critical blogging day myself it’s so easy to be envious of how amazing someone else’s is. But as long as we don’t let it get the better of us, I think it’s ok! xx

  4. Excellent post! I know what you mean, I’ve really been struggling with blogging lately. I feel like my blog isn’t going anywhere. But, at the end of the day, you have to just keep doing what you enjoy 🙂 (Also, I am a 22-year-old Jenny too!)

  5. This is such a great post. I definitely think we have all suffered with blogger envy at some point.

    Functional layouts over pretty layouts! As a web developer it drives me insane when I come across a website that doesn’t function properly with poor navigation and unreadable text! Grrr!

    When jealousy hits I just remember why I started blogging. I started for me, not for anyone else, and that really put some perspective on the situation

    1. Ooh this is interesting! It ties in with my point about not everyone cares about a really pretty layout because at the end of the day, you don’t know who’s reading. For example, you, a web developer who prefers function over prettyiness! I do try and keep mine a mixture of both; I’m a sucker for pretty layouts but like you said, I want my blog to be easy to navigate around as well xx

  6. This is such a great post! I always get blogger jealousy either because their blog is really pretty or because they wrote an awesome post! For me dealing with it I try to be inspired by the blogs I love and follow, and looking at other blogs means that I’ve changed some things on my own blog and means that I’m willing to try things out.

    Blogger envy is definitely a good thing… I think! x

    1. I think blogger envy is a good thing too, providing you don’t let it manifest into something else. I know so many incredibly pretty blogs that I just sit and kinda stare at for a few minutes hahah xx

  7. Blogger envy is a terrible thing. I try to pretend it doesn’t happen, but the reality is, I’m envious all the time. The great thing about it though is that it motivates you to do better and become a better blogger.

  8. What are you talking about? You have a beautiful design (it takes time for everybody to reach that) and your posts are original and interesting. You have a strong blogging voice, too. Ultimately, however, I do understand your struggle.*sigh* Why does she have more followers than me? Why does he have more comments? Those are thoughts I tend to have. But you made good points and, I suppose, insecurity has a lot to do with the issue as well as nature.

    1. I am happy with my blog and my posts right now, probably more so than ever but that doesn’t mean I don’t get envious. There will always be the ‘why’ questions won’t there? And blogging is a big and competitive market (if you’re blogging for those reasons) so it’s normal to compare I think! xx

  9. As usual you write amazing topics of discussion, Jenny! I adore them. Now what I have experienced is not what I would call blogger envy, exactly, more like, blogger admiration. I’m a sucker for pretty blog designs so when I find one I end up staring in awe for ages, thinking, “IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL!” and then I proceed to think about all the things I could do to improve my blog personally. I’m personally more of an admirer than and envier (is that a word? 😂 )
    xoxo

    1. Aww thank you so much! I really appreciate that! (: I understand where you’re coming from – for me, it depends on the day. If I’m having a good, positive day then it’s usually admiration. If I’m not and having a particularly critical day then it’s envy. I do admire a lot of bloggers though and what they achieve and how they write! xx

  10. I have to admit I totally suffer from this. Some days it motivates me and gives me a kick up the bum to write and create. Other days it gets me down that I haven’t achieved the things other bloggers have achieved who started at the same time at me.

    Roxie x
    thebeautifulbluebird.com

    1. I totally get this! It can have the complete reverse affect depending on how you feel that day. I like the times it drives me to be motivated. Not so much when it makes me wanna rip my face off hahaha. Don’t worry too much – every blogger goes at their own pace and you’ve gotta focus on your own achievements (: xx

  11. Oh good heavens yes! I started my first blog 13yrs ago and I still can’t make myself happy! There is always something that needs a tweak, or something someone has done that’s just so amazing I need to figure out if I can do something similar! And darn it if my posts are never good enough for me! I try and just let it go, remind myself it’s ok, good enough, but, well, you know….

    1. I feel ya Claire, I really do. There’s always going to be SOMETHING that you’re unhappy with. On a whole, I’m pretty happy with my blog right now but obviously we can be picky as crap when we want to be. Just gotta suck it up and get on with it really! xx

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