7 Common Blogging Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

7 Epic Blogging Mistakes (and how to fix them)

Are you seeing poor results from your blog?

Do you feel like you’re doing everything right yet not gaining traction?

Is all your hard work just not paying off?

Anyone who’s ever started a blog has been here. You research popular topics, write great content, optimize for SEO, and promote through the social channels.

You pour your heart into your craft and do a ton of work. Finally, you release your creation to the world and then…

crickets…

or no sales…

or any number of other disheartening outcomes.

So, what exactly is the problem?

Most of us find ourselves trying out this “blogging thing” after hearing about the enormous success of others. We then do a ton of research, read how-to articles, follow business roadmaps, and give it everything we have.

But blogging has a lot of moving parts. And to be successful, you need to have basic knowledge across a lot of disciplines.

So naturally, this means:

There are a lot of places to make mistakes!

And while every blogger’s situation will be unique, the good news is:

Most bloggers make many of the same, common mistakes. The following infographic highlights 7 of these most common blogging mistakes.

More tips below the graphic.

7 Common Blogging Mistakes [infographic]

Courtesy of WhoIsHostingThis.com.

The following is a summary of the seven most common mistakes bloggers make:

Mistake #1. Writing a blog post every day

There’s a myth that unless you blog each and every day, you will not have enough fresh content to keep your audience interested.
Thumbs down graphic
Publishing on a daily basis may work for bigger companies with their own writing staffs but this is absolutely not required for bloggers and small business owners. It’s not even recommended! Blogging on such a rigid schedule can lead to burn-out and poor quality content.

Instead, the key is consistency. Come up with a realistic publishing schedule that will allow you to create well researched, high-quality content – and then stick to it. For some bloggers, this can mean publishing once every 1-2 weeks. Some may be able to publish more frequently.

Mistake #2. Optimizing for the search engines and not your readers

SEO has taught bloggers to pay close attention to things like keyword density, outbound link counts, and other metrics that aim to please Google. While it’s a good idea to keep these things in mind, don’t go overboard.

Google’s algorithms have become quite advanced. Your blog readers have too. 😉 If you are writing for the search engines, both the search engines AND your readers will be able to tell. This will likely result in penalties from Google as well as a reduction in return visits from readers.

Write for your readers first. Then go back and apply SEO where it makes sense.

Mistake #3. Writing quality posts will cause people to flock to your blog

There’s a staggering amount of amazing content on the internet, collecting dust and not being read.

The reason?

Because crafting high-quality material is only half the equation. If you want people to read your blog posts, they need to know about them. This is why you should spend at least the same amount of time promoting your posts as you did writing them.

Mistake #4. Having a blog is all that’s needed to make money

Another common misconception is that to make a living by blogging, you only need a website and a few blog posts. Many hopeful bloggers get to this point but then wonder why they aren’t making any money.
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The reality is, a blog cannot make money if it isn’t properly monetized. There are many effective ways to monetize your blog, including affiliate marketing, sponsored ads, and selling your products or services.

Remember the simple equation: traffic + offer = sale.

Mistake #5. Not building an email list

Many people believe email is a thing of the past. After all, social media lets you promote your blog posts and connect with an audience.

While the latter part is true, email is as important today as it ever was. Unlike social media, email is much more personal, helps you to understand your readers, and is something people check daily.

Email subscribers are more likely to buy your products too – which you’ll agree is a good thing!

In addition, social media platforms can come and go, change their rules, and even ban your account. An email list is one of the few business assets you own as a blogger.

Don’t make the mistake of ignoring email. Make opting into your email list easy and get started as soon as possible. You won’t regret it.

Mistake #6. Only writing short posts (or long ones)

The hype says: no one has time to read long posts, so you should keep them short. Others say you should write long posts because they’re more engaging and Google prefers them.

So, what is a blogger to do?

Both, actually. Readers crave variety so mix things up.

In addition, long blocks of text can be intimidating and so break them up using section headings, subheadings, and other forms of text formatting.

Mistake #7. Thinking that blog readers only care about words

Most people don’t want to read a wall of text.

Break your content up logically into short paragraphs with headers, text formatting, plenty of white space as well as graphics. Not only will this appear more clean and professional but it’ll help your readers better understand.

Wrap up

Like anything new, blogging has a learning curve. And with learning comes mistakes.

Save yourself the time and headache by avoiding these common blogging mistakes!

If you found anything in this post helpful, please PIN THIS or share it with a friend. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section below.

Are there any common mistakes you’d add to this list? Let us know!

 

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2 thoughts on “7 Common Blogging Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)”

  1. Love the infographic! I’ve pinned that to refer back to. I agree with the 80/20 rule for writing and promotion (or 50/50…or whatever you find works). When new bloggers start, the amount of promotion that goes into a blog post often gets overlooked! I think it’s really important to have a promotional plan in place for each and every blog post.

    Thanks for the great tips!

    1. Hi Dana! Glad you enjoyed it.

      You’re absolutely right. New bloggers do often overlook the promoting part. As you said, having a promotional plan is key. I’ll share the workflow we use in a future post. Thanks for pointing this out! 🙂

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