When launching Blogsessive, I’ve tried to put myself in your place to find the reasons for not reading a blog. Some of the answers came out fast, but for some, I had to look around the web to form a better opinion.
So, if you want me as your reader and I’m not one, it’s probably because…
I don’t like the way you write.
And no, I’m not talking about your “style”. You could be a beginner and style is developed in time. What I don’t like is all the emoticons and differences in font and color styling that you use. I really care about my eyes and forcing me to go through a jungle of styles to read your article is pretty annoying. Keep it simple: titles, subtitles, bold, italics, blockquotes and lists.
I read but I don’t hear you.
I’m not asking you to start posting multimedia on your blog, audio or video, even though it’s quite a trend (for some a necessity) these days. It’s just that I keep reading your post but I can’t find a way to relate.
Engage me in a discussion, keep my interest up, talk to me, ask me. Let’s communicate. If I don’t feel that I’m asked to interact, I won’t.
I’m on your blog and so is everyone else.
And further more, it seams that a few more other bloggers are on your blog too! Are you still using the default theme? Or maybe the most downloaded or popular theme on WordPress.org? Change it! Personally, I hate talking over the phone. I prefer a face-to-face conversation any time, and for me, your reader, your blog’s aspect is your face. Show yourself!
I’m on your blog, but you’re not.
I’ve decided to give your article a chance and even post a comment. Then another one, and one more, but you’re nowhere to be found. Your blog is useless without me, and other people like me that read and share their thoughts. Respect our interest and be present in our conversations. Interact with me!
I can’t find an article of interest.
I’m not saying that they are not, but my time is limited. I have work to do, my own blog to update and a personal life too. I’ll only be looking at your titles and decide whether I’ll be reading any further or not. If your title is something like “I Was Wondering…”, I’ll most probably leave you to wonder alone. But if you’re specific about a problem and I’m interested in that too, chances are that I’ll click and read your post, and who knows, maybe even add a comment.
You’ve got me with one post, but where are the others?
Please, don’t waste my time making me click through countless links to get to another post. I want to see what’s new, what others have enjoyed reading on your blog, I need a visible search option and clickable tags. Yes, I like tags. They help me find related content fast and easy.
Your blog claims to be focused, yet I see your pictures everywhere.
I’m really glad you’ve enjoyed your vacation, that you have such a nice dog and that you listen to such good music, but that’s not why I’ve come to your blog. You said that you’re writing about “design trends”, so please, don’t mix these topics with personal ones. From time to time is acceptable, but be moderate.
I can’t follow you.
Where are your feeds? Where can I subscribe? I can’t take a full day typing website addresses in the URL bar. I have one to cover them all. Trust me, if your title and even a small excerpt of your post catch my attention, I’ll come by and read your post, on your blog, giving you a unique visitor and probably a few more pageviews, if you know how to lead me through your blog.
Some say that you should be blogging for your readers if you want to be a successful blogger. Other say that you should write for yourself, to be yourself when writing, and readers will come and appreciate that. Personally, I think it’s a mixture of them both. Be yourself but organize for your readers. Step out of your blog’s box and try to look through my eyes. Do you like what you see?