10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
Sep
17
Written by:
2009/09/17 08:58 AM
History teaches us that history teaches us nothing. I’m sure we have all heard that. But why does it have to ring so true. If you have been blogging for any amount of time, you would readily admit that you have made many mistakes. That's not bad in itself. What is sad though, is when you do not learn from your mistakes.
I don’t care if you are a seasoned A-list blogger or a 3 week beginner, we all make mistakes. Lets learn from ours and others to the end of bettering our blogging experience as well as producing something worthwhile for our readers.
Here is a list of some blogging mistakes to avoid and or correct.
1 Underestimating the time commitment
When I first started blogging, I thought it would be a quick 20 mins in the morning. How wrong was I?. Blogging takes time and effort. It’s not just about writing, but about research, interaction, relationship building etc. All of which involves huge amounts of time.
2. Irregular updates or lack of updates
Nothing kills a blog faster than lack of updates. If you are going to blog, then pick a posting frequency and stick to it. We see many blogs start of with a flurry of posts, but then wither away into the blackness of cyberspace.
3. No comments on other blogs.
It’s part of the blogging game - and critical to your success to comment on others’ blogs. It’s part of the Blog culture. Its about building relationships. Read my article on Your comments make content more valuable
4. Lack of commitment
There’s no doubt about it, lack of dedication is the number one reason for struggling blogs. How many hours do you devote to your blog a day? No matter what event or what job you’re in. If you have no passion, and show no commitment then you will fail.
5. You are are not giving.
Blogging is all about serving your readers. It’s about giving. It’s not all about money, or trying to sell something, or just trying to bleed your readers dry. If you can fill a niche or solve a problem, people will beat a path to your door and hold it open for others!
6. Not linking to others.
This one floors me. Why is it that people are so stingy with their link love and the so called PageRank? Not linking out with good anchor text shows people that you are selfish and self centred. If you want people to link to you, share their PageRank, direct traffic to you. Then you had better do the same.
7. Writing for Google instead of people
There is so much hype about SEO, Keywords, PageRank, SERPs that bloggers have forgotten who they are blogging for. It’s PEOPLE people. You can have the most perfectly written Google optimized page in the world and still not be ranked number #1. People won’t read a page written for a search engine because it makes no sense. Content is King. Write for your readers and Google will find you.
8. Not Defining a Topic
The most successful blogs have a well defined topic/niche (or they target a certain demographic). Don’t be tempted to write about every topic known to man. Your blog then becomes a sewer of useless information no good to man or beast.
9. Too many Ads, too much clutter.
When all you want from your blog is to make money, then you have missed the boat. Although many have made blogging into a business, it’s primary goal is Social not business. If blogging for money is your only reason, then you’re in serious trouble. Money is certainly a nice by-product. People can tell when all you’re interested in is their traffic so that you can till up the add revenue.
When ads overpower the content and push it down your throat. You kill any chance of building real reader relationships.
Clutter is another killer. When readers cannot distinguish the real content from all the many buttons, widgets, navigation elements that invade their screen real-estate, it’s a sure sign to bolt and never come back.
10. Not reading my blog.
Wow what an arrogant thing to say. But it’s true. Not interacting with other bloggers, reading their blogs, making comments will soon lead to your total isolation. The best way to get your blog noticed is by saying “hi” to other blogs in your niche. The easiest way to do that is to comment on their blogs. I check the comments on my blog all the time and I visit the commentator’s site. If you want more traffic to your site, start by leaving a comment on mine, I will certainly visit yours. Then go to the next blog and do the same.
What are your blogging mistakes? Can you list some of the mistakes you’ve learnt from in the past? Share them with us in the comments below so that we can all learn from them.
New here, or perhaps you've been here a few times? Like this post? Why not subscribe to this blog and get the most up to date posts as soon as they are published.
blog comments powered by
19 comment(s) so far...
10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
History teaches us that history teaches us nothing. I’m sure we have all heard that. But why does it have to ring so true. If you have been blogging for any amount of time, you would readily admit that you have made many mistakes. That's not bad in itself. What is sad though, is when you do not learn from your mistakes.
# ZillionsB.com
By TrackBack on
2009/09/17 11:24 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
I totally underestimated the time commitment. And I'd say at least half of the time is not even writing; it's researching, reading, commenting on other blogs, building a Twitter contact list, collaborating, etc. However, it's still very enjoyable.
By Gordie Rogers on
2009/09/17 09:20 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
I think I'd add one. Many bloggers fail to consider the new reader in their blog design. Have you ever arrived at a blog for the first time, and wondered "Where do I go /what do I do next?"
Too many blogs make it difficult, and that increases bounce rate and loses valuable readers.
By Mike CJ on
2009/09/17 09:55 AM
|
My 4 cents
Great tips/mistakes to avoid Robert. Perhaps another would be 11. Avoid simply regurgitating content from webistes and other blogs! There's nothing more annoying than everyone writing about the same flavour of the week and saying the same thing! Offer something fresh and original - different ideas or perspectives. That ties in well with the research point :)
Toodles!
By Galen Schultz on
2009/09/17 09:59 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
Some very good points but I especially like the time commitment one. The clutter thing rings a bell too. How many widgets I can get on my page is limited and all of them want to be at the top, not necessarily for selling but more for giving more great information to people.
By Graham on
2009/09/17 10:10 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
Not interacting with other bloggers is one of my biggest blogging mistakes.
Well I hope being here has broken that ice :)
By Johnluffa on
2009/09/17 10:39 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
@Galen,
Yes, Unique posts is what draws traffic. Excellent point. I wanted to include that and many others, but only wanted to have 10. SO left the others up to you guys.
By Robert Bravery on
2009/09/17 11:19 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
@Mike,
Good point. Just been to a blog, and there are no where to comment, no formal navigation, just a mess. Left straight away, probably will not return, and did not even finish reading the post.
By Robert Bravery on
2009/09/17 11:21 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
@Johnluffa,
Well you certainly have broken the ice. I just visited you blog and posted two comments. I'm sure others here will do the same.
By Robert Bravery on
2009/09/17 11:22 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
@Graham,
Yss, clutter was one of my biggest downfalls. Tried to get everything into one page. Still learning, my site is not perfect. I'll probably be culling more stuff as I go along. But when people are too overwhelmed by too much stuff, they leave.
By Robert Bravery on
2009/09/17 11:25 AM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
Great list. I don't think I've broken more than 7 or 8 of them yet.
By Tschet on
2009/09/17 01:07 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
I try to post as regularly as I can, but sometimes it doesn't happen. However, I notice that my readership grows when I stick to a schedule. More content is better than too little content.
Also, commenting and guest posting works, but linking out is one of my favorite strategies. In fact, I'm perfectly happy to send traffic away from my blog to other game changers...I think that if you view your blog as a launching pad for good ideas, then people will always come back.
By Nathan Hangen on
2009/09/17 04:57 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
The one that hits me between the eyes is number 7. When I started I spent too much time worrying about SEO stuff. Now I almost think "screw it" and concentrate on the content.
By Kevin Tea on
2009/09/17 05:07 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
Another basic?
Proofread: 5. You are are not giving.
I catch stuff on my posts more often than I care to remember.
By david strandberg, minneapolis on
2009/09/17 05:20 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
@David,
Good Catch mate. Must admit, that I do not proof read my posts, thats up to my wife. We bot missed that one.
Thanks
By Robert Bravery on
2009/09/17 06:48 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
Another informative post - thanks Robert ...
... at the moment I'm just blogging for the hell of it but it would be nice to make a couple of bucks once I'm more experienced ...
One thing that turns me off a blog is a block of text which is difficult to read - no paragraph spacing - or text that is so small I have to strain to read it ...
By OneStonedCrow on
2009/09/17 07:22 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
@OneStonedCrow,
White space, and legibility are very important. Who wants to stay around and develop sore eyes, a headache, while trying to read posts. Much easier to leave.
Good point
By Robert Bravery on
2009/09/17 07:30 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
One of my hurdles would have to be sticking to a blogging schedule that I established. Part of it lies in the fact that I do not have a file of already written posts.
Wishing you a scent-sational day!
Patty Reiser
By Patty Reiser on
2009/09/17 11:29 PM
|
Re: 10 Blogging mistakes to avoid.
These all are very simple mistakes done by bloggers. But these simple mistakes will harm very much to a site.Great tips.This tips will be very helpful for me. Thanks
By ambreen11 on
2013/01/03 02:18 PM
|