Last Updated 9 months by Emily Standley-Allard
Why Some Blogs Fail, and What to Do to Make Your Blog Successful
Starting a blog can seem like a lot of fun. The online world has plenty of potential, and there are various opportunities that can be turned into a viable source of income. However, as easy and fashionable as it seems to start blogging in the current times, not all blogs see the full picture or the light at the end of the tunnel. Most lose sight mid-way, some shift their focus, others fall short of expectations. Shockingly, a whopping large number of blogs are likely to fail. Read on to learn how to prevent your blog from failing.
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According to Oberlo the number of active bloggers in the United States is forecast to hit 31.7 million in 2020. That marks a 12 percent increase in the five year period from 2015 to 2020.
Click on the live stats to see how many blog posts are being published just today!
So, what makes some blogs a huge success; offer notoriety, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars a month? And most importantly what can you do to ensure that your blog survives the test of time? Here are the most common mistakes that people make and some blog tips that can help you overcome them to have a prosperous blog!
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The lack of having a purpose
There are many reasons why people blog. With so much happening around the world, there is bound to be a cause that you resonate with. It could be climate change, ethical treatment of animals, gender equality, sustainability, cooking, fashion, travel, beauty, entrepreneurship, and more. You could also blog to share your inner-most thoughts and feelings about life. People struggling with mental health issues have found it beneficial to share their experiences and musings with the world on their blogs. With a virtual wall between you and your audience, putting out your thoughts can be a comforting activity.
Then, there are those who look at blogging as an active source of income. Their focus is on advertising, brand collaborations, visibility, and reach. Whichever of these ideas align with your thoughts will also give you your ‘purpose’ to start blogging. It is important for you to know your purpose so that you can set foot in the right direction and follow the right blogging tips from the very start.
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Being untrue to yourself or your readership is not going to take you very far. The problem with many bloggers is that they mindlessly start blogging without identifying a purpose and, ultimately, fail.
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The absence of authenticity
These days, you can find a million blogs on the web, focusing on the same topic. Travel is often over-abused, and so is fashion and beauty, but these are also topics that have continued to be the most popular among readers and followers.
So, what can make you stand out among a raging pool of competition? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be popular. But clearly your authenticity and unique voice is what will draw others to you.
Following in the footsteps of popular bloggers will only limit you to that genre. The world is ever-changing, and people want to watch something new every day.
If it is travel, what makes you better than the likes of Nas Daily and Drew Binsky, who have already dominated this space?
Nas Daily’s unique selling point was keeping his content short and crisp. He stuck to his one-minute videos and used them effectively to share his experiences and observations.
Drew, on the other hand, focuses more on the local aspects of a country, showcasing the political and social happenings with slightly longer videos, but not too long to incite boredom. His calm and composed demeanor and voice are his trademark.
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Their blogs were also driven by their YouTube videos and popularity on social media, making their success a cumulative effort of many social media platforms.
One of the most useful blogging tips is to pick a lane that no one has wandered on before. Add your unique voice to it. What is the first thing that catches your attention about a place when you visit it? Is it food, the locals, the architecture, or shopping? Pick a niche that you connect with; only then will you be able to lend your voice effectively.
Putting up a blog is only half the journey. The next half of the journey is to share it on the right platform. Ask yourself, how would you like to convey your ideas – via pictures, videos, or words? Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Medium, Twitter, and so on have their specific roles to play on the internet.
You must choose a platform that matches your content. Researching and educating yourself on the reach and audience of these platforms will help you make a better decision on which way to go.
Keep in mind the demographics and popularity of each of these websites in your country or target country. The age group of the website users and their general interests should match your intended audience. A cardinal blog tip is that the more people you are able to reach with your blog, the more successful it will be.
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Unfortunately, most bloggers never get down to understanding how these social media platforms work. They have very little knowledge of how and when to promote their content. They also fail to leverage other bloggers on these platforms to gain more visibility for their content.
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Not knowing what goes behind the scenes
Most bloggers concentrate on the creative aspect of the blog. While finding purpose and an authentic voice for your blog is crucial, you can not reap any benefits from it unless you know how the internet works.
Organic reach and popularity happen very rarely and factor a lot on luck. You can hope and pray all you want, but instead of banking on your fate, you need to take matters in your own hands and learn as much as you can about search engine optimization or SEO.
The right keywords, backlinks, and image attributes can rank your blog high on Google, which will ultimately drive more traffic to your blog.
The more visitors you have, the more recognition you will gain. SEO is one of the most crucial blog tips that can help you get good advertisers and brand collaborations for your content.
A majority of bloggers start their journey without following the basic principles of SEO. The slow growth and minimal visitors make them restless and eventually lose interest.
Sharing your blogs among friends and family can bring you likes and shares for a while. But for your content to really grow, you need for it to catch the attention of those outside of your social circle.
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What can you do to make sure your blog does not fail?
Here are some blogging tips that can help you taste success:
- Make a plan: Do not start blogging without a plan. Make a detailed road map for yourself and treat your blog as you would treat an office assignment. Make goals for yourself and set targets. Aim to achieve a certain amount of “following” by a specific time. It could be 100 followers within two weeks or 500 followers within two months. Do things at your own pace. Keeping a plan will keep you stay motivated and be regular with your blogs.
- Prioritize: Due to a lack of deadlines, many of us tend to procrastinate. New bloggers face this problem the most. Being disciplined and consistent can be very difficult. You may have other personal and professional commitments that can take over your blogging time. But you need to understand that the longer you procrastinate, the tougher it will be to connect with your readership. Follow a pattern and stick to it. You can set your own deadlines and post once a day, once a week, or even once a month. But no matter what you choose, make sure that you give it ‘your all.’
- Bring new visitors: You can share your blogs on your social media, to begin with, and then consider avenues like paid promotions or advertisement on these social media websites. These promotions are relatively inexpensive and can bring in more visibility to your blog. You should also reach out to other relevant blogs and frequently collaborate with them. You can share their content on your page and ask them to share your content on theirs. This has been known to be an effective way to increase visitors, all the while improving your networking skills.
- Take blogging seriously: If you want to see your blog grow, you need to take it seriously. Blogging is a full-time profession for many people. So, you should be able to differentiate between your hobby and your career. Not all people blog with the intention of making money. Nevertheless, if you want your reach to increase, you need to treat it with the same respect and dignity as you treat a job.
As a blogger, you should make guest blogging a part of your traffic generating activities.
Here are some stats from OptinMonster:
- 60% of bloggers write 1-5 guest posts per month.
- 3% of bloggers write over 100 guest posts per month.
- Only 6% of bloggers publish the majority of their original content as guest posts.
- 79% of editors say guest content is too promotional.
- Guest posting is in higher demand in the summer months of June, July, and August.
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Blogging Trends for 2020 and Beyond
As you can see from these statistics, blogging is still thriving and extremely relevant today.
Readers want and trust quality blog content. As bloggers, it’s your job to deliver the most valuable content to answer their questions.
Your content needs to be both entertaining, compelling and informative. And as blog posts get longer, you need to include more visuals, data and videos in your content.
Be sure to check out some of our guides to help you start and improve your blog:
- How to Start a Blog in 5 Simple Steps
- Get more website traffic
- 6 Proven Methods to Monetize a Blog
- Ultimate SEO Guide for Bloggers
- Top 10 Mistakes New Bloggers Make
Conclusion
Blogging can be a great career path, but like any business it comes with its fair share of hardships and obstacles. It is easy to lose sight of the big picture and get lost in frustration and dismay.
But if you avoid ‘shiny ball syndrome’ and stay on a consistent path of action and keep following these blogging tips, you will see success soon enough.
It is essential to stay focused at all times. Be unique, and never lose your identity. Pick one lane and follow through without shuffling through other paths. What works for someone else may not work for you, so do not follow other bloggers’ modules to success either.
Try, experiment, make mistakes, but tread back on track as soon as you can. Learn from past mistakes and keep these blog tips in mind to have a successful blogging career.
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