So, you’ve got the best blogging tools for beginners. But do you know about blogging mistakes for beginners? Read on to discover 10 blogging mistakes to avoid so you can drive traffic and engagement on your blog.
Although I officially launched this space in September last year, I started blogging in May. So I guess you could say it’s my (unofficial) blog anniversary.
I know I write about home decor, but I’m passionate about blogging too. So, why not share a little bit more about my blogging journey, right?
Blogging is awesome BUT it is also a lot of work. I’d be lying if I said this journey has been smooth-sailing. Spoiler alert: it hasn’t!
It’s been a steep learning curve for me, and I’ve made so many mistakes, especially during the first six months. I constantly tell my friends, “Please talk to me if you want to blog! Then you won’t make the same mistakes I did!”
That conversation inspired me to create this blog post so I can reach a wider audience.
I wasted a lot of time when I made those mistakes. On top of that, I wasn’t getting the traffic I wanted for my blog. Imagine how frustrating it is to put in so much time and effort, but no one reads your blog! I don’t want the same thing to happen to YOU!
This blog post will cover ten blogging mistakes for beginners, all of which I’m guilty of. There are many articles about the same topic, but I wanted to give you a REAL account from someone who started blogging 12 months ago.
Read on to find out ten blogging mistakes for beginners, and how I overcame them!
*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that are at no additional cost to you, and I may earn a small commission if you purchase any products via my links. I only recommend products that I would use myself, and all opinions expressed here are my own. Read the full privacy policy here.
Related:
10 Blogging Mistakes For Beginners
- Not having a niche
- Not having the right writing skills for a digital platform
- Spending too much time trying to design a blog template from scratch
- Not using Pinterest strategically
- Not resizing or renaming images
- Posting inconsistently
- Poor time management
- Messing up ads
- Not sharing the blog on social media platforms
- Being a perfectionist
I did not have a niche
I started my blog organically. In other words, I didn’t think to monetize it. All I wanted to do was to share my experiences! So, I wrote about my husband getting scammed, our trip to Disney World, and finding the perfect wedding dress under $300.
In my mind, I thought these topics were going to be a hit. I mean, who doesn’t want to know how to find a wedding dress under $300?!
Oh boy, I had a huge reality check when I found out only my family and friends were reading my blog!
Here’s the thing. There are SO many blogs on the world wide web. No one is going to read your content if it isn’t inspiring, educating, solving a problem, and/or entertaining. And no, writing about my trip to Disney World does not count as entertainment.
You need more than your family and friends reading your blog if you want your blog to have constant traffic. Your friends may love your stories, but strangers won’t.
That’s why it is so important to create useful and unique content to keep people reading!
Solution
Choose a niche. Your niche could be about anything: think of pets, food, or gardening. If you don’t already know by now, my blog is all about home decor! Since I’ve niched down, my readership has increased tremendously.
When you have a niche, you are basically telling your audience that you are passionate and knowledgeable about a particular topic. People who are interested in your niche will find your content interesting. This is what keeps them coming back for more.
Bonus
In addition to choosing a niche, focus on doing keyword research. If you want a successful blog, you have to write for your audience. That means writing about things they’re interested in. Using the right keywords will definitely increase your blog’s overall search traffic.
I use Keysearch to find the best keywords for my blog. I can also check my blog ranking on Google. Although it’s not free, it is hands down one of the best investments I’ve made for my blog.
I did not have the writing skills for a digital platform
My first language is English and I have a degree in journalism. I should be pretty good at this whole blogging thing, right?
Except I wasn’t. Far from it.
Sure, I used the right grammar and I constructed well-written sentences. But, my articles were too long and complicated for the average reader to absorb quickly. As a result, people spent very little time reading my posts.
People who search for information online are skimmers. Their eyes roam until they find what they’re looking for.
Solution
Make your content digestible. Here are some ways I kept my writing simple:
- Write short sentences
- Write 3-4 sentences max per paragraph
- Use headings and subheadings
- Use lists whenever possible (like this one!)
- Avoid complex vocabulary
Bonus
I learned all of the above and more from this freelance writing course. Not only has it helped me to write better, but it taught me valuable SEO tips.
This has led to some of my posts on the first page of Google search, which means I receive organic traffic every month, even when I’m sitting around doing nothing.
In short, it’s worth every penny!
I spent too much time trying to design a blog template from scratch
I was so adamant about building the perfect blog template from scratch that I obsessed about it for weeks. Consequently, my content suffered. I stopped writing so I could design the perfect blog.
Having a beautiful blog is nice BUT having good content is more important. One of the biggest blogging mistakes for beginners is wasting time. Imagine all of the content I could research and write about if I hadn’t wasted it on the template! What on earth was I thinking?!
Solution
I became so frustrated with the whole process that I finally caved and purchased a template. It was easily one of the best decisions I made for the blog.
The blog looked great and I finally had time again to do what I love most, which is creating content.
If having a beautiful blog is important to you, consider investing in a ready-made template. I love mine because it’s so easy to install, looks good, and comes in 19 different layouts.
I did not use Pinterest strategically
I’ve always used Pinterest to seek inspiration. I treated it like a digital mood board, pinning all of the beautiful imagery I wished to recreate.
THAT is one of the biggest blogging mistakes for beginners.
Pinterest is not just a place for pretty pictures. It is one of the biggest search engines after Google. People are searching for information on Pinterest.
Think of Pinterest as a book synopsis. It offers a LARGE group of people (450 million to be exact) a glimpse of what your website is about. If they’re interested in your content, they will click on the link that leads to your website. Hello, traffic!
Solution
Use Pinterest to promote your blog. You should create boards that are related to your niche to avoid confusing your audience.
Just like other platforms, Pinterest wants its users to be engaged at all times. Therefore, you need to create your own pins frequently if you’re looking to drive significant traffic to your blog.
Bonus
Pinterest is first and foremost a VISUAL platform. That’s why it is crucial to create visually attractive pins.
If you don’t have an eye for design (I can relate), I highly recommend signing up for a Canva Pro subscription.
Canva Pro is a LIFESAVER. Besides their design templates, there are 2 functions I can’t live without:
- Access to free high-res imagery
- Background eraser tool (this helps me to create mood boards like this)
Thanks to Canva Pro, I’ve created beautiful visuals on Pinterest, which has brought my blog significant traffic.
I did not resize or rename my images
I never knew not resizing or renaming my images would hurt my blog! But it did, and let me tell you why.
I always thought I needed to upload high-resolution images to maintain the quality of the images. The higher the resolution, the better, right? Wrong! Large images actually slow your site down. And guess what? Nobody likes a slow website. Especially Google!
Besides that, I didn’t know how important it was to rename my images until I learned about SEO. Since I uploaded all of the images from my phone, they had generic names like IMG_0010. This meant that I was not optimizing my blog posts for Google search.
Solution
Don’t know the ideal size of your images? Use Pixlr. Once you’ve uploaded your image, you will be greeted by a prompt to resize your images. There is an option that says, “Resize for the web.” Click that option, and you’re good to go!
Additionally, use keywords and/or key phrases when renaming all of your images. This will help to optimize your blog post and boost your site ranking on Google search.
I did not post consistently
When I treated my blog as a hobby, I blogged whenever it fit my schedule. When I had more time, I would blog five days a week. During busier weeks, I had zero posts.
I didn’t realize I was making a mistake until a good friend asked, “When is your next blog post? I’d like to read it.”
I reflected on some of my favorite blogs and realized there was new content every single day. That’s part of the reason why I love reading their stuff. There’s always something new for me to discover! I don’t think I would’ve been as loyal if they were posting inconsistently.
Solution
Two words: POST CONSISTENTLY.
Since that eye-opening conversation with my friend, I’ve created and stuck to my editorial calendar. I blog twice a week now, every Tuesday and Friday. I’d love to do more in the future, but my schedule doesn’t permit it now. Hopefully soon!
I had poor time management
I was doing a lot for the blog, but my efforts didn’t move the needle. Then, I realized it was because I didn’t know how to manage my time.
Multitasking was the norm for me. I tried to fit blogging, taking photos, and creating Pinterest visuals in a day. It made me exhausted and overwhelmed all the time.
My lack of focus showed on the blog. My content was subpar, and I wasn’t getting the traffic I wanted.
Solution
Batch your work to increase your productivity. According to finance blogger Erin Glober, batching reduces distractions by focusing on one task or type of task.
Instead of multitasking now, I batch work my tasks. Each week may look different, but I group similar tasks to finish in a day. For example, I may write new blog posts on Monday, shoot content on Tuesday, and so on.
This has boosted my productivity, which in turn has improved my blog.
I (accidentally!) messed up my ads
This is a funny story. I was so excited when I first set up ads for this blog. I called all my friends and told them about it.
Some people find ads annoying, but my friends knew how important they were to me. Having ads on my site meant I was one step closer to monetizing my blog.
They were so excited for me and wanted to support me by clicking on the ads whilst reading my blog. Here comes the funniest part. They did this without my knowledge!
My friends rock, seriously.
Unfortunately, that’s not how things work. Soon enough, I was flagged, and my account was blocked because of suspicious activity.
I was DEVASTATED. It took a while for my ad account to get approved, and I wasn’t sure if they’d clear my account. It felt like I was back at square one!
I shared my concerns with my friends, who later admitted everything to me. As sad as I was, I definitely had a good laugh. I thanked them for their efforts and told them to stop.
Thankfully, I managed to get my account back. But, it was a lesson I learned the hard way.
Solution
Let your ads run organically, and don’t fret about them! Once I got my account back, I simply focused on creating good content. As a result, my ad revenue increased organically.
Remember, there are no shortcuts to success.
I did not share my blog on my social media platforms
I prefer to separate my professional and personal lives. After I decided to monetize the blog, I stopped sharing it on my social media platforms.
On one hand, I wanted to share my blog with my friends. But, I also didn’t want to be that annoying person who’s constantly pushing her own content on Instagram or Facebook.
However, sharing your content on social media platforms is the easiest way to drive traffic to your blog. So, how then do we create a much-needed balance?
Solution
If this is something that concerns you too, you may want to create social media accounts specifically for your blog.
Since I created a new Instagram and Facebook page for my blog, I don’t feel guilty about spamming my content. Friends who enjoy my content follow me without being asked. It’s a win-win situation that brings a great deal of traffic to my blog!
I was a perfectionist
Being a perfectionist means wanting to get everything right. But, nothing is perfect no matter how hard you try.
I spent way too much time trying to make everything perfect for the blog. I wrote and re-wrote blog posts. Additionally, I wanted to take photos for each blog post even though I had access to good-quality stock photos.
I gave myself so much pressure to make things look good, even if it required 10x more time and effort than usual. When the blog wasn’t gaining momentum, I blamed myself.
I love blogging, but I started to dread it because I couldn’t make it perfect.
Solution
Do it ugly. Yes, you read right.
My mentor coach said, “It’s better to do it ugly than to not do anything at all.”
I was so afraid to mess things up that I didn’t want to blog. Do you know how crazy that sounds? My fear of failure got in the way of what I love doing!
Doing it ugly is an essential part of the journey. This shows that you are making progress. A little progress each day adds up to big results. So, aim for progress. Not perfection.
Conclusion
Did you learn anything from these blogging mistakes for beginners? As I said, blogging is a lot of work, especially when you’re just starting. But, it’s also fun and can be extremely rewarding.
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve made any of these blogging mistakes for beginners. All the best and good luck in your blogging journey!