5 Reasons Your Site is Struggling

1)  You Compare Yourself to Others Too Much

There’s nothing wrong with using successful people and their stories for inspiration.  After all, everyone needs someone to look up to when learning.

However, many of you just get carried away.  How long it took blogger ABC to reach X amount of visitors or make X amount of money has absolutely no relevance to your individual situation.

There are just too many variables involved when it comes to building traffic and making money so it’s impossible to compare.

And if you discover you are behind the pace of someone who is successful, it’s like getting a one-way ticket to Discourage-ville.  Don’t put yourself through that mental exhaustion because it doesn’t even matter.

Who cares if it takes you six months longer to make money than someone you admire.  As long as you are learning, growing and having a great time, enjoy the ride!

2) You’re Surrounded by Negativity

It always floors me when I read such comments like “You can’t make any worthwhile money online.”

Seriously? 

I often wonder where these people are hanging out online and who they’re subscribing to?  If you’re following the right people, it’s not hard to find successful, small business/affiliate websites online.

A lot of people who are struggling get their information from others who are failing (or have failed).  Negative people like to surround themselves with like-minded people because they validate their beliefs.

If you want success, surround yourself by more successful, positive people and get out of that sea of negativity.

That’s one reason I started a Website Success Stories forum. I want to inspire newcomers and give my forum members some positivity to chew on.  I just love reading the stories there.

Also, if you’re just starting out, be careful who you share your dreams with.  A lot of people still don’t understand this “internet thing” and it’s easy for them to chalk it up to “playing around” or “wasting time online.”

I’ve met so many people who have let their families and friends discourage them achieving their website goals. It doesn’t matter what other people think.  You know what’s possible out here and that’s all that matters.

Stay focused and keep your eye on the prize!

3) You Don’t Network

Networking is a must, especially because search engine optimization is becoming more personalized and all about who has you in their social circles, who’s following you, “liking” your content, etc.

I haven’t spent a lot of time on specific social media strategies, but if I were starting today and looking for a way to build my exposure online, this would be one of the first things I’d tackle.

Even though there are negative sides to social media that still bug me (it creates distractions, narcissism, etc.) it’s become so big, you can’t ignore it.  Not to mention, it’s free to use!

When was the last time you’ve researched website owners in your niche and introduced yourself or shared their content?  Or are you just writing in your own corner of the Internet waiting for people to notice you?

Take a lesson from bloggers like Ileane Smith of BasicBlogTips.com and Brankica Underwood of Blog Like a Star.  Both are very well-known in their spaces and will probably tell you they’ve built the majority of their following through social media.

They don’t just produce great content, but they generously share other people’s work and build relationships with their followers.  Follow them.  You’ll learn a lot.

4) You’re in the Wrong Niche

This can be a painful realization — especially if you’ve worked very hard on your site for a long time.

However, if it’s always a struggle for you to come up with new content and be creative, that could be because you aren’t as interested in your niche as you thought you were.

That’s OK.  It happens to a lot of people.  I went through several sites before I came up with 2 Create a Website.

There’s no rule that says you have to do this right the first time.  If there was, I’d be long gone.  So don’t be ashamed if you have to try something new.

Remind yourself that you’re human and it’s all part of the process.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.

5) You are Disconnected From Your Readers

Polling my subscribers was one of the best strategies I’ve ever implemented.

It’s so easy to get caught up in what you THINK people want to read, but unless you ask, you can never really be too sure.

Want to win over your readers?

Ask them what they want to learn…

Listen to their feedback, and

Deliver!

I’m doing just that with a niche website book that will be free to all my e-mail subscribers.  I’m using the feedback from my subscriber poll to ensure I give my readers what they asked for.

This book is long overdue, but better late than never, right? 🙂