"Dead Man Walking!"
I guess things are not going as planned. Your blog is limping along with low traffic, low excitement, low support from your readers. You suspect that it's time to take a hiatus or close down your blog for good. But, is it the right time? Is your blog really too crippled to turn around?
Diagnosing Your Sick Blog
There are two types of bloggers. I'll call the first type - "Builders". Builders need traffic and they have a plan for turning readers into profit. Their business plan includes selling advertising and products. They need to be careful about how they spend their time and they have little sentimental value for failing projects.
If you are a Builder then your emergency-room evaluation of your blog is simple:
1. Do you have a compelling story to tell?
Blog's are built on great stories.
If your story is boring and forgettable then it will be difficult to create momentum for your blog. Your low traffic is a sign that you are failing to capture the imagination of your readers. If you or your organization can't transform your narrative into a juicy experience that grabs your readers by the heart, hand, and mind then correct the problem or pull the plug.
2. Do you have the resources to regularly publish relevant content?
Content attracts traffic - period.
Sporadic publishing will cripple your blog. Uninspired content will kill it. Every blog owner needs to have a process for stoking their creative juices and the discipline to ship their best post frequently. Businesses need the same. Understand that you are in the content marketing business. You need a deep well of blog ideas. You need an eyes-wide-open perspective that is constantly looking for publishing opportunities.
Warning! If you are creating posts on an ad-hoc basis then you are just doggy-paddling in quicksand. If an editorial calendar is a new idea then you are in trouble.
3. Are you a promotional fanatic?
Stop being so darn modest.
You are in show business and you need to be promoting your blog every chance you get. Strategic but shameless promotion is the secret behind crushing it online. Simply publishing and putting out 2 or 3 weak tweets won't move the needle. Squeamish promotion shows up in low traffic and anemic retweets.
What if You Aren't Blogging for Money?
On the opposite-end of the spectrum from Builders are the Diarists.
Diarists blog from the gut. The profit motive and the precision of business metrics can't guide your decision here. In this case, you need to ask yourself a two key questions
1. Are you "on mission"?
Diarists blog for bigger reasons than just making money or offering great products. They want to share a special story, event, or journey that has profoundly impacted their life. As a diarist you draw your energy from your mission. If your mission changes then your blog will need to evolve to match your new direction.
2. Has your passion cooled?
Since you aren't motivated by profit then you have to draw on your passion to sustain your blog. You passion is the fuel that powers your blog and keeps you on mission. If you've lost the fire in your belly then it may be time to put your blog on hiatus or move on.
It's A Tough Call
As a blogger, I can't bear the thought of shutting down a blog for any reason. However, sometimes its the best thing you can do to harness your energy and direct it in a better direction. Thankfully, 9 times out of 10 a blog's problem can be tracked to blogger burnout rather than a more crippling problem. Take a moment to check to see if you can revive your passion before pulling the plug.
Tell me something...are you thinking about pulling the plug on your blog? If so, why?