Why your blog is boring and what you can do about it?

So your blog is not getting the results you want, right? Be it traffic, sales, affiliate sales, traction, authority – nothing happens!

So what’s wrong? One of the main reasons why most blogs don’t work is that they are not interesting enough for the readers.

In this crowded, competitive blogosphere the last thing you want is to have a dull blog. Even interesting blogs sink into the noise of the overwhelming number of blogs that are online.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of blogs that are started every day. The competition is getting tougher by the minute.

You are in an era where you have to fight to get your readers’ attention. And no, you can’t have it unless you are interesting; I mean your content has to be interesting.

When you can’t even have the attention of your readers (because your blog is boring) how can you think about engagement, prospects, leads, clients, customers, loyal readers, repeat customers and the like?

You can achieve all of the above if you have an interesting blog. How can you make your blog interesting? Let’s see.

#1 Listen to your readers if you want your blog to be interesting

It is not about you. It never is. It is about them.

You will start seeing signs of success once you realise this and change your strategies accordingly.

You have to put your readers first. You have to listen to them. Your business should be built ground up from them.

You either create products or offer services to solve the problems of your readers – not your own financial problems.

That’s how it works, even if you manage to resist accepting this fact for a while.

And you know what, when you don’t put your readers in the prime position, you readers get bored very quickly.

When it is all about your own success, your own sales and your own commissions, it is not interesting to your readers any more.

So your blog becomes a dull one.

#2 Use variety to avoid boredom

Routine is boring. Seeing the same stuff over and over again is boring. Which is why you need variety.

Take a good look at your blog. Look at the type of content you deliver. Do you see all list posts?

Do you see posts that only talk about one thing – buying your e-book? It is not surprising your blog looks dull to your readers and they are bored to death.

Is your topic too narrow that it seems you’re harping the same thing over and over again?

You have to take steps to include variety in the content you deliver. Not just in the content, but also in the type of content.

If your website has only big blocks of text, that’ll bore your readers soon.

Plain text is not very interesting. You could use eye-catching images, and graphics that support the text.

You could publish posts with infographics, videos, power point presentations and much more.

Break the big block of text into small paragraphs that have quite some white space + some variety.

You could also include attention grabbing variation in the text like, tweetables, embedding important text in boxes, bolding, list items, quotes and so on.

Even your most interesting, meaty, most useful content could bore your readers if you don’t present it in an interesting way!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Even your most interesting content could bore your readers if not presented in an interesting way!” quote=”Even your most interesting content could bore your readers if not presented in an interesting way!” theme=”style4″]

I’d recommend these two resources in this context:

How to format your blog posts for best reader experience?

How to present long form content like a pro (so your readers read them fully)?

#3 Engaging content shines

Content that doesn’t engage is boring content. More like monotonous lectures from lecturers who don’t care.

Which is why most of the blog content that “teaches” or “lectures” readers is boring. Fair enough!

Yes you have tutorials; you have an expertise on a topic that you want to teach to readers who need help with. But that doesn’t mean you should lecture them.

You could take the point across by empathising with your readers – in an “understanding” tone that your readers know you absolutely understand their problem.

And engage them along the way. Ask questions. Make them nod. Make them laugh.

Touch them. Make them feel high. Motivate them. Use anecdotes so people can relate to what you are talking about.

The content you write on your blog is not merely pixels on the screen. The words have life in them.

Lively, engaging content shines. And so will your blog.

#4 Use examples/case studies or be a proof of it

Theory is boring right? When you simply talk about a particular strategy, or say if something works, people prefer to see proof. Otherwise there is no reason to believe it, right?

I am not saying that you should only publish case studies on your blog.

But you should provide ample proof to whatever you teach. Or at least people should see that from your own success!

If you are going to teach your readers about how they can increase their Twitter followers and if you only have 150 followers to your own Twitter account then that’s counter-proof.

And your readers have no reason as to why they should be interested in what you say, or even listen to you.

#5 Stop writing “me” focused content

No one cares what you ate for breakfast. And no one cares what your cat ate today. Let it be about your readers.

If you focus on your own achievements, your own successes (and failures) and your own problems, there is no reason for people to get interested in you – because for one, it is not their problem.

If only you talk about something that they can relate, you can succeed in getting their attention. If not, your blog will be dead boring.

I am not saying that you shouldn’t share personal stuff in your blog. In fact that’s my next point. But don’t focus on you and you only!

#6 Get personal, and be open

Your readers love to connect with you. That’s human nature.

When they get the chance to know something about you, it is easier for them to connect with you and as a consequence, get interested in you and your content.

But you have to give them that opportunity.

Hiding behind an “admin” display name doesn’t cut it.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Don’t hide behind an ‘admin’ username. Be open.” quote=”Don’t hide behind an ‘admin’ username. Be open.” theme=”style4″]

Take a good look at your blog. Does it have a picture of you in it? Or have you left it to your readers’ imagination?

Are your readers reading a blog where they exactly know who’s behind it? Or are they simply reading abstract material?

Earlier, I talked about the life in your content. When people can relate to you they can “feel” your content.

It will then be easier for your words to make that connection with your readers.

Don’t hold back on sharing some personal things about you.

You don’t have to reveal your credit card details, but you can spill on some interesting things about you.

Sharing your experiences help a lot! You can match your blogging tips with real life experiences.

When your real life happenings motivate you to write a blog post, explicitly share that too in your content.

Opening yourself up to your readers makes your content more practical and reliable. And, of course, interesting!

So what are you going to do to make your blog interesting?

This is crucial. Boring blogs don’t have a future. If you run a boring blog, it is not hard to find it out.

Go read a few blog posts in your own blog in a new tab and come back to this post to cross check and see if it has any elements discussed in this post.

If it does, it is time to change. NOW is the time. Not after you bookmark this post and leave forever. But NOW.

Go ahead, keep this post open and open your blog in a new tab and start checking closely.

Write notes to yourself about what elements you find that make your blog dull and boring and what you are going to do about it.

The last thing your readers want is yet another dull, boring blog.

So please, do them (and yourself) a favor and make your blog interesting.