Written by:
2010/12/07 12:29 PM 

It is estimated that there are 175 000 new blogs started every day. Yet you and I hardly hear of any of them. The sad thing is that most of those blogs never make it past three months. Why?

Well we could analyse them and come up with all sorts of reasons. Some appropriate and legitimate and some weird and outrageous. The point is that most blogs do not make it to beyond just a couple of months.

What kills a blog is the lack of traffic. It is the life blood of a blog. No traffic = blog dies. The question you need to ask, is what am I doing that is killing the traffic to my blog and in so doing killing my blog.

Here are 10 points you need to consider and rectify so that you do not kill your blog.

1. Bad blog design – Oh my eyes hurt. Despite having great content, it’s difficult for me to read that content because your website design sucks. I’m not interested.
2. No commitment – neglecting anything will eventually lead to it’s downfall. When Tiger Woods was at his peak it was said that he hit over 1000 balls a day at a driving range. That’s commitment and devotion. How devoted and committed are you towards your blog. The reason why you have no traffic is because you are not committed to make it succeed.
3. It’s all about you – Even with personal blogs, it should not be all self serving. People do not want to read a self serving blog. Unless you are a mega-celebrity, readers don’t care about you. Your personal stories can be a stepping stone to help and enlighten someone else. The point is, that your blog should not be just about you.
4. Repeating other bloggers – Yes the blogosphere is saturated. There are only so many topics to talk about. But uniqueness is the key. You can still take an old topic and put your own spin on it. Insert your personal character into the post. Make it unique. Don’t just repeat what others are saying.
5. Infrequent posting – Strange thing this but people like consistency. If you go to a blog and the last update was two months ago, the blog is obviously not being updated. Why should I subscribe or even come back. The idea is not how often you post, but how consistent you post good quality fresh content. Whether that be once a day or once a week.
6. Pop-up subscription boxes – Ooh this irritates me. A good few up-market blogs have this gimmick. All I can say is that for me, I ignore them all. I click on the close or ignore button. I’m there to read your post. If it’s good enough I will then subscribe. It’s too annoying, and too pushy. Don’t force the subscription on the reader. Many readers will never come back if all you want out of them is for them to subscribe to your blog.
7. Flashy annoying ads – Blogging is not all about money. I hate a blog that is littered with ads. I’m not saying that ads are wrong. But all in moderation. Listen, get the traffic, and then the monetization of your blog will sort itself out. Having tons of ads is not the way to make money, friends or faithful readers for that matter.
8. Sell, sell, sell  - If all you want me to do on your blog is buy stuff, then I’m not interested. Don’t bombard me with products to buy. I’m not interested. Nothing wrong with selling products via your blog. But be tactful about it. Don’t force me to buy stuff every visit.
9. Too many subjects – Very few blogs can pull this off. But for the most part, a dedicated niche is what works. The top blogs on the net are all focused on one topic or genre. So many new bloggers are blogging about a very wide range of subjects. It gets all too confusing. Too many different types of subject. Arrggg get me out of here!
10. Auto generated content – It’s the plague. Stay away from these so called content generators. Don’t embed other bloggers posts within your post. Write your own stuff for goodness sake. Get personal, pour a bit of yourself into your posts. Make it unique. If I want to read auto generated posts, I’ll Put the stupid software ON myself and just read my own auto generated post. Why should I read your blog?

There are so many more issues that bloggers could be guilty of. To mention them all would be information overload. Address these few points first, then move on to the next.

Do you or have you made any of these mistakes? How has that impacted on your blog?

Do you have a real important point that I have missed? List your points in the comments below.
Picture from Alvar Lopez

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