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There are millions of blogs out there and thousands being started each day. And unfortunately, many of those blogs will fizzle out and become nothing but an expired domain name.
If you’re reading this, it’s because you are one-step ahead and you know that you definitely don’t want your blog to be “just another expired domain”.
I’m with you! Running a blog is a full-time job and business, and to throw that away is a sad, sad thought. So let’s talk about the main reasons why blogs fail and how you can avoid that.
1. The “Me” Mentality
Your blog should serve your audience (not your ego).
There needs to be a balance between telling your story and helping your audience out!
You can (and should) tell personal stories through your blog posts but try to find that balance between providing value and telling your story.
And that doesn’t mean that none of your blog posts can be personal. It’s always good to have a mix of posts that are personal and helpful.
Solution
When writing a blog post, think of what your audience would want to know and how reading your post above someone else’s will help them.
For example, if you are a travel blogger and you are writing about your most recent trip to Las Vegas, naming your blog post something like “My Lastest and Greatest Trip to Vegas” seems too self-serving and doesn’t seem like it will provide much value to someone who is reading it.
However, if you titled that same blog post something like “5 Things Everyone Needs to Do in Vegas” people would be more likely to click through because now your blog post suddenly provides value!
Within that blog post you can still tell your own story and share your experiences, but make that shift from being all about yourself to more about your audience!
2. Not Taking it Seriously
Professional bloggers, aka people who make a living from their blogs, treat their blogs like a full-time job.
I don’t just mean they write a blog post once a week and call it a day.
They write multiple blog posts, they work to grow their email lists, they promote their content, they strategize and they invest in their blogs.
Taking your blog seriously will require a lot of your time and energy, but it will be so worth it when the day comes that you begin earning money and gaining clients solely from your blog!
Solution
Schedule your time out and stick to a schedule to make sure you are creating, promoting and strategizing for enough time during the week!
Take the time to learn and invest in yourself. You really need to have a good handle on social media, SEO, growing an email list and so much more. Taking courses was the best decision I made for my blog. I took courses on the topics that I knew I’d have a hard time learning on my own and I do not regret those investments.
3. Failure to Commit
If you treat your blog like a side project or a hobby, that’s what it will be. If you treated your full-time job like a hobby, you likely wouldn’t advance so try and think of your blog as something more than just a side-project (that is, if you want it to take off one day).
A lot of people don’t realize the level of commitment needed to start a blog! Hubspot claims that 16 blog posts per month seem to be the ideal amount to publish.
Now take that advice with a grain of salt. There are lots of blogs out there that publish one amazing article a month and do an incredible job at bringing in traffic, but if you plan to create a thriving and successful blog, be prepared to commit to creating quality content!
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Solution
If creating enough content for your blog is not feasible but you still want to maintain a blog, consider hiring someone to help with the content creation.
4. Not Creating Relevant Content
Being able to predict the trends will help your content gain momentum!
This can be tricky, but luckily there are tools such as Google Trends to give you some insight as to what topics are gaining popularity!
Solution
Head into Google Trends and search for a general topic around your blog, and see what types of things Google suggests are trending. This can help you form ideas as to what you’d like to write about in order to stay relevant.
5. Lack of Patience
Blogging takes lots of time to build up. You’re working on the design of your blog, writing content, creating a presence on social media, building an email list and SO much more.
Even though most of the time it’s rewarding, it can still feel exhausting at times.
Sometimes after a few months, bloggers can feel frustrated that their blogs have no traffic and they decide to quit. But the reality is that most small businesses don’t break even within their first year in business and sometimes not in the second year either.
Blogging is no different! It takes time (lots of it) and patience to build up something profitable and amazing. Don’t get discouraged with all the “get rich quick” content that floats around!
Solution
Don’t expect overnight results. What you should expect is that you’ll have slow and steady growth. Some months might be slower than others but as long as you are growing a little by little that is what matters.
Blogging is tons of work and a huge learning curve! What was the biggest lesson you’ve learned in blogging so far? Let me know in the comments below!
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Dana Nicole is an award-winning freelance writer for MarTech/SaaS who was rated one of the best SaaS writers by Software World. She specializes in writing engaging content that ranks high in search engines and has been featured in publications like Semrush, ConvertKit, and Hotjar.
Dana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has over 15 years of experience working alongside national brands in their marketing departments.
When Dana’s not working, you can find her dancing en pointe, cooking up new recipes, and exploring the great outdoors with her two big dogs.