Do you here the wind whistling through your blog. What’s up with those tumbleweeds? A little dusty around the edges eh?
It sucks when you work so hard to setup and build your blog and then no one shows up for the party. You write and share, but only a trickle of readers flow in.
I’ve been there, done that and got the stickin’ tee shirt. I feel you.
Unfortunately your blog is not a Kevin Costner movie. You cannot simply “build it and they will come.” Nope, life is not a movie – either is blogging.
Here are the top three reasons your blog is like a ghost town:
1. You suck at SEO.
Search Engine Optimization is critical to the success of any blog.
Now here me: I’m not saying your have to put on your horn-rimmed glasses with tape in the middle and become a SEO geek. I’m not talking about studying Google’s latest and greatest algorithm.
SEO can be as simple as choosing the right theme or framework for your blog. Most themes, even some of the free ones come with some pretty good SEO setups.
My suggestions: Watch this short video by Danny Brown on WordPress SEO and read this article to perform an SEO checkup on your blog.
After that I would seriously recommend that you check out Headway Themes (aff link) and the Genesis Framework (aff link). In my estimation – why do the hardest part of setting up your blog with good SEO, when someone else has already done the work for you.
2. You write like someone’s beotch.
I read tons of blogs and I see a disturbing trend almost everyday. I see bloggers trying to write like someone else. It’s usually easy to spot because, more often than not, they name the blogger they are trying to imitate in their posts.
STOP IT! It’s sickening. Your mama would not approve.
Remember this:
“The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice…it is conformity.” Rolo May
You didn’t set up your blog just to sound like every other one out there did you? It’s not about conformity – it’s about standing out from the crowd and having a distinguishable voice.
The reason no one is coming and staying on your blog is because they have seen it all before – somewhere else.
Take an inventory of your blog posts. Are you satisfied that they have your voice and your passion in them? Maybe not eh?
The fix is simple. Here’s the most profound thing that you will encounter today about blogging:
Write for you first.
Kiss the expectations of everyone else goodbye and write for you. Do this and you will discover your voice – and more readers.
3. You are not creating conversations on your blog.
You wouldn’t know community if it bit you somewhere behind your elbow.
Are you specifically inviting your readers to continue the conversation in the comments? Are you answering every possible question that a reader can have in your post, or are you allowing them to finish it for you? Are you replying to every comment? They took the time to come, stay and participate – is it too tough for you to thank them and show some appreciation?
I’m telling you flat out: community builds blogs – not fancy words and beautiful pictures in your posts.
Create a few conversations – you will be amazed how many tumbleweeds will blow out of town and never come back.
How about you? What things have you done on your blog to increase readership? Do you get a lot of comments? How? Why?
Continue this conversation below.
image: fklv
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About Frank Dickinson
[...] maybe leave the sugar coating at the door and tell bloggers to stop making certain mistakes—because it’s sickening and their mama wouldn’t [...]