Blog Traffic: Why most Blogs NEVER get much

If you're famous, like Mick Jagger or Robert Scoble or Madonna, write it and they will come. You can write about anything you want, and lots of people will read it.

Unfortunately, you my friend are probably not famous, just like I'm not. If we write on whatever we find interesting and exciting, it's unlikely many other people will have matching interests.

Oh some may find your posts on the advances of bowling ball technology fascinating, but they probably won't care for your extensive coverage of laptop battery time extension techniques or any details of your belly button lint collection. And the belly button lint aficionados probably find bowling balls and batteries boring.

In other words, it's NOT about you - what you're interested in. No one cares about what you're interested in (unless you're famous), and very few people will have interests that parallel yours.

But wait, if it doesn't matter what you're interested in, what about all this stuff about "passion" and "passionate bloggers are successful bloggers" you keep hearing? How can you write passionately about something you're not interested in?

Well, you probably can't, but the solution is simple -- a one word answer:

FOCUS! I repeat, FOCUS!!

Write about ONE thing you are passionately interested in, maybe Nubian dwarf goat husbandry or American Civil War history or the evolution of belly button lint collections in museums. There are plenty of people, potential readers, for any ONE of those topics. Even belly button lint has 274,000 hits on Google, and yes there appear to be blogs on the topic too.

I'm writing about Web 2.0 stuff and how it affects business, things like blogging and podcasting etc. I'm NOT writing about fishing or Chinese cooking or biking or wine or many other things I'm passionate about, because it's not about me. And yeah, I should work about being more focused too . . .

But what about Robert Scoble? He's a blogger and his claim to fame is from blogging. Despite Robert being a great guy I read regularly he isn't very focused.

Well, you need to be and so do I if we care about traffic -- Robert is famous and> he started blogging in a simpler time when there was less competition.

And now I must leave you as I'm stranded in an airport and my laptop battery is almost dead. Fortunately I have the latest "Popular Nubian Dwarf Goat Husbandry" with me. Maybe I'll check my belly button too . . .

And for over 100 more tips on successful blogging, I invite you to grab your free copy of my ebook Secrets of Successful Blogging at http://www.secretsofsuccessfulblogging.com

(this is an update of a previous popular post)

Comments

[rockandrollguru]

That's why it's all Rock & Roll all the time for me, Ted. Not only am I having a ton of fun writing about something I absolutely love, but people are finding me. Rock on!

[Ted Demopoulos, Blogging for Business]

And you're writing about it well too:
http://rockandrollguru.com/

[Frank V.]

Yes, it's certainly tough. Thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one.

[Email Marketing Solution]

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