The availability of so many blogging platforms online these days made it easier for just about anyone to start their own blog. Even so, it doesn’t mean that all bloggers find it easy to blog consistently without hiccups – there are challenges to be tackled each day, preventing a good blogger from becoming a great one.
Here are the most common challenges almost anyone will potentially face during his or her lifetime as a blogger – which ones do you experience?
1. Challenge #1: Writer’s block
Ahh, if only I had a dime every time I hear this lament uttered by writers everywhere, in and out of the blogosphere: “What do I write about?” The problem here is NOT because there’s a lack of content to write about. Rather, it is the fact that there’s too much information threatening to send the blogger’s brain into overdrive (admit it – you DO have a list of must-read blogs and articles daily, all . And we all know that too much of a good thing can be bad, don’t we?
Challenge accepted: To counter this issue, we need to first go back to our roots. Look at your blog, the first few posts that you’ve written from the beginning, that is. Do you remember just how exciting it was back then, clicking on the “NEW POST” button and tapping away happily late into the night with only a cup of coffee for company and your favorite band singing in the background? Reminisce on that, and relive those memories by doing exactly the same thing. Think about the purpose of your blog, and write about the most basic of all things that would appeal not only to your audience, but to yourself, because that’s why you started your blog in the first place, didn’t you?
If you’re on Twitter, do consider tweeting about your predicament, along with a strategically placed hashtag (i.e. #whatshouldiwriteabout) – it’ll do wonders for your content idea bank.
2. Challenge #2: Lack of comments from visitors
It’s discouraging to wait and wait for comments to flood in especially after you’ve spent the whole night writing a blog post you feel awfully proud about, and then not receiving any feedback.
Challenge accepted: Heard about the old adage “Give, and you shall receive”? If you want the pleasure of seeing comments flooding into your blog, then you should first freely offer them on other blogs. Don’t leave generic comments like “Great job!” but instead, offer constructive comments or a reply that everyone will find valuable.
3. Challenge #3: Zero or little traffic
Most people, with the exception of a few private bloggers, actually put up a blog so that people may appreciate their content, while others want more traffic so that they may capitalize on it. Whatever your reasons are for gaining more traffic, it can be disheartening to see the lack of traffic pouring in.
Challenge accepted: Do what everyone else is doing, and that is to promote your blog via social media. Companies such as SGW swore by social media widgets that can easily help them achieve this. Another method is to identify websites that are similar to your niche and offer to write them a guest post or two. That way when you link back to your site, you’ll have readers from other sites visiting your blog. Voila, more traffic!
4. Challenge #4: No time to blog
Some bloggers find it difficult to be consistent when posting content after the initial euphoria. It may be due to busier days at the workplace or a new baby if the blogger is a mom-to-be, but if you put your heart to it, you WILL find the time to blog.
Challenge accepted: If you own a smartphone, you’ll find that you can blog from just about anywhere using appropriate apps using your mobile device (Squarespace is pretty nifty). You can also consider sending out short but regular tweets, and when you do have the time, you can expand upon these tweets into full-fledged blog posts.
5. Lack of SEO knowledge
If you properly search engine optimize your blog, you may be rewarded with higher rankings than the average blogger who don’t. However, some bloggers bemoan the fact that they are not proficient in SEO enough without realizing that the most basic knowledge is the BEST knowledge.
Challenge accepted: You don’t have to be an SEO genius to start obtaining higher ranks in the search engines. As long as you have great content, a user-friendly design, a good amount of followers and good social media practices, then you’re as good as the next SEO blogger.
5 Gut-wrenching Challenges Faced by Bloggers Today (and How to Counter Them)
The availability of so many blogging platforms online these days made it easier for just about anyone to start their own blog. Even so, it doesn’t mean that all bloggers find it easy to blog consistently without hiccups – there are challenges to be tackled each day, preventing a good blogger from becoming a great one.
Here are the most common challenges almost anyone will potentially face during his or her lifetime as a blogger – which ones do you experience?
1. Challenge #1: Writer’s block
Ahh, if only I had a dime every time I hear this lament uttered by writers everywhere, in and out of the blogosphere: “What do I write about?” The problem here is NOT because there’s a lack of content to write about. Rather, it is the fact that there’s too much information threatening to send the blogger’s brain into overdrive (admit it – you DO have a list of must-read blogs and articles daily, all . And we all know that too much of a good thing can be bad, don’t we?
Challenge accepted: To counter this issue, we need to first go back to our roots. Look at your blog, the first few posts that you’ve written from the beginning, that is. Do you remember just how exciting it was back then, clicking on the “NEW POST” button and tapping away happily late into the night with only a cup of coffee for company and your favorite band singing in the background? Reminisce on that, and relive those memories by doing exactly the same thing. Think about the purpose of your blog, and write about the most basic of all things that would appeal not only to your audience, but to yourself, because that’s why you started your blog in the first place, didn’t you?
If you’re on Twitter, do consider tweeting about your predicament, along with a strategically placed hashtag (i.e. #whatshouldiwriteabout) – it’ll do wonders for your content idea bank.
2. Challenge #2: Lack of comments from visitors
It’s discouraging to wait and wait for comments to flood in especially after you’ve spent the whole night writing a blog post you feel awfully proud about, and then not receiving any feedback.
Challenge accepted: Heard about the old adage “Give, and you shall receive”? If you want the pleasure of seeing comments flooding into your blog, then you should first freely offer them on other blogs. Don’t leave generic comments like “Great job!” but instead, offer constructive comments or a reply that everyone will find valuable.
3. Challenge #3: Zero or little traffic
Most people, with the exception of a few private bloggers, actually put up a blog so that people may appreciate their content, while others want more traffic so that they may capitalize on it. Whatever your reasons are for gaining more traffic, it can be disheartening to see the lack of traffic pouring in.
Challenge accepted: Do what everyone else is doing, and that is to promote your blog via social media. Companies such as SGWDallas swore by social media widgets that can easily help them achieve this. Another method is to identify websites that are similar to your niche and offer to write them a guest post or two. That way when you link back to your site, you’ll have readers from other sites visiting your blog. Voila, more traffic!
4. Challenge #4: No time to blog
Some bloggers find it difficult to be consistent when posting content after the initial euphoria. It may be due to busier days at the workplace or a new baby if the blogger is a mom-to-be, but if you put your heart to it, you WILL find the time to blog.
Challenge accepted: If you own a smartphone, you’ll find that you can blog from just about anywhere using appropriate apps using your mobile device (Squarespace is pretty nifty). You can also consider sending out short but regular tweets, and when you do have the time, you can expand upon these tweets into full-fledged blog posts.
5. Lack of SEO knowledge
If you properly search engine optimize your blog, you may be rewarded with higher rankings than the average blogger who don’t. However, some bloggers bemoan the fact that they are not proficient in SEO enough without realizing that the most basic knowledge is the BEST knowledge.
Challenge accepted: You don’t have to be an SEO genius to start obtaining higher ranks in the search engines. As long as you have great content, a user-friendly design, a good amount of followers and good social media practices, then you’re as good as the next SEO blogger.