8 Colossal Mistakes to Avoid as a New Blogger

By now, I think it’s safe to say that you’ve been blogging for a little while and are hopefully enjoying blogging.

The initial nervousness has worn off and you no longer fear hitting the publish button. You should be very proud of yourself.

There are so many aspects of blogging to consider as you become more familiar with the blogging and online world.

It is normal to feel inpatient because you have low traffic and page views. This can lead to rash decisions on your part leading to big mistakes. Here are some tips on how to avoid bad ones.

8 Colossal new blogger mistakes and how to avoid them

Over estimating your writing prowess:

In your mind, you might be the next Shakespeare or Arthur Haley. To the rest of the world however, you’re just another blogger.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but the internet is chock full of bloggers and writers who are just as good, if not better.

Don’t be condescending to your audience if you want to keep their attention. It is a turn off to them, and will probably keep them from coming back.

Everyone wants to talk to a friend, not to an instructor. Use precise words and save the big fancy words for dinner parties 😉 .

Trolling for Followers

Of course it’s painful to put your heart and soul into your blog posts, publishing them and..nothing. Nothing but crickets.

The only people who have read your blog are your sisters and maybe a friend or two. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.

However, nothing turns off more bloggers than going onto someone’s blog or Facebook page and declaring that you’re read their post and tell them to reciprocate and leaving a link to your website or post to boot.

This is a sure way to get your comment moved to the spam box and maybe even get your IP address banned. Really, it’s a no-no!

Giving up too early

Viral video spring up just about every second it seems. How often does a viral post appear on your feed? It seems like everyone else but you has hit the jackpot as far as followers.

For every viral video or post or meme, there are millions of bloggers who are silently and steadfastly working without the hoopla.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your blog viewership. You need to take a chill pill and realize that slow and steady wins the race. I was guilty of this with my first blog, a financial one that l had started at the height of the last financial crisis.

Plastering your blog with Ads

Nothing is a bigger turnoff to readers than trying to sell them something at each turn. It is wise to be prudent with your ad placement and sponsored posts.

Don’t take every sponsor that approaches you. If you write about blogging and finance like l am doing here, why would you take on a sponsored post for a weight loss clinic for instance?

Don’t dilute your brand. It confuses your audience and makes them trust you less which is fatal for your blog. 3 seems to be a generally accepted number.

Not writing consistently:

One of the reasons why you need an editorial calendar for your blog is to help with consistency. You need to pick a schedule and stick to it.

If you decide you want to write just once a week, then do so. Twice, three times? Go right ahead, but make sure it is a for sure thing.

You can’t write 3 times one week, then abandon your blog for a month before writing again and then wonder what happened to your audience. You want to be seen as a professional, you need to act like one.

Writing sub-par content

A lot of new bloggers confuse quantity for quality. Writing just for the sake of putting something out there, thinking people would be interested and keep coming back.

Don’t do it. If you don’t have quality stuff, don’t publish it. Write less often, but write at regular intervals.

Horrible Images

There are a lot of websites to get stock photos for free. There is really no excuse for bad photography this day and age.

I have previously written about that, so l will skip that. Check out sites like Pexel or even Flickr, but make sure to check copyrights.

Not Editing

This is crucial!!!! I can’t emphasize enough just how important this is. Take some time after you write to go over your grammar and spelling with a keen eye. Maybe even fresh eyes.

What works for me is to finish my writing, check my work and save it till the next day. With fresh eyes, l once again check out the post and l always preview to make sure l haven’t missed anything.

You can’t edit yourself too many times. It’s not worth turning off potential readers. Grammarly is a free grammar checker that can help.

Final words

Hopefully these tips will help you avoid 7 of the common mistakes that new bloggers make. Remember to keep calm and plug away. It will eventually happen if you keep at it, plus it will make you appreciate it even more.

What blogging mistakes, if any have you made? How did you finally learn to adjust your blogging style and expectations? Please share so others can be helped.