In this guide, we will dive into 9 blogging mistakes you should avoid making if you want to run a successful blog.
Granted – mistakes are unavoidable, especially when you are starting on a new venture.
But there are some very common mistakes even seasoned bloggers make.
For instance, one very common mistake many bloggers make is not choosing the right blogging platform which is why you should decide whether to you want to use WordPress.com or WordPress.org for your blog.
These costly errors can hinder your blogging efforts and cost you time, traffic, and even money.
Let’s take a look at 9 other mistakes you could be making so you can correct them or even better, steer clear of them in the future!
9 Mistakes to Avoid on Your Blog
1. Pivoting Outside Your Niche
When you create content outside of your niche or industry, you confuse your readers (not to mention search engines).
Avoid writing about too many topics, especially if they are random and unrelated to your niche or industry.
If you are blogging under the umbrella of “lifestyle” you should consider narrowing down the number of topics you share.
When you write about different things all the time, your audience will not understand what your blog is really about!
You are also making it difficult for yourself to get traffic.
Search engines like Google will have a hard time indexing, ranking and showing your content to the right audience.
Pivoting from one topic to the next can only hinder the growth of your blog.
We understand how settling on a specific niche can be challenging, especially for people who have multiple talents or interests.
If the idea of choosing a niche sounds overwhelming to you, read this post to help you decide what you should be blogging about.
2. Making All Your Content About You
We understand this is a hard pill to swallow, but your blog content should always be centered around your audience.
Everything you post should offer something of value to your readers.
Don’t just share to share.
Prior to posting, ask yourself – What am I hoping readers get out of this post?
Even if you are writing something extremely personal, try not to make it all about you.
Invite your readers to connect and share similar experiences or offer advice for people who are in a similar situation.
3. Not Following a Posting Schedule
Before you start publishing content on your blog, you should have an idea of the posting schedule you will follow.
Do NOT rely on motivation to decide when you will post.
Plan your posts in advance and create an editorial calendar to guide you.
When creating your posting schedule, you need to have a clear answer to these questions:
- How often will I create content?
- How often will I publish content?
- When will I share my content? How many times a week / month?
Having a consistent schedule can create reader loyalty and it can also help you develop good blogging habits and get into a nice rhythm.
4. Neglecting Internal Links
Internal linking is one of the easiest ways to increase retention by encouraging readers to check out some of your other posts.
Make it a habit to check published blog posts for internal link opportunities once a month or at least on a regular basis.
5. Not Updating Older Content
This is another task you should be completing once a month or maybe once a quarter, depending on the volume of posts you publish on your blog.
Outdated content can hurt your SEO rankings if it no longer meets the needs of your readers.
Make sure your content is updated, relevant and fresh so it can continue to be useful to your audience and bring you traffic from search engines.
When updating content, don’t ignore your images and infographics. Add new ones if needed.
Also, double-check your external links and connect to newer resources.
You should also update any dates and statistics when applicable.
6. Not Promoting Your Content
Even with best SEO practices in place, you should still promote your content.
If you are already getting a ton of organic traffic, promoting your posts will serve to amplify your reach!
An easy way to promote blog content is, of course, on social media.
Almost 4 billion people use social media worldwide.
Sharing your content on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest or Twitter can greatly increase your blog traffic.
Promoting your posts on social media is easier than ever with the increasing number of tools available.
There are easy-to-use, native or third-party scheduling tools for almost every single platform out there.
We love Tailwind for Pinterest to save time on post scheduling and bring in consistent traffic!
7. Ignoring Readers
Make sure you check your comment section periodically.
Take the time to answer any questions your readers may have and thank those who have commented or shared your content with others.
Also, carve out some time to visit other blogs (especially from loyal readers or bloggers whose content you enjoy) and spread some love!
8. Not Growing Your Email List
One of the main benefits of blogging is that you can easily grow your email list.
If you don’t have any blog subscribers yet, think about how you can set up an email marketing tool on your site.
Mailerlite is the tool we currently use and it is free for up to 1000 subscribers.
A lot of bloggers ignore this point since they don’t see the benefit of growing an email list right away.
Even if you are not sure how you will use it yet, go ahead and start building your list anyway.
Åt some point in the future, you will be thankful you did!
What is Possibly One of the Worst Blog Mistakes You Should Avoid?
This final mistake is the one that can create the most damage or bring you the highest benefits when fixed.
If there is ONE topic you should learn inside and out as a blogger, that is SEO!
Have you ever met a blogger whose SEO efforts have gone unrewarded?
Neither have we.
9. Ignoring SEO is The Worst Blog Mistake
SEO comprises an extensive list, but some of the most common SEO mistakes bloggers make include:
- Not having the right blog formatting
- Not optimizing images
- Some of the aforementioned points (neglecting links, not updating older content)
Final Points on 9 Blog Mistakes You Should Avoid
As you can see, some of the mistakes we listed are not uncommon, even for experienced bloggers.
We hope this guide can help you avoid these mistakes so you can continue to pave your way to blogging success!
Did we miss any other crucial mistakes? Let us know in the comments!