How to Kill a Blog Fast – Part II

In the first part of this series, I talked about how you can easily kill your blog by ignoring it and letting it die a slow death. It’s true that no one sets out to start a blog just to let it die a quick/slow death. Having said that, many jump in blogging waters without planning, and killing their blog is exactly what they accomplish after the 2 weeks blogging honeymoon is over. Getting started sounds easy from the other side but no one gives you free lunch in any business.

A lot of beginner bloggers don’t understand that blogging is less about you and more about what you can provide to your readers (check out no one cares what you had for lunch). Time is the ultimate currency on the Internet, and if you expect people to hang out on your blog, then you need to provide good solid information that not only satisfies their needs, but also makes them come back asking for more.

So how to write addictive content? Simple. Do you research and plan properly, and you shouldn’t go wrong. In essence you want to:

• Know your audience: who is your audience? How old are they? What do they do? Understanding these factors can help you find out what your audience may need that you can provide on your blog. For instance, if your average reader is a college student, then you want to target issues that are related to his/her life. What challenges does she face on an everyday basis? How can you provide killer tips for her? When there is a need, there is a market. But you can’t just assume that there is a need. You need to do your homework.
• Keep an ear out: once you know who your audience is, you need to figure out what sites they visit regularly so you could keep an ear out for their questions, needs, and other things that they might be interested in. Check out forums, groups, and other types of communities and always be on the look out for topics that you can address on your blog. Using Google, you should be able to find plenty of sites about your niche. That should give you enough information to write a whole lot of content just for your audience.
• Stay on the top of your market: while listening to your audience is a great way to develop content, you want to make sure you stay on the top of your industry, so you can always provide up-to-date content to your users. Use sites such as blogpulse or Technorati to find the latest development on the blogsphere. You can also set up Google alerts if you want. Just remember that there are only 24 hours in a day, and you can’t working for that long. So don’t hesitate to outsource if you can.
• Ask for feedback: sometimes, the passive approach doesn’t work too well when it comes to dealing with your audience. Don’t be shy to ask for feedback and comments from your readers. There is a good chance that if you ask, they will answer.

Getting blogging right can take time, but the end result could be so fulfilling that you can become addicted to the whole process. But most beginners slack off at some point early in their blogging career. The challenge is to have the discipline to bounce back. If not, all hope is lost for your blog.