10 Reasons Why I Don’t Like Your Blog
This has been one of my more popular posts and almost 2 years after I first wrote it I still get regular hits every day. I’m not sure why it is so popular but it seems to have struck a chord with my readers. What’s also amazing it is still as relevant today as it was then and has stood the test of time.
I thought I would feature it again now that I’m on Wordpress and I’m preparing a sequel that should be available shortly. So if you have already read it before then consider this a refresher course as it covers quite a few areas that we all need to review every once in awhile. For my new readers it should be an eye opening experience and I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing it.
I get a lot of questions about how to make a blog better, so I thought I would look at it from a different angle and tell you what I don’t like about some of the blogs that I see out there. If you think you fit into one or more of the categories, don’t take it personally. Just take it to heart and learn from it.
Trust me when I say that we’ve all been there — yours truly included, and I’m still learning every day.
1. Your blog looks like everyone else’s. Answer: Learn a little HTML, CSS and Photoshop skills and convert that canned template into your own. Spruce it up a little. Change the colours, make a new graphic for the banner, or put the sidebar on the other side. Whatever… as long as it looks unique and like YOU.
2. Your blog is too hard to read. Answer: Your fonts are too small, your template colors clash, your navigation is confusing or maybe you just can’t write and should consider getting into podcasting or something. I hear YouTube is doing well.
3. I ran out of patience waiting because your blog takes forever to load or is slow to respond to my mouse clicks. Answer: Get rid of some of those javascripts running in the background, that silly flash intro, or trim some weight off those graphics that take forever to load and way too much bandwidth. And while you’re at it get rid of those old school HTML tables. Make the switch over to CSS stylesheets. It will be time worth spent.
4. Get rid of those useless widgets. Answer: Some widgets are useful, but most are just plain useless and offer no value to your blog. They can also hurt your blog because they use javascripts which can slow down your site (read #3 again). Remember - content is king so get rid of the fluff. I will visit your blog if you have something interesting to say - not to see what the weather is in your home town.
5. I won’t leave a comment on your blog because your posts sound too authoritative, are too boring, too argumentative, you force me to login, you never responded to my previous comments, or you shot me down the last time that I offered a different opinion. Shall I continue (as I pause to catch my breath)?
Answer: Learn to write in a style that is non-confrontational, lively and conversational. Don’t be an arrogant know-it-all and write to entertain, not drain. Above all, make it easy to leave comments, be courteous and try to respond to commentors that took the time to write. Cultivating a community spirit will do wonders for increasing your traffic.
6. You don’t seem to have any opinions about anything. Answer: Some bloggers are afraid to speak up because they are afraid of being flamed. Heck, sticks and stones… remember it is your blog and you can delete those unsavoury trolls if you wish. So don’t be a wussy, and above all don’t be a bore. We have TV for that.
7. Your blog is on MySpace. Nuff said. Ok, maybe that sounds arrogant but the fact is there are a lot of bloggers out there that won’t even look at a MySpace blog. So if you want to be a serious blogger (which is why you are probably reading this post) then you should seriously consider the blog platform that you are using.
8. You don’t post consistently. Answer: Nobody wants to visit a dead blog. There is a controversy in the blogosphere about how often you should post, but the bottom line is “quality” and “consistency” are the keywords when it comes to posting. So before you sit down to write put some thought into it and make certain that you have something interesting to say. Try to write regularly with a schedule that works for you.
9. Your blog discusses controversial topics that are not to my liking. Answer: I’m a firm believer in having a niche topic for your blog, especially for business. But controversial topics run the risk of turning off potential readers — especially politics or religion for example. If you want to speak your mind on controversial topics then you should consider creating a separate blog for that.
10. You don’t link. Answer: Commonly known as link-love there are several reasons why you should link. Firstly, when you cut and paste from another source you absolutely MUST provide a link back to the source. Nobody likes plagiarism.
Secondly, if I have linked to your posts and you never returned the favour, well… let’s just say that I’m put off and I probably won’t be linking (or visiting) back at ya again. Or the least you could do is email me a thank you or leave a comment on my blog. It’s just common courtesy.
There’s another even more important reason for linking. That is how Google ranks websites/blogs, and the more seed that you sow, the more you will also reap. That’s not only for good SEO but it is a spiritual law as well.
*This post has been updated since it’s original posting on August 10th, 2006.
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an excellent post
Yes, a lot of good things to remember in here. Great post Bloke.
Doesn’t google pagerank depend on the number of pages that link to you and not the number of links that your page has?
Hi Ramani… this is from Google:
“PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B.”
So if I link to you and you link to me, we both benefit. But of course it’s not always that simple and Google’s algorithms also take into consideration other factors such as relevance.
There is a ton of different things that go into PR, but it seems the #1 thing you can do to improve it is incoming links. From personal experience though, as long as you have incoming links, you can ignore pretty much everything else and still get a decent PR quickly.
Jeremy G.’s last blog post..Finding the Fire to Keep Blogging…
Jeremy G. reply on June 17th, 2008 7:16 am:
Another great post, Blog Bloke. One of the reasons I cross blogs off my list is the comments issue you raise in point 5. I’ve had it in the past where I’ve posted a comment in a jokey style and got shot down in flames. A sure fire way of me not returning.
Whilst on the subject of comments, what’s your view on the best way to prevent comment spamming? As soon as I see a blog which forces me to log in to comment I’m generally out of the door unless it’s a blog I’ve visited previously (such as this one, for example). Full comment moderation by the author can sometimes lead to a time delay which can turn the reader off. I’m loathed to turn off moderation for fear of being spammed mercilessly.
Any advice, oh Guru of all things Blog?
Hi Mike. I don’t appreciate being forced to log in for the same reasons that you mention. As a blogger, a reader of blogs, a father, a husband and a mediator — that makes me a pretty busy guy, and I don’t need to be hassled just to leave a comment on someone’s blinkity-blank blog.
If the owner of the blog really appreciates me as a reader, (and if I am willing to take a few moments from my busy schedule), then as far as I’m concerned the blog owner should at least make it as easy as possible for me to comment.
I look at my readers as I would a client. They are my reason for existence as a blogger, for without them I am just blowin’ in the wind. I should therefore treat them with the same dignity and respect as I would expect if I were shopping at my favorite store. So like you, I generally won’t leave a comment if required to log in.
Another reason is I’m suspicious of anyone that requires me to register an account. Perhaps they intend to use that information to spam me? Who knows? And while I’m on the topic, neither do I like blog platforms that insist on me disclosing my email address. I mean, DO they really think I’m dumb enough to leave my real address? Does bb@bb.net sound at all familiar? Good luck in trying to reach me if you dare.
Having said that, neither am I a fan of comment moderation because it is a pain in the buttocks forcing me to log in to my dashboard to accept or reject each and every comment. What a nuisance. Who needs the hassles? Not me that’s for sure.
Neither do I like comment moderation for the reason you mention. It is very disconcerting to say the least if after leaving a lengthy comment only to be told that it is waiting in the queue and might not even get posted. I will think long and hard before posting at that blog again.
Some bloggers may consider it a technique to increase traffic because it encourages commentors to come back and see if they were published. But I don’t think surreptitious methods that importune readers is a good method to build a thriving community. Over the long run it will probably hurt your blog and come back to bite you in the behind.
For me using comment verification is the best option. It only takes a moment for the commentor, and is a fair trade-off to minimize spam. It’s not 100% percent fool-proof, but then again what is.
Thanks for the comment Mike and to everyone else as well.
Hi Blogbloke, thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment at A World of Reeholio. Until I read your 10 reasons… I didn’t appreciate the importance of replying to comments. I do now, and have been polite enough to answer yours and the others there. Thanks for more great advice in this article.
Rhys
i did a search on blogsearch by google with a keyword ‘i’m a simple blogger at heart’ and viola 10 thing why i don’t like your blog! so much to learn here
Thanks for the great advice as ever, BB. I will make the necessary changes on my site and install a verification app.
P.S. Yeah…I thought I’d seen that email address somewhere
My pleasure Rhys. The blogosphere is a “conversation” and using comments properly is necessary for building your blog into a community. Otherwise we are just another blowhard sermonizing from the mount.
Mike — here’s my new tel number: 1-800-blogs-r-us. But please keep it to yourself ;-).
Philipge, thanks for the kind comments and I’m gratified if it helped.
Hey, Blog-Bloke. I particularly liked your suggestion of adding links within the text of your blog. I have completely missed that whole dimension in my blog. I don’t know what you mean by CSS, but I will investigate that. Thanks for the tips.
Here you go Gem: CSS
I would post replies… if people posted comments!
That said, great post - all things to bear in mind when posting.
Spoken like a true Bloke of Blogs. Nicely done! And I completely agree on the comment thing. I find it arrogant that some blogs don’t allow comments at all - yet will invite trackbacks. As if the only people allowed to join the conversation are those who are already bloggers… ’nuff said. In fact, you said it better than I just did!
Part Time Entrepreneur, I’m honored to be your first commenter amongst many more to come I’m sure.
Thanks for the kind comments Wendy, and double ditto on the arrogance thing. Even more astounding is some so-called blogs don’t even offer trackback. They sound more like a sermon from the mount than a blog. But that’s just my humble opinion.
Ironically, your page is 146KB to load, with 15 different different scripts being loaded up.
Excellent tips. I’m trying to make my blog a little more personable. I made my own banner and I updated my “About” page.
Thanks “anonymous”. I haven’t verified your figures and I never said to get rid of all scripts. On my ‘puter the page loads quickly, but if anyone else is having a problem constructive criticism is always appreciated.
Thanks Tim and I’m glad if it helped.
” You don’t seem to have any opinions about anything. Answer: Some bloggers are afraid to speak up because they are afraid of being flamed. Heck, sticks and stones… remember it is your blog and you can delete those unsavoury trolls if you wish.”
For the last 6 weeks, some of my enteries could make the frontpage of social nbookmarking sites like Fark, Shoutwire, Stumble Upon and Reddit. I suffered a lot of negative comments. I guessthat negative comments are an essential part of growing up as a blogger.
Great post!
I am not sure which category I fall into. Whether I am sermonizing from the mound or too authoritative. I get lots of traffic, but very few comments in comparison.
Anyone care to take a look at my blog and speculate on what’s holding back the comments?
I actually got a useful bit from your blog that wasn’t on the list. I’m now going to have the title of each entry be a link to the post on a standalone page.
Also, a question. When linking in your posts, what is your stance on opening a new window? I’ve heard that it’s good because then the visitor is not directed away from your page. I have also heard that it’s bad because if the user wants another window open they’ll open it themselves.
Currently I have the links in my posts open a new window because I find that is what I prefer most of the time.
Thanks, and good advice.
Yes Razib, it seems that flaming goes hand in hand with blogging, but it shouldn’t have to be that way. There’s constructive criticism, and then there’s destructive. Some folks just haven’t figured that out yet. It’s also a reason why I don’t post at Blogcritics anymore.
Thanks for the kudos Brad. I will take a look at your blog, but I can tell you that one of the things that turned the corner for me was reaching out to other bloggers by commenting (politely) on their sites and they reciprocating. The blogosphere is all about the ‘conversation’ and networking.
It seems to me that everyone wants traffic, and all too often we focus on trying to bring traffic to our blogs and forgetting about returning the favor.
Good catch Brian. By making post pages and the title into a link you will improve your pagerank as well as the way it gets listed in the search engines.
Regarding opening links in a new window, most web aficionados frown upon doing so because it disables the Back button which is the normal way users return to previous sites, it hijacks their browser so to speak and soaks up unnecessary resources.
Thanx! Very useful information.
Thank you for stopping by Blog Bloke. It’s interesting you say that. I normally don’t have a lot of time for surfing around too much. But I’ll try it!
My pleasure maxel and thanks for dropping by.
Yes Brad, I agree with the time problem but it will reap rewards ten fold.
Thanks for the help and the comment on my blog Bloke, may I post a link to your blog on my sidebar?
P.S. I’m still tweaking all kinds of things on my blog so it may be an adventure for the next little while. I just tinker with it when I can find the time.
Of course Brian.
Hi Bloke,
Just blog hopping until I found your blog.
Your blog is very informative! Can I link/post this entry to my blog?
Sure raquel. Go ahead.
hey, u have nice blog here! I’ll definitly bookmark it!!! Come and check out my site out if you have time.
Captcha
What if you can’t add? There’s your answer hahaha
Carney.
This is quite funny and accurate. I’m going to steal it for my LOTW. Check MODE on Friday!
Thanks for your comment, by the way. I appreciate the visit. Glad I made the cut of commentible blogs.
“Glad I made the cut of commentible blogs”.
Me too
I agree with all ten. I get tired of bloggers who also do a “doorbell ditch” thing with their comments, trying to get your attention and then you never see them again. If you want to comment, say something legitimate not just “nice blog” or “me too”
“doorbell ditch”
You sure have a way with words Michelle
This post may be almost a year old, but it is still one of the most informative posts I’ve read in recent history.
Thanks for pointing those things out.
Now, I’m off to hunt for a ‘comment verification plugin’ for wordpress so I can turn off moderation.
Wow. Thank you so much for saying that. I wish you had left a name because my competitors will probably accuse me of making it
I hope I don’t sound egotistical by saying this, but is also one of the most copied posts as well.
Thank you for reminding me how long it has been since writing it. I guess it’s time that I published a sequel (it’s in the works as I speak).
Thanks again for dropping by.
I wanted to leave my name and URL on that comment, but the form would not accept my google login id and when I selected ‘other’ and put my information in, I tried SIX TIMES to get past the image verification and, even though I had it right, I kept getting handed a new image to verify.
I eventually selected ‘Anonymous’ because nothing else would work.
Now, let’s see what happens this time.
I’ve noticed myself when I first try to log in the CAPTCHA might make me repeat. But that’s unusual for using the “Other” option.
Now I know who I’m thanking for such a nice comment and thanks for making an extra effort.
Cheers!
…BB
Like you, I don’t like logging in. That one really bothers me. I recently went over to Wordpress from Thimgamablog. Tonight, after having read your 10 reasons, I am taking out the need for email address in my comments. I agree. Don’t even know why it’s there. I just never thought of it before.
One thing I sort of disagree with you on is the idea of being too authoritative or too argumentative unless I have misunderstood you on this, which is really possible. On my blog, I have opinions and I give them. Of course, I do not try to be a know it all. Religion..yes, I talk about that. Politics, oh yeah. Does this make my blog hard to read? I hope not. Thanks for your list of reasons. Very informative.
Hi Jaz. Remember I also said to not be a wussy
It depends a lot on the type of blog that you have. If you have a professional or business blog it is especially risky discussing politics or religion because you run the risk of alienating some of your audience/customers.
If politics and religion are important to you then you should consider making a blog specifically for that niche.
Hi again,
I am definitely not wussy. LOL! Perhaps a little too outspoken.
My blog is a personal one so I don’t have customers to scare off. Thing is, my blog is really for about anything I can blog about but the primary focus is the news, politics and my beliefs which are different from religion athough I have my cat pic in there now too.
Maybe that is my problem. It does not have a narrow enough focus. Hmm. That’s food for thought. Thank you!!
Good post with some good points to ponder. I am curious about something though, you wrote this page on 8/6/06 and I’m sure there’s plenty of links to it, but the entry itself comes back ‘unranked’ or PR 0 on any tool I know to check PR with. I would have expected it to be a PR4 or PR5
Hi Ed. Funny you should mention that. There are literally dozens of links to this post but I lost them when I changed my URL slightly. What’s odd about it is I set it up so that all of the old links are redirected to this blog, but for some reason Google hasn’t caught up yet.
i like your blog. cool tips´n´tricks to learn from. i think you got yourself a new frequenter…
maybe you wanna take a look at my blog if you have some time left.
chilli
Welcome to the community chilli.
Ha ha- very cool post… I hate when I read a great post and then scroll down to comment and there is some sort of confrontational nonsense at the bottom too like “don’t put links in your comment because I’ll only strip them out” (that one was like ok so this person blogs in a vacuum and only wants people to know about him… and not about his readers.) I tend to leave these type blogs and never return myself… Half the bloggers are begging for comments and links and the other half just want to hear themselves blog. -Michelle I can be found here Smart not Cheap and here One of a Kind Wisconsin
excellent post! I came across via “The man in a box” mgyoe.blogspot.com blog. http://mgyoe.blogspot.com/2006/08/blogging-tips-from-bloke-and-liz.html
Thank you so much for saying so and I’m glad that it helped. Please drop by again soon.
Cheers!
…BB
I agree with you!
I have a few pet peeves of my own, but you certainly hit the most important ones here.
Thanks Jayne. Stay tuned for the sequel that will be published shortly.
Yesterday I found your enlightening article about the use of Custom Domains on Blogger. Thanks to you I made the jump to http://therottenword.com.
I realize that was just the beginning of my education via Blog Bloke and I’m trying to bring my blog up to the next level a bit with your advice.
Much obliged!
Glad to hear it worked for you Joe. You should leave a comment on that post. It will encourage a lot of people who are afraid to take the plunge.
Very good points… it was pleasure to read.
I glad you enjoyed it Davinder.
“7. Your blog is on MySpace. Nuff said.”
As true then as it is now.
No comment
From this post, I’ll ask you a question.. Do you like my blog?
Hussein’s last blog post..Pacquiao vs Diaz: Your Bet
Before I answer that, after reading this post why don’t you tell me what you don’t like.
Blog Bloke reply on June 8th, 2008 10:09 am:
I think this is the post that brought me to your blog in the first place, and it’s still one of my favorites. Also my favorite “reasons why I don’t like your blog” post amongst the many floating around the blogosphere. Thanks for reposting it, and I’m looking forward to the follow-up!
Kirsten’s last blog post..Beauty Queen
Thanks Kirsten. You mean there’s another copycat post out there? I wouldn’t be surprised given how often I’m plagiarized.
Blog Bloke reply on June 8th, 2008 11:25 am:
With me, everyones FIRST comment goes into moderation and the rest go right through which I’ll then self-moderate when they hit my email…I download email every hour or two so spam does not get much attention before deletion.
#10 - How do you know every time someone links to you if they don’t show in the dashboard as incoming links? Not all of them do.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..New Category - FREE Marketing Membership Sites
Btw, I’m referring to “human spam” as Akismet does a darn good job with the the 101 link porn spam LOL.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..New Category - FREE Marketing Membership Sites
Dennis Edell reply on June 9th, 2008 4:42 pm:
I don’t rely on the WP dashboard. It’s reliability is spotty to say the least. So I use Google directly to search for backlinks as well as Technorati. Between the two of them I can find most backlinks, but of course Murphy’s Law prevails in the virtual world and not just the real one.
Blog Bloke reply on June 9th, 2008 5:11 pm:
Couldn’t that take forever if you have thousands…you may miss a few lol.
How often do you check?
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..New Category - FREE Marketing Membership Sites
It’s all done automagically. I just subscribe to the RSS feeds provided by Google Blog Search and Technorati.
Blog Bloke reply on June 9th, 2008 5:45 pm:
I swear I’m not as dumb as I sound lol, but could you please email me specifics on how to go about that?
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..New Category - FREE Marketing Membership Sites
When you’re at Google on the top menu there’s a “more” menu. Click on it and choose “Blogs”.
Type: “link:http://www.YOURBLOG.com” in the search box (without the quotes).
There you will find an RSS icon to subscribe to the search feed.
In Technorati it’s similar and just search your blog url and subscribe to the newsfeed.
Easy peezy.
In Google I notice I can also set up a “blog alert”…would this be just as effective as the RSS?
I ask because the RSS does not have an email subscribe option and I HATE readers. I never remember to check them.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Want TEN THOUSAND Entrecard Credits For 5 Minutes Work?
Sure, you can do that. Or why not set up both and have both of your butt cheeks covered?
The price is right.
Blog Bloke reply on June 10th, 2008 5:57 pm:
Dennis Edell reply on June 10th, 2008 5:27 pm:
Blog Bloke reply on June 9th, 2008 9:35 pm:
One Word, ROCKS!!!
Awesome point you’ve made there! Love breath catching one (#5) and #8.
It’s very true and I’ve tasted this one before. I lost lots of my traffic and readership since I off (sick leave - hospitalize)for more than 5 months. Thanks for such an insightful post. Stumbled!
Ken’s last blog post..Time Based Advertising Tutorial
Hi Ken. Thanks for your kind words, the stumble and I’m glad that you like it. Sorry to hear about your health problems and I hope all is well with you now. I’ve had my own health problems and sparse blogging in the past but hopefully that is behind us now.
So blog on brother!
Blog Bloke reply on June 10th, 2008 3:11 am:
I totally 100% agree with this list. We’ve built our latest theme to try to combat reasons listed here.
The thing that puts me off the most is when you have to register for comments. I hate that.
Adam’s last blog post..The Art of Writing Maintainable Code
Ditto on that
Blog Bloke reply on June 10th, 2008 4:17 pm:
So confused right now. Just looking for the simpliest way to be aware when some one is talking or linking to me or my blogs or whatever…I’ll figure this pout eventually. LOL
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Want TEN THOUSAND Entrecard Credits For 5 Minutes Work?
Nothing to be confused about Dennis. Just paste this into Google:
link:http://www.directsaleswebmarketing.com/
Then subscribe to the RSS newsfeed and the email alert.
Blog Bloke reply on June 10th, 2008 7:29 pm:
I also cant figure out technorati…I assume you mean an RSS feed for the “blog reactions”? I can’t find it.
Dennis Edell’s last blog post..Want TEN THOUSAND Entrecard Credits For 5 Minutes Work?
It’s the same for Technorati. They have a search box in the top right-hand corner. Paste your URL there and hit enter. Your browser should show you an RSS icon which you can subscribe to in your newsfeed reader. I’m not aware of an email subscription though.
Blog Bloke reply on June 11th, 2008 2:58 am:
Besides the fact that you severely hurt my feelings by telling me how you didn’t like my blog, I think that was a good list. I will use it to improve my own faults!
Nothing personal Tim
Blog Bloke reply on June 11th, 2008 9:36 am:
hi blogbloke!
I ju