7 Random Reasons People Ignore Your Blog

Posted on November 19th, 2007 by IBabel under Blogging

1. Old news - Blogs that just repeat news that has already gone big get nowhere. They are just basically content rippers. Yeah they may give their own take on whatever it is but unless said person is already known for something… who’s going to listen?

2. General lack of effort - When it’s obvious no effort has been put in to build, improve and/or maintain a blog then it’s pretty hard to take it seriously. In terms of a first impression, it will be a poor one if little effort is obviously at hand. Get a good design, write good posts and lay everything out well.

3. No originality - I think quality alone can hold out over originality completely but originality can still help a lot. Just by doing something a little bit fresher than the average blogger has an instant effect on most readers. They notice it because they’re not used to noticing it. Do something different, something new. Original.

4. Too much - This may sound a bit contradictory of common advice to do more than is expected of you. But I think TOO much can have a negative effect. If I saw a blog that had mental post rates like… 20 a day, I wouldn’t read it. Because it’s too much to handle on a sensible time scale. Basically I only read about 3 blogs regularly but even those I only check… once maybe twice a day. So imagine if the average person checks your blog once a day and you post 10 a day. They’ll probably miss the majority and not bother catching up. Post quality but in sensible chunks. Ironically the breakdown of this very point is, too much.

5. Ads everywhere - I don’t mind ads at all. I’m not bias toward non-ad blogs. Because I advertise and sell advertising so why would I be like that. Equally most people probably aren’t, either because a) they know why you need them or b) they don’t know they’re ads.
But one thing I can’t stand is an absolutely packed blog, or rather a blog or site which is trying to goat me into clicking, so many ads that they try to trick you and force you. It’s annoying, can ruin a blog and kill off readers. Advertise within reason.

6. Too generic - This is sort of a tie in of the originality point and the old news point. Basically, make sure you’re coming up with fresh stuff which either hasn’t been said excessively or at least has a fresh take. Not a predictable or provoking one.

7. Manipulation - I hate blogs about making money online for example that try and trick you into clicking their affiliate links. If you have a massive blog like SH or JC (they’ve been mentioned enough) then obviously link to your affiliates because as a whole a mass amount probably won’t mind or notice. But if you have a fine amount of readers… don’t ruin it by plastering your blog with ~~disguised links~~ and built-in manipulation because people will eventually catch on. Especially if it’s a make money online blog by the way. If you know it, others do to.