The Top 5 Reasons People Leave Your Blog
09. Nov, 2011 
22 Comments
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Patio soy candle with wooden wick by: Luminology
The Top 5 Reasons People Leave Your Blog
After extensive, deeply scientific research into the most common blog pet peeves (by which I mean that I jumped onto Twitter and asked my friends what really annoyed them about other peoples’ blogs), I hereby present the Top 5 Reasons People Leave Your Blog.
5) I hate to say it, but your content kinda bites.
It’s all injokes. Or teasers, without the real content that your teaser ought to point to. Maybe all you do is aggregate other articles or blogs. You’re a food blog, but you post beautiful food photographs without the actual recipe. You claim to blog about repurposing vintage items, but all you actually post are pictures of vintage things without actually talking about what to do with them.
Write things I want to read. Content with meat on its bones. Make me want to come back and read more.
4) In fact, I don’t even know who you are.
Your About page is empty. I don’t know your name. Or where you’re from. Anything about you, actually. I’ve got a question, but now way to get hold of you, or how to address you if I do manage it. I really have no way to connect with you.
Tell me who you are. If you can’t be bothered to post a bio, why should I be bothered to read?
3) I’m sure there’s some content here somewhere…
You’ve got a page and a half of ‘header’ stuff before I get to your top post. Or your blog is so cluttered with badges, buttons, links, and ads that I can’t even find your content. I’ve got to log in before I read anything. Or wait through a flash introduction. Or you’ve got a popup newsletter subscription/new reader welcome/ad of some sort that I need to make go away before I can even see what it is you’re writing about. Each post has a two-line teaser and maybe a picture, but then I’ve got to click on a link before I can get to the actual post.
Make it easy for me to find what you’re writing about. I know you want me to sign up for your newsletter, see the blog awards you’ve won, click on your ads. Sometimes it’s not about you. If you want to build readership, it’s all about your readers.
2) …but heck, I can’t even see it.
Your content is right there, all right. But your blog colors are too bright, and they hurt my eyes. You’ve got grey text on a white background, and not even my reading glasses are enough to let me read it. Your font size is set, and it’s too damn small for me to read. Or so big that there are three words on a line. You use blink text, scrolling marquee text, and five different ads that move at five different rates. I can see your content, but I sure as heck can’t read it.
Simplify. Clarify. Don’t make me work to read what you’re writing.
1) And that music your site is playing is absolutely the last. Straw.
This one got more comments than all of the rest put together. Autoplay music, autoplay videos, autoplay flash, autoplay anything. People hate it. HATE IT. Most of them will close the tab your site is in the moment it starts playing music or animations. Some of them can’t read your site while your music or animation is distracting them.
I know you want to share your favorite music with the world. On behalf of your readers, I beg: Don’t do it that way.
Bio: Kate is an herbalist, a wicked girl, and a wannabe nomad, and she makes her living (and her soap) with Om Shanti Naturals. Right now she’s in Knoxville, TN, but that’s subject to change without notice;
this time last year, she was in Colorado. In her copious spare time, she embroiders loopy-swoopy patterns onto perfectly good bluejeans, takes the cat for walks, and tries to translate and redact ancient cosmetic recipes.
My Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/OmShantiNaturals
My website: http://omshantinaturals.com
My blog: http://omshantinaturals.com/blog/
My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OmShantiNaturals
My Twitter: @omshantikate
About The Author
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Ha! Funny article and I agree with nearly everything! Although I have a slightly different opinion on the short intros with a link to click to read the rest of the article. Lots of people love that, because they can glance at the home page of a blog and decide which posts capture their attention. I think it’s a matter of personal taste with that one.
Great post, Kate, you are hilarious.
Ugh. I hate wordpress. I just left a comment that got lost because my info didn’t auto fill and I didn’t notice before I hit submit.
I will say that one of the things that bothers me with any blog or website is pop ups. I love the content on Handmadeology, but I hate the pop up that I have to click through to get to it asking me to download a free paper. I have to admit that sometimes I don’t even bother to get to the content here because I don’t like having to click out of that. So taking that advice, it might be a good idea to put that offer in the sidebar.
I will have to go and check to see if I am doing any of these things. All good reminders.
And amen to the music. I never read a blog that forces music or videos on me in autoplay mode because I often can’t find the way to turn it off.
Thanks for sharing this article.
Enjoy the day.
Erin
Now you made me doubt my font color!
I personally thing that black is to harsh, but hey it’s just me!
Funny article with lots of things I totally agree with.
The music things is what I hate most, if I can’t find the off button quickly I simply shut the page.
This was funny and enlightening! Of course, I immediately ran to my blog to put my name on it. I always believed in simplicity, but as I built my own blog, once I discovered all the gadgets available I could see where it would be tempting to implement as many as you can figure out; to show off a little. But I go to blogs for escape from the noise, so I try to keep mine clean, clear and simple.
I leave blogs that don’t do content posts if most of your posts are giveaways aka advertizements and many of your other posts are reviews I’m not going to bother tuning in I have a better chance at winning the lottery than winning your giveaway so don’t go overboard on those it is annoying ANNOYING
Ditto on the music. I JUST left someone’s blog, due to the music. It was awful, just awful!
Loved this article and your blog is really sweet and super simple. Very inspiring !
This is what I want to be when I grow up
I’m totally with you on the music, too many flashing ads and the pop up windows to make me sign up for something… major turn offs
I recently added a photo of me to my bio – major step for me as I hate being on that side of the camera but it is important to me to connect with my readers & not be an anonymous writer
Great post, thanks!
Great post. It’s good to know what readers hate. For me, content is always a challenge. I totally agree with simplification though. In my real job, I’m a graphics geek, and I hate to see things like all cap script fonts!
Entertaining and informative – just the way a blog post should be.
Great post. My #1 pet peeve? Word verification on comments! I can’t tell you how often I try to leave a comment on a blog post, but I can’t because the author has activated word verification (I can’t see the word on my iPhone). My advice to bloggers? Turn off word verification. You’re missing out on comments!
Yes x 5! I work hard enough at home, making my product, keeping my Etsy shops, writing my own blog. Please don’t add reading your blog to my work load. And PLEASE turn off that music!!!
Great tips! I’m workin on starting a blog for my shop and I will definitely incorporate these…and Yes…I hate any music or audio ads too!
I hate when music suddenly appears. Worse when you are listing to your own music and then it starts to sound like a symphony tuning up…
Ciao,
Sally Anne
Oh, I also hate blinking ads. Truth be told, when it blinks, I make my page smaller to block them out. Which means, I don’t read or click on any of the ads. Too distracting.
SA
This is a great article. I find I have trouble thinking of things to write in my blog. I like promoting others in my blog. I like showing things I find in shops that I really like.
I have a second shop: http://helenslightreadings.etsy.com
I agree with everything. But the auto play music, OH MY GOD, there is nothing that bothers me more. I will leave any blog that auto plays music and NEVER come back. It bothers me because I’m normally playing my own music, or watching a show, I don’t want to hear YOUR music when I’m trying to listen to my own.
LOL… Really great observations. Okey, my blog is I am hoping doesn’t’ have these so; come and visit to have fun and learn
Have a great 11.11.11…
-Melike
acupofsparkle.blogspot.com
All very good points – thanks for sharing.
My #1 is not music (I can turn the sound off on my computer really quickly
) but the visual ‘vulgarity’ (for lack of a better term): those millions of ads and really bright colours and blinking graphics… yuck! I can’t turn that off – so off I go.
Other people’s music makes me turn off a site immediately. As a low-vision person, gray lettering is so disappointing; I simply can’t strain my eyes that much, so off I go.
Thank you for this information. May I paste it into comments around the web, please?
I was feeling some pressure thinking my new blog was too plain, after visiting some others. You’ve just saved me a lot of time. I do hate all the distractions I’ve found on some blogs, overload, and usually leave. Think I’ll continue to stick to content, still learning. Thanks for the timely tips!!!
Great tips, I’ve been questioning whether or not to add advertising, but think I’ll stay without…I really don’t like the cluttered look anyway. Oh and the music, you are so right…I deleted my autoplay a long time ago because other peoples music annoyed me so. Now I keep my speaker volume on super low or off just in case. Great post. Take Care, Carrie