Does Your Blog Suck?

These days, blogs are a dime a dozen. They are basically a part of pop culture, and the general public (ie, non-bloggers) has a bit of a distorted view on them, thanks to really bad personal (and non-personal, actually) blogs.

Some blogs just really suck...and I'm not happy about that, because it is bringing the industry down as a whole.

Does your blog suck?

To answer that question, you have to think about a few parameters for "suckage." Here's how I like to judge a blog:

~Number of Readers: Some blogs just aren't set up to make money - and that is ok. Sometimes the content isn't even good. However, if you have a huge following, chances are that your blog doesn't completely suck. Take Perez Hilton for example. Award-winning writing? Nope. But he has a huge follow.

~Number of Subscribers: Sometimes your blog gets a ton of hits because you optimized for search engines. That doesn't mean your blog is great...so readers alone isn't all it takes. However, if you have tons of subscribers, that's a good sign that your blog doesn't suck. People are coming back every day for more!

~Content: Content that sucks falls into two categories: low quality and low quantity. With very few exceptions (other than PostSecret), you should be updating your blog at least five times per week. And, at least four posts (preferably all of them) should be high-quality - more than just a picture, list of links, quote, trivia question, or other "quick" post. Those are fine for fillers now and then, especially to keep you blog from being empty, but most blogs need something more substantial to not be in the "suck" category.

~Profit: If you have small readership numbers because your blog is for a very specific niche, that doesn't mean you suck. If you're making money, who am I to say that your blog is bad? Sometimes small niche blogs can actually make the most money!

~Growth: Lastly, keep in mind that your blog doesn't suck if you are steadily growing in the above-mentioned categories. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were large, highly-followed blogs! Strive to increase your stats every single month, and if you succeed, even slowly, you can rest assured that your blog doesn't suck.