Why Bloggers Quit

Written By: Timothy Fish Published: 3/2/2007

I read something the other day that indicated that blogging is about to reach its peak. The peak is expected to be at about 100 million active bloggers. It is also estimated that as many as 200 million bloggers were once active but are no longer active. I don’t know if the prediction is correct or not, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it is.

In some ways, blogging has replaced traditional websites. It is now much easier for anyone to have a web presence. Some sites, such as AmericanIdol.com and Amazon.com offer their users the free blog space to write topic specific content. Other sites offer free space and make money through ad sales. Amazon.com encourages authors to make posts to a blog. An yes I do have a blog on their site (http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A7XK1DEYS7PZI/103-7784742-9255801). My intent is to use it to push my books.

I believe the reason that so many bloggers drop out of blogging is the same reasons that people fail to maintain a more traditional website. When the concept is new, it is fun. As long as it is fun, it is easy to write something everyday. Once the novelty wears off, most people really don’t want to take the time to write something everyday. They may drop to once a week, then to once a month and then they may go for two years without writing anything. It is an issue of whether the person really has something to say or if he is just writing for writing’s sake.

Some bloggers start a blog because they want to promote something like a church or a product. With a product webpage it is possible to write the first few pages and then let it sit. As long as the product doesn’t change there is no need to update it. With a blog there is that nasty little date that tells the user the date when the blog was last updated.

I think some bloggers stop because they come to realize that no one is reading their blog. O, there might be a few people every once in a while, but who really wants to read about the blogger going out to buy cat food or trimming her toe nails. Writing about it doesn’t make one’s life any less boring. Once the blogger realizes that he is talking to empty air, it is a lot easier to quite.

The bloggers that will last are the ones who have something new to say about topics that interest people. There are some blogs that get their message across. Some blogs may have hundreds or thousands of readers because people want to know what the person has to say. Even if they disagree with the person, they want to hear what he says.