10 signs your blog sucks

[...] Top Ten Blog Tips Just another WordPress weblog « 10 signs your blog sucks [...]

More indicators are:
1. You use EC to get traffic
2. You entertain CMF ADS for now!
3. Your adsense ad doesn't match your content

EC was bringing 20-30 comments on some of my posts at benbarden.com. I see no issue with the quality of the traffic. However, StumbleUpon, Twitter and Plurk are currently my main sources of traffic.

The difference with EC traffic is that people are more likely to comment on the blog, whereas with the other methods they will Stumble/review a post, or reply via Twitter/Plurk.

And as I said in my latest post, it's far too early to rule out CMF ADS as a viable option for advertising.

U drop | Nobody Follows

Nice post!



;)

1. I get this a lot from spammers... does that count?



2. Subscribers?



3. I don't track stats, I don;t see a point :D



NICE POST! *snort*

Honestly, I must disagree with the "nice post" comment (#1). Many times when I read a blog, I don't really have anything of significance to add but I want the writer to know I appreciate what they wrote and that I was there to read it. So I'll drop them a "nice post" or "interesting!" and then move on.



For EC members it helps because you can give them a drop while you are there, but even then- are they just there for the EC buck or because they like what you write? Without a comment, you don't know.



Sometimes I almost feel like I am spamming a site because I do drop a lot of comments and hardly anyone else ever seems to do so. But to me, if no one comments on posts and pictures, then what is the point of the writer doing it?



Of course there are a few of those (like me) who just do it for fun and I don't care if I get one reader or one million. But most people will burn out and lose interest if no one responds to their material.



So I comment a lot- on both pictures (Friendster, etc.) and blogs.

Well, if I get 50 different people saying "Nice post", I'm not going to complain. :)

nice post comment #3 :D

Number 8 might be my biggest pet peeve, EVER. I keep my speakers turned off, because I can't stand getting surprise *insert music that will alienate 9/10ths of your visitors*. So, I wonder why the page is taking ages to load and notice the music player at the bottom, then leave.



Blog rolls of buttons 60 buttons deep. I suppose this could fall under 4.



(Don't judge me too harshly, I've just started my blog, just assume that if it's annoying/broken/in the wrong place, it's a test *shifty eyes*)



Thanks for all your hard work Ben! I mean....Nice post!

#8 is my biggest peeve ...interrupt my music with your shit and I'll never be back. Overdoing the ads and widgets is not far behind. I like to be able to find the actual content fairly easily.

A long list of labels/categories with only one or two entries in each.

A chat box with nothing but "nice blog" or "passing through" or "plz link thx" comments.

This one one of the bestest posts ever, ever, ever made... or something. Okay... seriously, you listed pretty much everything I would have. Dead blogs, going months on ends without updates, but the person is a daily EC dropper is a particular pet peeve of mine. (But you probably already know that one.) ;)

Great tips Ben!!!



Glad to see you're active again I've always enjoyed reading your bloggeries.



WIDGETS: Don't add them unless TOTALLY NECESSARY. They suck the life out of your site. Ever wonder why widget sites are "SO STRONG". Only add a widget that delivers SERIOUS value to you. Always ask "What's in it for the widget"...



All the best Ben!

Well. I guess I'll be deleting my blog today. I've managed to land on about 8 of your top ten reasons . . . so . . . drat.

I would add having a blog that is nothing more than paid-to-advertise (or whatever the hell it is called). Nothing turns me off more than reading one interesting post, then skimming through 5 flippin' crappy ad posts.



Also, like Eryn, I keep my speakers turned off. I no longer play music on the computer I work on so I can keep the damn thing muted.



I just thought of another one! How about templates that are so packed full of graphic crap you can't find any content?

Nice post Ben. =) Your list should actually be set in system for a questionere or what is it called? Where you ask people questions and they get points for the different answers. And then get rated. I agree with Betty, a massiv theme can ruin a lot.

Yes times ten!!!



Of course, I've struggled to get comments lately and would love even a simple, "Nice Post"! I think the number one issue is lack of content. It's 'ok' for new sites that are building their content swiftly but when I find a great writer, great content, etc. I want to be able to dig in and get wet reading back in the archives. Skeleton sites aren't my thing.



Having said that, staying on topic is important too. If I've come to your site to read about blogging or writing I will give up if the latest post or two involves you ranting about your cat. If you want to rant about your cat create a blog called CatRants.com meanwhile I want to be reading about the topic I came for.



Want seven more ways you'll be sending your blog down the toilet? I wrote this last year and it hits on seven other traits of sucky blogs. 7 Surefire Ways To Commit Blog Suicide

Now I don't think this is a nice post at all. A lot of your readers will meet at least one of these criteria. It would have been better to at least stick to "signs" that the blogger has direct control over, like music (seriously, is there anyone on the planet who likes sites that play music?) and popups, rather than taking swipes at bloggers who don't have a lot of subscribers or who have terrible stats. Thanks, but they already feel like their blog sucks every time they click on Sitemeter or Google Analytics or what-have-you. If you tell them that too, what reason do they have to come back to your blog?

Ahhh I can login when away from home again.



So let's begin with, 'Nice post ben'. And elaborate:



- Its concise. There's nothing worse that someone going on, and on about negative things.

- Its lighthearted, but serious. You make jokes like, "Was it just you refreshing the page?" which made me LOL in the office. Something I really have to stop doing.

- It has invoked a LOT of comments!



Brilliant!



=P You geek you.

p.s. and NO you most certainly cannot use your previous list for the Meme!

On this list number 5 is my pet hate. This was a very witty article, I hope this is a bit better than just saying it is 'a nice article'. All jokes aside, I think you have hit a couple of nails on the head here.

Hey Ben. Good article, but I think you're breaking one of your own rules. =)



On your weekly blogging site, you have a feedburner badge showing 3 subscribers. I won't dare show my feedburner stats until I have triple digits. That might be a long way off!



Keep in mind a lot of those 'nice post' comments are followed by things like: "I thought you might be interested in finding the cheapest prescription drugs around!" trailed by a very long, encrypted-looking URL. =)

Yeah, about number 5...

ummm... well, you know...



That is a very valid point.

Great post! I really, really hate blogs that autoplay audio. I also agree with comment #13 on the blogs that are solely paid advertising or pay-per-post or whatever.

These are things I would have listed as well. And like a few others, #8 is a HUGE pet peeve!



I also think a lot posts on your blog that are 100 words or less would be an indication of poor quality. Every once in a while, a short, to the point, not much to say post might be OK... but there are some blogs where that's all you get.

Not such a nice post. I have at least 3 of those from your list. I'm not about to chain myself to my blog, there are more fun, squishier things you could chain yourself to.



I've also commented with "nice post" or "nice photo" when I didn't have anything much to say but wanted to let them know I had been there. A comment doesn't need to be Earth shaking. It's nice to just know someone stopped by.



I don't look for subscribers. It seems a silly thing to me. I don't subscribe unless I get blackmailed into it. I never read feeds.



I have useless widgets and clutter in my sidebar. But I only keep the stuff I like. It's my blog, everyone just has to suffer. I'm mean that way.

When you get a dozen comments saying that "Your Blog Sucks!!" That would definitely mean something.



BTW: Nice Post. ;)

whew my blog doesn't suck just yet... I am well on my way though. And by the way.



Nice Post! :)

How the hell have you been getting access to my blog stats damn you!!!!



Sorry;



Couldn't resist - there are already **way** too many "nice post" quips :-)



Regards,



And thank you, I enjoyed!

Nice post Ben! thanks for sharing!....LOL...just kidding.



You have listed just about everything.



And I am guilty of some of them. I love the widgets that I have.



With my new design I got rid of quite a few things. But, I refuse to give up my Neowrorx, My top Dropper and top commentator box.



They actually have helped me receive more comments.



In turn, I have picked up many more people running their EC on my site.



Thanks Ben for all of the hard work. I for one truly love EC and hope to see it grow and grow.



And I did finally get my tool bar sorted out and I love using it.



I hope you have a grand evening.



Might I add just one thing to the list?



Captcha letters that are difficult to read. If after 1 or 2 times I can't get the letters right I am gone.

Thanks for the great suggestions and comments everyone, there are loads of good ideas here.



Also, don't take this personally. I've committed many of these in the past, and the first step in improving your blog is accepting where you've gone wrong. Well spotted for noticing the FeedBurner counter with only a few subscribers over at Weekly Blogging. :)

Excellent tips. I'm always seeing blogs that are so overbloated that a lot of the images don't load...



I probably drive my readers crazy for always moving things around to balance my left and right panels and to cut the just that isn't working.

I think having stumble me, digg me, bumble me, everything me, below posts are really annoying.

Definitely a "nice post" Ben. Just kidding!



Yeah I don't think "nice post" means that your blog sucks.I mean sometimes I come quite late in commenting that everything I wanna say has already been mentioned.



I do hate blogs that have to many stuff that it takes forever to load the blog.

I'd add one. Your blog really sucks when no one can find your posts under all the ads. I was just at one about nursing. The EC widget was mid page but the first post started well below the fold. Sorry, but I didn't come just to look at Adsense junk. If I can't find content on the page as it loads I don't expect to find anything worth reading if I dig down looking for content. When I was a Dmoz editor I would not list those kind of sites either. I sent a note to a couple of those blogs but they just defended themselves and demanded I list their blog anyway. I soon learned not to email anyone and didn't read the email I was sent. :(

There's a follow-up post if anyone's interested!

Edited: May 31, 2009

Awesome.

I thought of another blog sucks thing, Snap. Geez do I hate and loathe that thing. It always pops up and blocks any link I wanted to click and half the post I'm trying to read. Each time I tell it to get lost it comes back a day or two later or when I am using another computer or have cleared my cookies, etc.



It is hugely frustrating. Worse than a pop up window cause you can not get rid of it. It's a plague. I do not know why anyone chooses to have that cursed thing on their site. Have you ever done a review of it?

So, you do not like MBL or blogcatalog badge ...?



If I visit interesting site I do follow the pictures on badge to find people those may have similar interest. And think it is useful.

i think i passed all except for the frequent errors i'm experiencing with my host lately. it sucks when I can't access my own blog, or see "database connection error".

dai - no, I do not like the MyBlogLog / BlogCatalog widgets. Especially when the widgets display a huge grid of 50-100 users. That's far too many people to go through. Also, I find very few people add me on BlogCatalog unless they want to say "I visited your blog, check out mine", which just comes off as spam. The widgets take a long time to load and just don't add value for the majority of readers.

Another pet peeve is when you read a post and want to leave a comment, but can't without registering - I never do! Equally frustrating is actually leaving a comment, but not being able to get past a crappy captcha that you either can't read, or somehow just won't accept what you type in.

Lol.

"Autoplaying audio" is the most annoying indeed!

[...] Again, there are people who will say that smilies are not really necessary, but I have seen people say this and then go all out with the smilies on Plurk or a web forum. Admittedly, a comment that only contains a smiley face isn’t much on its own, but is it any worse than “lol” or “nice post“? [...]

2 signs your blog sucks:

1)As much space taken up by ads as content;
2)Hard to tell the ads from the content.

If it's all clogged up with ads, I'll usually leave. i don't like the cluttered look of it, and it seems untrustworthy.

Lori - yep, agreed. thanks for the comment :)

lol thanks for these pointers man a comical and humorous way of looking at 10 reasons how to improve your blog if you ask me!

Oh no - I've committed the crime of adding the "Pointless widgets" - recent visitors!!

Can I be exempt? Part of the reason they are there is that we run competitions and you need to be a member to participate. Is that a valid enough reason to keep it?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Manz - if you've made a conscious decision to include a widget for reasons that work for your blog, do keep it. That point was really aimed at the "Christmas tree" blogs that add any and all widgets without thinking "is this right for my blog?" :)

Thanks for the feedback Ben.

I truely thought this was a great post... makes you stop and think about what you do on your blog and why!!

I think a "readers" widget that only has "2 readers" is a little sad looking on a blog - I say... wait until you have some decent figures before you start to add those!!

Nice post!

Nice post.

I was looking forward to the follow up you referred to in post 37, but the link is broken. That sucks. (grin)

Thanks for the heads up, Joe - I've corrected the link.

Yeah, I have a radio widget (which doesn't autoplay), but not sure if anyone uses it. I am also hesitant to add a shoutbox, although that might be of convenience for some of m visitors, for the fear of getting nothing but spam shoutouts,

The Envoy - you might also enjoy my plugin overload post.