by Doreen Martel

Created on: March 23, 2010

When you are focused on your blog it is hard to remember that your blog is one of the thousands of blogs on the internet.  Readers have choices to make and there are reasons why they may elect to stop reading a blog.  While there are things that you can do that can keep readers interested in reading your blog there are also things that can turn blog readers away. Here are some of them:

A) Changing focus - Some of the best blogs have a main focus. They explore a single topic in depth and provide a variety of posts that tie back to that topic.  If you are blogging without focus, you are going to turn readers away unless they are interested in reading about a wide variety of topics on one blog;

B) Over-advertising - Nearly everyone understands that blog owners are blogging for the purpose of making money. However, if your entire blog is packed full of advertising gimmicks you can turn blog readers away.  Selling multiple affiliate marketing schemes, overuse of advertising all take away from your blog content and can drive readers away.

C) Poor quality - To keep readers (and get new readers) your blog posts must be well written and be free of spelling and grammatical errors. Not everyone has to be an English major to write good, effective blog posts but you do have to make sure they are accurate. There is always a chance that you will make an error in a posting - we all make mistakes, regardless of how many times we review our work. However, ensure that your blog posts are not constantly riddled with mistakes by making use of grammar and spell checkers.

D) Over-promotion - If your blog posts all refer back to other websites that are promoting affiliate products, you run a high risk of turning blog readers away. If you link to relevant content that can add to your post, most readers appreciate that. However, linking to other sites that do not have relevance to your blog posts will drive readers way from your blog in droves.

E) Distractions - If your blog has pop-up ads, flashing banners and other distractions, you will soon find that you will drive your readers away. Blog readers are like everyone else - they dedicate a part of their day to reading blogs and they do not want the fuss of blocking unwanted advertisements and other annoyances from view while they are trying to read your blog. These are design flaws and should be carefully considered when you are setting your blog up.

Summary

The first rule that all successful bloggers should follow is to respect their audience.  Knowing how to provide relevant content, staying on topic and removing barriers to successful participation can help keep blog readers interested in your blog. Avoid these mistakes that can turn blog readers away.

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