With blogging, the cost of having your own platform is now close to zero. Having said that, far too many blogs end up being abandoned within a few weeks of being started due to various reasons. We look at several of the most common ones here.
Contents
- The “We Also Need to Have a Blog” Syndrome
- Placing the Blog at the Low-End
- Lack of Focused Content
- Bad UI Design
- Irrelevant and Excessive Advertisements
- Lack of Images
- Lack of Sufficient Activity
- Unappealing Writing Style
- Not Engaging with Visitors
- Lack of High-Profile Guest Posts
- Too Many Categories
- Not Using Catchy Headlines
The “We Also Need to Have a Blog” Syndrome
With the incessant pressure from the market on even small and medium firms to have a strong online presence, it is very common for most firms to be affected by the syndrome of “We also need to have a blog”. It would not be fruitful in most cases to plunge headlong into a blog without coming up with a cogent, well thought-out strategy first.
Placing the Blog at the Low-End
One should start small and at the same time, one should not place it too low-end by hosting it on a free web-site. By doing so, one greatly diminishes the brand value of the blog.
Lack of Focused Content
A blog that is anywhere and everywhere ends up losing its focus and fails to attract a steady audience. A blog that is unfocused is a recipe for failure.
Bad UI Design
A blog that is designed with a bad UI will clearly lack appeal for the users. While content is king, the fact of the matter is that a great UI will increase blog audience manifold while a poor UI will diminish blog audience greatly.
Recommended Reading: How to Start a Blog: How to Change Your Blog Design »
Irrelevant and Excessive Advertisements
Like any other web-site, a blog that has irrelevant advertisements will not engage with its user audience. Similarly, a blog that has excessive number of advertisements is going to put off visitors to the site.
Lack of Images
A blog that is heavy on text and lacks images will clearly not appeal to the web-audience. The use of the right kind of images at the right places greatly enhances the readability of the blog.
Lack of Sufficient Activity
Whenever a blog is being maintained, it is very important to have frequently updated posts on the blog in order to sustain user interest. In a digital-this-minute world, there are several blogs that provide fresh content and most provide fresh content at least once in a couple of days. Blogs that are not updated at least once a few days end up swiftly losing user interest.
Unappealing Writing Style
The blogs must be authored in a style that is fresh as well as contemporary. The voice must have credibility as well as be able to connect to everyday readers.
Not Engaging with Visitors
Commenters and likes on a blog represent a golden opportunity to engage with visitors and gauge the market pulse. Comments and likes also represent opportunities to pull in sales prospects for products and services.
SEE ALSO: The Five Biggest Mistakes That Bloggers Make »
Lack of High-Profile Guest Posts
Most popular blogs on the internet feature guest-bloggers regularly. These guest bloggers are typically high achievers from relevant fields who provide valuable nuggets of unique perspective. Guest posts add a unique flavour to the blog and bring in expert points of view.
Too Many Categories
A small but significant irritant that visitors to a blog face is with regards to seeing too many categories associated with one post. This tends to diminish the value of the post itself and can show the blog in a manner that fluff is being put out there in order to make the post look beefed up.
Not Using Catchy Headlines
Writing an uninterested headline for a post is a sure way for the blog administration to reduce the number of hits coming to the site. It is very important to write catchy, pithy headlines.
