WHY NO ONE READS YOUR BLOG ANYMORE

Victor Standish here to help the dozing Roland out again ...

And the FIRST REASON no reads your blog any more is related to the above picture

1. It's Boring

There are countless awesome blogs out there and in order to stand out, you need to create an edge.

People need a reason to want to come to your blog. So if your blog has:

• all text with no or few images
• monotonous writing or academic sounding posts
• a sitting-on-the-fence approach to a topic

SOLUTION?

The laws of attraction works. Give your readers what they want to read, or benefits to visit your blog.

A blog is a two-way communication unlike traditional print.

Write your posts as if you are talking to your readers.

Let them know that there’s a person behind that blog of yours. Engage them by fielding questions and asking for feedback. Also, response to the answers you get.

2. YOU ARE ANNOYING

 You “mention” your readers or “DM” them on Twitter with your latest post link almost every day.  Your favorite words are I and ME.

3. YOUR BLOG IS FILLED WITH EMPTY CALORIES

People read your blog to see what is in it for them.  They want entertainment or info on how to make their dreams  come true.

With so many blogs screaming, READ ME!  Your blog must rise above the crowd by being entertaining and informative or risk sinking beneath the cyber-waves.

4. YOUR BLOG IS A CONSTANT SHOUT OF GIVEAWAYS AND COUPONS.

I know some bloggers who upon seeing the words “Rafflecopter giveaway” cringe and veer away from the post.

Too much of a good thing is poison.

5. YOU ARE LIKE THE NIGHTLY NEWS

You're depressing. 

Each post is so full of whine there should be a wedge of cheese to go with it!

Being heartfelt and open is one thing,

but if you never have anything positive to say about your life,

you might need to spend more time in therapy and less on your blog.

OUCH!

Alice just kicked me for having all the compassion of a hot rock -- but I'm just trying to help you guys get as many visitors as possible.

6. YOU BOUGHT INTO THE BIG DELUSION

Which is?

THAT PEOPLE WILL SEEK OUT YOUR BLOG.

Hunters set up their duck blinds in the marshes.  Readers will not seek your blog out unless you go where they go:

GOOGLE SEARCH WORDS -

     Have "hook" words in the titles of your posts. 

TRUTH IN ADVERTISING

     Match the "hook words" with actual content in your post.

BE LIKE A GOOD BOWEL MOVEMENT. 

(Ouch! Would you stop kicking me Alice?)

     Be regular. 

     When Google comes to your website to check in with its bots, it can see if you have a new blog post each week,

and will grant you a better search ranking because your content is not only on topic, but fresh.

7. NO NIBBLES ON YOUR HOOK

Visitors look to see if anyone has commented on your post to measure the quality of it. 

Honest. 

You want guys to be intererted in you?  Be seen with a good looking man.  It's human nature to want what the other guy (or gal) wants.

Roland calls it engagement evidence,

and if you want a sure-fire way to grow your blog,

increasing your engagement evidence by getting more quality blog comments is a must.
    
Before people write blog comments, they’re looking for two things:

      Comment-worthy Content –

       You already know that you must write great content, but you should invite conversation by being open-ended and conversational.

Proof of Life –

Your commenters want proof that you care about your blog. They also want confirmation that you care about your readers and their opinions, too.

Respond to comments, ideally, as quickly as possible.

Don’t write a simple “Thank You,”

but instead, respond as if the person was in the same room with you. Read what they wrote and then offer them value in return.

Remember, you want those who comment to think “wow, this guy/gal really cares!”
You can pile on the value by:

      Expand on a point you made in your post to give a commenter more insight into your strategy.

     Empathize with your commenter and give them a word of encouragement or advice to their specific situation.

     Refer the commenter to another resource and blog that could offer them more help

     Ask your commenter a follow-up question to encourage them to open-up and engage further.

Uh, oh.  Alice's stomach is growling.  Sfumato!  I have to wake Roland up now and ask him where the worst part of town is here in his city. 

You know Harry Potter never had this kind of problem.  Alice!  Stop looking at my fingers like that!