There is no question that among the estimated 2.4 billion people who used the Internet in 2012, blogging was as one of the common online activities that majority of them did. WordPress, Tumblr, Blogspot and other similar blogging platforms have actually made it easier for ordinary people to start a blog with relatively less hassle. If you are a blogger, make sure that you are not guilty of the following blogging mistakes.
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Undefined Blogging Goal
Although it is fun to see your work online, you must be aware that you cannot simply write for the sake of writing. Just like any task or activity that you do, you must have a clearly defined set of goals. For example, majority of the blogs you will find on the Internet can be classified as one of the following:
- Entertainment
- Business
- Cause oriented
- Education
- Marketing
By defining your blogging goal you will then be able to focus on the topics you would want to write about. This also allows you to set up a blogging schedule to periodically come up with quality posts daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Remember to be flexible in your goals, you must learn to adapt, as the Internet is a constantly changing medium.
No Personal Branding
Very few bloggers, especially new ones, truly understand the importance of branding. Regardless of the blogging goal you established, make sure that you always put your product seal much like any artist always signs his work. You should be aware that the blog is your product and your name is your brand. This is why the “About Me” page is one of the most important and frequently visited parts of any blog.
Any blogger who has achieved significant success and following can attest to the fact that readers want some insights about the writer. To a certain degree, the 366 million people who have viewed over 10.7 billion pages on WordPress were curious about the personality of the writer. Never deprive your readers this opportunity, write your “About Me” page with a personal touch instead of from a third person perspective.
Keep in mind that when people want something, they normally do not look up the title or model; rather, they search for the brand name or writer. Try to visit some blogs and you will be surprised that some bloggers do not even bother to identify themselves. Display your name prominently in the header and be proud of your brand.
Not Establishing Credibility
There are roughly about 45.8 million new posts monthly on some of the top blogging websites. However, many of these new blog posts were written as part of an opinion without the benefit of research. It is completely acceptable to write your blogs from your personal opinion, but always do some research so that you have facts to form your arguments on.
If you firmly believe that blogging is important to you, then you must invest time in research work no matter how boring it may sound to you. Do some research on writing styles of successful bloggers and their approach to various topics of interests. Based on your goals, know what your target readership is interested in, to make them come back regularly. Comment on other blogs, many bloggers are more than willing to help out fellow bloggers.
Not Checking/Responding to Your Email
Sometimes because of the fast paced nature of the Internet, it is so easy to overlook interactions. You may set aside checking or replying email messages to when you feel you are more relaxed or less in a hurry. Give importance to your emails because this is one of the few more personal interactions you can have with your readers. Learn how to segregate those worth reading from pitches, solicitations, or unnecessary subscriptions.
Giving Less Importance to Titles
Using a title that reflects the content is quite easy to remember. Many bloggers though make the mistake of putting less importance to the title because they feel the body will keep readers engaged. The importance of titles is based on how effective and catchy it is that it will convince the reader to read up to the last word and revisit your blog. Some of the more successful blog titles include “Steps to…”, “Tips on…”, “How to…”, and others. As you can observe, these suggest solutions rather than emphasize problems. People normally go online to look for solutions.
Lack of Originality
One of the most common mistakes that you can observe as you go around the blogging world is that there are some without originality. Remember that originality in blogging does not literally mean creating something new, but rather, taking something that has already been written or done and injecting it with your interpretations, opinions, and conclusions based on careful research.
Not Being Current
It is acceptable to write about history or things that may have happened 10 or 20 years ago, as long as you can relate it to the present. Making your blogs current will invite new readership as well as win loyal followers because they know that you invest time in updating your content. Do not fall into the mistake however of updating everything else in your blog and neglecting your “About Me” page. Update your readers as well with what is happening with you including new contact information if any.
“Over-Posting”
The focus of your blogs should always be quality instead of quantity. Do not use your blogs as if you are simply updating your status on social media. Readers come because of the quality of your content and not because you are like a bookstore. Too many posts will cause your older posts to be taken off your homepage making it more difficult for new visitors to find them. Letting your posts linger allows for comments to become more current and updated.
Overlooking Social Media
Don't think that social media is a threat - it is a good, good friend. You should be aware that before the advent of social media, the main blogging tool used for content distribution was email list. This was a difficult way to promote your blog to other people. Compare this to reaching out to the over a billion users on Facebook and you will know just how useful social media can be. Learn to use current technology to your advantage to promote your blog and increase readership.
Owning Responsibility
In blogging, it is understood that you are responsible for the content of your article. Unfortunately, you should also be aware that your responsibility extends far beyond what you write. As part of the blogging community, you are also accountable for the comments made by your readers. That is why in the Blogger’s Code of Conduct, it is suggested that bloggers be responsible not only for their work, but also for the comments that they allow on their blogs. Keep everything positive and clean to increase your readership.
on
I am guilty of two of these things. It’s time that I start to get a better handle on my email and social media presence. As I read your posts here, I’m really beginning to see the importance of social media as it relates to my blog. So, maybe I can make email and social media part of my blogging New Year’s resolutions. Better late than never, right?
on
I know of some useful blogs that have not been updated in so long that I seldom even check to see what’s new — and may miss what’s new. You mentioned that it’s important to keep a schedule, but I’d like to add a few tips:
(1) Before you “go public,” publish five or more posts. This way, when you do go public, people who find you will spend more time on your blog, and people who are not interested in a particular topic are more likely to read your other posts than to merely dismiss you and go elsewhere.
(2) Don’t be reluctant to publish reruns, particularly of popular posts, updated if possible and with a new title. You should be constantly attracting new readers, so don’t assume that someone who sees a post on 8/4/13 also saw it on 11/7/10. Some items may be tied to the calendar and deserve annual or more-frequent publication.
(3) Build up a backlog of posts (some complete, some almost complete and some that may be just concepts or titles). If you come up “dry” on a particular day, look at your pending post list.
(4) Read, read, read and listen, listen, listen. New blog posts won’t always pop magically from your brain. You can publish your reaction (which can be praise, condemnation or amplification) of what you’ve read online or on paper, or a movie or TV show you’ve watched, even a conversation you’ve overheard.
(5) Periodically change the way your blog looks. You can change a background color, change the title typeface, move the sidebar from one side to the other, change the sequence of items in the sidebar. Don’t let readers think, “same old same old.” This goes for websites as well as blogs.
Thanks
on
Shruti, Great additional tips!
on
Hi, i agree with you. All the points you mentioned are absolutely right. This are the common mistakes we make in our blog. Thanks buddy for sharing such great piece of information with us. I love it when people come together and share such great information to others.
Thanks a ton buddy. Keep it up. Cheers
on
With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any problems of plagorism or copyright violation? My website has a lot of completely unique content I’ve either authored myself or outsourced but it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my agreement. Do you know any ways to help reduce content from being ripped off? I’d genuinely appreciate it.
on
It’s always good practice to use sites like Copyscape to ensure the guest posts you are publishing haven’t been plagiarized. Also, if you’re finding your content on other sites, that don’t provide proper link citation, try sending them an email requesting links and if they don’t flag the site for duplicate content with Google.
on
I think another forgotten factor is not establishing a media presence. Connecting your blog via facebook and twitter are important methods to promoting your blog. Also, utilizing youtube helps provide another non-text based dimension to your site.
on
Hello, I read your new stuff like every week. Your humoristic style is awesome, keep it up!
on
I’m pretty much guilty of all of these things :C
on
This article was very helpful to me, even as an experienced blogger! When I was first starting, the “Over-Posting” and ignoring social media were probably my biggest problems – I could certainly see when any potential readers were turned off by the sheer amount of articles to “wade” through. However, the one trait I often notice in newer bloggers is a lack of personality. While the writer does (for the most part) have to stay professional, that doesn’t mean the writer can’t have a little fun with their articles. Great article!
on
Relevancy, consistency, personality – those really are the three most important things you have to pay attention to. Offering something specially is only the first step though – getting the word out is just as hard as it was years ago. Social media is certainly flooded like crazy and SEO is often based on luck. But if you follow those 10 advices religiously, success should come sooner or later.
on
That was really interesting and helpful! This post clearly defined ways to become a successful blogger without polluting it with personal stories and unnecessary comments. Thanks for sharing! I’ve been quite interested in starting my own blog, and with these tips I think I might have the recipe to succeed.
on
The about me page is a page I struggle with when it comes to keeping it updated. I haven’t really thought about how much my readers are affected by it, I honestly didn’t think that many people bothered to even read it. How many people read it more than once and how often do people actually check it?
on
This is a great go to list when it comes to blogging. After reading this, I realize I’m at fault for more than half of this list. Thanks for the article!
on
Nice share about blogging! I agree with your points!