Blogging Mistake #1 – Not Updating
It never fails. Somebody sets up a new blog and is all excited about it. We see a furry of posts for the first few days, maybe even a few weeks, and then the number of posts starts to go down until the blog is hardly updated at all. Nothing kills a blog faster than lack of updates. If you are going to blog, then pick a posting frequency and stick to it. Whether it’s one post per week or 10 posts per day, make a commitment to keep your blog updated. A non-updated blog is a dead blog.
Blogging Mistake #2 – Blogging Only For Money
If you’re blogging only for money, then you’re in for a shock. Yes, you can make good money with a blog, but despite what that National Post story on me said, it takes a lot more than “no effort.†99% of blogs on the Web cannot make more than $100 a month. John Chow dot Com makes money because I don’t blog for money. If the only reason you’re blogging is to get rich, you will fail.
Blogging Mistake #3 – Rushing a Post
I am sure we have all been guilty of this – I know I have. A hot story comes up and you want to get it out ASAP, but in your rush to get the post published, you forget to proofread and just hit the Publish button. Whenever I’ve done that, there have always been mistakes in the post. Before you hit Publish, take your time to double/triple check the post to make sure it’s free of errors. If you spot an error after the post, correct it immediately.
Blogging Mistake #4 – Not Being Personal
A blog is not CNN or News.com. People read your blog to get your opinion and your point of view. Give it to them.
Blogging Mistake #5 – Being a Copycat
What makes your blog stand out from the millions in the blogshere? Is your blog unique or is it just another copycat? I am certainly not the first blog to write about making money on the Internet, so what makes my blog stand out other than me posting pictures of my dinner?
You can write about the same thing as the next blog, but you need to add your own views to make it unique. Don’t just copy and paste what another blog posted. Give your opinion because that’s what blogging is all about. The most unique thing about your blog is you.
Blogging Mistake #6 – Not Replying To Comments
A blog is a two-way communication tool, but many bloggers forget that. When readers comment in your blog, please answer them. If your readers don’t leave comments then try adding these Two Plugins To Increase Blog Comments.
Blogging Mistake #7 – Not Giving a Full Feed RSS
Unless you make 10+ posts per day, there are really no good reasons for not offering a full feed RSS. Since turning on my full feed RSS, my RSS subscribers has increased steadily. I expected traffic to the blog to go down but to my surprise, it kept going up.
Yes, a RSS feed is harder to monetize than a blog, but many RSS readers will unsubscribe to a feed if it’s not full. Not offering a full feed when you do only a few updates a day (or week) just makes you look cheap.
Blogging Mistake #8 – Not Reaching Out To Other Bloggers
The best way to get your blog noticed is by saying hi to other blogs in your niche. The easiest way to do that is to comment on their blogs. I check the comments on my blog all the time and I visit the commentator’s site. I discovered many great blogs this way. Other ways of reaching out to other bloggers includes linking to them, sending trackbacks and adding yourself to their MyBlogLog community. If you’re really creative and have a bit of money to spend, you can even try sending a Google IM.
Blogging Mistake #9 – Writing For Google Instead Of People
Some of you may recall that I am taking an Internet Marketing and SEO class. During this class, the teacher talks about stuff like key phases, keyword density, making sure your content is Google friendly, etc. The only thing I have to say about that is; write for people, not for Google.
You can have the most perfectly written Google optimized page in the world and still not ranked number 1 because Google follows people. And people won’t read a page written for a search engine because it makes no sense. I do keep an eye on my keywords and key phases when I’m writing a post, but I also keep in mind that the readers come first, Google comes second.
Blogging Mistake #10 – Not Reading John Chow dot Com
I think everyone here will agree that this is the biggest mistake any blogger can make. 🙂