Why Blogs Fail

We get it. You had the best intentions when you started your blog. Your heart was in the right place. We know this.

“I’ll write once a week, self, and I’ll never miss a week. I’m going to share brilliant insights, that will leave my readers hungry for more, and physically unable to stop themselves from throwing all their business my way,” you told yourself.

And then life, and ahem, paying business opportunities got in the way.

We also get why you wanted a blog in the first place.

• Websites that have a blog have over 430% more indexed pages
• Companies who blog get 97% more links to their website and experience twice as much email traffic as those who don’t
• Internet users spend three times more time on blogs than they do on email
• Over 70% of online marketers consider content creation to be their most effective SEO tactic

All pretty compelling reasons to get blogging. And yet, an astounding 80% of blogs fail. Why is that?

Time, Duh…

How long does it take to write a blog post? Truth be told, it’s not an exact science and there are a ton of factors that play in, including word count, familiarity with the subject matter, how much research is required, how many fluffy tail distractions are about, and whether there is an interview component. So, oh, I don’t know, let’s say anywhere from three hours to eight hours?

For someone who makes widgets, and isn’t a professional writer, it begs the question – how many widgets could be made in three to eight hours? While blogs are impactful and are definitely an SEO gamechanger, they can be a time suck. A time suck that pulls away from other work where the return is more immediate and obvious.

Having said that, a blog that is infrequent and inconsistent with posting is a blog that is doomed to fail.

Meh Content

There’s no shortage of content on the internet these days. If you’re blogging for business, you can’t just throw any old thing up, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. You need content that’s going to engage your readers and keep them coming back for more. Sometimes the battle ends before it even begins if you are struggling to come up with fresh, relevant, and timely topics that are going to gain you those coveted clicks. A few strategies for doing just that include:

• Answering those burning questions. What type of queries are you getting from your customers? What are the most common inquiries that your sales team is fielding? Blogs provide an excellent forum for proactively addressing these questions
• Jump on the trending topic bandwagon. Whether it’s #Dontworrydarling, #queensfuneral, or #JamesWebbSpaceTelescope, find a way to tie into the relevant event of the day and share some unique insights specific to your industry and organization (also known as newsjacking)
• Build off of previous well-received content by preparing updates and/or expanding on existing blogs
• Keep an ideas file. Inspiration hits at the most random times. While trying to get to sleep. While on the treadmill at the gym. While zoning out in yet another Zoom meeting. When inspiration hits, jot that sh*t down!

Bad Writing

You can have the best and most on-trend topics, but if the writing itself is poorly done, you’ll lose readers a couple of paragraphs in. Make sure that your writing is engaging and accessible. Your goal is to keep people reading, so avoid long-winded paragraphs and dry, technical, industry-jargon laden language. Be conversational and approachable and try to inject a bit of personality into your writing.

And proof, proof, and then heck, proof one more time. Typos are a big old turnoff and will send some pickier readers sprinting for the nearest soapbox of judgement. Or is it judgment? Fun fact, both are acceptable.

Shameless Self-Promotion

While a subtle call-to-action at the bottom of a blog post is completely acceptable and to be expected (see final paragraph below), the entire post should not be one giant vocal celebration of self. So, how can one best balance the admittedly necessary promotional component of blogging while avoiding coming across as too self-promotional?

For starters, focus on providing value to your readers. If your blog posts are informative and helpful, readers will be more likely to come back for more. Second, be judicious with your use of keywords and links. Overloading your post with keywords will not only turn off readers but can also hurt your search engine ranking. And finally, don’t be afraid to promote others in addition to yourself. Share interesting articles, give shout-outs to other bloggers, and participate in collaborations. By promoting others, you’ll build goodwill and show that you’re not all about self-promotion.

So, interested in the heightened search engine capabilities and increased website traffic that comes along with blogging, but less interested in the actual writing and editing piece? Buzz Communications has you covered (in a subtle and not at all shameless self-promoting kind of way). Let’s connect and discuss your blogging needs.