Blogging can be a good way to earn extra money, and some expert bloggers have even figured out how to make a living solely off of their blogs. The best bloggers make it look easy, but there is a lot of hard work that goes into creating a successful blog. They have also learned what mistakes not to make on their sites and with their marketing campaigns. If you are looking to start a blog of your own, here is a look at some common mistakes to avoid.
1. Writing about the wrong topic
A little bit of research will show you which niche blogs are the most successful. It can be extremely tempting to write about a topic solely because there is a large built-in audience for that specific subject. This is a common mistake that many first-time bloggers make. Writing about a subject that you have no passion for will be evident in your writing. Your readers will also be able to tell quickly that you are not an authority on the subject. The best way to begin a blog is to find a topic that you love, and write from the heart. You will find that creating your blog posts will be easy and fun.
2. Forcing traffic to a blog
Even with the best SEO strategy, tagging, and social media sharing, your blog isn’t going to be a hit overnight. Some bloggers get discouraged at low page views in the first few months, but it is not realistic to expect 5 digit page views right away. Keyword stuffing, black hat tricks, and click exchanges might give your blog a temporary boost, but they won’t help to build your blog’s readership. In fact, click exchanges can get you banned from AdSense, and could eliminate one key revenue stream for your site. Instead, focus on building a loyal audience of people who want to read your blog regularly. It takes time to build an audience, but the people who begin to follow your blog will keep coming back.
3. Not posting regularly
Readers will eventually start to find your site organically through the use of search engines. Nothing turns a reader off to a blog or website faster than when they find outdated information. If your most recent post is from a few months ago, organic hits aren’t likely to convert to regular readers. Setting up a schedule for how frequently you post will help to keep your blog up to date, and will give readers an idea of how frequently to check back for new information.
4. Hosting too many ads on a page
While readers do understand that ad space helps to keep your blog viable, they will only tolerate a minimal amount of ads on a page. Too many ads can make your blog seem overly promotional, and can take away from your overall message. Be judicious with the number of ads that you allow on your site, and work with advertisers who can provide relevant ads. If you write a cooking blog, ads for electronics aren’t likely to bring in much revenue for you, and could turn off your audience.
5. Not sticking to a primary topic
Writers can be inspired to write about many topics. If your blog is your only outlet for your writing, it can be tempting to post an off-topic piece of content. Depending on your audience, this can be a very dangerous practice. Your readers come to your niche blog because you have proven that you are an authority on a specific topic. If you veer off on a tangent, especially a political one, you may lose some readers. You may also begin to populate in Google searches that are not relevant to your blog. Your posts should always relate back to your topic in some way. If you can’t find a way to fit your chosen blog topic into a piece, try to find another outlet for it.
Building a successful blog isn’t easy. If it were, blog writing would be the number one profession around the world. Be patient, focused, and active on your blog, and eventually, your blog will find its audience and become successful. Do you know any other reasons why blogs fail? Share your thoughts, please!
