Stray Thought - What is considered a "popular" blog?

   Is it average readership people are looking for? Dollars earned? Followers?

     My average readership is between 3000-5000 unique visitors per post. I would trade 500 reads/views for a few comments and interaction, some conversation with my viewers. That could be my fault. I never ask anyone a question, or review something and ask people what they think in the comments below. My other blog that I have not updated in 4 years gets tons of comments and not nearly the readership. There is a balance there, and I'm not sure what it is. 

     Adsense is another way to judge a popular blog. I show very little ads, and its mostly on mobile because I don't have to look at them. I leave the auto-ads on, and just ignore it. I get an email from google each day with how many impressions I get and ignore that as well. How much does this readership pay per month you ask?

    

   I whopping 13.80! 73 people clicked on things last month, one of those people bought something and there you go, 13.80. I've read on reddit r/blogs weekly about people asking what it takes to get a better blog. It's not the look, trust me. I've done that. It's the content and constant posting. Do something that you like, take your own pictures when you can. The magic of my book blog works so well because its 100% me, I don't take pictures or content from anyone else.

    I put a ton of effort in to the design and look of my book blog. I wanted it to be inviting and warm like an old leather chair, with a stack of books in the corner. I used backgrounds blended together and hand picked fonts. I tried different looks, don't get me wrong. I had a dark cartoonish fantasy book case look previously, and asked various critics to pick it apart. This blog was the result of that trial and error.

    

    The readership is.. Meh. When I went off the rails and went flea market hunting, I saw big gains, and links from other places all over the internet who loved to come along with me. I struck gold with "First Edition Hunt" posts where I just gave a value and how to tell if your book is a certain edition. Those were the most popular over time, and still get visited frequently. 

    So one last time we ask the question.. how do you know if it's successful? I think the answer is harder to gauge than you think. I get a lot of thrill from the comments section, so my heart is in the comments. But from the sheer numbers of readership, you do get a little bump to your ego.. don't get me wrong. In the end,  let your heart decide.. then twist that heart until it's black and money pours out of it.