6 Reasons You’re Not Getting as Much Blog Traffic as You Think You Should
It's not them, it's you. When it comes to increasing the number of people who read your blog each week, the responsibility falls squarely on your shoulders.
Want to listen? There's an audio version below
That said, it's not easy to get more traffic to your blog and get more visitors to your site. Sometimes it can be downright difficult to increase your blog traffic month over month and show growth as a result of your work.
Over the past (almost) 4 years, I've learned a lot about building traffic. I've learned from experts, had them on my podcast and done enough studying to get a Ph.D. in blogging. What I've discovered is that there are six things that are holding you back and preventing you from getting more blog traffic and increasing your readership.
6 Reasons Your Blog isn't Getting as Much Traffic as You Think it Should
No Personality
Your readers don't want to read the blog of some concrete and steel company. They want to read the blog of you. Your readers want to enjoy your personality just as your friends do. They want to know what you like, what you don't like, and all the quirks in between.
If you're not putting your personality into your work, you're a:) probably not happy with your work, and b:) missing out on valuable connections with your readers. When I started putting my personality into my writing, my blog traffic tripled. Here are some other things I did to increase my blog traffic.
Bad Writing
Most people can write in the sense that they can put words together and make a sentence. However, a noun and a verb tossed into a salad bowl with a few descriptors does not good writing make. And, for the love of Hemingway, leave the adverbs at home.
I could pick up a basketball at my local sporting goods store and drive to my neighborhood court and start shooting hoops, but that wouldn't make me a basketball player. Maybe technically, but not in a way you'd want to watch. If you want to get more blog traffic, improve your writing; be a student of the craft.
Your audience wants good writing. They want a story that flows and makes sense. They want to read and be entertained and informed, and they don't want to struggle through your posts. Use free tools like the Hemingway App and Grammarly to help you improve your writing.
Not Shareable
Making your blog posts shareable is done in two ways. The first is technical, the other is emotional.
Use tools like SumoMe, Shareaholic, or the buttons built into WordPress to make it easy for your readers to share your content with their social networks. Don't hide the tools that people will use to help you. Make it easy to click and share your material and people will be more likely to do it.
Your readers want to share content that makes them feel and look good. If they discover your how-to post that helps them solve a problem, they'll want to share it. If they read a post you've written that makes them feel inspired, they'll share it. Write content that makes an emotional connection (using your personality), and when your reader scrolls by a share button, there's a decent chance they'll share it.
No Images
Images are fun. If they weren't, Pinterest and Instagram would have died a long time ago. Pictures are easily worth a thousand words when they convey a message or make an emotional connection with your readers.
Images are also good for attracting eyeballs to the page. With a compelling image, you can get more readers to your blog than if you're using text alone. Images are also great for SEO. Tagged properly your pictures can tell search engines what the post is about and help bring you visitors from around the world.
Need help with finding quality images you can use? Click here.
No Avatar
I'm not talking about blue giants or the last Airbender, I'm referring to your ideal reader avatar. This is the person most likely to benefit from your message or connect with your story. Your avatar is a real or fictional person who you hold in your mind whenever you sit down to the keyboard to write.
By having an avatar, your message will be clearer and more direct. A well-defined avatar will help you know what problems to solve and what tips to provide.
My avatar is a 35-55-year-old male named James. He has a 4-year college degree, is frustrated at his corporate job and wants to make a change. James can see the writing on the wall and knows that his job security is a figment of his imagination. He wants to start his own business, but his time is limited and needs to know how to build in his spare time.
By having a clearly defined person, mine happens to be fictional, who I'm writing too, I have a better idea of what I want to say and how I want to say it. By knowing who my avatar is, I have an idea of what he needs and how to provide it.
Your Audience is Too Broad
If you're writing to connect with everyone, you'll end up connecting with no one. After you've established your avatar, talk to her. Help her with what she needs and help her get where she wants to go.
Write to one person and speak directly to them. If you change one life, they'll share your post with their friends. If you try to change a hundred lives or speak to one hundred people, your words will fall on deaf ears (or, in this case, blind eyeballs) and your message will miss the mark.
Content is king. This is sometimes forgotten in our focus on being consistent. I have learned to grow my traffic by paying attention to my content. When I forget this, I start to see my traffic drop off.
Hey, Jon! Thanks for commenting. I know what you mean; sometimes we need to rein it in and focus on the task at hand – creating something awesome.