Whether you want to reach out to new customers for your small business or have a hobby you want to share, having your own blog can open up plenty of opportunities. But starting your own blog also means you need to avoid many of the common pitfalls that often scare bloggers. These five blogging mistakes are too common among millions of bloggers in the U.S.
#1: Not Blogging Regularly
In a recent study, Hubspot revealed that businesses that blogged 16 to 20 times per month received more than twice the traffic of those who blogged less than four times per month. A regular blogging schedule can help you be more consistent when producing content.
Choose the number of times you want to update your blog, whether you want to publish at least one post per day or post twice a week at a specific time. If your blogging platform offers an editorial calendar plug-in, it can help you keep track of your post days.
#2: Putting Quantity over Quality
It’s understandable you want to keep your blog updated with fresh content regularly, but you don’t want to do it at the expense of quality. Many bloggers fall into the trap of posting just for the sake of posting, regardless of the quality of their work.
A well-thought-out article takes time to write and edit, but it’s well worth the effort in the long run. Take time to research and cite facts. Most importantly, don’t get stressed out if you’re not able to post an article when you want to, as it can cause you to lose focus and become tempted to put out a half-baked, low-quality article
Remember that Google’s Panda and Penguin algorithms weed out websites with low-quality content. Brafton, a leading content marketing agency, warns that high bounce rates (visits that result in only a single page view) and low dwell times (how long a visitor spends on a web page) are all signs of a low-quality website, as far as Panda is concerned.
#3: Not Promoting Your Content
There are an estimated 42 million bloggers in the United States alone, while a whopping 329 million people view a blog monthly, Blogging.org reports. Good luck reaching that audience if you don’t promote your blog’s content.
The best way to promote your articles is by sharing them via social media. Sharing your post on Facebook and Google Plus is one way of getting your audience’s attention. Include an image or two and a link to your article to make the content more appealing.
Don’t forget to encourage new visitors to subscribe to new blog posts via email. Building an email list of loyal readers is a great way of promoting your blog. According to WebHostingBlueBook.com, you’ll need an email box from a reliable host to get the most out of your promotion strategy.
#4: Never Leaving Your Comfort Zone
Many bloggers fail to go beyond their comfort zones to provide engaging and thought-provoking content. Doing the same old thing day in and day out can cause your blog to stall.
Don’t be afraid to shake things up. Write both short-form and longer, more comprehensive articles to keep your audience engaged. Adding video content to your blog lets people know what you have to offer and offers plenty of visual appeal to visitors. The same can be said for podcasts.
#5: Expecting Your Blog to be An Overnight Success
Remember that common saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day?” Neither is your blog’s popularity. Expecting to be an overnight success will leave you disappointed when you discover that success takes more time. The New York Times notes it’s one of the many factors that cause nearly 95 percent of bloggers to abandon their blogs after a short time.
Hubspot found that 81 percent of businesses considered their blogs to be critical assets, but that’s only after the long, hard work put in to nurture and cultivate their blogs’ success. You won’t get a lot of traffic when you start out, but that’s a given for most blogs.
