There are more than 4 reasons why business blogs fail. However these 4 are the most common. Business blogs fail because their importance is undervalued; therefore, businesses either don’t dedicate the resources or they just give up. Why does this happen? Companies often underestimate the importance of a blog. A blog can help generate leads; however, if you believe the only reason for a business blog is to generate leads – you may be disappointed. When a blog is expected to generate leads directly and doesn’t, the blog often withers and dies. An effective blog can increase SEO (Search Engine Optimization), add value to an organization’s entire web presence, and increase exposure whether prospects land on the blog or not. Business blogs fail because businesses don’t realize the blog’s potential. So, what can you do?
An Entrepreneur.com post from nearly ten years ago explains, “…Google has made no secret of its desire to reward high-value content with top SERPs (search engine results page) rankings… Getting your content quality up now offers one of the best opportunities to protect your site from future changes.” It continues to be true today.
What Makes an Effective Blog?
Post Consistently
I publish new posts twice a week for two companies and once a week for another and do so I do this every week. I use editorial calendars and schedule new posts for the same day and time weekly to stay consistent. Does post quantity make a difference?
The marketing experts at HubSpot recommend one to five new posts published per week depending on what you’re trying to accomplish and the post’s size.
Whether you publish one or five new posts per week, it’s essential to be consistent.
Promote on Social Media
Google algorithms assess social media engagement, as well as the content. This infographic from Social Media Today lists social promotion as one of the most effective ways to gain exposure for your site.
Write Compelling Content
Ask yourself why anyone would want to read your post and what do they take away? Offer not only interesting topics but well-written posts.
Present a Professional Package
Typography, a cohesive style, and related content can all make a post look professional or amateurish. Which do you want to represent your company?
Why Do Business Blogs Fail?
When business blogs fail, it’s often because they’re forgotten and ignored. Time after time, I visit blogs and find nothing new posted in months. They’re not a priority – something is always more important than publishing and promoting a new post, or is it?
The Four Reasons Are:
- Insufficient resources dedicated to the blog
- The blog is not promoted
- It’s unprofessional in content and presentation
- And the number one reason is… the business doesn’t understand how important the blog is to SEO and gives up.
If this post struck a nerve, you might want to check out my book, How to Stay Ahead of Your Business Blog Forever. The book is full of action plans action plans from how to stay ahead of your blog to writing quality content.
If you liked this post, you might also enjoy How to Defeat Writer’s Block.
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Blogs failing is an interesting concept to think about. For instance, you mention blogs that failed because they haven’t kept up with their content. I see that as the businesses failing, not necessarily the blog, because most businesses don’t understand the concept of blogging in the first place.
I look at my blogs and sometimes wonder if I’ve failed. I’ve been writing it since 2005 (my 16th anniversary is on the 22nd). In the early days I wasn’t always sure what blog content should be, so some articles are worthless while others aren’t all that bad. Back then it was easy to get a high blog ranking by putting out a lot of content, no matter what kind of content it was. These days it’s harder to break through when the blogosphere’s so crowded (remember when we all used to use that word?). Back then I got comments and even a couple of speaking engagements because I stood out. Now, even keeping up a once a week article (I skip one here and there) I hardly get any interaction (my other blog does much better). And, because I understand SEO and keywords, one would think those would help me stand out; not all that much, even though I promote my articles on social media sites.
Based on your four points, I’m doing what I should be doing. Based on results, not so much. Yet I’ll keep on writing because it’s what I do. I don’t know how to shut up; look how long this comment is. 🙂
Thanks Mitch, great points. Funny, I’m cleaning up old posts from one blog that goes back to 2010. Some I trash, others I rewrite. The topics, like yours, were all over the place. And you don’t talk too much. I think you should copy your comment and work it into a post!