Other people appear to make blogging look easy. But you’ve noticed others stopped reading your blog posts.
When visiting their blog sites, you might be blown away by the quality of their written posts. You might be taken aback by the number of comments that their blog posts have received.
Take for example Enchanting Marketing. Henneke always has over 30 comments per blog post, sometimes even over 100 comments. I’m always amazed when I go visit and read her blog.
And when you’re on social media, you might be overwhelmed by the number of shares that other people’s blog posts have been granted.
And then you return to your blog. You notice the empty comments page. You look at the low numbers on the hit counter.
And you ask yourself why. Why are people not reading my blog posts?
Well, there may be some very good reasons why. Learn how to ensure your followers always read your blog posts with the tips below.
Table of Contents
How Do People Read Blog Posts Today?
People read blog posts on their phones more than ever. They skim for key points and prefer concise, easy-to-digest content. Eye-catching headers and bullet points help guide them through the text.
Visuals like images and infographics hold their attention. Readers also rely on social media links to find interesting posts.
Effective blogs use short paragraphs and plain language to keep readers engaged. Finally, they must also be mobile friendly as more are reading blogs on their mobile phones.
#1: Your Blog Posts Are Not Appealing To Your Audience
If your website has a specific purpose, your blog posts should reflect that focus. So, if you are running a parenting blog, for example, you should create posts that parents would want to read.
Or if you are writing a blog that covers a particular type of hobby, you should create posts that will appeal to the relevant hobbyists. If you veer off course too many times you no longer give people a reason to return to your blog because you would have fallen out of line with their main topics of interest.
So, think about who your target audience is. Remind yourself of the reasons why they would visit your blog in the first place.
Consider what you might do to appeal to their core interests. And then provide the blog posts to match. That’s how to ensure your followers always read your blog posts today.
#2: Followers Stopped Reading Your Blog Posts Because of Lack of Communication
To be a successful blogger, you will need to do more than write brilliant blog posts. You need to build a relationship with your readers, because if you do, they will a) return to your blog, and b) share your blog posts with others.
So, when you receive a comment, leave a thank you, as this will show the reader that they have been appreciated. Answer any questions they have in response to your posts.
Ask them to give you ideas on the types of post they would like to read.
And if you have the email addresses or social networking details of your readers, get in contact with them. Send them a link to your latest blog posts. And engage in conversations with them.
This way, you will encourage them to read your posts again, and they might stick around for longer. Otherwise, you will notice they have stopped reading your blog posts.
#3: Your Blog Posts Are Infrequent
You don’t necessarily need to write blog posts every day. However, you should try to post at least one or two weekly.
This way, people will have a reason to return to your blog, and they won’t assume you have given up on your readers.
If you’re busy, and if you can’t find the time to update your blog regularly, find guest bloggers for your site.
There are all kinds of sites available where people like yourself can appeal to freelance writers, so have a look online. You might want to get in touch with other bloggers too and ask them to guest blog for you, especially if you know they will add value to your readers.
Or, you could also add a ‘write for us’ link to your site, as people would then know that writing opportunities are available on your site.
#4: Readers Stopped Reading Your Blog Posts As They Didn’t Come Up In Search
Have you Googled your blog recently? If you have, and if it isn’t ranking very highly, this could be the reason why people have stopped visiting your blog.
Generally speaking, people are unlikely to scroll past the second or third page on Google’s search listings, so if your blog is out of sight, now might be the time to improve your SEO.
Check out our SEO checklist for higher rankings, and to improve your chances of appearing on the top pages, outsource your SEO to professionals.
When you have regained your place at the top of Google’s search engine, you will stand apart from the hundreds of other blogs that are cluttering up Google’s search pages.
#5: You Focus Too Much on Product Promotion
There is nothing inherently wrong with promoting products through your blog post. Whether they buy your own products or those sold by other companies, you can make money from blogging if you advertise a little.
However, you don’t want to overdo it. If your readers assume you are more interested in making money than actually informing and entertaining them, they might tire of your blog.
And then head elsewhere for their article needs.
So, make money by all means. But ensure your blog primarily serves the needs of your reader and not the needs of your bank balance. That’s how to ensure your followers always read your blog posts today and tomorrow.
#6: Your Blog Posts Lack Personality
Don’t be boring! If your blog posts are made up of statistics, cold facts, and adverts for products, your readers might quickly lose interest. To engage better with your readers, you need to develop a winning blog personality
Add humor, give your personal opinion on the subjects you write about, and talk directly to the reader from a first-person rather than a third-person perspective.
You see, your readers can pick up facts anywhere. They can research statistics in their own time.
What they can’t do elsewhere is get a taste of who you are, so infuse every blog post with your own personal style, opinion, and creativity.
Ryan Biddulph from Blogging From Paradise is a master at this! You will definitely get to know who Ryan is after reading several of his blog posts.
When the reader forms a bond with your writing, they will form a bond with you. If there is no bond formed this is a big reason why people have stopped reading your blog posts.
#7: Your Blog Posts Are Hard To Read
It might be that the font is too small. The page background might make your text unreadable. Your posts could be littered with spelling and grammatical mistakes.
And there could be pop-ups appearing over the page frequently. These can be especially annoying on mobile devices.
These issues will irritate your readers and cause them to say goodbye to your blog forever. So, alter your web design if necessary, and use tools such as Grammarly; to help you avoid any mistakes with your vocabulary.
Lastly, be sure to use easy words at fourth grade level, having complex words may turn off some readers who don’t have time to research the meaning of your fancy words.
Finally: Why They Have Stopped Reading Your Blog Posts
I probably haven’t covered every reason here, but take note of what I have said, and follow the suggestions. If your readership starts to grow, then great.
But if not, continue your research around our blog and elsewhere online. Then, look for other ways to improve your blog posts. Once you do, you will become a top-notch blogger who will be read by many.
I wish you every success with your blogging. Have you been guilty of any of these above points? What are you working on to improve your blog?
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Hi Lisa,
I noticed that my blog is losing readers from last 3-4 months. After reading your post I observed that it is due to lack of interaction with the audience and my blog posts are infrequent. Now, I found the reason why I was losing audiences and will work on these points. Thank you for this helpful post.
Hi Ankit, yes, posting regularly can surely help! Also Google has had some major updates and fluctuations since May. Try to post at least once weekly or bi-weekly if you can to help traffic. Thanks for coming by and have a great day!
Lisa,
As you said, there are a lot of blogging hacks to learn from experts like Ryan, Donna, Lilach, etc. By the way, all the crucial things you have brought here. Sure, one must be consistent in blogging to retain the readership. Otherwise, will be in a great trouble to bring back. Great sharing!
Hi Jenna, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. They are crucial tips for sure. Thanks for coming by and have a great day.
Hi Lisa,
No matter what, we need to be consistently kicking out blog posts that will help others that are searching for some answers.
I gotta work with more personality like videos again. I’ve been slacking off since the beach has been open lol.
-Donna
Hi Donna, thank you. Yes, consistency is the key to life, isn’t it? I’ve been so busy with client work I haven’t been able to do videos but it’s on the to do list for sure! I’m really starting to like YouTube. Thanks for coming by and enjoy your day at the beach.
Lisa thanks so much. Goodness I love seeing Hunter make an appearance. He is infused with personality! I know whenever I read one of your posts and guest posts, too. This comes from tons of writing practice. Honest guys; if you write your tail off and keep publishing, over months then years, more and more people will read your blog. They only stop if we pull back from writing, publishing, and developing skills and confidence. Excellent post.
Ryan
Hi Ryan, you are most welcome. LOL, he is but is not photogenic. I have to catch him in the rare moments. Good to know about the pulling back of writing Ryan. I still after all these years, don’t know how you keep up! Thanks for coming by and have a great day Ryan.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for sharing this. For me what pisses me off is the content experience.
A lot of bloggers do not care about how their content looks like when reading.
A good content experience starts from the UX. It includes the use of bullets, tables (if need be), interesting images and short paragraphs in your post.
Do have a nice day.
Best regards,
Eniola
Hi Akinduyo, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. Oh yes, I understand – those long pieces of content that are not broken up into little bite sizes. That can be a big difference on the reader experience. And of course images help to scan as well. The images are great for social media sharing too. Thanks for your input and have a great day!
Hello Lisa,
Wonderful post. I have also seen that bloggers who less often update their blog with new posts have fewer page views and quite a high bounce rate. People come to your blog to look out for the information they are seeking. That’s why it is very important to provide quality and relevant blog posts. I am pretty much sure that this post is going to help every new bloggers who want to increase the readership of their blog.
Regards,
Vishwajeet Kumar
Thanks Vishwajeet. Hmm, interesting, less posts can lead to higher bounce rate? Relevant is really key today. I’ve been updating old ones weekly now as things change even quicker today than they did yesterday. Thanks for coming by on this one and have a good week there Vishwajeet. I appreciate your shares as well!