Designing
the perfect blog and taking the time to create thoughtful, informative posts
can quickly become frustrating when no one seems to notice your efforts.
Eventually, it can begin to feel like you’re talking to yourself in an empty
room. Is anyone else out there?
If you’re watching virtual tumbleweeds roll
across your corner of the internet, here are ten possible reasons why:
- They Don’t Know It’s There – Comments are
a result of incoming traffic; if your blog isn’t being actively promoted
through more than one method, it can easily be driven into obscurity.
While spamming every outlet at your disposal is certainly not the way to
go, it’s important to take opportunities to promote yourself, your brand
and your blog whenever it’s appropriate.
- Spelling Errors and Typos Drive Them Away – Content
that’s rife with spelling errors, grammar issues and typos will appear
unpolished and unprofessional to any visitors that come your way.
Meticulously proofreading and editing each entry before it’s posted is one
of the most important things a blogger can do to protect their reputation.
- It Doesn’t Feature Unique Information – Offering
information or content that’s very lightly “spun” from other blogs and
articles might pad your blog, but it won’t make it stand out. In order to
differentiate yourself from the other blogs in your field and also avoid
any trouble stemming from copying content from other bloggers, it’s very important
that your content always be fresh and unique. Rehashing the same tired
information typically doesn’t inspire rave reviews or thoughtful comments
from readers.
- Your Target Audience is a Broad One – Blogs that
cater to a very broad audience or a particularly saturated field can be
lost in the shuffle. Carefully cultivating a loyal audience with content
dedicated to your field of expertise is a much more effective way of
boosting readership and interaction than jumping onto the Next Big
Bandwagon.
- Postings Are Too Frequent – You should
assume that your readers probably follow several other blogs within your
blogging niche. Making several posts each day might fill your blog out a
bit, but the majority of those posts will probably be ignored. Keeping up
with many related blogs can be difficult enough; staying current with one
that is constantly being updated in addition to staying up to speed with
rest on a list is almost impossible.
- Postings Aren’t Frequent Enough – A blog that
hasn’t been updated for weeks or months leaves readers with the impression
that it has been abandoned. Operating under the assumption that the
blogger won’t be reading any comments, many of these readers will simply
choose not to leave any.
- Your Entries Are Too Long – The “Too long;
did not read” mentality of today’s teenagers and young adults can often
extend to the blogosphere. Even the most informative and well-written
posts can be passed over by busy readers who don’t have time to commit to
novel-length updates, and when posts aren’t read, they’re not commented
on.
- It Isn’t SEO-Friendly – Eschewing
SEO standards completely in favor of producing creative copy is one of the
biggest temptations for new bloggers, especially if your niche is an
artistic or otherwise creative one. However, ignoring search-engine
optimization rules altogether will result in a blog that can’t be found
through a search engine, and thus has almost no traffic.
- You’re Too Focused on SEO – On the flip
side of the abovementioned point, content that’s too heavily focused on
search-engine optimization usually comes across to readers as dry and
“market-y,” which can easily turn them off. Striking a delicate balance is
the key to driving traffic, maintaining a loyal readership and generating
those comments.
- You’re Not Interacting With Other Bloggers in
Your Niche – One of the best ways to boost your
blog’s visibility is to comment on the posts of others in your field. As
with the offline business world, networking with other professionals in
your field is of the utmost importance.
Following
through on these simple tips will help to generate both traffic and the
interaction you’re looking to receive from readers on your blog.
Hannah Howard
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