Your Blog Needs a Kick in the Pants, or Maybe You Do

KickButt-711199.gif 320×224 pixels.jpg It just happens. Either you are stuck and don’t know where to even begin to get a blog off the ground. Or you realize as you pull your blog up, it is just not working. You are doing something wrong and you know it because…

You have run out of things to write about, or at least think you have.
You get so busy with the business the blog is generating, you don’t have time to post.
You don’t feel like anyone is reading your blog.
You just can’t think of any good headlines to put on your post, so you stop posting altogether.
You are not getting comments on your blog
You have a blog that is just not attracting readers or if they do show up, they don’t stay
You have failed to connect with your readers.
You feel like you have not built a community with your blog
You are not getting subscribers to your blog.

I could go on and on with what new and seasoned bloggers say and what they are facing when they blog. Blogging is a tremendous marketing tool for your business if you do it right. But, it can also be very frustrating if you try to take shortcuts to success.

What I don’t want any of you to do it to take those shortcuts. I don’t want you to start changing things willy-nilly in hopes to make everything perfect. What I do want you to do is to have some type of road map to lead you down the right road to blogging success. Keep in mind, if your blog is successful and it brings in traffic to either your online store, online business or your brick and mortar one, your business will be on its way to being successful too.

Just like you, I have been there

All too often, we decide what we are doing is not working. Our approach is all wrong. Our design is just plain and awful. Our domain name is all wrong. Our headlines are not working and they are boring. We look at the list above and decide we have to change it.

Don’t without knowing what, if anything you need to do.

Base your changes on things that work

I know you can’t learn everything you need to know from gluing yourself to your stats. What you need to do is find out what has worked for others and then try those techniques on your own blog. And this is where our new ebook and workbook come into play. Oh, and you can read this blog too, which I know you are since you are reading this post.

Don’t go it alone

I have been blogging for over 4 years and let me assure you, I am still learning new ways to make my blogs better. And I am still learning new ways to screw things up. I have tried and failed, tried again and failed again. This blog for example was basically launched twice and we are getting ready to do a completely new redesign too.

I remember when I hit 100 subscribers and put my sights on 500. We are now fast approaching 3000 subscribers to this blog and at least that many people are reading what we send out regularly in our email marketing.

The truth is I read a handful of some of the very best blogs out there in my opinion daily. I am not going to list them here, yet, as I don’t want anyone to get PO’d if I didn’t mention them. I also buy, subscribe to and read ebooks, courses and newsletter almost weekly if not daily. And I have a couple of mentors who I call upon on a regular basis too, when I hit a wall.

Get our new ebook/workbook for FREE

In my small effort to give something back, I wanted to give away 15 FREE copies of our new ebook/workbook which is tied to 31-Days to Kick Your Blog in the Butt. Along with the ebook and workbook you will also get a FREE copy of our just released 30-Days of Twitter Hints and Tips.

This is all absolutely free. No sales pages. No opt-ins. No questionnaires, surveys or polls.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post, telling me why your blog needs a swift Kick in the Butt.

Simple enough?

Now, jump down to the comment section, leave me a comment as to why you are frustrated or what you think the issue or issues are. And tell me why you think your blog needs a Kick in the Butt. I will contact the winners by email, so make sure you provide your email address in the appropriate box provided.

Yael Brisker

Hi Grant!
Been following you awhile on twitter, and tho' I probably missed this challenge, I still would like to put in my bit. Looking into finally creating a website for my Fine Metalwork, it suddenly clicked that I can use my blog AS A WEBSITE!!! And though it is relatively new (4 months on blogger - planning to move to Wordpress). I realized the possibilities are endless ! I'm blogging bi-lingually about my work as teacher of Nonviolent Communication and my Metalworking business. I really love it! But I barely have comments, I notice the pitfalls and want to learn everything I can! Thanks for sharing this valuable experience.

Grant Griffiths

Yael -- Glad you jump on the challenge even now. You can do them at your own pace and I know you will find them useful.

Gina

Thanks for this! I definitely need a (couple) of kicks in the butt to get my blog started and live. Been following the 31 days series and finally ready to take some action.

Mariam Cisse

Hi there,

As I read this post, I felt really guilty! I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but almost all the points you mentioned, seem to be things, I'm thinking about.

Sometimes I fell like kicking this blog out of my head and start another one. But that doesn't feel to be right way, too. It seems that I'm not attracting the people, not able to get new subscribers etc. And that's because I often don't know what to write about..

Ellen Lockwood

I only recently began blogging and tweeting. My main problem is making time. I have two other twitter accounts and am in the process of starting another blog. I need to make blogging a priority and put myself on a scheudle, just like I do for other things in my life that are important. So I, and my blog(s), need a kick in the pants!

Dr. Patrick MacNamara

To arrogantly claim that my blog DOESN'T need a swift Kick in the Butt would be foolish. Learning is a daily process and needs to be embraced consistently.

Furthermore, having your workbook would simply aid me in implementing the plethora of tips and strategies that were shared over the course of 31 days without having to click back and forth between posts.

Until the decision's been made, my fingers are crossed! :-)

Joe Chavez

With my blog approaching it's first anniversary in January 2010, I want to take it to a new level for the coming year. I would love to have a editorial calendar set up so I can better plan my posts and create new series.

Most of all, I want to upgrade it to HEADWAY! :-)

Christian Russell

I think one of the biggest mistakes people make is looking at blogging as an entirely new and separate marketing endeavor they need to take on. Learning to integrate it into what you're already doing as a business owner is a way to make the best use of your time.

It's not about constantly creating NEW content, it's about CAPTURING the content you're already creating.

Grant Griffiths

"It’s not about constantly creating NEW content, it’s about CAPTURING the content you’re already creating."

Christian, could not have said it better myself. Thanks as always for your comments and input.

Richard

I know that my biggest problem was getting started, but now that I have started blogging I can foresee the biggest problems looming ahead will be:
1) Lack of time to post to blog - I've tried to minimise this problem by keeping a notebook of blogging ideas and draft posts but haven't yet got to the stage of a plan of topics to post
2) Over or under analyis of posts. My instinct is to write and not do too much refinement because I think it stifles creativity. All the advice out there though is to refine and cut down. I want quality to be good but I don't want analysis paralysis either.

Lorian Rivers

my blog needs a kick in the butt to get it going! Get started...then just drift into nothingness.

HELP!

Christy

I've been blogging for about 4 years. I took the first blog down because a bunch of investors of the company I worked for found it and were commenting on it. Not bad things, but they were very unhappy with the company at the time and I didn't want to confuse the issue. I took the next blog down because of was really tired of the confusion created by the domain name I had chosen. Now I am on the 3rd blog and I need to find my way with this one without resorting to my past removals. Or in other words "Help"

Teen Blogger

Great post.

I think my biggest problem is time as I dont have much time anymore. Even though I dont have much time, I still try to post on my blog as often as I can. I'm also kind of lazy and will need to start pushing myself to blog more often and get more effecient in time mangement.

Also I'm finding it more difficult to find new topics to write about, I will need to find a solution to over come this and get new ideas.

We all need to find ways to take our blog to the next level. The problem is how to do that? Well, all I can say is that we all need to try new things and see what works and what doesn't work. Of course we will make mistake , but thats all part of the learning process.

This is a good kick in the butt and will get me back on track.

Thanks,

Doug Howard

My blog is coming along nicely, I have been able to post regularly. I'm adding info and features that individuals need. I've seen a pretty steady flow of people coming to the blog for a month now. I just need a way to keep it going and I need to figure out a way to monetize it so it will at least pay for itself. My blog needs a swift kick in the pants.

April

Topics! That's my biggest obstacle. I just don't know what to write about. I try to set up a regular schedule but I just don't know what to write about so without topics, I can't stick to that schedule. And waiting for inspiration to strike just doesn't work.

I try not to get all hung up on how many people are reading but I know it's not many and I know a major reason for that is because I don't post regularly which brings me right back to the topics problem.

Russ Thornton

Thanks for the post, Grant. It was well timed for me as I've been thinking a lot lately about how to essentially hit the "reset" button on my blog.

I need to be more consistent with my blog's voice and publishing schedule, and while I know I'm not alone in facing these challenges, it's often helpful to see someone spell it out clearly like you've done above.

I'm on Squarespace for my publishing platform and am happy with it. Now the burden rests squarely on my shoulders to develop content and put it out there for others to consume.

Thanks again.

Tessa Shepperson

As well as my 'main' Landlord Law blog, I also have a blog called the Solicitors Online Blog which has been moribund for a while as I decided that I wanted to take it in a different direction. I then decided that I ought to do some more research on blogging generally before doing anything further with it. Which I have been doing.

I have now decided to change it over to a self hosted Wordpress blog, and have just (with the help of Clay on the Headway Forum) set it up and installed the Headway theme.

I now need to get a good design for it and generally set it up before I re-launch it and start blogging again! More fun for the winter evenings!

Christine Livingston

I think I've got my blog to a certain level now, where I've got a few subscribers and a number of people who regularly post comments. But I don't know how to take it to the next level again.

Also, I think I'm in a bit of a rut with my post style. I'd like to do things that are different to shake it up a bit, make it a bit more creative. Maybe write about different things. It'd be great to get some help to help me think out of the box!

Louise Fletcher

I think my biggest problem is that my blogging always comes second to something else - second to finishing a client project, or working on business development, or answering the phone, or any one of a million other things that are demanding my time.

I know I write great content (modesty is not a failing of mine!) but I need to find a way to make myself accountable for doing it more often - and to find inspiration in more places, so that I'm not always struggling for something to write about.

sefcug

I agree that sometimes a blog just needs a good swift kick in the butt.
There don't seem to be too many people reading my blog at this time, but I am not really writing it for anyone but myself and a few other user group members that might find my posts useful.
I will be retiring from the work force in the near future and would like to start blogging full time, so I think what you have to say could be useful in that regard.

Amber

Thanks for offering to help. I think my biggest issue is taking the time to write, scheduling a regular time to just dig in. I also find I hesitate when something is even a day old, I won't write about it because I feel like it's not worthy enough anymore... that people want the latest and greatest!

P.S. I get business via word of mouth and referrals without a blog. I tend to allocate time to where I'm already making money, so it can be tough to shift my focus even though I know the long term value will net revenue.