Hi all, moving on from our previous 2 blog posts on the best blogging platforms and how to choose the right keywords for your blog, today let’s find out what are the common blogging mistakes that you need to avoid at all costs in order to grow your business in the online world. Let’s get started!
Creating a blog or a website has become easier thanks to cheap web hosting and discounts coupons such as these BigRock coupon. As you start your online journey, you’d come across many blogging for beginner’s guide that purports to offer the best blogging tips for beginners.
However, as you waddle out into the big wide world of the internet as a blogger, it goes without saying that it is inevitable that you will make a few mistakes. Well, it is actually OK, it happens to the best of us. However, in the fast-paced world, we live in, these common blogging mistakes can cost you readers, something you want to avoid.
Therefore, to help you, we have come up with the 21 biggest and worst blogging mistakes you can ever make.
Avoiding these will help you be one step closer to blogging success. Thus, let’s find out what are biggest blogging mistakes and how to fix them effectively.
Why Do Most Blogs Fail?
While there are many reasons why so many blogs fail, the primary reasons are these common blogging mistakes that even expert marketers make. For newbie bloggers, it is important to know about the blogging tips and tricks, but what’s also essential is to know about the blogging mistakes to avoid to create blog posts that are well-loved by users and search engines alike. Thus, check out this article if you are searching for blogging tips for beginners. This guide will tell you in detail what blogging mistakes to avoid.
1. Not Setting Up A Publishing Schedule
The first blogging tips for beginners, when you are starting your blog it is very important to set up a publishing schedule. This will give you solid deadlines to get content out and it will give you the motivation to get started when you need it. Not setting up a publishing schedule oftentimes leads bloggers to laziness, where they feel there is no rush to post or they can post whenever they want. This can be a slippery slope that not only ends up in an inconsistent publishing schedule but also for months between posts.
Thus, to tackle this issue, you can use the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting guideline to set up your publishing schedule.
- S is for Specific – Make your publishing schedule into a specific goal. The more specific the better, e.g. we will publish 3 blog posts a week.
- M is for Measurable – Make your publishing goal measurable, so you can track your success. In our earlier example, it will be very easy to see if you are keeping to your schedule because 3 blog posts are 3 blog posts.
- A is for Attainable – make your schedule something you can achieve. Remember achievable doesn’t mean not challenging.
- R is for Realistic – make a realistic schedule that you know you can keep up with.
- T is for Time-bound – make sure your schedule is time-bound, that way it is more measurable and specific.
For example; We will publish 3 blog posts per week, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 12 pm. Now you’ll know when you are running behind and your audience will know when to check in again.
Readers value Consistency publishing over Quantity. If your readers know when you will be posting, it gives them a routine and you become part of their routine. Also, it is much easier for them to recommend your blog when they know for a fact when you will publish.
2. Setting Up An Unrealistic Publishing Schedule
This is one of the big reasons why so many blogs fail tremendously. When you are starting a new blog, you may write for days on end without ceasing, because it’s new and exciting. However, over time, this wonder, excitement and inspiration will wane to a more sustainable pace. This may mean that whereas you were publishing 2 blog posts a day at first, your enthusiasm would have waned to only once a week. It may be because you have less time, fewer ideas, or have gotten lazy.
The idea of chasing and gaining many readers in a short space of time by uploading engaging and original content daily sounds great. However, you have to ask yourself if you really can keep up with that schedule?
If not, then opt for a more conservative schedule. By being realistic is your approach you would be able to grow steadily in this market.
3. Not Knowing Your Target Audience
One of the biggest blogging mistakes is not knowing who your audience is. Basically, it can be termed as shooting arrows into the dark while blindfolded and hoping to hit a needle in a field full of haystacks. Often times this leads writers to write for themselves instead of their audience. But then, why publish to the public if it is for you?
Knowing your audience will allow you to tailor your language and message to the audience you are targeting. It will also help you in choosing content and blog post ideas, as you will know what your target audience is looking out for.
4. Not Using Headers or White-space
Have you ever gone to a website and got such a headache from reading the content because it was crammed full of text and there was something happening on every single inch of the page? I bet you bounced out as soon as you could find the X, and vowed to never go back there.
The visual presentation of your work is very important. A good use of white space, headers, images, or text can make your blog more visually pleasing and make your readers stay longer on your blog. A well-used banner or pop-up is good, but if you have banners and pop-ups everywhere, you will most likely annoy your audience more than anything. So don’t fall for this beginner blogging mistake.
Just remember: the first impression can make or break your brand.
5. Not Collecting Email Addresses From The Very Beginning
An often-overlooked mistake is not having a call-to-action for your readers from the get-go. Even more neglected is the collection of email addresses from your readers. If you do not have their email addresses, how would you keep them updated on the new content you generate? Also, should it happen that they navigate away from your blog, you will not have another chance to entice them back. Thus, it is one blogging mistake that you need to rectify ASAP. Plus, there are email hosting in India options available that you can try to boosts lead generation.
6. Not Proactively Promoting Your Blog
You want your blog out there. You want higher traffic to your content. Yet you are not actively taking steps to promote your blog? There is something wrong in that. You have to proactively promote your blog. Keep it on people’s lips. The use of well-placed social media sharing buttons is a step. It makes it that much more convenient and easier for readers to share your content. Here is an excellent blog post by CoSchedule on the best placement of social media buttons.
You also have to be out there sharing your work, which is why it is important to collect email and email your readers. Using the network of bloggers you have at your disposal to share your content is also very useful, not to mention social media marketing.
7. Doing Everything Alone
If I had to give one blogging tip for beginners then it would be not to try doing everything alone. It is understandable that you want your blog to be your baby and the introduction of other writers seems like the most horrific thing ever, but you need to learn how to delegate and network. You may need to delegate because you don’t have the skills needed at that point or you may just not have the time to do it. Networking and joining a blogging community is great because then you have more experienced bloggers, with bigger audiences to help share your work.
8. Not Allowing Your Blog To Develop And Evolve
Nothing is more depressing than a stale blog that does not seem to evolve or develop with time. You go to the blog and it is still using presentation styles from the ’90s or it has had the same look with no change for over a decade. That is considered boring and surely won’t attract the type of traffic you are hoping for.
Thus, you should be considered upgrading your blog and in the event you need better hosting, then you can take a look at this list of the best website hosting in India.
9. Starting A Blog Without A Monetization Plan
Thanks to the awesome WordPress CMS, creating a blog or building a WordPress website has become easier. However, while you may think you started the blog as a hobby and you don’t need to make money off it. But that only means that your blog is actively taking money away because YOU have to upkeep it. So why not make it work for you to at least cover the cost of maintaining it. If you have a business blog, then not having a monetization plan means that you are losing an opportunity to make money from it.
10. Not Simplifying Your Message
Do you think that the better and more complicated your writing, the more intelligent you are? Not necessarily.
Being able to explain the most complex ideas using the simplest words is a sign of true intelligence. Simplicity is key to writing good content. Do not have your readers turn blue as they wrestle with a long-winded complex metaphor when you could have said it easier. That is the writing part. In terms of the overall message of your blog, cut the fluff. Stick to the message and don’t waste your reader’s time. An overly complex and time-wasting message is yet another reason why so many blogs fail.
11. Not Helping Your Readers
A widely held misconception is that your blog is for you. It isn’t. At its core, your blog is there to satisfy a need your readers have. If it doesn’t do this then you are making one of the most dangerous blogging mistakes. Your blog is there to help your readers and not to indulge you as a writer. If your blog is self-indulgent then you may be losing readers as we speak.
12. Writing Only For High Search Engine Ranking
Search engine optimization is great. When done right it lets your content show up among the first results on search engines. But if you write solely for ranking purposes and neglect your content you are more likely to have a high bounce rate.
As soon as a visitor sees that your content is nothing but tired buzzwords and keywords, they will leave and probably not come back again. You should have a healthy balance between SEO keywords, your key phrases and relevant content. Read this article to know how a write a quality blog post.
13. Focusing On Quantity Over Quality (Word Count)
As a child, whenever I had to write a paper, it was accompanied by a minimum and maximum word count. As I would write the paper, starting with the introduction, the message and the conclusion, I would realize that the intended word count was not reached.
I would start adding more to it, diluting my message. Many beginner bloggers do the same with their content because they have an idea of how long a blog article has to be. The trick is to keep your message concise and focused. Your readers are not counting how many words you use.
14. Not Giving Enough Time To Your Conclusion
Conclusions are super important. It is either the last thing your readers will read, or they may just jump to it. The question is, why do we pay so little attention to it? Conventional wisdom tells us that you have to do the conclusion after you are done writing. It’s a conclusion after all.
But that is wrong. First, by the time you get to your conclusion, you are probably tired. This fact alone might make it a weak conclusion. Secondly, your conclusion and introduction serve to give the scope of your article or post. Writing them first will make for much more focused writing, as you know where you started and where you are going to end.
15. No Longer Caring For Your Topic
At times beginner bloggers will start their blog about a topic they are really into. Down the line, they may not have as much enthusiasm for the topic, if any, yet they continue writing about it. Your readers can see the lack of enthusiasm. Not having a passion for your content is one of the other reason why so many blogs fail. Thus, if you feel you have exhausted the topic then picking another blog topic is important to keep your audience engaged.
16. Not Editing Your Work
When you start as a writer, you might believe that once you have written the first draft you are finished and can publish. This is not true. The editing process is invaluable and keeps your writing tight and concise. You need to have an editing process in place, so as to make sure you put out only the best work you can. You can self-edit but should make sure to give yourself time between writing and editing. You can also ask someone on your team to edit your work.
17. Not Having A Strong Niche
As stated earlier, you have to know your target audience. You need to define your niche. After all, there are so many blogs out there, what makes yours any different? What specific group of people are you writing to? If your niche is a temporary one, then you should look at getting another one, so your blog can have longevity.
18. Not Replying To Comments
Treat your readers the way you would like to be treated. No one likes saying something and being ignored. You will be making a beginner blogging mistake if you do not answer your readers’ comments. There will be times when you get comments that are less than polite, keep it professional. You may be able to engage your readers in the conversation and therefore be able to pull more readers.
19. Not Adding A Quick Recap In The Conclusion
Many times your readers are too busy to read everything in your blog posts and they need to know the key points to the piece. Other times they just skip to the conclusion to see if they are interested in the content. Having a recap of the main points helps them get a quick overview of what the article is about and they can then read further because the information is relevant to them.
20. Using Generic “Click Here” Instead of Useful Key Phrases
How often have you clicked on the banner that says “click here” and you don’t even know where it will take you? Use of boring key phrases such as “click here” and “see here”, is a surefire way to make sure they don’t click. Instead, embed your links in worthwhile key phrases such as blogging mistakes to avoid to improve your site’s click-through-rate.
21. Not Using Analytics
The amount of information at our disposal is insane. We can track traffic to sites, where they came from, which posts are most popular, how users navigate through your site and much more. Why not use this information? It can only make your blog better and help target your audience better.
If you are using WordPress, then here is a guide on how to add Google Analytics to WordPress.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as a beginner blogger, there are many pitfalls and that is OK, it is the process of growing into a good professional blogger. There are some you will fall into and as such, we hope that our blogging mistakes blog post has been able to give you a fair warning as to which are the common mistakes that you need to steer clear of.
These mistakes can prove to be quiet costly if not remedied immediately. Thus, now that you have the list of the top 21 blogging mistakes you can avoid them easily and create an excellent blog that will garner you more traffic resulting in a higher profit.
Leave a Reply