It’s a HUUUUGE struggle when you’re working hours on end on your blog and no one is reading it. Especially when you put so much heart and energy into it. It doesn’t mean you suck as a blogger. It just means there are some things to look at that you can easily fix. And that’s what you’re going to find out in this post!
So if you’re wondering why no one is reading your blog, here are 6 harsh truths why and how to easily fix them!
*I may collect a share of sales from links on this page. I’m very picky about the products & resources I promote. And I would only recommend the ones that are highly-rated or ones that I have had the best experience with. Read my Affiliate Disclaimer here.
Watch my video below or scroll down to read
#1 All you write about is yourself (with no intention for it to help your audience)
In order to find an audience for your blog, you need to figure out who that audience is and answer that audience’s need. So if you’re writing about yourself like,
“I Lost My Luggage on a Flight” or “Hong Kong Travel Diary,”
turn that story around and write it like:
“How to Avoid Losing Your Luggage During Travel” or “4-Day Hong Kong Itinerary for Foodies.”
These titles are much more likely to be found via Google search. The first two are not.
You can write more stories about yourself after you’ve built an audience and established a relationship with them because now, they like you and they want to know more about you.
#2 Your blog is all over the place.
And by that, I mean your blog lacks focus. It lacks a niche. Sometimes even when you’re writing content for your audience, it’s not enough to write about anything your heart desires. Especially when you work so hard on each article. So instead of writing a variety of different topics like
“3 Easy Vegetarian Meals, “Top 10 Most Popular Dog Breeds,” and “How to Fix a Warm Refrigerator.”
Do you see how different these are? Focus on one topic instead. For example,
“3 Easy Vegetarian Meals,” “The Best Vegetarian Desserts,” “Vegetarian Curries You’ll Love,” and “Easy Vegetarian Meal Prep.”
That body of work is much more cohesive is likely to establish your expertise enough for your audience to know that you know what you’re talking about. And that helps your audience stay on your blog longer because as you refer them to related posts, they are more likely to click on them because they were searching for that kind of content in the first place.
Related: What to Blog About: How to Choose a Profitable Niche for Your Blog
So start with a topic that you like, even if you don’t know much about it. You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to love talking about it because your blog is about sharing your journey and doing it in a way that helps others.
#3 You don’t post enough & you don’t do it consistently.
Blogging is about building relationships with your audience. So if you post on your blog for 2 weeks and you’re like “peace out” the next 2 months, it doesn’t give your audience a chance to build a relationship with you. Every time you post, it gives your readers more reason to visit your blog again because they want to be updated with the latest tips.
And then from a technical perspective, Google favors blogs that publish new & fresh content. If your blog is stagnant, your rank on Google will be stagnant.
You’ll learn how to create even better content each post you publish. So, if you were to post 1x a week, the quality of your content will be much better after 2 months. Not only that, but you’ll also get a better idea of the kind of content your audience likes. Because you have that experience of publishing content they didn’t like, content they kind of liked, and content they ABSOLUTELY LOVED.
So create a posting schedule. I recommend publishing a blog post once a week. It’s enough to tell Google, “Hey, I’ve got some new, fresh content here!” It keeps you in front of your audience like “Hey, I got some new great tips for you.” And it keeps in the practice of creating better & even better content.
#4 Your website is hard to read.
Even when you put all that work into creating & strategizing your content, sometimes it’s just your website. And it may be the very reason why no one is reading your blog because no one can actually read it. And by that, I mean your website is hard to read and doesn’t provide a good reader experience.
My rule is to keep your blog simple & classic with a simple black text on a white background. Or a really dark text on a really light background. It’s clean. It’s elegant. And you really can’t go wrong with it because it’s easy to read. You don’t want anything like blue text on a red background. It’s a little harsh and it’s not easy on the eyes.
#5 Your website just doesn’t look good.
So another thing you want to look at is that the first thing a reader will see when they visit your blog is your branding. It’s your logo. It’s your photo in the sidebar with fun, little author bio about you. And it’s your Pinterest graphic on your blog post that has your name and your logo’s colors on it.
Branding plays a huge part in getting people to consume your content. So wow them with your visuals. Let them know you’ve worked hard to build a beautiful website because when they see that they’ll think, “Wow. It’s so professional. It’s so clean. I can tell this blogger put a lot of thought into this which probably means they put a lot of thought in this blog post that I’m about to read.”
So if you have a free blog, switch your blog over to a self-hosted WordPress blog. That’s how you’ll be able to customize your blog because you just can’t do that with a free blog. From there, you can purchase a WordPress theme, install it, customize it with your logo and brand colors. And boom, you have a professional blog that’s only worth reading but also worth making money from.
I created my self-hosted WordPress blog through Bluehost. It’s only $3.95/month. And I customized my blog with the CheerUp theme with Themeforest.
Related: How to Start a WordPress Blog in 15 Minutes (Step by Step Guide)
#6 You don’t promote your blog posts.
Some people think publishing a blog post is a one & done type of situation. It is NOT. Half the work of creating a blog post is writing and publishing it. The other half is promoting it. So make sure to promote your blog posts all over social media.
I recommend sticking to 2 social media platforms: Pinterest: to drive new readers to your blog & Instagram/Facebook: to drive traffic from followers.
Tell your audience you’re excited about this new blog post where you share tips that have helped you achieve X benefit like losing weight, saving money, or traveling solo. That way, your followers keep coming back every time you post and you’re also growing your following by continuously driving new traffic to your blog with Pinterest.
And if you’re wondering between Instagram or Facebook, choose the platform your audience is likely to use the most. Just keep it simple. Don’t spread yourself thin trying to post on all social media platforms.
Here’s a recap on why no one is reading your blog
- All you write about is yourself
- Your blog is all over the place
- You don’t post enough and you don’t do it consistently
- Your website is hard to read
- Your website just doesn’t look good
- You don’t promote your blog posts
If you find many of these reasons relevant to you, I don’t want you to think you suck. In fact, the reason why you’re here is that you want to improve. And that will alone bring you so much more further because it means that you found something you love doing, you want to get better at it, and share it with the world. So huge props to you and I hope your blog grows after this video!
And if it doesn’t, that’s what the comment section below is for. Let me know what you’re struggling with and I’d be happy to help.
Before you go, make sure to download my Bold Blogger Launch Checklist. It’s a free step-by-step checklist you can use to make sure you have a strong blogging foundation & a system to follow. Like your branding, website, creating content and promoting them. Click the button below download it.
Thank you for the tip! Very helpful.
This is helpful thank you! I’d be interested to know how a blogger can promote ideas. I’ve just started a blog and I like to share purchases I’ve made for my home and children, and also showcase how I saved money while still buying high-end products. A lot of that involves broadcasting brands I love but I have no sponsorship. Is that even legal? Will brands not want me because I promote their products for free anyway? And how do you grow your blog if you can’t take good photos for your Instagram???