I think it’s safe to say that most blogs are junk. Most blog posts are probably not worth your time to read. Obviously, that’s not the kind of blog you want to be running, and you don’t want people thinking that about your blog. Fortunately, if you’re not sure where you’re going wrong, there are some major clues.

Reason #1: You don’t post consistently

You haven’t read this enough, have you? It’s our #1 reason for why blogs are successful.

Your posts might be really, truly amazing, but unless you post them every once in a while, people are going to lose interest. I would guess this is by far the biggest cause of Blog Failage. Your readers will come back for more if they know you’ll have new posts ready every Monday and Thursday, but only if you actually do. Establish a consistent schedule for posting on your blog and don’t let it slip.

At an absolute minimum, post at least once per week. The more, obviously, the better. Keep your visitors interested with consistent new content.

Reason #2: You have irrelevant, uninteresting, and low-quality posts

Everybody will have blog posts that probably fit into the afore-mentioned “not-worth-your-time-to-read” category, but that shouldn’t be everything you write. People like well-written content, and they’ll stop reading your blog if you can’t provide it.

Keep your posts on the topic of your blog. Don’t wander into “I cleaned my desk” or “I’ve switched toothpaste brands” territory. Unless your blog is a review of toothpaste products, nobody cares.

Write about something new. Don’t cover topics that are already exhausted. Try to find new, unique content to post about instead of the Blogosphere Hot Topic.

Write about something old in a new way. Present a new opinion, or take a different spin. If you really can’t find anything new to talk about, take the “old” and write something that your readers will find interesting.

Write as if you graduated from high school. Make sure to follow basic rules of English grammar (or some other language’s grammer if you post in something other than English). Even if the writing is on-topic, unique, and interesting, people will have trouble reading it if they can’t find where your sentences start and end. In short, don’t write blog posts like you’d write YouTube comments.

Reason #3: Your advertising is spammy

People don’t like advertising as it is, and are even less likely to click a spammy-looking ad than they are a well-designed one. If you have square or banner ads on other sites, make them look presentable and make their audience think, “This blog looks like it could contribute something useful to my day.”

Another common cause of spamming is linking to your blog everywhere you find the opportunity. Don’t post links to your blog in the body of comments of other blogs. Consider where you are posting links to your site, especially if it’s not directly related.

The same goes for forums and social networking sites. You might be able to get away with linking to your blog in your signature, but it’s dangerous and will probably look spammy to somebody. Ultimately, find places to advertise your blog where readers will find it relevant, and nowhere they don’t want to see ads.

Reason #4: Your audience is too limited

If your blog is aimed at a very small niche, you risk not being able to find the people that will be interested in your content. In this case, it’s very important to do one of two things to save the life of your blog:

1) Manage an effective advertising campaign that will inform the people who will enjoy your content about your blog. With very small niches, it’s more important than ever to reach all of your target audience as possible.

2) Failing option one, your second choice is to expand the focus of your blog. Not so much as to make your posts unrelated to each other, but enough that your target audience will grow enough for you to be able to find them and help them find you.

Reason #5: Your blog has no community

Without a doubt, one of the most effective ways to increase the popularity of any site, including your blog, is to create a sense of community. On blogs, comments are the number one way to achieve this. You want to make your readers feel like they’re a part of the discussion, not just reading the writing of a nameless, blog poster.

Conversely, with comments disabled, you’re destroying the opportunity to have intelligent discussions with your readers. In the Community Hacker’s words, “If you turn off anonymous comments, you’re practically telling your visitors - ‘I don’t want to listen to you, read and go away’.” I would add that this is also true for non-anonymous comments. Let your readers participate in your blog.

Bonus Reason #6: You’re too young

Too many blog owners start a new blog with the hopes of Getting Rich Quick, and get discouraged in one or two months when it hasn’t happened. Your traffic hasn’t skyrocketed, so your blog must be failing, right?

No, not really. Like most things, it takes time to become a successful blogger. Keep at it, even if it takes a year or more of seemingly talking to yourself. If you write consistent, interesting content and find relevant ways to tell people about it, your blog will gain traction. If your blog suffers from Bonus Reason #6, don’t worry. Your blog isn’t really failing. You just need more time to become successful.

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