Successful Blogging: 7 Common Mistakes to Avoid

Blogging sounds so easy, right? Yes, it can be, if all you are interested in is freedom of expression. But if you want to make money from you blog, there are several common mistakes you need to avoid if you want to be a successful blogger.

1-Not publishing regularly

If you wish to run your blog as a real business, you need to post regularly on a fairly consistent schedule, such as every day, or every weekday. This will build community and keep readers coming back for more. It’s not enough to publish when the mood hits you. Use your scheduler to keep your new content flowing.

2-Not publishing a range of content

Worded blog posts are great, but don’t neglect multimedia, such as videos, PowerPoint decks, infographics and so on. WordPress makes it easy to embed media and to upload images.

3-Not using images

Images help support the content on the page. Either use your digital camera, or make the most of royalty-free sites like Pixabay and Wikimedia Commons to make your posts pop visually.

4-Not choosing a niche

Some bloggers write about every subject under the sun. Smart bloggers write about a niche, or topic, they are interested in and know a good deal about. Choosing a niche means a better chance of being able to monetize your content in a range of ways, from cheap and easy AdSense, to affiliate marketing, to selling your own products and services via your blog.

5-Not connecting meaningfully with your audience

One of the main differences between a blog and a regular website is what your reader will expect. A blog is dynamic, not static, so they want new content frequently. They also expect a ‘voice’ they can connect with and an ‘expert’ or authority about the niche, that is, someone with something important to say who is worth following. It can be tempting to ‘dial in’ your posts just to get fresh content up there, but writing with passion and purpose will always show, meaning your posts will resonate more with your target audience. 

Personal stories, examples, case studies, reviews and more all show that you know your niche and understand their problems. You can show that you’ve faced them too, and found real solutions.

6-Not setting goals

Every business needs a goal. Not having a goal is like jumping in the car and driving, with no destination in mind, and no road map or GPS. It is easy when you are first starting out, because you are at zero. You can only go up from there. But sooner or later, you might reach a plateau, or even worse, start going down, unless you set business goals for your blog in terms of traffic, profits, subscribers and so on. For example try to do 10% better each month. By having this goal in mind, you will often find you not only achieve it, but exceed it.

7-Not capturing leads at your blog

Start collecting email list subscribers as soon as you launch your blog. Create a great special offer, such as an ebook or ecourse, that you know will be of real use to your target audience, and put the signup form on a great landing page, commonly referred to as an optin page or a squeeze page. You will not only get people to sign up, they might even pass along the word to others, giving you free word of mouth marketing.

Social media is great, but email marketing is still the best way to build relationships with your target audience and help grease the wheels for ecommerce and sales. 

Avoid these 7 sins and you should soon have a profitable blog your readers and subscribers will love.