There are millions and millions of blogs living in the blogosphere. Sadly, only a handful of blogs get regular readership. The problem is blogs are so easy to start up, but not as easy to build up. Many bloggers don’t know what they are getting themselves into after they have an account and blog address. Would you consider yourself to be one of those bloggers? Maybe you are or maybe you’re not, but we all make mistakes. Check out these five blogging mistakes and how to get them fixed so you can get on to building your blog.
1. You’re not updating enough
Everyone has a different answer when it comes to the number of times a person should be updating their blog. It all depends on your goals. If you are planning on making blogging a full-time job, more is better. But how do you continuously come up with fresh ideas? An editorial calendar can help make your job easier. When you have topics set aside, it becomes that much simpler to write a new post. Also, you may want to consider keeping a small journal or download a note-taking app on your smartphone. You never know when a good idea is going to hit you.
Whatever frequency you do choose, whether it’s once a day or once a week; keep in mind that consistency is key.
2. Not utilizing enough images
Have you ever read a long article online? Although the content may be interesting, it can become hard to read after a while. As visual creatures, we love images. Consider adding a picture, screenshot or chart to your post. Images break up your copy and keep your post exciting.
3. You’re not thinking about search
Build it and they will come? Not when there are millions of other blogs to choose from. Search engines remain the #1 way to find blogs. By learning the basics of SEO, your blog is much more likely to be found by a browsing reader.
- Start by researching keywords
Say you are a frugal blogger whose next planned post is how to make your own laundry detergent. Your instinct may say that readers are probably searching for ‘diy laundry soap’ or ‘diy laundry detergent’. But the Google Keyword tool may tell you something much different.
While ‘diy laundry detergent’ or ‘diy laundry soap’ are both searched terms, they may not necessarily be your best choice in keywords. Remember, there are many different ways to search for anything. Do your research.
- End by optimizing
Before publishing your post, optimize the main points of your blog: title, headings, meta description and images with an appropriate number of keywords (many experts say targeting 1-2 words per post). The most important aspect to remember is that your blog should sound natural, not spammy. After all, you are writing for people not search engines.
If you are interested in learning more about SEO, there are many free resources available to new bloggers. Check out SEOMoz’s The Beginner’s Guide to SEO.
4. You’re not using the power of other bloggers
As a blogger, you are joining a (large) network of writers. Overall, they want to see you succeed. This is why when many bloggers aren’t writing new posts, they are reading and commenting on other blog posts.
You can capitalize on this power by publishing guest posts on other blogs. By creating unique and original content, you are promoting your own blog while helping another blog. In exchange for a little self-promotion, the bloggers gets what he or she wants which is unique and original content.
You can easily find bloggers who are looking for guest posts by subscribing to a blogging community such as Blogger LinkUp.
5. And finally, you are giving up too quickly
If you look at popular blogs, you will see most of them have lots of similarities. Probably their largest similarity is the fact that they have been hard at work for a long time. The Social Media Club’s first post was published on March 17, 2010. The results don’t happen overnight so chin up and keep at it!
Obviously, these are only five of many possible mistakes made by bloggers. What else would you add to the list?
