No One Cares About Your Pet Blog!
Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess
I recently came across a post that touted the reasons why no one is reading your blog and why, frankly, they don’t care whether you continue writing it or not. Does that sound harsh? Perhaps, but then again, if no one cares about your pet blog there are likely reasons that is the case and from what I have gleaned there are several top reasons why no one is giving a hoot about your words!
If you want people to care about your pet blog you may need to spend some time in self reflection then consider whether there are changes you can make and if so, are you willing to make them? At this point, you may want to turn to a trusted pet blogging colleague or even someone whose blog you admire and ask them if they’d be willing to give you a bit of a blog review. We did this during our 2014 Spring Blog Cleaning Series.
Here are the top reasons no one cares about your blog and what you’re writing and what you can do about it:
- Me. Me. Me. Yes, we are all selfish and want to be the center of the universe, but as a pet blogger you need to realize that your blog has to be about the reader. You should always ask yourself, “what’s in it for them?” Humor? Learning? Information-sharing? Yes, you may be writing your blog posts from your own unique point of view, but you reader still wants to know what they are going to get out of the time they spend with your pet blog.
- You haven’t written anything I feel compelled to share. Would you rather read a post, “Walking My Dog” or would you read a post that promised, “Five Ways Walking My Dog Saved My Life!” I don’t know about you, but the first one is so boring I almost nodded off writing it, but the second one?! Dang, I want to find at least one way my life can be saved by walking the diva poodle, Henrietta! The call to action in this post is that you will want to share it with your friends because you want them to stay alive as well, right?
- Even though your pets are growing up, you aren’t. You are still writing about the same ideas and technologies that you were writing about five years ago. Just as there have been advances in technology on which to write your blog, there have been myriad updates in pet care and pet feeding. You need to be open to growth because if you’re not, then the savvy pet blog reader will move onto someone who is offering her the latest and greatest information.
- You’re making your blog way too hard to read. Consider that many people read blog posts on their smartphones and handheld devices and you can see how you need to break up “walls of words” with bullets, numbers, bolded subheads, photos and videos. There is no reason you can’t pen a 2,000 word blog post if that is what your readers are clamoring for, but you need to make it visually appealing. Just as newspapers (yes, I still read a print newspaper daily!) have taken to catering to the short attention spans of readers by offering pull out quotes or drop box items that summarize the article — just in case you only want the highlights — you can do this for your readers as well.
- You’re not being topical. Hey, Halloween is right around the corner. Are you writing a pet blog about that? Thanksgiving, Christmas and myriad other holidays are looming and these all lend themselves to posts about pets — how to keep them safe, how to travel with them, whether you should give a pet as a gift, how to introduce the new pet into the family, etc. If it’s October and you’re writing a post about summer vacation… I certainly hope you have a compelling reason for doing so! What’s going on that is topical? Trending? Blog about that.
What can you do to draw readers back into your posts? Do you need help or a blog review to help you regain your blog focus?
(Photo Shutterstock: Owl on computer)
