11 Reasons Why Blogs Fail and How to Succeed Online

More and more people are starting blogs with the sole intention of earning money. As the new year approaches, more people will be starting a new blog as a side hustle. Today, we are going to take a look at 11 reasons why blogs fail and what you can do to succeed online.

Is Blogging for You?

The thought of starting a blog and earning residual income is so enticing. Most people get started because they read those blog income reports that can be misleading.

They tend to believe if they start a blog today, their life can look totally different a year later. The reality is that a blog takes a lot of hard work and persistence to succeed online.

The great thing is that anyone with a computer and access to the Internet has the potential to earn great money.

More and more people are starting blogs as a side hustle. In fact, in 2018 69.3 million new blog posts are created every day and studies show that the numbers of blogs online will increase to 31.7 million in 2020.

There’s no better time than now to create your own digital asset to change your financial future. However, you need to know that it’s not going to be easy and you shouldn’t expect overnight results.

Below are 11 reasons that blogs fail.

11 Reasons Why Blogs Fail and How to Succeed Online

#1 Lack of Passion

One of the biggest reasons that so many bloggers fail is because they start a blog they are not passionate about. They either started in a particular niche because they saw a particular blogger making a killing in that niche.

Maybe they started in a niche because they are chasing the money. They know that the niche is profitable and even though they are not interested in that topic, they are only doing it because of the money.

If you plan on becoming a successful blogger, you’re going to need to choose a topic that you are passionate about. You don’t have to be an expert in the niche, but you need to be interested in it and be willing to continue learning about it.

It will be extremely challenging to have success online if you’re just chasing the money. You won’t have the willpower to keep blogging when you’re not making money if you have no interest in the niche.

#2 Not Getting Started

One of the biggest blogging failures is not making the decision to get started. Some people want to start a blog and will read everything they can online about starting one.

Yet they NEVER take any action because they are scared of spending money or doing things incorrectly.

The truth is that you’ll never have success if you continue to sit on the sidelines. As a new blogger, you’re going to make some mistakes, that’s just life.

However, as you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you’ll start to learn what works and what doesn’t. The only way that you learn is to get started and fail as quickly as you can so you can see what works and what doesn’t.

#3 Trying to Copy Other People

If you see someone having huge success online, you might be tempted to copy their exact methods. It’s hard to have success online if you’re trying to copy someone else.

You don’t have to be an extremely creative person to have success online. However, you’ll have more success if you have your own way and come up with your own ideas.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you can’t use Pinterest to find popular blog topics and write your own version of them. Everyone does that, just remember, your blog is unique and people will start to follow you because they like you.

#4 Being Inconsistent

As a blogger, you need to publish new content on a regular basis. You don’t have to publish new content on a daily basis, but you’ll want to create a blog schedule you can live with.

Most people who get started will be consistent for the first few weeks. Once they see how much work goes into growing a blog, they’ll either lose interest or just stop being consistent.

If your blog is brand new, you’ll want to write as many high-quality posts as quickly as you can. I started noticing a difference in my traffic as soon as I had 50 well-researched blog posts. (I’ll share more about what I mean about well-researched later.)

#5 Don’t Promote Their Blog Posts

We all want to write content that attracts readers without a lot of effort on our part. Unfortunately, as a new blogger, you’ll have to work hard on getting your content in front of people.

This is why so many people talk about the 80/20 rules for bloggers. You’re going to want to pay attention to what’s working to help you grow and focus on those tasks.

I recommend installing Google Analytics to help you see which marketing methods are helping you grow. If you’re spending time doing something and not getting results, stop doing it.

#6 Don’t Be Scared to Monetize

For one reason or another, some people are scared to monetize their blog. Maybe they think that people will get upset that they are trying to make money from their blog.

Blogging is a business and like any other business, it costs money. Luckily, it doesn’t cost a lot to run a blog.

If you’re serious about building a blog that pays for itself and changes your life financially, you need to experiment with different monetization methods.

I recommend starting with affiliate marketing because you don’t have to create your own products. Basically, you’re promoting other people’s products and you’ll get paid whenever someone buys from your unique affiliate link.

Blogging is perfect for affiliates and this program will teach you everything you need to know about getting started and what it takes to succeed.

#7 Failing to Diversify Their Income

One of the biggest reasons that blogs fail is most people are unwilling to experiment with different monetization methods. What usually happens is people start with Amazon and Adsense as their monetization methods.

When I started this blog, I started using Adsense and then realized that it wasn’t worth it. I’ve since switched to Fomo Ads, which pay a lot better than Adsense.

I’m actually looking at getting started with Monumetric to see if I can increase my ad income.

I’ve also joined several affiliate networks and promote various products that I recommend. Yes, I also make some income with Amazon, but it’s not a lot of money.

If you’re serious about creating a profitable blog, you have to continually be testing different monetization methods to see which ones actually convert well.

Make sure that you join the best affiliate programs and networks that will pay you well for your time and effort.

I know that it’s time-consuming testing and experimenting different income streams. But being complacent can cause you to leave money on the table and not earn as much as you could.

#8 Ignoring SEO

If you’re serious about building a great online empire, you can’t ignore the search engines. They have the potential to drive traffic to those old posts that were written years ago.

Many people will focus 100% on social media traffic because it’s quicker than SEO. There’s nothing wrong with using social media but you also want to make sure that you learn everything you can about SEO.

I recommend reading all the free information online that you can. This site will teach you the basics everyone should know.

As your blog ages and Google starts to trust it, you’ll be happy that you took the time to optimize your blog posts. You’ll be getting traffic from Bing, Yahoo, and Google.

Traffic that comes from the search engines is more valuable than other types of traffic. These people are looking for something specific and if you can give them what they are looking for, you’ll make sales and some will even convert into email subscribers.

#9 Trying to Do Everything for Free

The biggest mistake you can make is trying to do everything for free and not spending any money. You’re trying to build a business that earns you money over time.

Unfortunately, you can’t build a business without spending anything. You don’t have to go crazy and spend a fortune, but I recommend spending money on hosting for your self-hosted WordPress blog.

Purchase 3 years of hosting on SiteGround so you can avoid their high renewal fees. Plus you’ll give yourself plenty of time for your blog to grow and start making money.

Don’t be afraid to invest in blogging resources and tools that will help you grow faster. There’s a huge learning curve that comes with blogging, the right tools and resources can be a huge difference in making money in your first 2 years or waiting 5 years before you start seeing profits.

#10 Not Doing Proper Keyword Research

When I started this blog, I didn’t focus on keywords. I ended up writing over 100 blog posts focused around keywords that I’ll never rank for.

For the first full year of this blog, I didn’t get any organic traffic. If you’re NOT doing keyword research, it’s time that you start learning how to find low competition keywords.

It takes time to brainstorm topics with keywords that you can write for. But in the long run, you’ll be happy that you took the time to do it.

The best part is that you won’t end up wasting over a year like I did writing blog posts that no one will ever find. I am currently using KWFinder to help me brainstorm and come up with new topics for both of my blogs.

#11 Lack of Concentration

Many bloggers fail to concentrate on one blog and turn it into a success before moving onto another one. Stop building hundreds of blogs and start focusing on one.

Building one successful blog takes a lot of hard work and concentration. You’ll have to work twice as hard if you’re trying to build two blogs at one time.

I personally started my second blog about a month ago. As I mentioned this blog now has over 330 blog posts and is now self-sufficient.

I’m still not earning six figures with it, but it is more than paying for itself. So I figured it was time to start a second blog and start diversifying my income online.

Is Blogging Worth It?

There’s a lot to do when it comes to blogging. You’ll have to write content, promote it, network, and focus on tons of other tasks that will help you grow.

At first, you’ll put in tons of hours on your blog and may not make a penny. Heck, some people go years before they see consistent income.

So why should you consider starting your own digital asset?

As long as you’re willing to stay consistent and keep working towards your goals, you will eventually make money.

Now that you’ve seen a list of reasons why bloggers fail to make money, you can avoid them.

Final Take Away

You might be skeptical about starting your own because there are already millions of blogs online. The truth is that there is still room for your voice.

As you continue writing content and adding your own personality, you will attract your own following. Just remember to give yourself time to grow and don’t get discouraged if you don’t see results as quickly as you had hoped.

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• Blogging Best Practices to Help You With Your New Blog

Have you started your blog? If so let me know how it’s going and what you have learned in your online journey. I’d love to hear about your experience.