Reading numerous discussions at places such as BlogCatalog and Blogger Help Forum, it is quite evident that many people are very keen to entice readers to their blogs. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting others to visit your blogs, except some bloggers have really inflated expectation, and sometimes weird sense of entitlement. These bloggers expect huge number of visitors every day, who will read their posts religiously and leave comments as a matter of fact. When there’s this kind of unfounded expectation, and that is not met, disappointment and anger ensue.
The worst type of bloggers begging for visitors are those who want traffic, so that they can earn a few pennies from the advertisements on the blog. Such blogs tend to be completely devoid of originality, totally without merit, and irredeemably bad. These get-rich-quick blogs have done a lot of damage to blogs as a medium, and they clutter the internet uselessly. It is rather disappointing when you click on a link, and end up on a blog where half the space is taken over by advertisements, and the articles themselves are thinly disguised attempt to sell you something, or stuffed with misleading or useless information. At least these people made some effort. Sometimes these get-rich-quick bloggers copy other blogs or sites wholesale, and pass them off as their own.
Blogs ebb and flow, because for most people, blogging isn’t a job. Yet many bloggers spend and invest disproportionate amount of time and effort into posting new articles and maintaining their blogs. As such, it’s understandable to want some sort of reward. For many bloggers, such reward consists in knowing that their posts are read by someone else. But some bloggers become disillusioned and discouraged, when there are too few people coming to their blogs. This is a shame, since many good blogs have been abandoned. It’s impossible to know what led to the bloggers’ decision to give up on blogging, but a lack of readership seems to be an important factor.
Whatever one aimes to achieve with blogging, making money or making friends, conserving cherished memories or ranting about something, it’s vitally important not to have too high an expectation. If there are readers, be rightly proud of the fact, but don’t become too competitive, or become too disappointed when the numbers don’t materialize. Enjoyment should be at the heart of blogging in my opinion, and people will come and follow blogs which they find interesting. Some will then stop following your blogs, but there will be others who will start to follow in their stead. It’s not that readers aren’t important, but you cannot expect many committed readers at the beginning. With perseverance and time, readership will grow.