How difficult is to start a blog today? Well, not really, all you need is a Gmail account. With your Gmail details you simply log in to blogger.com and voilà! Within couple of minute you are ready to start writing your first blog post. This simplicity is probably the main reason why we can see so many new blogs to arise and fall every day. But do you know what does “so many” mean in the real figures?
Recently I stumbled upon some interesting statistics about the Blogosphere’s development that brought me to an idea to write this article.
Please note that these stats could be outdated, however they still provide some interesting overview on blogging trends. Stats source
1. How many new blogs appear every minute?
There are nine new blogs created every 60 seconds. That means, every 7 seconds there is a blogger who is trying to make his blog dream to come true.
2. What is the number of blogs that will not make it?
On the other, there are three blogs that vanish every 2 minutes, which means one blog dies every 40 seconds.
3. How many bloggers give up on their blogs within the first month?
Although I expected very high number, I was still a bit surprised to find out that up to 8 blogs out of 10 will not survive the first month of their existence. That’s pretty bad, huh?
So, why only 2 out of 10?
There could be thousands of reasons why people give up on their blogs. To put it simple the main reason to stop blogging is probably the lost of interest.
But you don’t need to be a wise guy to come to this conclusion, do you? So, let’s take it further…What are the main reasons why people actually loose their interest in blogging so quickly?
My top 5 blog killers
1. Wrong intention
Lot of people still believe that blogging is an easy way to make a lot of money online. When they realize this is simply not truth or it is too hard, they leave their blogs looking for other earning opportunities.
There is no wonder that people behave like that. In the long-run it is very hard, and I would say almost impossible, to stay focused and motivated to write articles if you don’t believe this activity will get you to your goal, it this case making huge money.
So, what is your real reason to start blogging?
2. Lack of free time
Successful blogging is a full-time job. No matter how good you are in time management, you will have to sacrifice some other activities because of your blog.
Do you really want to spend your valuable free time this way?
3. Impatience
A blog without visitors is only an empty box. Many new blogging think they will get the attention within couple of days or weeks. But the cruel truth is that to create a blog, which will be able to attract lot of visitors every day, could easily take one year or even more. This is a lot of time without any noticeable benefits from your blogging (and I am not talking just about the money here).
Are you patient enough?
4. Impulsiveness
This is how my first blog was created. Back in the 2007 I stumbled upon one interesting blog about making money online and I decided: “Wow, this is so cool, I want my blog too!” So I opened my first blogger blog and started to write. Of course, I had no plan, no strategy no real ideas to write about. And as fast as I got fascinate about my fist blog that fast I left it.
Do you have a clear blogging plan?
5. Burning out
Burning out is a nightmare of every blogger and if you will be writing regularly for couple of months you will most likely have to face it. But if you are not ready for that and you don’t know how to get back on the track, it could bring your journey to the end.
There have been so many articles written on how to deal with burning out. But I don’t think there is a magic treatment that would work for everyone. Simply, you have to find out what works for you.
For example the thing that works for me is: I am trying to not develop my whole life just around the online world. I spend as much time as I can off-line. I am reading, developing my other hobbies, spending time with my girl and friends. My burning out cure is the diversity of activities.
Are you prepared to deal with burn out?
How to survive blogging?
I am sure there are hundreds of other reasons why that huge number of new bloggers give up on their writing so fast. But instead of focusing on the reasons to stop why not focus on the way how to stay active?
Be a reader! – This will help you to develop your skills and knowledge.
Be in the right niche! – Only if you are truly passionate about the topic, you will be able to sustain.
Be persistent! – Blogging is a long-run process and you will have to spend a lot of time and energy to develop your successful blog.