5 Reasons You Aren’t Getting Anywhere With Your Blog

Have you been blogging for a while but aren't getting the traction you'd hoped for? Are you trying to establish yourself as an authority and grow your business, but no one seems to care?

When I started blogging in 2012, I wrote to no one. Not only did (almost) no one read what I was writing, but I also had no one whom I was writing to.

As a beginning blogger, we almost have these delusions of grandeur. We assume that because we're good at our job, because we have friends and coworkers who like us, and we know how to write… well, we assume we'll have immediate blogging success.

That's just not true.

Related: 11 Ways You Can Market Your Business with a Blog

I wish it were, but it isn't. Just because you can write doesn't mean you can write well. It also doesn't mean people will give a shit about what you have to say.

However, it is possible to build a brand with a blog. It is possible to establish yourself as an authority in your area expertise (i.e., your niche). And, it is possible to turn your blog into a business.

I'm living proof.

But gaining traction with your blog and building an audience isn't easy. It's actually pretty hard work. However, there could be a few things holding you back that you might not even be aware of. Here are…

5 Reasons Your Blog is Going Nowhere

Posts with No Personality

Let's be honest; you're not going to have very many unique thoughts over the course of your lifetime. Sure, you could invent something totally new, but the odds are, someone has thought what you're thinking right now.

And that's ok.

People are reading your blog because they like you. We don't read the works of assholes unless it's crazy-good.

Your readers want to read about you. They want to know what you're up to and are usually curious about your life. They want to know your likes and dislikes, as well as your hobbies and interests.

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I spent my first year writing without personality, and the results spoke for themselves – no one was interested in another faceless, “corporate” sounding blog. Don't make the same mistakes I did; put your personality into your work.

People Don't Trust You

Anyone can get online these days. Not a week goes by that I don't get solicited for free “followers” for $5. There's so much spam out there that anyone with real substance can be hard to find. And just because you have followers, likes and connections doesn't mean you're a real person.

Show people the real you and they'll begin to trust you.

If no one trusts you, you've got an uphill battle. Just because you have a website with your name as the URL doesn't make you legit. Trust comes only with time. And, if you're a business, remember, people buy from the people they know, like and trust.

Showing you're a real person who has interests and hobbies, and who isn't afraid to share about their mistakes, goes a long way.

Bad Writing

There, I said it – your writing could suck.

But it doesn't have to.

My first eighty-or-so blog posts were… not my best work and my first twenty podcast episodes were weak. It took me a long time to get good at either one, and it could take you time to improve too.

Lots of people can write, but few people can write well. Even fewer people can write in a way that's both entertaining and engaging. And, it's the elite of the elite who can inform and teach while still being interesting.

If your writing could be better, don't worry. In fact, join the club (a club could leave after using the tools I wrote about here). Also, using tools like the Hemingway App and Grammarly can greatly improve your writing. They won't turn you into Shakespeare, but they can help you eliminate any writing, punctuation or improper writing.

No Purpose

Why would anyone read what you have to write?

No, that's not an insult, it's an honest question to which you should always have an answer. If you don't know why someone should read every post, neither will your readers.

Always have a purpose for publishing a new post. There should be a clear lesson and a clear call to action with everything you write. Your readers are busy; give them something worth their time.

No Passion

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to speak with an up-and-coming marketing firm out of San Diego, California. They're experts an inbound marketing and wanted to partner with me on a few projects. The mentioned they'd started a niche site about Paleo diets but quit because neither of the two owners cared about Paleo.

Good for them!

If you're not passionate about your topic, stop now.

If you can't imagine yourself writing, podcasting, teaching, coaching, and speaking on stage about your blog, quit now.

When you don't have a passion for what you do, two things are guaranteed to happen:

1. The work will feel like work, and you'll end up resenting your hobby as much as you resent the j-o-b you're escaping from in the first place.
2. You're going to get outpaced and over-shadowed by the guy or girl who is passionate about the topic, and you'll never be able to keep up (even if you wanted to).

Life is too short to do work that makes you feel like crap. Just because you've spent the last six months working on a blog you now hate doesn't mean you should waste the next six too.

If you don't have passion, step aside, refocus, and direct your energy toward something you love and can see yourself doing for years to come.

Blogging is so much fun. The people you'll meet will be amazing, and the new opportunities could change your life. If you're discouraged, that's ok. But now it's time to pick yourself up and shake off the self-doubt, and share your message with the people who need to hear it – because they do.

Over to you: What tips could you share that could help a new blogger breathe new life into their posts?

Oh, one last thing…

See, it pays to read all the way down to the bottom!

Stale Content

If you're not publishing new posts on a regular basis, your readers will eventually stop coming around. If they've read everything you've written, your readers will begin to look elsewhere for new content.

Need help coming up with new blog post ideas? CLICK HERE to download my blog topic idea web and develop an endless list of blog ideas that will help you build authority and keep people coming back for more!