So, after constant nagging from people like us online, you’ve finally decided to start a blog for your business, and that is really great. Still, it would be a lot greater if people actually read your blog. Much to your dismay, few netizens are even aware that your company has a blog.
If you want to know why no one reads your blog, consider the following:
Reasons why no one reads your blog
Your blog is a total newbie
You didn’t really think that you’ll get readers as soon as your blog goes live, did you? Blogging, as you already know by now, is never easy. One thing bloggers actually know is that getting an audience for your blog does not happen overnight. You are actually going to need some time and a lot of content to increase your chances of being noticed by the search engines. In addition, your blog is still too young to establish any sort of credibility or authority just yet. You see, you need to build a reputation in your niche to actually be followed by people. They will follow you, eventually, after some time, and after you have built enough content and authority.
You’re not marketing your blog
Many think of blogs as a marketing tool, which is absolutely true. Blogs, however, also need some marketing for itself. You have to promote your blog on your own website, and prominently at that. Make sure there’s a link to your blog in the main navigation of your website. Considering how big social media has gotten these days, it’s only right that promote your blog on social media. You can also promote your blog on social media. If you have a dedicated email list, send a link to your blog to everyone for them to know your blog exists.
You don’t optimise your content for search
As mentioned previously, you need to post more blog content to make it search engine-friendly. The more blog posts you put up, the more pages will be indexed by search engines. And when those pages are indexed by Google et. al., their chances of being found by searchers become so much better.
For even better results, you would do well to make SEO an integral part of your blogging strategy. Remember, however, that when you optimise your content for search, stick to the search engine optimization best practices though, or you will find yourself penalised or worse, taken out of the index by Google.
Your don’t optimise your content for social media
In a world where practically everyone is on social media, it only makes sense to optimise your content for social media. You can easily optimise your content for social media by adding social sharing buttons that will make it easier for your readers to actually share your blog to their friends. To further optimise your content for social media, grab their attention with great content, from eye-catching headlines to compelling imagery.
You’re not getting people to subscribe by email
Encouraging new readers to subscribe by email to your blog is one of the best ways to make them continue following you. Every time you post new content on your blog, email subscribers get notified directly on their inbox. That’s why if you haven’t thought about encouraging people to become email subscribers before, waste no time in doing it now. You can start by prominently displaying an email subscription form on your blog. You can also encourage email subscription by inserting calls to action within your posts.
You’re blog is all about you or your business
Actual blog content matters when it comes to building readership. If all you’re writing about are pitches about your product or services, then you should not be surprised why no one reads your blog. Your business blog is supposed to provide readers content of value, not bombard them with an endless stream of ad copy.
By content of value, we mean content that actually matters to them. Believe it or not, your readers won’t really care about your constant posts about your business offers, at least not until you draw them in with relevant content that satisfies their needs, interests, or questions.
You’re an inconsistent blogger
Let’s say you have a knack for putting up great content on your blog. Are you doing this on a consistent basis, or are you just posting great content infrequently, doing so only when you find the time or when you feel like it?
Keep in mind that readers who are interested in your blog posts will only stick around if they get their fix of your high-quality and beautifully written content on a regular basis. They certainly will not come back for more when there isn’t more, which is unfortunate because you actually have a blog with great content.
Ideally, you should do blog posts 15 times or more every month to be considered a consistent blogger. If that sounds a little too much for you, you can start slowly, maybe one post a week at first, then increase the frequency as the weeks go by. If you can, create a publishing schedule and make sure you stick to it.
Learn to optimise your content to avoid turning people off with your copy
When you have a business blog, it’s important that your copywriting should at least be decent. By decent I mean grammar, spelling, punctuation and clarity should not be a problem. If you’re not that much of a writer, you can always hire someone else to do the writing for you. If you’re a good writer, at least have someone else proofread whatever you wrote before publishing it. Even the best writers, after all, make mistakes.
Still, even good writers can be boring. They may have the basics down pat, but the stuff they write sound like some stuffy academic paper or report. To make your copy stand out, the writing has to be truly interesting and engaging. To do that, you have to sound, well, human. Tell stories, jokes, write in a conversational manner, and be witty.
It’s true that getting people to read your blog is not a walk in the park. Just to optimise your content for search alone takes a lot of hard work. Following any of the other tips listed above does require a certain amount of it. Still, they can help you get you closer to your goal of getting more readers, and that makes all the hard work worth it. Having said all that, worry less why no one reads your blog and make the necessary changes now.