When you are a new blogger you are bound to make mistakes which are acceptable. No one expects you to know everything when you are starting out, you learn and perfect things as you go on.That is why there is post after post, ebooks and courses out there to help in almost all aspects of blogging. Below are 10 common mistakes new bloggers make (I also did some of them) and simple ways on how to prevent or rectify them.
If you haven’t started a blog yet,check out my step by step tutorial guide.Where i show you how to start a successful blog in less than 30 minutes.
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1.Starting out on a free blogging platform.
This is one the biggest mistakes that new bloggers make.I get it,sometimes it is hard to invest in ourselves but if you want to succeed as a blogger you must be self -hosted.
Choosing to go on a free blogging platform such as wordpress.com or blogspot.com is limiting and it is a big indication that you are not serious with your blog.
It will be hard to monetize your blog as it is tricky to put any ads or even to do any sponsored post.
Another disadvantage is that your site will load slower and it will rank low in the search engines.
If you want to be taken serious by brands and companies and to grow your blog you need to be self-hosted.
How to solve it.
The key is to Start off your blog the right way .I recommend going by through Bluehost as your hosting provider.
Bluehost is the most affordable hosting platform there is. You can start a thriving blog with for only $3.95 per month.
Check out my step by step guide on how to set it right.
Related post: Step by step tutorial on how on how to start a blog using bluehost.
Always keep in mind that first impressions count.
2.Seeking perfection
This is the second on this list of mistakes that new bloggers make and it is a trap that many people fall into not only bloggers. You spend so much time researching as you aim for perfection. I know this so well.
I personally spend so much time researching from how to start a thriving to blog, monetizing ways as so on.
But the reality is,you can’t learn everything at once and no one expects you to know it all especially when you are starting.
How to deal with seeking for perfection
Just grasp the basics and you will learn the rest as you go on. Besides some things are best learnt through practice.
So the more you write the better writer you become. We learn from mistakes.
Any time you fall into the trap of seeking perfection just remember that blogging is a journey.
Related post:10 habits that highly successful bloggers possess.
3.Low quality posts
Most of the bloggers think they need to post on a daily basis. As they try to do so, they end up coming with poor posts.
Posts that don’t help their audience in any way.This is one of the mistakes new bloggers make which is very common.
How to improve your posts
Always make sure your post serves a purpose. Before you publish any post make sure you have proofread it.
To help with that you can use grammarly which is a free tool to help correct any grammatical errors.
Might find this useful: Grammarly review
Another thing to improve on, is headlines. Eye catching headlines will lead to more people reading your posts.
You can spend so much time coming up with good content but if your headline is not compelling enough then not so many people will read it.
Do away with poor pictures. Make sure your pictures are attractive.
Human beings are visual creatures so we are attracted to what we see and low-quality pictures will be a turn-off.
You can use sites such as canvas, pic monkey to edit your pictures.
Make sure that your headline and your pictures are optimized. This is very important as it will help to boost your traffic.
Related post:How to write a good blog post that will atttract readers attention.
4.Ignoring the social media accounts
As a newbie, we can get carried away with another aspect of the blog and totally ignore social media. Social media can help boost your traffic and take your blog to the next level.
Being active on social media is a must for any blogger out there. Some bloggers feel the need to master all the social media platforms but that is not necessary.
This is one of the mistakes that new bloggers make and they end up spreading themselves so thin. You are not superman or superwoman, so don’t try to be on all social media platform from the word go.
All the platforms require different strategies to grow your audience in them so trying to focus on all of them at the same time will be hectic.
How to solve it
I recommend signing up in all of them that is twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google + so as to hold your user name.
After that what you can do is to start with two and when you have mastered them then add on another. Just find out where most of your reader’s hang out most of the time then focus on that.
For instance, if you are a fashion/lifestyle blogger then Instagram should be a good place to start with.
For every blog post try and have at least three pictures ready to post on your social media platforms.
With the pictures, you can use different wordings as some titles do better than others. Of course, you are not going to post all the picture the some time.
You can post one before the post is up as a tester so that your audience will have an idea of what to expect.
The other one when the post is up and the last you can post it like a day after the post is up.
5.Mistakes new bloggers make :Comparison
Many new bloggers are a victim of this trap.Comparison will deprive you of your happiness. We are all different and we all get success differently.
Some take longer and other take a short time. What you need to keep in mind is that we are at different stages and we can’t all be the same.
You may be in chapter 1 so what is the need of comparing yourself to someone who is in chapter 15?
How to deal with it
The truth is you will always find yourself with someone else. Comparison is a normal thing.
You can deal with it by setting your goals and laying down all the steps you intend to take to achieve them.
Next time that happens just focus on your goals and remind yourself why you started blogging in the first place.
6.No share buttons
Share buttons are very important for any blog. Among the many mistakes that new bloggers make this is one that can cost any blogger so much.
Without the share buttons, you are losing out on more traffic.
They give your audience a chance to share your post on their own platform which in return boosts your traffic. You can have the share buttons on top and bottom of your post.
Most common ones are the pin it button, facebook, google+.
Pinterest is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your blog, therefore, having a pin it button is a must.
How to go about it
You can a install social share plugin on your website.Most of the themes comes with one.
7.Email list
Failure to start to off being self -hosted and not growing your email list from day one are the biggest mistakes new bloggers make.
There is a reason why most of the successful bloggers keep insisting on growing your email list from day one. Unlike the social media accounts, you own your email list.
With the algorithm changes, social media platforms are always affected. If you want to be a successful blogger then building your email list is something you want to focus on from day one.
Why should you grow your email list from day one and how to go about it.
You can turn your email list subscribers into a future client. Most of the experts with affiliate marketing they will tell you that they make most of their sales comes from their email list.
I used convertkit and I love them. I cannot recommend them enough.Alternatively you can use mailchimp which is free for up to 2000 subscribers.
A tip to grow your email list is to have freebies. This will entice your audience to subscribe to your newsletters.
When it comes to freebies you just keep experimenting until to discover the one that converts better.
Don’t annoy your subscribers by flooding them with emails the key is to treat every subscriber like a friend.
8.Design
Appearance is everything. It is human nature to judge a book by its cover and we live in a visual world. When people visit your blog what they see first is your design.
It’s common for a new blogger to be carried away when it comes to design and wants to try out everything at the same time.
How to solve it
Declutter your side bar. Putting so many banners on the side bar can be a turn off to your audience and to brands too.
You need to make sure that your blog is clean and is inviting.
Pick a theme and stick with it. Your design should be user-friendly.
Keep in mind that most people read blogs while they are on the move.Your audience should be able to navigate easily both on the mobile devices and on the laptop too.
When you choose your font stick with it. You can choose like 2 or 3 same with colors. Don’t keep changing as you feel it.
Being consistent with your font and color will make you look professional.
9.Inconsistency and failure to promote blog posts.
This is one of the mistakes new bloggers make and it can be suicidal to any blogger’s journey. When starting out they strive to put up a post on a daily basis.
To be realistic this is impossible. If you try to post on a daily basis you will end up putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.
At the beginning, you will be your number 1 fan and it will remain like that unless you start putting the word out there.
Most new bloggers have new posts and cross their fingers that people will stumble up on it.
There are millions of blogs out there, so chances of that happening are very nil. I have a post on different places you can promote your post read it and it will shine some light
When I was a new blogger, I would spend so much time coming up with content and hope that my posts would magically appear to my readers.
Coming up with a good content and doing no post promotion is a waste of time.
Some bloggers add unnecessary pressure on themselves when they try to post every day. It’s practically impossible unless you have a team behind you.
How to solve it
Quality matters more than quantity. Instead of spending so much time creating not so good post spends that time but create less and good content.
This will make sure you come up with good content which is useful to your audience. You don’t have to post daily to grow your blog.
What you need is consistency. You can choose to post twice or once a week. The key is to create good content.
Use the 80/20 rule. That is spending 20% of your time creating a post and 80% promoting your content.
Some of the places you can share your posts after publishing them are your social media platforms such as Pinterest (Highly recommend it) and other forums such as stumble upon.
Related post: 30 ways to promote your blog post.
10.Failure to plan
You can’t ignore failure to plan as one of the mistakes new bloggers make.Having no plan is simply planning to fail.
To be a successful blogger you need to come up with a solid plan that will keep you in-check.
If you want to create good content avoid the last minute rush.
How to solve it
One of the things you can do is to come up with an editorial calendar. Plan out the posts that you intend to post in the next two months.
That’s what I did when I started this blog and it worked perfectly for me. Having your post planned will give you enough time to spend time on another aspect of the blog.
Another thing you can do is to set goals. I find the best way to do is to set up short term and long term goals.
11.Mistakes new bloggers make :Having no picture
Pictures are everything. Whether they are for your blog post or social media. Pictures and blog post titles are what attracts the reader and make them click the read button.
How to go about it
You can use stock images which i love or you can take your own pictures.Make sure that in every post you include some pictures so as to break the monotony.
12.Ignoring SEO
This is the last one on mistakes new bloggers make.
just by hearing the word SEO is scary and the reason why new bloggers make this mistake it that they think it’s super complicated to understand so they end up leaving it to the experts now knowing that they are hurting their blog in the process.
To help you with the basics check out this detailed post on the ultimate guide to SEO your blog post. From that post you will get all the SEO tricks and tips that you need.
With those few recommendations you will be able to avoid some of the common mistakes new bloggers make and grow to be a successful blogger.
Hope this detailed post on mistakes new bloggers make and how to rectify them was helpful.
Now it’s your turn.
Have you made any mistakes so far and how did you rectify them?
If you were to start all over again what would you do differently?
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Feel free to ask any question or a comment below.
