7 Reasons No One Follows Your Blog

I haven’t written a blog post about blogging in a while. I slowed down on that because I could be, you know, writing.

Today, I am not writing. I am enjoying this good weather and stealing this downtime for a quick blog post. I hope these tips /reminders will be useful for any new bloggers out there.

You Don’t Have a Follow Button.

I have spoken heavily on this in the past, and it’s still true today. I still find people whose blogs I want to follow, but I can’t because there is no follow button. At this point in life, with COVID and all, few people will stop to go on a scavenger hunt to find where your button is. If you are blogging on WordPress, go to your Dashboard > Appearance> Widget > Follow blog. Place it somewhere near the top (not at the bottom), so it is noticed.

You Don’t Post Enough.

I am sure I probably post too much (sorry fam), which can have repercussions, but not posting enough is also not good. Not only will people not be interested in following you, but those who follow you may forget you are there, meaning that when you post, they aren’t even reading. People are forgetful, and it’s a lot going on in the world right now. I am not the person who thinks people should blog every day, but I think the posts should be consistent enough to keep the blogger memorable and the people engaged.

You Don’t Respond to Comments.

Social media isn’t about followers anymore, so much as it is about engagement. Responding to comments is one of the easiest ways to engage with your audience and other bloggers. Commenting on someone else’s blog is also a simple way to gain a follower. This is the power of networking. When someone comments on your blog, don’t just like their comment, reply! And respond not to get the follow, but have an opinion on the topic. Give your feedback some substance and add it to the conversation.

You Post Your Blog Link in the Comments Asking for a Follow

This is tacky and unattractive to other bloggers. Leaving a comment that is only a link back to your blog, followed by “please follow my blog,” makes you look desperate and turns that blogger off. I am much more likely to subscribe to someone’s blog who just left a real comment on my blog or liked my post than I will someone posting a link back to their blog in my comments. If you think this is mean, then you have not been blogging long enough to come across spammers and trolls. How do I tell the difference between you, the real blogger, and a spammer if you are both spamming me?

Please, don’t do this.

Your Content is Not Interesting To Your Readers

Sometimes it’s just the basics, such as not posting anything valuable for your audience. One lesson I learned in life is being relatable and making connections with people based on a common goal or interest. I think blogging and social media is the same way. No man is an island, and no man knows it all. Therefore, while I have my way of seeing things, I think it’s necessary to allow room for diverse thoughts and differences of perspective. To me, that shakes things up and makes it fun. It also provides room for learning and growth.

I don’t want people to walk on eggshells around me, and I’m not walking on eggshells around anyone else. Yes, I’ve had some heated debates on this blog, and I am pretty sure some people hate my guts, but those same people also know me the better because of it. I think some of the best friendships develop from a difference in opinion because people are not all the same, and when each person can bring something different, I think it creates a good balance.

To make a long story short, people don’t want to follow a boring blog.

Your Blog is Hard to Navigate

Making things more accessible to people is the best way to encourage them to stick around. If your blog is hard to navigate, people might not want to follow you. Everything should be easily attainable from your follow button to your widgets to your pages. Beyond this, be sure your blog is easy to read so dark colors with dark text that is heavy on the eyes is a no-no (keep in mind the visually impaired too), and consider a modern, updated look. If your blog looks like it belonged somewhere in 1998, I will be less inclined to follow. I suggest using WordPress because WordPress offers some neat free themes and widgets, is already optimized for mobile, and powers thirty percent of the internet. WordPress is a powerhouse for building websites and blogs, and I am not being paid to say this.

You Are Not Sharing Your Post on Social Media

I would leave this at six, but we might as well squeeze in one more. Another reason people may not follow your blog is that you are not telling them about it. Social media is the new word of mouth. The easiest way to draw attention to your posts is to share them to your social networking sites, whichever you use. I almost always share with Twitter, but I have shared it with my Facebook page too, and now and then, Instagram. Be sure to let people know about your excellent recent blog post. You will be glad you did. Closed mouths don’t get fed. Open your mouth.

I hope this is helpful to someone out there and if it is, let me know in the comments. Do you have any useful blogging tips for us? I would love to know. I want to improve my blog too! Also be sure to check out more blog tips on the blog tips page here.

Enjoy your weekend people!

Published by

Yecheilyah

Writing to restore Black historical truth through fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

38 thoughts on “7 Reasons No One Follows Your Blog”

  3. My “follow” button is located at the bottom of the page. I followed your instructions: If you are blogging on WordPress, go to your Dashboard > Appearance> Widget > Follow blog. Place it somewhere near the top (not at the bottom), so it is noticed.” Unfortunately, there is no option to relicate the “follow” button.

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    1. There are two follow buttons. Follow Button and Follow blog. I don’t think you can move the blue one that shows up at the bottom. The one you want and can move is the one that says Follow Blog (not button) and includes the wording follow this blog to receive notifications via email. Try that one.

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  5. This is a great list! How often to you suggest posting? I post every Saturday at 10 a.m. as well as Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Once in a long while, I post a third time, but that is not the norm for me. Thank you.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Yes. There are a few ways you can do it.
      You can download an automation app that will automatically publish your blog post to your SM every time without you having to do it. Now I’m not a fan of automation but that is one way to share your content.

      Or you can use the sharing buttons at the bottom of the WordPress blog post to share to your social media. For instance I use the Twitter one to share to that platform. You can add the sharing buttons by going to your WordPress Widget > Settings > Sharing and enable the buttons you want.

      You can also just manually log into your social media and post the link. If you go to my ig @yecheilyah you can see how I promoted my most recent blog post. If posting manually it’s good to add a caption about what the post is about to persuade people to click the link.

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  10. Thank you for your helpful post. I’m thinking about adding more social media buttons to my blog.
    So far, I only have Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. It will mean more time spent learning about social media than actually blogging. Thanks for your help.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You are welcomed. If you go to settings > sharing, you can add those buttons using the sharing bar. Also, you don’t have to spend a lot of time on social media. If you have 1-2 or 2-3 at most social media platforms you like and are engaged with, platforms where your readers are, I would focus on those and leave the rest.

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