April 2020.
I was launching my new blog. The topic was personal development.
I was really excited. Nice.
Fast-forward one year.
That same blog was deleted by me.
The reason? The blog generated:
Almost zero results. Zero traffic. Zero earnings.
And I was really disappointed.
This led me to question myself, “Why did my blog fail?“, “What did I do wrong?”.
And, I got a few answers.
Today, I’m going to share that answer in the form of this listicle post of “17 reasons why blogs fail and with some examples of failed blogs”.
So let’s get right to it.
First, how many blogs fail? And what is the success rate for blogs?
The success rate of blogs is only 20%.
Therefore, starting a blog has a higher probability of failure than success.
A study by Bloomberg reveals that 80% of all blogs fail within 18 months of their launch. Another study by Ahrefs shows that roughly 90% of all content created on the internet never receives any clicks from Google. Which is a direct indicator of blogger failure.
Failed Blogs Example
Here are four stories of failed blogs
1. Waterproof Digital Camera: From $250/month to failure
Imagine working hard enough to get your blog to the point where it earns $250 per month and then watching it all vanish.
It hurts.
This is the story of a failed blog founded in 2011.
Waterproof Digital Camera was a camera and review blog that was doing well in its early stages.
And even though it was doing good, the founder was growing impatient with the blog’s rate of growth.
This led him to apply black hat SEO techniques to accelerate his blog’s growth.
And, as we all know, black hat SEO does more harm than good, so his blog’s ranking on search engines suffered as a result of this small error.
And soon his ‘successful’ blog became an example of a ‘failed’ blog.
2. The 18 failed blog examples
Tirtha Ojha shares his honest story on how, in his 4 years of journey, 18 out of his 19 blogs failed.
He shares several reasons why his blog failed, which include:
- Blogging just for money
- Lack of confidence
- Plagiarism
He is currently working on his 19th blog and looking forward to doing his best on it.
3. The Blogging Manifesto
Designed and created by a pro blogger, Blogging Manifesto is another example of how blogs fail.
Started in 2015, the blog’s sole objective was to help readers with their blogging problems.
The blog was great.
The founder was trying every possible way to promote his blog, and it was working.
Within a few months, he was receiving 1000 visits per day.
Nice.
Everything was fine, then why did he fail?
The answer is a lack of passion.
The founder, you see, created this blog solely to make money as quickly as possible, with no passion for it.
This is one of the biggest reasons why this blog failed.
4. Gameslog
Founded in 2013, by Michael Hebenstreit, Gameslog was a gaming site that was monetized by affiliate marketing.
The founder was determined to make it successful right from the point he got this idea.
He hired a few writers and applied promotional techniques like SEO to grow his blog.
Unfortunately, despite working hard on it, the Gameslog failed.
The main reason for this blog’s failure was the market’s high competition.
The oversaturation never let the blog come out in public and grow, which led to its failure.
Reasons Why Blogs Fail
It feels good.. when you think of starting a blog.
That feeling of starting something new, growing it, and making a lot of money. Wow.
However, this dream rarely comes true for most bloggers.
Why? Because most of them simply do it wrong.
Here are the 17 reasons why blogs fail and how to avoid them.
1. No clear Goal
Blogs that lack a clear goal or motivation barely make it.
That is why having a clear goal of WHAT, WHY, and HOW is important for the success of any blog.
Start by getting clear about WHAT your goals are.
I recommend that you take a piece of paper and a pen, sit down and make a list of them.
This will help you decide where to take your blog.
The next step is to determine WHY.
It is critical because you must identify your inner motivations for starting the blog.
Finally, you must establish the HOW.
The “how” is the most important question here.
By answering the “how” you get a clear plan of how you are going to achieve your goals.
2. Booorrringggg Content
Listen.
There are 600 million blogs on the internet. Yes, 600 million!
And, in order for your blog to stand out and succeed, you MUST write good content.
Writing boring content is one of the biggest reasons why blogs fail, as most first-time readers never come back.
Writing in complex languages can make it difficult for your readers to understand what you’re saying.
As a result, you must write content in the simplest language.
Fair enough.
But how do you make your content more interesting?
Here are some general guidelines for writing engaging content:
- Know who your reader is: This helps you in making your content more relatable and useful.
- Write simple sentences: Don’t use complex language.
- Break the content: Breaking your content into small paragraphs and sub-headings makes your content easier to read.
- Write like you are talking: Write like you are talking to a friend.
3. Not focusing on SEO
Starting a blog feels exciting, right?
The daily stories you here of how so-and-so blogger did so-and-so thing to achieve so-and-so goal… (they always get me excited).
Furthermore, content marketing is booming, so every small business is starting a blog.
Nice.
However, there is one major factor most blogs miss out resulting in them not being able to achieve their goals.
And that is: Not doing SEO.
You see, most bloggers believe that simply promoting their blogs on social media will allow them to grow.
And, while it may appear to be a good idea, social media will only provide temporary traffic.
Each blog you promote will only receive traffic for a limited number of days and then.
*Crickets*
Plus, the traffic you get from your social media channels is probably coming from people who already know you.
So there’s no new traffic.
Hmm… got it. It is not a good idea to only promote on social media.
But which channel can you get consistent traffic like this:
The answer is SEO.
By writing well-optimized posts, you will increase your chances of ranking on Google.
And while SEO takes time, once your blog gets ranked in the top 5 results of a search, it will continue to bring in traffic for the rest of its life.
So yeah, “say yes to SEO”.
4. Not writing for your Readers
Yes, SEO is important.
Yes, keyword research is important.
But you know what’s more important? Your readers!
Many bloggers become so engrossed in SEO and writing blog posts that are perfectly optimized for keywords that they completely forget who their readers are.
And this is also a major reason why most bloggers fail.
Blog posts are intended to be read by humans, not search engines.
That is why writing solely for SEO will not work.
Start interacting, reply to comments, take part in Q&A sessions, and create a community…
This will help you understand who your readers are, what they want, and how they want.
As a result, the next time you optimize a post for a keyword, make sure it is also optimized for readers as well.
5. Trying Hard to make Quick Money
Blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme.
You cannot just set up a blog, write a few posts, and expect dollars the next moment.
So, keep it in your mind, “earning money from a blog takes time”.
And if you continue to try to make quick money from your blog… you will fail.
Expectations are important in this situation.
Bloggers who start a blog with the expectation of making a lot of money in a few months get disappointed when they learn the harsh reality.
As a result, they experiment with various methods to make quick money from their blog.
And, yes, they do make some money. However, these methods do more harm than good to their blog.
6. Having a poor Website Host
Another possible reason why most blogs fail is because of a poor website host.
Now, what is a website host?
Web hosting is the “host” that makes the content of your website available to others online.
It stores all your website’s files and data to make it available whenever a user clicks on a link from your website.
The reason why poor hosts can be a reason for blogging failure is that they are important to your blog’s growth.
Web hosts play an important role in determining how a blog performs online.
The speed, technicality, and overall performance of your blog majorly depend on the web host you choose.
The best way to tackle this problem is to choose the best web host for your blog.
I recommend Bluehost to every blogger who wants to seriously pursue blogging as it is the best web host online.
Plus, it is also officially recommended by WordPress.
7. Blogging for Yourself
It’s 2022! And blogging has evolved a lot.
Writing about ‘how you spent your morning’ no longer attracts as many readers as it did in 2010.
People have become busier.
They nowadays only want to read things that are useful to them.
And, in this case, your personal blog isn’t going to help them much.
Now, I’m not saying that a personal blogger can’t succeed as a blogger.
Instead, what I’m trying to say is that people are reading fewer personal blogs these days.
Furthermore, personal blogs are not the best ways to make money.
So, blogging solely for yourself can be a reason for a blog’s failure
8. You don’t know the Niche
Bloggers will sometimes risk into a niche they don’t know anything about.
Now, the question is why they do it.
The answer: because they see money there.
Certain niches can be extremely profitable for bloggers because they have low competition or high conversions.
Bloggers looking to make a lot of money quickly sometimes choose such niches.
Fine. There’s no problem in wanting to earn money.
However, there is something else that can cause a blogger failure in his career.
It is the problem of not having a proper understanding of the niche.
You see, a blog is all about educating readers on a topic of their interest.
And how will you educate the readers if you don’t know what the topic is about?
This can be one reason why most bloggers fail to make money.
9. Spending Time on making things “Perfect”
Ok… So I’m going to start a blog on email marketing.
Oh, wait. The finance looks great. I should probably go for the finance niche.
Or.. may.. be I should try the fashion niche.
.
.
.
Ok well, my blog is created.
It looks great in this simple design.
No, I think I should add these templates.. oh this effect.. and of course these colors.
Maybe I should use THIS style, oh, or that.
.
.
.
This is what most beginner bloggers do.
I bring this up because it is one of the biggest reasons why my previous blog failed.
I was so immersed in the desire of making my blog look perfect that I totally forgot to write content.
Bloggers who get caught up in this desire are more likely to fail because they will be wasting time on something that will never happen – a perfect blog.
The best way to tackle this is by just focusing on one goal.
Decide your goal for a year.
And just focus on it. Nothing less, nothing more.
For example, if you set a goal of writing a hundred posts this year then focus solely on that.
10. Not building an Email list
If you ask me what the biggest mistake a blogger can make when starting a blog is, I’d say “not building an email list.”
Seriously, though. What are you doing with your life if you haven’t already begun building an email list? (Haha, just kidding.)
What is an email list?
An email list is simply a list of people’s email addresses who may be interested in your blog.
It is a list of prospective customers (or potential readers you could say).
How do you build an email list?
The best way to grow your email list is to include a sign-up form on your home page as well as all other important pages.
11. Impatience
As I said before, blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme.
A lot of people get into blogging thinking they would make dollars real quick.
But guess what? They don’t.
And when they realize this, the majority of them quit right away.
The false expectations about blogging lead them to quit when they realize it.
This is one of the reasons why most blogs fail the first year.
So, if you want your blog to be successful, you must keep one thing in mind at all times: blogging takes time.
Don’t be impatient, your efforts will pay off later.
12. Not building Connections and Links
Most blogs fail because they either fail to build connections or just totally ignore them.
So when blogging, don’t be afraid to email other bloggers to ask a favor.
You never know who might end up being one of your strongest connections.
These connections will help you achieve your blogging goals more effectively.
Plus, it can help you build strong links as well.
Links are one of the 200 ranking factors of Google.
Asking your connections to link back to your content if they find it worth reading will double your chances of getting more traffic to your blog.
13. Copying other’s Content
Thousands of blogs have been penalized by Google because of plagiarism.
It is one trap that most beginner writers fall into thinking that they would easily get away with it.
However, keep in mind that Google is an advanced search engine.
It knows when content has been plagiarised and will penalize any content that violates its policies.
That is why you must never copy anyone else’s content.
#beoriginal
14. Covering Too many Topics
Let me ask you a question.
Assume you want to learn about SEO and there are two blogs to which you can subscribe.
One is a blog that covers a variety of topics ranging from home decor to SEO to food and other items, while the other focuses solely on SEO.
Which blog do you think you’ll subscribe to?
.
.
.
Obviously the latter.
Another reason blogs fail is that they cover too many topics.
You may be skilled in several areas, but your readers are interested in only one or two.
That is why it is critical to limit yourself to fewer topics.
Furthermore, by limiting yourself to a few topics, you present yourself as an expert in the field.
This helps you get more email subscribers.
15. Not having a Well-designed blog
Before you say anything, just look at these images:
Look how well-designed these blogs are.
Now, tell me if you have a head-to-head competition, what are your chances of getting higher reader engagement than these blogs?
It’s most likely low.
That is because these websites have a web design that is eye soothing to the readers.
Now, I’m not saying you have to make web designs like this. That’s too difficult.
Instead, what I’m trying to say is that you must devote some time to your design.
Nobody likes a slow website with poor image quality.
That is why, in order to increase engagement, you must optimize your blog with beautiful designs
18. Not taking it Seriously
One reason why some bloggers fail is that they do it “as a try”.
You see, blogging would completely deplete your energy.
And for someone who is blogging just for fun, it is really hard to get out of the stress.
A little discomfort, and boom! They’ll give up on their blog.
And it’s completely okay to quit if you don’t want to pursue it seriously.
However, if your goal is to get successful blogging, you need to be sure you have a proper goal and motivation behind it.
17. Not being Consistent
“Consistency is the key”.
You see, blogging, in itself is a grind.
You need to work hard to get what you want.
One of the biggest mistakes beginners make when starting a blog is not being consistent.
You start a blog, you get excited, and you write a post each day.
As time passes, this level of excitement fades, as does your publishing consistency.
And then.
*crickets again*
after a few days… You see no outcomes.
That is why being consistent and continuing to publish new content is a major key in blogging.
“It might take time, but it will come”.
FAQs for why blogs fail
What are the disadvantages of blogging?
When I first started blogging, I thought it would be an easy job.
It wasn’t until I started writing posts that I realized how difficult blogging can be.
Here are the four negatives of blogging
- It takes a lot of time.
- Requires SEO expertise for better growth.
- High competition.
- Requires more effort.
- It can sometimes stress you out.
Is blogging still profitable?
Short answer: Yes.
Blogging is definitely still profitable. Plus, technology has made it way easier for bloggers to make money. Today, there are just numerous ways you can monetize your blog and earn big fat money from it.
So just go for it.
Are blogs dying out?
Short answer: No.
Some people believe blogs are dying as people nowadays prefer video content.
However, the truth is totally different.
77% of internet users still read blogs.
This alone proves that blogging is NOT DEAD and people still read blogs.
What are the problems faced by bloggers?
Here are the 7 biggest problems bloggers face
- Writer’s block
- Not being able to get traffic
- Proper keyword research
- Not getting proper feedback
- No quick results
- Requires a lot of work
- Being consistent
Wrapping up: This is why blogs fail
Blogging is hard. You have to work a lot to get what you want.
However, don’t quit.
I know it takes time but once it begins to pay off, the return only adds up.
These were the major reasons why blogs fail.
Be aware of them, and try not to quit.
Comment below your reasons, in case of any previous failures.
Thank you.
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