What is the ONE thing that your blog is missing (and what to do about it?)

Jane Sheeba 1794 Views, ,
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Have you ever realized that your blog might be missing one major thing? If you’re after traffic, conversions, reader engagement etc. and if you don’t seem to get any of these, its time for you to pause and think.

While there may be various factors like poor SEO, poor content, poor design, or poor promotion etc. there could be one thing that your blog misses. And that’s a very crucial factor!

And that’s nothing but YOU.

Let me explain. Does your blog miss that important ingredient/aspect – YOU?

Are your readers missing you at your blog?

If so, then you will certainly find poor results. Although I’m not saying that this is THE only factor that causes poor results for your blog, this is one of the most crucial factors.

And most bloggers take it very lightly, which is a big mistake.

Let me tell you when would your blog and your readers miss you at your blog.

Too much posts from guest bloggers

This one is a dangerous thing actually, and things can get worse even before you realize it.

Allowing guest posts is fine, but allowing too many of them will simply destroy your voice.

See your blog is an ambassador for your business, your brand, your products, your services and for you.

If you let “other” voices to sound in too much at your blog, the total point can be easily lost.

Naturally, your readers will miss you and you won’t get the expected results coz always someone else is taking up the space!

Do you hide yourself?

hiding yourselfYes please answer that question. Can your readers find you when they come to your blog? Do you show them something about you?

Like, your real face, your expertise, how that could help them, and if you wish, a little bit of personal details, etc.?

Do you have an About page? Do you have a contact page where your readers can contact you on any queries?

If your readers simply can’t find you at your blog, where else do you expect them to find you?

And not only that, your readers won’t feel home at your blog. They’ll certainly feel alienated and will probably leave soon.

I recommend you to read this post to overcome this:

2 Simple steps to make your blog feel like home for your readers.

Your voice

Are you a copy cat? I mean, you don’t copy paste content from other blogs. But you do try to imitate or replicate an A-List blogger, right? If you said “yes” or “right” then your blog will surely miss you.

It is good to read a lot of other blogs; it is good to do your research. It is also to get motivated by certain topics and get your blog post ideas.

But when it comes to writing your blog posts using those ideas, write as YOU, and not as anyone else.

Don’t try to write in someone else’s voice or tone.

Your blog and your readers need that special YOU who can’t be found anywhere else. Give them that and it will be easy for you to stand out from the crowd – no matter how BIG the crowd is.

Takeaway

A blog is a place where people should be able to identify and find the owner, and feel him/her. This is why, several other factors may come into play, like the theme you are using, your navigation structure, the blogging platform like WordPress or even a simple website builder. Obviously, If you are running an article directory, that is a different story.

But if you are running a blog that promotes your brand, your products or your business, make sure

  • you put your face on your blog,
  • give some details about yourself and your expertise,
  • tell your readers how you can help them,
  • tell your readers how they can contact you,
  • write and publish posts at least occasionally (even if you get loads of guest post submissions),
  • write blog posts in your own voice.

Let me know what you think in the comments!

image credit: curtin.edu.au

Jane Sheeba

Jane helps bloggers and entrepreneurs to build blogs that succeed.

28 thoughts on “What is the ONE thing that your blog is missing (and what to do about it?)”

  • What a critical message Jane!

    Too many entrepreneurs hide away, content to stay in the background, living the life of a blogging shut-in. This is dangerous to your success.

    People need to see you, to trust you.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Ryan

    • “This is dangerous to your success” – well said Ryan. Although we may not realize the damage, it will soon hit if we hide ourselves! After all blogging is much more social than most bloggers think of 🙂

  • If anyone are on the way to making a blog at super stage then he/she should serve something worth and serve what people want.
    after that comes your services means are you a honest and reliable blogger or not. All depend on these factors.

    • Yes indeed! Being honest and reliable does matter a lot!

  • I completly agree with Bhushan if anyone are on the way to making a blog at super stage then he/she should serve something worth and serve what people want.

  • This is very good information. I have a young blog and I’ve allowed my 5 last post to be written by guest posters. I didn’t feel or think there was anything bad that could come from it… until now.

    Thanks for the information.

    • Joe, if your blog is young and if you’ve allowed guest posters for 5 continuous posting, this is something not right 🙂 Perhaps you will set it right in the future. Make sure your blog has at least 2 of your posts for 1 guest post!

  • Hi, Jane. Thank you for your deep insight into author blogging. I often asked myselp why others were popular bloggers but I was not. The secret is simple: they just reveal their personality in the blog…

    • Vit you certainly got it just write – they reveal their personality!

  • These are all wonderful points about blogging, especially about having guest posters essentially ‘take over’ your blog. Yes, it’s ok to have guests post now and then, but you should be posting more often and make sure readers know that it’s really *your* blog!

    Thanks for sharing!

    • Yes Rich, having that balance also makes sure that we have control over the content of our blog, which is very important.

  • Yeah Jane this seems to be a problem for poor traffic. And I agree with you on the fact that too much of guest presence can hamper your influence over your readers. As a blogger I think that not creating much presence on your blog will eventually make you a foreigner to your own blog. So watch your steps carefully.

  • Hi Jane,

    Great post – Personally , I believe the combination of the tips you’ve provided is almost equally important in terms of SEO (exposure to search engines) and word of mouth when wanting to grow and exploit opportunities on the web.

    • Good point Anton. And IMHO, more than search engine exposure, word of mouth works great and is much more stable since we don’t have to worry about any algo update lol.

  • This seems to be a hot topic these days. I’ll be honest, I have never given it much thought. But if Jane and the rest of the world are bringing it to our attention we should listen.

    Thanks Jane.

  • personally, i think my blog is lack of reader engagement, don’t know how to attract readers. I’m from Malaysia, and this blog i create just to improve my writing and English speaking, maybe lack of engagement, poor language and so on happen to my blog

    • May be you should make sure that if you’re writing what most people are looking for. Try to get hold of your niche by doing some keyword research and drilling down to keywords that have more global (or local, if that’s what you’re interested in) monthly searches.

  • One of the reasons many bloggers stay in the background is that they feel that they don’t have anything of value to share when in fact they do. It is simply confidence.

  • Lovely post. The points that you have highlighted are really valuable. I have just started a blog and your insight really gave me the right direction. A blogger should be able to get connect with his readers and make that connection because of which readers visit his blog frequently. Amazing tips, thanks!

  • I too feel this is becoming a prominent concern for many readers as well as bloggers now. Initially when bloggers don’t get much audience they run after getting readers but when they get enough readers who painstakingly read and comment on his blog, he is busy with either other blogs at hand or something else and leaves the blog all to the guest posts and the readers. If you have been doing the same thing then let me beware you, if the readers don’t feel your presence on your blog then will not visit your blog and all your efforts will be a waste, so be very careful.

  • Hello Dear

    I totally agree with your point. too much post for guest blogging its totally dangerous for your site , guest posting is good but over guest posting is not good for your image. good design, good content, good SEO that’s important point for all blogger thanks for sharing

  • Hello Jane,

    As far as my knowledge goes, my blogging is not missing anything. I always strive to keep it unique. I concentrate on content regularly and encourage valuable guest posts. I am not a copy cat.

    Regards,
    Vijay

  • Hi Jane,

    The ‘Hide Yourself’ part of your post probably hits a nerve with a lot of people, including me 😉

    Actually I don’t really ‘hide’ myself, I’m pretty open, it’s video I hate. Anyone else have that problem? Must be some childhood phobia or something. I hate it. But I’m working on it.

    But your post is a reminder that you really have to be as open as you can. and that includes putting yourself on video.

    Can anyone else relate?

    Liz

    • Liz, I totally understand what you mean when you say “video”. I am so shy to put my face on the camera! But to break the ice, I am doing screencast videos! Try doing that for a while 🙂

  • These are great points and insight for all blog owners. Your blog is representing your interest with it and everyone should consider these points to improve the quality of their blogs.

  • John chow’s site is one such example. These days i see more of somebody else than chow at his blog. The only reason of being to his site was reading his posts not anybody else’s and now whenever he posts they are a bunch of useless words strung together

  • Sometimes there are so many small things a blog is missing out on. However, keeping a track on all at the same time may become difficult. We can one by one check every aspect of having a blog and eventually work towards getting each of them in the right way.

  • Its true that few people try to hire their self . I don’t know what is reason they are hiding. If you are good blogger person then why you are hiding yourself. You must need to show your self.

    If you are one of them please don’t do this, It habit effect you and your blog. Because your fan and your reader want to see your real face who is doing this Good job.

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