Unfollowing blogs. It’s something many bloggers don’t like talking about and is something many fear.

However, unfollowing blogs is a great way to free up time. Your WordPress reader and email box (if you subscribe to new post notifications) become a little more uncluttered from stuff that no longer interests you, and you get back some time you’d have otherwise wasted.

Have you unfollowed or not followed a blog for any of these reasons?

1. No ‘About Me’ page or one that hasn’t been updated

Did you know that the ‘About Me’ page is one of the most visited pages of a blog? Go on, check your stats. You may be surprised by how many visits that page has had.

One of the first things I look for when visiting a new blog is an ‘About me’ page. If there isn’t one, it takes more than 30 seconds to find, or the contents of it are not interesting, then I won’t follow.

Likewise, if there is an ‘About Me’ page that hasn’t been updated for many years, I’ll also not follow.

Of course, if you don’t have an ‘about me’ page then you could be missing out on hundreds of new visitors and followers every month.

Don’t have an ‘About Me’ page or don’t know what to put on one?

My blog post Why Every Blogger Should Have An About Me Page On Their Blog gives full details.

2. Broken links

From time to time, we all encounter problems with broken links on our blogs.

Broken links are no good to anyone and can spoil the enjoyment of reading blog posts and pages that contain them. The ‘404 – Page Not Found‘ message is one of the most frustrating messages readers come across.

If I find a broken link, I’ll notify the blog owner of it. If it doesn’t get fixed and there are many other broken links on the blog (including those in the email notifications I get from WordPress), I will unfollow the blog

Check the links on your blog’s home and ‘About Me’ pages at least every couple of months to ensure they’re still working. If they’re not, fix them immediately.

Don’t lose followers by not fixing broken links on your blog.

Not sure how to create a link or pingback?

My blog post How To Create A Pingback On A WordPress Blog gives full details.

3. Not responding to comments

I’ve mentioned this many times before, but if somebody has taken the time to read any of your posts and leaves a comment, then how are they going to feel if you ignore them?

Would you ask somebody around for dinner and ignore everything they had to say? No!

So never ignore or take readers for granted.

If bloggers do not respond to comments, I will unfollow them or stop leaving comments if the content is still of interest.

4. Unfriendly and uninviting blogs

Would you shop on a website that’s not easy to use or navigate around? Probably not.

Do you find the layout of my blog or my blog posts messy? Are they not particularly nice to look at or hard to read? I hope not.

Now, ask yourself the same question about your blog. Does it look inviting and friendly? Is it easy to navigate around? Are all the links working? Is the menu too top-heavy and over-cluttered?

If my first impression of a blog is any of what I’ve mentioned in the above paragraph, then I’m not going to waste my time trying to find posts I may be interested in reading.

Likewise, if a blog I’m following becomes over-cluttered, unfriendly, no longer easy to get around or takes too long to download, then I’ll unfollow it.

So ensure you keep up with your blog’s housekeeping. Keep your blog an inviting and friendly place to hang out on and make all your blog posts engaging.

5. Out of sight, out of mind

One of the first things every blogger should decide is how often they are going to publish posts. If you choose to publish posts three times a week, then stick to that schedule. However, do not, without warning, change your posting schedule or not publish anything for a couple of months.

There’s nothing wrong with changing how often you publish blog posts and informing your readers why you’re doing it, but try and stick to the same schedule. If your readers expect a blog post once a week, they will probably not stick around if you don’t publish anything for months. Out of sight, out of mind.

Every six months, I check for blogs I follow who haven’t published any new content for at least six months. I’ll unfollow those blogs because it’s likely they’ve either abandoned their blog and will not publish any new posts.

If your readers expect a new blog post from you once a month and don’t get anything for six months, then you’re going to lose followers.

6. Uninteresting content

I’ve followed many blogs by mistake. In the early days, I fell into the trap of following every blogger who followed me. Have you fallen into that trap?

Then again, and this is something I think many bloggers don’t like talking about, I’ve unfollowed blogs because the content they are publishing no longer interests me.

Doesn’t it make sense to spend the precious time you have reading content that interests you rather than read content that doesn’t interest you simply because the blogger who publishes it follows you?

And I have no problem with people unfollowing me if my content no longer interests them. However, I take a different view of people unfollowing my blog simply because I don’t follow them.

I follow many bloggers who don’t follow me. Why? Because they publish engaging content I am interested in and which motivates me to leave comments.

Never be afraid to unfollow a blog you’re no longer interested in. It will free up valuable time, which you can put to better use, such as writing or reading and commenting on the remaining blogs you follow.

Not convinced? Click here and read some of the answers James, who blogs at Perfect Manifesto, gave in a recent interview. He hits the nail right on the head when answering the question ‘Do you have any advice for bloggers starting or struggling with blogging?‘

7. Annoying popups

Do you have any annoying popups on your blog? Do they keep popping up because they don’t give readers the chance to say ‘no thank you’ to what you’re trying to offer them? Or do they not go away unless I do subscribe to your newsletter? What if I don’t want to subscribe? Will I keep seeing that annoying popup?

Then I’ve probably unfollowed your blog.

I don’t mind discrete popups that do not cover the post I’m reading, but when my reading is interrupted by the same popup every time I visit, then I’ll unfollow.

Get rid of annoying popups. If you do need them on your blog, chose a design that is discrete and one that does not interrupt the enjoyment of reading.

Do You Know How To Unfollow A Blog?

The simplest way to unfollow a blog is to click on the ‘Unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of the WordPress email notification you get when a new post is published.

WordPress.Com users and those choosing not to receive email notifications can use the following methods.

1. Click the ‘follow’ button that appears in the bottom righthand corner of a blog you’re following. It appears when scrolling up on the device you’re using.

The ‘following’ message will change to ‘follow‘ when you click it.

You’ve now unfollowed the blog.

2. Click the ‘Reader’ button (situated next to ‘My Sites’ in the top left corner of your blog).

A list of newly published blog posts from the blogs you follow will display.

If the blog you want to unfollow is listed, click on the toggle menu button next to the post.

To unfollow the blog, click on ‘Following Site’ in the new mini-window that opens.

You’ve now unfollowed the blog.

3. Click the ‘Manage’ button (situated near Followed Sites).

You’ll now see a new page that lists all the blogs you follow.

Find the blog you want to unfollow in the list and click the ‘following’ button next to it.

You’ve now unfollowed the blog.

Does WordPress notify bloggers you’ve unfollowed?

No.

Of course, nobody wants anyone to unfollow their blog, but do consider unfollowing some of those blogs you never visit anymore. All they’re doing is cluttering up your WordPress Reader and email box.

Let’s wrap it up.

• Unfollowing blogs you’re no longer interested in frees up your WordPress Reader, email box and time.
• Rather than wasting time reading and following blogs you’re not interested in, use that time to write or read the blogs that motivate you to leave comments on.
• It’s easy to unfollow blogs on WordPress. Follow my guide in this post.
• WordPress does not notify any bloggers you’ve unfollowed.
• Don’t want to lose followers? Then make sure your blog is inviting, easy to navigate around, has an updated ‘about me’ page and is a friendly place to hang out on.
• Never ignore or take your readers for granted. Consider unfollowing bloggers that do not respond to your comments.
• If you’re going to change your blogging schedule, inform your readers about it.
• Don’t leave long gaps between publishing posts. Stick to your schedule. Once a month – great. Once a month, but don’t publish your next post for six months – not good. Out of sight, could mean out of mind.

Join the disussion

Do you unfollow blogs? If so, what are the main reasons why you unfollow them? If you’ve never unfollowed a blog, why not?

Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.

This is an updated version of a post originally published on Hugh’s Views And News in 2020.

Are you reblogging correctly on WordPress? Check out my post for full details.

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