Well, let’s face it. 95% of the blogs on the internet are junk. There are many things that make a blog not worth your time and obviously you don’t want your blog to be one of those. But what can you do to prevent that? Luckily I have compiled a 5 point list on what you could be doing wrong.

Reason #1: Your niche is too limited

If your niche has a very limited appeal, it will obviously be harder to find visitors to your site. Let’s face it, who want to visit a blog about collecting Toenail clippings? Ok, there are some very twisted people out there who would probably visit it. Try and reach a compromise, don’t create a blog that is too mainstream but also don’t create something too obscure.

Reason #2: Posting inconsistently

You might have some amazing posts on your site that attract visitors. But unless you maintain a consistent posting schedule, your regular visitor stream will dry up faster than a teardrop in the Sahara. You do not need to post ever day, one new post a week would be adequate. The trick is to get your visitors used to your schedule. You will be amazed how your traffic shoots up on the days you are expected to make a new post. Don’t disappoint your readers.

Reason #3: Crappy low-quality posts

All blogs publish a few posts that are not worth reading, but that should not be everything you write. Even I go through days of just writing drivel for the sake of writing something. Your readers deserve better, they like well written posts and will leave if you don’t provide them. If you can’t find something about your topic to write about, then go off-topic for a day or two, write about something else that is of interest to you. I can guarantee that you readers will be intrigued by your enthusiasm.

Reason #4: Spam advertising

People don’t like advertising, that’s a fact, but they put up with it as they know it pays the bills. Don’t spam other sites with links to your blog. If you want to include your link in comments or forums posts, try to contribute to the community. By doing so, you will make yourself appear as an expert on the topic and encourage people to click on your link. Only post your links on relevant blogs and forums.

Reason #5: Inexperience

All blog owners see dollar signs when starting out. Most have heard about the fabulous fortunes being made online and quickly get discouraged when it does not happen for them. Their post schedule becomes erratic and the post quality drops as they lose their enthusiasm. Some eventually just give up and their blog disappears into obscurity. Blogging takes patience and hard work, ask any successful blogger.

So do you have what it takes to be a successful blogger?

Well, after finalizing the blogs theme and plugins yesterday, I was ready to kick back and relax to an easy day of content writing. That was until I logged in the Admin control panel and was greeted by the news that the new version of WorPress, version 2.6 (A.K.A. “Tyner”), had just been released.

Firstoff, I would like to congratulate the WordPress team on the release and thank them for supplying us with such a great blogging platform. The new release brings with it some nifty new features, my favourite of which are the ability to track changes to a post. That feature alone makes it worth the time it took me to upgrade.

The WordPress team has also released a video detailing some of the changes in 2.6. I have embedded it into this post for your viewing pleasure. There are also loads of improvements to some of the features introduced in version 2.5.

WordPress is not only a great blogging platform, it can be used as a full featured CMS. I use it to power 95% of my sites. Now I better be off as I have a full days work ahead upgrading all my sites to the latest version.