Starting a blog can be a very interesting and financially rewarding endeavor, but only if you do it right. Unlike other online business models such as ecommerce, Kindle publishing or product creation, blogging has very few ‘moving parts’ to it and is simpler.
Once you install WordPress, a cool theme and some useful plugins, you’re almost set. Now all you need to do is create content.
As simple and straightforward as this sounds, there are still a few pitfalls that must be avoided. Below, you’ll find a list of 7 common mistakes that bloggers make… and what you need to do to steer clear of them. Take note of these pointers and remember them.
1. Not defining your audience
You can’t be everything to everybody. It’s important to pick one niche, find a sub-niche within it, and target a specific audience in that niche.
For example, fitness for men above 40.
Or potty training for dogs. Or self-care for first-time moms.
You must have a specific audience in mind and your blog posts must be targeted at them. This is how you’ll build a loyal tribe of readers.
2. Not posting regularly
Initially, you’ll be excited when you set up your blog. You’ll probably create content regularly and be checking your stats to see if you’re getting traffic.
However, as time goes by, you’ll discover that content creation can be a grind. Writing is hard work. Constantly coming up with topics to write about can be a chore, too.
Nevertheless, you’ll want to post regularly. If you have an audience, they’ll check your blog regularly to see if you have any new posts. If you don’t post for a month or two, they’ll get tired of checking your blog and won’t show up anymore.
You’ll lose your audience and your blog will appear stale. So, aim to post at least once every 2-3 days. This will ensure that you’ve fresh content in your blog regularly.
If you dislike writing, or you’re busy, you can always hire writers from Upwork or iWriter to write articles for you.
3. Not building a list
You’ll definitely want to build a list from your blog so that you can stay in touch with your readers.
With a list, you can earn commissions via affiliate marketing, or you can increase traffic to your blog by letting your subscribers know whenever you have a new post.
There’s no need to complicate this step with so many list building services available. Below are the five most popular, but there are dozens of other options these days. Just choose one and get started.
- Aweber
- GetResponse
- MailChimp
- Constant Contact
- MailerLite
4. Poorly written content
It goes without saying that your content needs to read well and not be full of grammar and/or spelling errors.
Besides the obvious errors, your content needs to be informative and entertaining at the same time. If your readers are bored, they’ll close your page and move on.
People will sit and binge-watch Netflix for hours. It’s not so much an attention span issue here as it is an ‘interest’ issue. If your content is interesting, you’ll hook your readers and keep them on your blog.
Make sure the content is user-focused, and it’s best to write like you talk. Conversational content will always win online. Leave the formal writing to stuffy college professors and dusty books at the library.
Your blog needs to provide information that’s relevant, useful and entertaining. It’s a tough juggling act, but that’s what separates the popular blogs from the thousands of blogs that no one bothers visiting.
5. Selling too hard
This is a common mistake made by many beginners to marketing. They either display too many ads on their blogs or their content is too salesy.
People can see through the bloggers’ veiled attempts at providing skimpy information with an ulterior motive to sell.
You’ll want your blog posts to appear as natural as possible. The goal is always to educate and entertain. Selling should appear as an afterthought. Deftly weaving affiliate links into your content without calling attention to them will spark your readers’ curiosity.
Let them click on these links on their own… and they’ll be much more likely to buy what you’re promoting. People love buying stuff, but they hate being sold to.
So, don’t overtly sell all the time. Keep most of your posts content-driven, but have affiliate links scattered here and there so that you get sales.
6. Poor formatting
The Gutenberg block editor can seem clunky in the beginning, but once you’re adept at using it, your blog posts can be made to look great.
Make sure you’re using a clean, fast-loading theme. Readability matters. The font used should be easy to read and legible. Use headings, subheadings, images and videos to break up the text.
You may choose to have a sidebar or not. Not having a sidebar does give a page a cleaner look, but this is a personal choice. What matters is that your content is easy to consume. The user experience is very important.
7. Not having an end goal
If you’re blogging for fun, then it doesn’t really matter what you post or when you post. But if you’re blogging for profit, then you must have an end goal in mind for EVERY post you make.
Is it to educate? Or will you be selling products through it? Or is it for traffic generation and list building?
Having an end goal in mind when creating content will help your blog stay focused on what you want to achieve – which could either be a bigger email list, increased readership or more sales.
So, decide what the goal is first – then write your blog post.
These 7 tips when applied consistently will help you create a blog that’s engaging, popular and profitable.
Over time, you’ll have an income-generating asset that makes passive income round the clock… or you can flip it for 3 to 6 times (or more) what it’s currently earning and walk away with a sizeable chunk of profit. It doesn’t get better than that!
