Blogging is supposed to be fun. Make one mistake and you can be punished. Make a bunch of them and you can be in a world of hurt.
In the real world, we all make mistakes and there’s really nothing we can do about that. For the most part, it is all part of the learning experience, whether it be in life or on our very own websites that we use to make money blogging.
Some mistakes are not as big as others, but whatever the case may be, I have compiled some of the biggest mistakes that bloggers make.
Some may put a little dent on your traffic, while others can completely destroy a whole website overnight.
If you want your blog to continue on its path to success, you might want to check this list out. Who knows, you’re probably making these mistakes too.
1.) I’ll Blog Today, and Take 2 Weeks Off
You are flat out not consistent. This is the biggest mistake that most people make, especially when they are just starting out. If you don’t plan on doing this for the long haul, you might be wasting your time.
Blogging is a great way to get the most targeted and organic traffic. Without creating content regularly, you can expect your blog to lose some of the rankings it might hold.
I have lost sites because of this mishap and I know other bloggers who have gone through the same problem. BE CONSISTENT!
2.) Black Hat SEO
Quit trying to cheat! Black hat SEO has demolished thousands of blogs overnight and it will continue to punish those who are still trying to game the system.
This is nothing more than trying to impress Google and other search engines (not humans) by using outdated techniques like keyword stuffing or paying for backlinks.
One little cheat is not worth losing everything you’ve actually worked for on your blog. If you ever feel you are not getting traffic, my suggestion to you is to blog on.
Keep on keeping on and you will see your site come back to the top. Do things the lazy way and you can expect to join everyone that lost their businesses.
3.) Your Main Concern is Google
I’m guilty of this and sometimes I find it hard to break this habit. Rather than trying to write for actual people, you are too busy trying to satisfy Google.
As a blogger, your main audience is going to be real people. Not Google. You can always please both, but you always want your main focus to be on the people you are blogging for.
A great way to get on Google’s good side is to not make mistake #2. If you can avoid that one mistake, you can expect to be on the good old boy’s list.
4.) Worrying too Much About the Money
This is a problem most new bloggers have as well as those who have been around for a while and are still not making money.
If you are blogging to make money, your main focus should still be your audience. Focus on affiliate links and all that, and you can expect to make $0.
Blogging is a way for you to help people, so change your focus on actually helping people and the money will come.
There are very few “jobs” out there that will pay you to help people, so make sure you are using your blog to its full potential and I can promise you that the money will come.
5.) I Want my Site to be the Prettiest
There is nothing wrong with having a great looking site. There is a problem though, when you find yourself trying to change things a year down the road.
I remember when a couple of bloggers I knew lost tons of traffic just by changing their theme. I’m not saying this is a problem, but you really don’t know what to expect when you make big changes to your site.
If you are thinking about making some changes to your website, be prepared to take a hit for doing so. My suggestion to you is to make all the big changes in the beginning so that you can focus more on creating content rather than the cosmetic side of things.
6.) Not Engaging With your Readers
If you don’t want to communicate with your readers then we might just have a problem. Yes you are communicating with your audience, but you also want to have some actual interaction going on on each of your posts.
This is a nice little thing called comments. Have your readers chime in on your post, whether it be something controversial and very opinionated or answer a question they may have.
This can be done by simple words like…
“what are your thoughts?”
“Do you agree?”
Just those simple phrases will have people wanting to give you their two cents. That’s just how us humans work and this is a great way to get some interaction going on for your blog posts.
7.) You Think You Can do it On Your Own
I remember my early days as a blogger and how I thought I could manage everything on my own. Of course I was wrong.
As bloggers, you want to develop good habits. If you are going to try to do things on your own, you most likely will develop bad habits, which will hurt everything you’ve worked for.
Invest in your blog. Get help and interact with like minded people. This can be done in communities such as Wealthy Affiliate, which has thousands of online entrepreneurs who are willing to share their thoughts on anything and everything related to blogging.
Want some feedback on your site? They have it. Want more comments on your posts? They have that too.
Conclusion: Get Involved and Keep Error to a Minimum
You can definitely create a successful blog without anyone’s help, but you want to surround yourself with people who share the same interests.
There is not a single person that I know physically that I can share blogging tips with, so I turn to the internet to find these people.
My other half just knows that I blog and I make money doing it but that’s about it. On top of that, she doesn’t care about what or how I make money, so that leaves me all alone. Again.
Blogging is a great vehicle for a lot of things online as well as providing people with crazy amounts of income. Avoid these mistakes and you too can create a successful blog.
I hope this post has been of great help to you. If you have any other tips you would like to share, we would love to hear them, so please leave them in the comments section below. Cheers!
– John
A Work at Home Jobs
Wow, My Survey Is Actually A Legitimate Survey Site
Hey John, I really enjoyed your article. I’ve seen the Wealthy Affiliate numerous times but I was a little weary. Your article was very helpful for me. I’m new to the online world and just starting up my blog. Thanks for the post
Not a problem Corey and I hope you are seeing some great progress so far. Please do let me know if you need help with anything and I will give you a hand. Cheers!
– John
Hi John, thanks for the thorough and well written article. I do make two mistakes and I would like to correct myself.
First, I was not consistent, and that is very bad thing for the online business, I know, but somehow I always find an excuse not to work on my site. On the other hand I expect to make a living with online job. Impossible!
Also, in the past I have used black hat SEO, not knowing how bad it can be. I learned my lesson and not doing these tricks anymore.
All the best!
As long as you learned your lesson man. There are thousands of people that got hit with Google’s update and they all lost their businesses overnight. Always do things the right way or you’ll end up going backwards.
Hi John,
Thank you for posting this. I would really love to start my own blog as well, which website do you recommend for help in starting my own website? WordPress?
Thanks! 🙂
Karla
WordPress is a great platform, but if you are looking to make money as a blogger, you definitely want to use a program that will give you everything you need to run a successful online business. Personally, I use a program called the Wealthy Affiliate, which allows me to build my site, get it hosted, and everything you could possibly think of in regards to running a website.