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common blogging mistakes

8 Common Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

These days, it seems like everyone has a blog, and it’s easy to see why. If you run a business, a blog can be a great way to bring in more customers and establish your expertise in your field. If you’re starting a personal blog, it can be a great way to get your voice out there in the world and even make some good money. However, there are some common blogging mistakes that will seriously hurt your chances of success.

Read on to discover some of the mistakes people make with their blogs and how you can avoid these pitfalls.

1. Not Sticking to a Schedule

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to starting a blog is not putting up regular blog posts. The key to keeping your readers coming back is consistency; they need to know when they can expect a post from you. If you post twice in a week and then not again for a month, your readers won’t bother checking in.

Whatever posting schedule you set for yourself, be sure to stick with it. If this is your first time starting a blog and if you work another job full-time, plan to start with a once-a-week schedule. This will be frequent enough to keep your readers’ attention without being too much of a demand on your time.

2. Neglecting SEO

Search engine optimization is the gold standard when it comes to modern blogging. Search engines like Google and Bing use algorithms to determine which results show up first when a user runs a search. Search engine optimization improves your chances of winding up at the top of those results and bringing more traffic to your site.

Search engine optimization may involve everything from including certain numbers of links in your blog posts to using keywords in specific locations. You might need to avoid long paragraphs and keep your article readable and easy to understand. Make sure you’re keeping up to date on the latest SEO guidelines so you improve your chances of being discovered through a search engine.

3. Avoiding Social Media

Social media is one of the most powerful tools available to modern-day marketers. Nearly 70 percent of American adults use Facebook, and another 37 percent use Instagram. You’ll be hard-pressed to find any other single platform that has the potential to reach such a large portion of your readership.

You need to make sure you’re using social media to grow your blog’s readership and keep your consumer base updated about new posts. Yes, they could check your site for new posts, but it’s much better for you to meet them where they are. Any time you put up a new article, be sure you’re posting blogs on social media with a link back to your website.

4. Not Responding to Readers

These days, your blog is one of thousands of things vying for your readers’ attention. Not only are there billions of other websites out there that they could be visiting, they also have families, streaming services, video games, social media, and normal household duties calling to them. So if a reader takes time out of their day to interact with your post in some way, you need to acknowledge that.

Any time a reader comments on a post or shares it on their social media, be sure to respond to that. Either comment back to them thanking them for their feedback or like their post. Showing this appreciation will not only make them feel more connected with you, but it will also make them more likely to interact with your work in the future.

5. Picking Topics That Are Too Big

When you’re trying to decide what to write a blog about, it can be easy to go really, really big with your topics. You might be tempted to start with things like “Top Tips for Lawn Care,” “Best Updos in History,” or “Why French Wines Are Special.” But these are topics that people have written entire libraries of books about, and you can’t begin to tackle the subject in a thousand-word blog post.

Instead, narrow things down – way down – and focus in on one segment of these topics. Go for “Top Tips for Aerating Your Grass,” “How to Do a French Twist,” or “Why a Red Burgundy Will Be Your New Favorite Wine.” These topics are much more approachable, and they’ll give you more space to grow your blog around clusters of larger topics.

6. Writing Like a Robot

When you first start writing a blog, you may feel like you need to go at the whole endeavor with an air of formality. You might feel obliged to include long, winding sentences with effusive language and complicated sentence structures. You might also feel like you have to write your articles from a completely impersonal perspective, including just the facts and nothing more.

But the truth is that readers want to see something of you and your personality in your blog posts. It is important to note that they want to be able to see your voice coming through in your topics; they don’t necessarily want to hear about the cute thing your dog did this weekend. But don’t be afraid to get a little casual, have some fun in your writing, and show off your unique voice.

7. Writing Fluff

Staring down a thousand-word word count can be daunting, and you might feel like it’s impossible for you to fill the whole space. When you’re trying to figure out ways to meet your word count, you might be tempted to start writing fluff. Fluff is writing that repeats things you’ve said already or stating things that are obvious or common knowledge.

Instead of resorting to filling your word count with fluff, look for relevant information that will provide value to your readers. You may want to use an outline to help you decide what you’ll cover in your article before you begin. This can also help break your post into more manageable chunks for your readers.

Discover More Common Blogging Mistakes

Starting a blog can be a great way to bring more people into your business, make money, or just have fun. But there are some common blogging mistakes that can hurt your chances of creating a successful blog. Make sure you post regularly, leverage social media, and have fun with your writing.

If you’d like to discover more tips and tricks for starting a successful blog, check out the rest of our site at Popup Domination. We are the creators of the world-famous popup software that pioneered an industry. Try us for free today and start converting a lot more visitors into customers and subscribers.