Being a blogger takes effort, creativity and consistency. It exposes you to different realities and perspectives to a topic. However, there are common mistakes bloggers make that hinder their performance. Working on these mistakes increases your reading traffic and helps you grow on the blogging ladder.
10 blogging mistakes to avoid as a beginner
Below is a list of some blogging mistakes to avoid as a beginner blogger. They include:
Writing without defining your Target Audience
Establishing a specific audience is like marking the X spot on a map. Bloggers become more aware of your content and delivery. Once you have established yourself as a blogger, find out what you TA wants to see by constantly interacting with them. Use concrete and specific words. Introduce inclusive language to engage your reader.
Lack of a blogging strategy
Without a proper strategy, you are often confused and misguided on what content to post. Employ the use of content calendars to help you schedule and plan for each of your posts. This helps you to create a routine in your writing, that leaves you feeling organized.
Forgetting to create an email list
Most bloggers often wait till their articles pick up to create a list. However, it is advisable to create an email list to establish trust and a relationship with your readers from the beginning. This list triggers social media distribution of your content.
Self-Indulgence disguised as storytelling.
Are you letting out too much of yourself in your content? It is important to maintain authenticity while keeping boundaries. Do not sprinkle your problems or irrelevant stories to your post, simply because they have a couple of resemblances. Keep it about the reader to harness interest.
Relying on SEO for traffic
As much as Search Engine Optimization aids in filtering out and bringing in traffic, your content should pull readers by itself. Fully depending on SEO and Social Media may lead to a downward spiral of failure. Because what is in today may be irrelevant tomorrow. Stay in track with changes in the community and adapt your content to the current times to attract readers.
Irrelevant Content
Does the content you post serve a specific purpose? Does it impact lives and introduce new ideas? This emphasizes the importance of a content calendar because it helps you to critique your work beforehand. It ought to be content that establishes YOU as an expert.
Over spamming blog posts
The game has always been quality over quantity. You may think writing 10 posts a day will improve your articles, but rather it is exhausting your creativity. Your brain needs time to process and restore its thought process. Take it easy.
Freebies are expensive.
Using a free website limits your blog growth and monetization. Bloggers aim to establish a large convenient audience and lack of a personal domain hinders growth as no one is willing to take you seriously. Invest in a domain and build your website. Grow with it as a writer.
Stiff Writing
Writing a blog post is much different from writing a term paper. But when blogger first start out, they usually only have experience with the latter. The problem? The style of writing from a term paper is not the style of writing people enjoy reading.
Digression from the main point.
Stick to your main idea. As tempting as it may be to include side notes, keep them brief. It is one thing to be yourself in the topic you are covering, but it’s another thing to bring up too many personal experiences that bury the point you’re trying to make.