8 Big Blogging Mistakes to Avoid New To Blogging Never Do This!

8 Big Blogging Mistakes to Avoid New To Blogging Never Do This! .elementor-19992 .elementor-element.elementor-element-19992{text-align:center}Last Updated on February 17, 2020When you’re just getting your blog up and running, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of just launching a blog and rush to get going â€" so much so, that you make terrible blogging mistakes along the way.I know from personal experience how easy it is to screw things up with a blog â€" or even just miss opportunities I could have taken advantage of. So â€" to help you get started on the right foot (or get back on track if you’ve run off course) here are the 8 most common (and biggest!) mistakes I see new bloggers making: Disclosure As an independent review site, we get compensated if you purchase through the referral links or coupon codes on this page â€" at no additional cost to you. Dismiss alert Table of Contents The basic blogging mistakeHere are 8 blogging mistakes you must avoid1. Setting an unrealistic publishing schedule2. Not using headers or whites pace3. Using “click here” links instead of real keywords4. Not using images5. Not answering your comments (yes, all of them!)6. Not adding social media sharing7. Not using analytics8. Not showing recent/popular postsShare those blogging mistakes on your own blogWant even more blog mistakes you should avoid?The basic blogging mistakeMany new bloggers are tempted to use a free hosting service, even though paid hosting can be cheap and reliable, such as HostGator, my personal choice.Only after you invest a lot of time (and money) in free hosting, you discover the numerous disadvantages. They’re totally not worth the little perceived savings they offer:Speed and Bandwidth limited â€" your site is going to be painfully slow, causing visitors to escape even before they read a single line.No Personalized Domain â€" you don’t have your own domain. For example, your address might look like this: mywebsite.wordpress.comPoor Customer Support â€" when you run into any issues, usually yo u’ve got no one to talk to. Can be painful especially if you’re new to thisNo Advertisements â€" you’ll be very limited in the future, should you want to make money with your blogIn conclusion, it’s a BAD idea to use a free hosting service. Use a paid service with budget-friendly plans (starting at well under $3 per month!) such as HostGator. Join the FREE TrainingDo You Want To Learn How To Build 6 Figures Authority Sites?Join This Free Training To...Finally have a proven method to finding profitable nichesGet access to a foolproof keyword research methodLearn how to outsource quality contentLearn how to build white hat links to your site without headaches You might also like: Best blog hosting Here are 8 blogging mistakes you must avoid1. Setting an unrealistic publishing scheduleWhen you first start blogging, you are full of ideas. It’s all new and fresh, so it’s easy to publish like a madman and get all your ideas out. At first, you’re going to think that pu blishing every day won’t be tough at all â€" but I can PROMISE you, you WILL slow down, and it will get harder.That said, some bloggers don’t set any blogging schedule at all, so they get lazy and don’t update for months at a time. Both of these are problems because your audience needs to have some predictability; they want to know when they can expect you to publish.When you publish too frequently (or infrequently), you create an unpredictable pattern that can frustrate your readers and cost you an audience.My advice: Be honest with yourself and start conservatively. Commit to publishing on a schedule that makes sense for your real life and other obligations.Space out your posts (don’t publish five all at once!) so that you have a steady stream of content to keep people coming back.2. Not using headers or whitespaceIf your blog looks like a big, scary wall of text, readers are going to bounce in a hot minute! Even if your ideas are amazing, presentation is half the battle.T ry to break up paragraphs by using headings between them to give your reader’s eyes some anchor points. Keep paragraphs to 3 â€" 5 sentences maximum, and keep sentences under 30 words (if you can help it).(Psst… want more tips on readability? This piece from Conversion Review is pretty amazing, even talking about the impacts of different fonts!) 3. Using “click here” links instead of real keywordsIt adds uncertainty: Have you ever visited a site that wanted you to “click here, here, and here” to learn more information? The problem with these is that users can’t differentiate those links from one another, nor can they glean any information on where they’re likely to wind up. Your links should be descriptive of what comes after the user clicks so that there’s no mysteryIt costs you trust: This is the internet age, and the average consumer is wary of ambiguous calls to “CLICK HERE,” which might be sheltering (at best) spam and (at worst) a virus. You work so har d to earn your customer’s loyaltyâ€"don’t throw it away on awful gimmicksHow should you embed links in your blog posts?DON’T find a new placeholder. Killing “CLICK HERE” from your syntax is not an excuse to start using “CHECK IT OUT” or linking to the work “link.”DO inform your reader where they’re going when they click the link. A reader should have all the context they need, just by reading the embedded line.DON’T anchor links to verbs, pronouns, prepositions, etc. These words are not concrete, and give readers a harder time gauging where they are going.DO anchor links to appropriate nouns, or even small sentences including both nouns and verbs. This makes it so much easier for your visitor.DON’T jam links into the middle of a sentence. While not the gravest blogging mistake, it does dissuade readers from taking immediate action. A possible exception to this is when you’re just linking for the sake of sourcing.DO end sentences or paragraphs on a link â€" especially your own links. Links are actionable! Your reader has finished their thought and will now be more compelled to explore additional content.Need an example? Why don’t we clean up that earlier plug: “Even amateurs can blog like pros after reading How to Start a Blogâ€"A Complete Beginner’s Guide.“ Ah! Now that’s linking that clicks.4. Not using imagesWait, you expect people to sit down and read words? I joke, of course â€" but surprisingly, we’ve known since 2008 that your average visitor will read less than 20% of your text content.Encourage more comments: Nobody likes to feel like they’re talking to a wallâ€"we all crave a real, tangible exchange of information. When someone comments on your post, they’re opening a dialogue with you, and only by responding can you continue that conversation. Seeing this exchange, you may entice more people into commenting too.Build your credibility and establish your authority: Many times, people taking to the comments will pose questions and expect you to have the answers. Other times, they might disagree with you, and raise some counterpoints. In both of these cases, responding is a great way to establish your expertise on the subject and share some knowledge.Social proof: Simply put, readers are lured to blogs with bigger followings. These blogs have a fanbase, which gives them more attention, which in turn lures more readers, etc. By commenting on your comments, you’ll augment your comment count, and maybe even entice some new visitors to stay and check you out.If you really want to snag your reader’s attention from the outset, you can also do something not showcased in this post: you can direct them to your conclusion from the get-go.For example, I could have capped my intro with the line: “For a snapshot of the most important points I cover in this post, skip to the bottom.” It’s important to give your readers a “So what?” as early in the post as possible to hook them; don’t save it all for a “big reveal”.Show them you understand their problems and have an answer they are looking for! Have any more blogging fails that the big lists fail to mention, but that we could all do without? Let me know in the comments below!Share those blogging mistakes on your own blog How to come up with a blog name Blog analytics