Jun
9
All bloggers want to reach out to their targeted audience and experience growth. However, that’s obviously not always the case. Knowing some of the most common pitfalls and how to overcome them can be one of the most important things you do in order to build a blog that is successful long-term. Here is a look at 5 of the most common reasons for slow blog growth, and what you can do to overcome them.
Inconsistency
Every month it seems that a few blogs in my feed reader suddenly stop posting or they experience a slow death as posting frequency slows to a crawl. Of course, there’s no rule that says you have to post everyday, and for most bloggers I think posting every day is unrealistic. But what plagues so many bloggers is a complete lack of consistent effort. Blogging can be fun and exciting when traffic is high, links are coming in, and the subscriber count is growing. However, when those things aren’t happening you probably need a strong effort more than at any other time. In order to avoid this pitfall and work towards long-term success, you’ll need to find the balance of consistent effort that keeps things moving without leading to burnout.
In my opinion, inconsistency is one often caused by going through too many highs and lows emotionally as a blogger. Yes, I think we should all enjoy our successes along the way, but I constantly see bloggers become disappointed because their hopes and expectations were unrealistically high.
Overcoming inconsistency is pretty simple. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. Figure out how much time you can realistically dedicate to blogging each week and determine which days are typically the best for you to get this work done. When you have specific times set aside for working on your blog, consistency is much easier and temptations and distractions will be less of a problem. Posting isn’t the only type of work that needs to be done. On days when you’re not posting work on building your network or your knowledge of a particular subject.
Boring Content
With so many blogs already online and thousands being launched every day, there are plenty of places for readers to spend their time. Especially in very competitive niches, boring content is a major cause for slow blogging growth. In order to attract subscribers and loyal readers you’ll need to stand out in one way or another.
The “blogging about blogging” niche and the “make money online” niche are full of so many blogs that it takes a serious effort to stand out from the crowd. Many new bloggers take the approach of following in the footsteps of a successful blogger in their niche. While learning from others is a great idea, trying to duplicate someone else’s success will almost certainly result in boring content. Choose your niche wisely, and if you’re in a saturated industry, find your own unique angle that will keep you from blending in so much with everyone else.
I think one of the biggest shortcomings of most bloggers is not taking enough time for brainstorming and generating creative and unique ways to present content. It seems like many bloggers sit down at the computer when they need a new post and type whatever is on their mind. Creating unique, interesting content is difficult, and brainstorming should be part of the process.
Lack of Exposure
Have you ever come across a small, unheard of blog that you really enjoyed? I’m sure you have at some point. There are some terrific blogs out there that just haven’t gotten the exposure they need to take things to the next level. Your content can be the best, but if no one is seeing it, your blog won’t be growing.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about extending the reach of your blog. That posts covers a few possibilities for gaining some much-needed exposure. Personally, I think guest blogging is one of the best things a blogger can do for exposure. There are plenty of blogs that are willing to accept guest post submissions, and this gives you an excellent opportunity to reach a targeted audience with a link back to your blog. This is the method that I used to grow my blog, and I’m still seeing the benefits in terms of the relationships and connections that I made with other bloggers.
Social media is another excellent source of exposure. Many bloggers seem to always be going after the front page of Digg, but others like StumbleUpon and Delicious can also give you the exposure that you’re looking for. Depending on the industry that you are in, there may be some strong niche social media sites where you can get some highly-targeted traffic. To look for these types of sites, see this categorized list of social media sites.
Poor Networking
From my experience in the past year of blogging, networking is critical to long-term blogging success . Anything you can attempt to do with your blog will be easier with a solid network. Networking is of course about mutual benefit, so if you are able to get to know some others that are in a similar position as you, there are unlimited opportunities to help each other. Gaining subscribers, drawing comments, attracting social media votes, building links - it’s all easier with a network.
To start building your network, focus on finding some other bloggers that you can help in some way. Don’t only look to network with A-listers. You’ll find that the most valuable members of your network are in a similar stage in the blogging lifecycle as you. You can start by commenting regularly at their blog or maybe by reaching out to them through a social networking site. On a few occasions I’ve used a contact form on a blog to simply introduce myself. Once you start reaching out to others, some of them will reciprocate and the networking relationship will start to grow.
One of the best things you can do in terms of networking is to be active at a social network or a community site of some kind. Forums have been popular for years, and Twitter is becoming an increasingly popular option, when it’s working.
Poor Choice of Niche
I mentioned earlier that your choice of niche is especially important. You’ll hear a lot about niche blogging and finding a topic that isn’t overly saturated. Many bloggers don’t think about this or don’t realize the significance until they have already started their blog and they start wondering why they can’t get noticed.
Personally, I think there are pros and cons of blogging in a crowded niche. Almost all of my experience is in popular and saturated industries like web design, marketing and blogging. While it certainly takes more effort to stand out from the crowd, some of the benefits include higher traffic potential, a bigger target audience, more potential advertisers, and easier link building. I think there are strong reasons to avoid either extreme - a overly crowded niche or an extremely small niche - but I do feel that for someone who has a lot of motivation and some patience, there is tons of potential in most crowded niches.
Have you chosen a niche that simply is too small with not enough potential readers? Have you chosen a highly competitive niche that doesn’t allow you to stand out from the leading blogs? If your choice of niche has already been made and it’s too late to change, consider altering your approach so that you’re not directly competing against the top blogs that will likely out do your efforts. One of the issues we’re going through right now at PureBlogging is reassessing our purpose and finding the right angle. The old approach was too similar to too many other blogs in our niche and we think we’ll be able to grow more effectively by taking a more unique approach to the topics that are covered so frequently.
What’s Your Experience?
From your own blogging experience, as well as what you have observed from other bloggers, what do you see as the major reasons for slow growth?
Most blogs have a 1-3 month lifespan, for precisely the reasons you specified, including the owner having overly unrealistic expectations.
With my latest blog, I’ve set myself a 1 year goal, and aim to do a little bit every day to reach that goal.
Blogging is like investing. You don’t make money overnight, but every time you make a deposit, your long-term returns will be greater
You’ve summed it up pretty well. A lot of the times a blogger will fall prey to one or more of the above, its recognizing it , and taking the right steps to correct it that differentiates successful bloggers from the rest.
If you have a strong SE base you can worry about posting consistently a little less since the SE will bring in visitors whether you post or not. You’ll still lose your regular readers which can be a very bad thing.
I personally still think it comes back to the old adage of writing about what you know and love.
Too many new bloggers (myself included) rush to get something posted, set up Adsense and wait for the cheques to roll in…..
….then get bored after a first month earning $1.49
Yep, definitely consistency is my achilles heal. The amount of times I find I take a break so I can concentrate on university work, only to come back to find that my traffic has almost completely dried up. So frustrating. As is said, planning is essential. Had I tried to write just a couple extra posts in advance, then maybe I would of been better off.
Suppose I better learn from my mistakes if I am to improve the blog!
Thanks for useful article and for categorized list of social media sites.
Haha, I think there are some criteria that matched with me (and my blog). Well, I must admit I am inconsistent person, when I want to blog, I can write about 2 post a day.. But when I’m lazy (and there is no time) I can pass blogging about 1 month! Gee…
Great post.
I guess what my blog lack are lack of exposure
and poor networking. Need to work up
in these two areas.
Thanks for sharing.
Shawn
http://themillionairesecrets.net/
“Poor Networking”
I especially second this. I have seen many quality blog with low readership. Their contents were great, as well as the writing skill. Most bloggers know how to write well, but they are weak in marketing…
My experience has been quite good actually, as long as I keep posting regularly. Mine is a small niche and growing at a decent enough pace.
The points that you make are very valid however and though it feels as though I have to run to stand in the same place often, I simply have to get the energy levels and enthusiasm up to blog frequently.
I think frequent blogging is the most important point. I dont have a blog of my own, but i read at least 30 blogs regularly. But if i visit a blog 2-3 times and it has no new content i dont stay interested any longer. So even with good content they loose me.
Only social sites helps me to burst traffic to my blog.
Lethargy. Pure and simple.
Saturation of the blogosphere could be the cause. With so many blogs online, and as you rightly say, thousands coming on board daily, getting a blog noticed is becoming harder and harder. You may have a found a really good niche but without visitors you can blog your way to the grave. I think it’s fair to say that the majority of blogs are designed to make money, either by selling the blog owners own products or services, or advertising affiliate programs related to the chosen niche. Unique, well written content either in the form of articles or product reviews will obviously create the right sort of interest, but this must be coupled with the correct search engine optimization techniques and the right advertising program to start generating sufficient traffic to enable the blog owner to at least cover their costs in the early stages. Once established, regular updating and interaction between the reader and blog owner is essential to further success.
Interaction is definitely a key element and sets apart a lot of the blogs focused purely on earnings (which are faceless) and those were content is more important (to the blog owner).
I totally agree with your points. Its really a nice piece of specifications you mentioned and thanks for giving us these ideas. i will certainly look forward to consider these ways so as to make my blogs grow faster now. Thanks
indeed due to the nature of the size of the blogosphere you have to be good at what you do / write about.
Though some people write for the sake fo writing and any profit is just a sideline
This a great article. When I started my blog, I was in the movie niche, then, for some strange reason my blog evolved into an anime theme. It wasn’t a decision I made after waking up one day, I posted one anime article, then I found out that I like blogging about anime more. I’m glad I made the change, ’cause after doing my own research, I found out that the movie niche is so saturated, I mean I’ve seen people with movie blogs that post faithfully for years, yet I’ve surpassed them in the Alexa Ranks, and my blog is only six months old.
Another thing I found out is that while anime could be considered a sub niche, anime blogs rank better than any movie site (except IMDB) around, so I’m right where I belong!
Obviously, some very good points. I think, however, the number one reason for slow blogging growth is your point about posting consistency. It’s hard to build a loyal readership if you are “here today, and gone tomorrow.” I struggle with consistency, but for the past few months have maintained my 3 times a week goal.
Finally, I agree with part of your point about “boring content.” There is an awful lot of overlap in the blog-o-sphere, and you mentioned two of the most overpopulated areas: blogging about blogging, and making money online. Keep in mind, however, people should blog about their passion first and foremost, and that applies to your point about poor choice of niche.
People shouldn’t pick a blog focus because they think they’ll make money or because they think the niche will succeed. They should blog about what they like first and foremost. I’ve gone through a couple of transitions throughout the life of my blog (techtraction.com) and have settled on my original idea: personal commentary on technology with a regular how-to and tech-tips. My readership is small but far larger than ever before and far more consistent than ever. And, the niche is without a doubt over populated but don’t really care. I like blogging about tech and that’s what matters most right now. As I continue to refine and consistency deliver content, I believe the readership will slowly increase.
To succeed in blogging it is extremely important to blog at least 4 times a week. The readers are waiting for new posts and are really dissapointed on seeing the same post they’ve read 2-3 days ago. The content of the posts should be of usage and interest as well, otherwise you’ll not get your own permanent readers.
I think another thing that slows down the blogging growth, is that some bloggers don’t have enough time to update the blog frequently. And also some lacks topic to post everyday and that affects the readers.
Thanks for sharing this great article, this could help a lot for bloggers to improve blogs.
I think bloggers need to think how to promote their blog effectively. Surely there are lots of way to do it. But to know which one that are worth is not easy. Social Network, Backlink, and many more. There are bunch of those thing but which one is worth our time and effort?
The post is really useful. It points out what you should not to do to avoid slow blogging growth. I think the most important things that may lead to slow blogging growth is uninteresting content and inconsistency
I think it all boils down to making sure you are writing something you are passionate about. I am fortunate because all my blogging relates to my business which is Real Estate. In know the business inside and out and also use my blog to leverage my clients exposure online.
A blog is a business and in business there are 2 things that are important value and service.
If you write about what your visitors are interested in and when they need advice you give it to them, its that simple.
I dont have my own blog but I have been on hundreds of them over the years, yet there are less then 10 I visit regularly.
The other one is lack of originality. There are way too many blogs with the same content. Blog needs to stand out.
And therein lies the problem SEO Dude. Not everyone has the flair or ability to provide that unique content and it is just far too easy to scrape from others.
When you end up on a blog, it can be hard to know for sure whether they are the originator of the topics for example.
This is a timely reminder to relook at my blog as I admit made some of the mistakes you highlighted on your post.
I’m not ashamed to say that I didn’t score too well on the subject of networking. But I’m working pretty hard at the moment.
Thank you for the awesome tutorial. I’ll take note of them seriously.
Yan
There is nothing worth than boring content
Nice points. I would imaging it is pretty hard to find the balance between keeping your readers interested and not boring them.
agree…I am very interesting about point number 1, inconsystency…yach about posting, articles ….thanks for evaluation
sometime very lazy and boring to make new posting…not easy to be consistency…..
, your advice absolutely righ