Blogging mistakes to avoid by the beginners - Blogging Tips
There are millions of bloggers out there but only a few of them succeed. To be a successful blogger, you just have to avoid silly mistakes in the beginning of blogging career. Here you'll get to know some common blogging mistakes you should avoid.
Some Blog for passion, some blog to make a living, even companies or brands maintain a blog. Okay, leave it, let's talk about the second kind i.e. personal bloggers who want to make a living from blogging.
There are thousands of posts that educate you how to blog, how to make some six figure income like them, How I made that and how I made $10,000 in a month etc. Are they really useful? Not always. Most of them just brag to attract you and benefit from your weakness to earn. They may attract and inspire you, but they can never help you 100 per cent. I can prove it. Can you become the President of US by reading autobiography of Abraham Lincoln? Never.
They are the just the people (winners sometimes) who made a difference and they advise you to do the same. Come on, when will you make a difference if you follow someone all the year long. I don't mean that you shouldn't learn from someone. Improve your cognizance learn from past successes, re-think and re-invent your own way that leads to your goals. Okay, prior to that let's see how not to blog (which is more important).Never blog for money
You can expect money from your blog as one of the outputs, but not as the only output. Following successful bloggers doesn't ensure you a clear cut path to success, it's a way that shows and educates you how to get through those obstacles.
Success stories ensures you a confirmed success, they inspire you and inject the dare to win. Remember, they are not the only available ways that lead you to success. Winning is up to your effort and talent. Even you and I are capable of being unique and making a difference that everyone wishes to read.
Now, people visit your blog post by clicking those links in SERP expecting that they get some useful information. If your content is of great value to them, they become your loyal readers and even share your posts. You will be one of the respectable persons and more or less a teacher to them.
What if your behavior indicates that you're blogging just for money? They don't even try for a second visit and that's what I did all these years. Well, you may ask how one can know that I'm blogging for money. Every post you write, number of ads you place, the way you comment and what not. Everything you do on your blog reflects your behavior; your blog need not look professional, at least you should be professional while writing i.e. interacting with your readers.
Too much is always dangerous and the same strategy applies for affiliate links. If you monetize each and every keyword in a post, what does that indicate? So, never blog for only for money.Don't be traffic hungry
Rome wasn't built in a day and the same way no blog can get traffic in a day. You'll publish your first post without any target, second post, third and so on...10. You'll still face the same situation that you came across the first day. What will you do now? Instead of concentrating on what and how to write, you worry about the visitors.
You'll Google all the day long and apply every possible way to drive traffic to your blog.
No matter what the trick you choose, either white or black hat, your target is just to increase visitors to your 10-15 posts. The whole process continues for days and weeks sometimes, with no satisfactory output. How silly it is! I don't mean that you shouldn't worry about traffic at all, if you don't worry about something, how can you get it? But it's not the right time.
If you are doing the same, stop there and scroll down to know what to do instead.
You know how to write better, what's your niche, how knowledgeable you are in your field and your target audience. Hey, do you know your target audience? If not, where are you going without ever knowing your target? It's a blind mistake again. How to know them, how to reach them and how to draw them to your blog? You can't go for a paid promotion by spending thousands of bucks, if you do promote, that would just bring you temporary benefits. So, what to do now..?
Is it a rule that a single internet surfer should follow a single blog? No, then why don't you drive traffic to your blog from other popular blogs in your niche? Everyone loves your blog when your posts are worth reading. So, let them know how talented you are and what can your blog do to boost their cognizance.
Never brag too much, just make them understand you by interacting with them via comments and guest posts on high profile blogs. Have you ever asked your friends to promote your blog (in an ethical way)? If your friends really love your niche they can help promote your blog by sharing on social media. Hey, it's a kind of social service.Don't choose a niche unless you are expert in it
Stepping in wrong niche and struggling to get ideas is a routine scene for blogger who made a foolish decision. Choosing a high performing niche doesn't ensure you success unless you are an expert in it. Many bloggers chose technology & gadgets as their niche though they don't have a minimum knowledge in it.
What's the result? Not less than 60 per cent of them failed to reach their target. What happens when you choose a wrong niche (not tech)? You can't get ideas on what to write; eventually you try to follow someone (popular blogs). Now, I can call you a scanner cum printer.What worked today may not work tomorrow
Have you read Marshall Goldsmith's 'What Got You Here Won't Get You There?' If not, grab it from Amazon today. Hey, I'm not forcing you, it's just an advice. Okay, let's come back to the topic. What worked today may work tomorrow and the day after but not all the year long. You need to come up with latest stuff and techniques in your niche because they (your readers) need it. You should be updated every day, else competition kills. Also, in 2014 you'll have more and more blogs to compete with you in all aspects. So, it's up to you to win or face a BIG loss.
I know that I haven't covered the entire not to dos. There are many other notable mistakes to be avoided. What do you think? Let me know some from you.
Image credit: Adapted from Google SEO guide.
I must appreciate the author for raising this wonderful article which is necessary too. I am seeing so many bloggers on the internet who are writing the content without making understand what they want to say. Some writers think that by using long content , it is meant passable passage and will attract the readers. But a blog need not be a big one and even a small content can cast a big spell. So what I mean that bloggers must concentrate on meaningful blogs and write the same to the understanding level of the net users and that will bring name and fame.