A great column today about blogging.
http://killerblogposts.com/2011/02/10-reasons-why-you-will-fail-at-blogging/
I see it in blogging all the time. Someone starts blogging, and says I will blog once a week, once a month, etc. This new blogger then looks to find new prospects, and then 2 months later with only a few blog posts they wonder why their blog has not garnered the attention and business they expected when they first started.
Well, here is a shocking surprise. The bloggers who succeed spend more than a weekend a month blogging. Instead, they devote at a minimum 2-3 times per week.
That made me start thinking about what the reasons are for bloggers to fail at their craft:
- Lack of effort. 15 minutes posts are easy, and generally ineffective. You need to put time into your blog posts, or there is no point in blogging.
- Boring Content. When your most popular comment is, “I read your blog every night before going to sleep” then you need to stop and change your content.
- Consistency. The reason most blogs fail is that there is no way for the readers to catch onto your blog, because you write a post twice one month, and then skip three months before your next post.
- Niches are witches in disguise. Yes, you need to choose a topic that no one else is writing about, but the fact is that most people will not create a category, topic, or niche that is so unique it is being completely ignored by others online. The fact is, with 250 million plus websites around the world, the opportunity to find unknown niches is very unlikely. Focus instead on your passion, and what you want to write about. No niche can match a person’s passion. If you find a niche that fits in well with that, then great. If not, let me address this to CPA’s, Network Marketers, Financial Planners, Real Estate Agents, and other professionals. Do what makes you stand out in real life on your blog.
- Write for yourself. Then you will find an instant fan. Yes, find out what your prospects will want to learn about, but if it bores you then you will not help them. That goes back to #4, write about your passion. Generally when you own a business, writing about your passion should go hand in hand.
- No patience. If you expect instant blogging riches, buy a lottery ticket. You are odds are about equal, but at least with the lottery ticket you will not waste your time. Generally blogging can take months, and sometimes years to bear it’s full fruit.
- You have no hook, no call to action. Great I went on your blog, and then left. Now I forgot the name, did not put it in my favorites, and just accepted that it belongs in the graveyards of sites that will never be seen by mine eyes again.
- Pete and Repeat. Pete and Repeat are on a boat. Pete falls off, who is left. Ever feel that some bloggers repeatedly write the same thing over and over again?
- Big, Gray Monolothic Block Of Grayness. I stated earlier in this post that you need to stop writing solely to find a small niche. Instead, you should be looking for ways to naturally stand out among the vast numbers of blogs by bringing your personality out. OK! Maybe, tone it down, but bring out your personality.
- Marketing, Marketing, Marketing. Most people blog and think it is like the field of dreams. If you build it, then you have to tell people about it. Otherwise, it is like a tree falling in the forest. Did you hear that? No, I thought not.
Avoid these pitfalls, and your blogging career will be a lot more successful.