If my Blog has no Readers, Does it Exist?

Yes, I Blog

Based on the “If a Tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound?” quote, the title of this post may be applicable to many of us out there that have few visitors / readers.  This is acutally the main reason behind writing about something that interests you.  By writing about what you are interested in, you are writing more for you own interest than just to have people read and comment about your articles.  Building a following and a userbase takes time.  I have been writing each week since mid-January and I have about a handful of visitors each day.  Very few comments, but I am writing to help others learn how to blog, learn how to use wordpress, and learn about what types of tools are available on the internet to further their reach.  Knowing that it takes a long time to develop a large audience, I am not concerned at this point of the lack of audience. 

If I wanted a huge audience quickly, I would have tailored my articles and the subject matter to something controversial that would get people fuming and then try and have it picked up by mainstream media.  Nothing gets your face in the news faster or provides more coverage than a good old fashioned controversy or gossip.  Take two recent examples. 

Jon and Kate. 

I have never seen the show, and hadn’t even heard of the show until just before this season.  Apparently they are on like season 8 or something.  In any case, just before the season premiere, a big media push was started with the whole “Is Jon cheating…”.  This was simply one big media / marketing fabrication to drive viewers / pique interest in a marginal show.  Then of course since the show was now on the radar of several writers for big newspapers, other newspapers and TV “news” shows had to jump into the mix because it was a “hot topic”.  Of course after the premier, all of the newspapers are handed a story of how the ratings were best ever.  Yeah, news flash, that tends to happen with huge amounts of publicity.  (Bing also has had huge traffic since its launch due to the huge marketing budget & media coverage, that doesn’t mean it is any better than it was before.)  Now the show is working the tabloid arena since more of their viewers are interested in gossip than the actual lack of plot.

David vs. Sarah. 

David makes jokes.  Sarah with her publicity machine stalled tries to jump-start it by “taking offense” and alluding to malicious intent by David.  David’s show is now all over the “news” and Sarah is pulled along for the ride.  Of course as no malicious intent was ever intended, David continues to make jokes and Sarah keeps throwing oil in the fire to keep her in front of the cameras.  You can’t run for higher office if people have forgotten who you are after all. 

Bottom Line:

If you are not seeing an overwhelming response to your blog or your articles, don’t fret, it takes time.  If you are looking for quick hits, then you have plenty of opportunity to write about controversy and load your articles with search engine bait through some easy SEO techniques.  (Note: I did not employ a lot of those techniques here.  The basics are as simple as including full names, describing the shows, expanding and using the keywords of the confrontations, etc.)  Keep in mind though, that quick hits are just as easily swayed to another site the next day.  You will constantly have to keep ahead of the other million blogs out there “reporting” on the “hot topics” as well as the “news” agencies that are going to have much more authority than you.

So, Does Your Blog Exist if it has No Readers?  Does a Black Swan exist if nobody sees it?  The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable
Does a Giant Squid really live if the only ones ever seen are dead? 

Keep on going, afterall, a avalanche can begin with a single snowflake.