15 Common Mistakes New Bloggers Make (How To Avoid Them)
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15 Common Mistakes New Bloggers Make (How To Avoid Them).
Anyone who wants to, can start their own blog.
That’s part of the beauty of it!
Blogging is a great way to get your thoughts out, express yourself and connect with others. It’s also an amazing way to start earning an online income.
Knowing the purpose of your blog (hobby or income), is an important first task. This will then help you determine how strict you need to be when it comes to making sure you aren’t making these mistakes new bloggers make.
If you are wanting to earn an income from your new blog – even down the line – then it’s important to look over the list below and make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes!
As with anything in life, blogging takes practice. A lot of the time we can learn as we go along.
We all make mistakes, the important part is recognising it and fixing the mistakes so your blow can grow to its full potential!
Below we will go over some blogging best practices to help you avoid the most common mistakes new bloggers make, and help you get set up for blogging success.
Not Choosing A Self Hosted Blog
This is the first mistake new bloggers often make (understandably), but let me explain why this isn’t always a good choice to have made.
If you’re a brand new blogger, there will be a big appeal in getting a free blog over a self hosted blog.
There isn’t anything inherently wrong with going down this route. Unless you plan to make money from your blog in the near or distant future.
The best plan from the start is to get a self-hosted blog as you then own your website and can monetize it however and whenever you like.
Not Having A Clear Niche
When you first start your blog you may have a fairly clear idea of what your niche is. But this isn’t always the case!
Having a clear niche will help with SEO as it will help you get found in search quicker. A defined niche will help Google to understand exactly what your blog is about.
You can of course narrow down your niche or change niche, but having a niche at all is important.
There’s more information on how to choose a niche in THIS POST.
Choosing The Wrong Blog Name
This is one of the mistakes new bloggers make that sometimes can’t be helped too much.
When you choose your blogging niche and opt for a self-hosted blog, you will of course need to buy a domain name for that website.
The two main mistakes here are either choosing a strange spelling of a word, or choosing a very niche specific name, but then changing niche.
Don’t let this put you off choosing a niche-specific blog name! But you may want to keep either a little more vague or give yourself the option to change/widen your niche as your blog grows.
For example if I was wanting to blog about Gardening and (for now) specifically Yellow Roses. I could (in theory) go for something like www.katherinesyellowrosegarden.com. But what if I wanted to change the main focus flower? Or talk about other aspects of gardening such as growing vegetables? It makes it tricky!
In this scenario it may be better to go for a domain name such as www.katherinesgarden.com. This is still niche specific but gives a lot more wiggle room for blog growth.
Crazy spellings of words are recommended to be avoided purely due to the fact that they are not only tricky to read, but can also be tricky to find!
You want your blog to be remembered and found as easily as possible if you are wanting to really grow an audience and make an income online.
Choosing Bad Hosting
Self-hosted blogs are absolutely the way to go, and would be the option I would recommend to 90% of new bloggers.
You do NOT need expensive or fancy hosting to begin with.
What you do need is GOOD hosting.
Having a good hosting company can make your life so much easier, and your blogging journey a lot more seamless.
No matter how experienced of a blogger you are, you will run into errors at some stage of your blogging journey.
Having a good hosting company who is there for you for support and to help you when you need it is crucial.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money at all, but you really do need a reliable hosting company.
If you do choose a bad hosting company it can really dampen your blogging experience so I would recommend changing to a reliable company and you will see the improvement for yourself.
I’ve used HostGator for years and would always recommend them as a good, reliable hosting company with amazing support – especially for new bloggers!
Not Learning/Ignoring The Importance of SEO
Keyword research is a tricky thing, especially for brand new bloggers!
Learning SEO and doing keyword research is so important if you want your posts to be found on Google, Pinterest or any other search engine of your choice.
Optimising your posts for SEO and finding keywords you can rank for as a new blogger may seem pointless at the time, but in the long run it’s a key factor in who finds your blog.
It can take months for your blog posts to show up on Google. So putting the work into finding keywords and optimising your blog and blog posts is setting yourself up for the future.
Learning these skills is something you can do over time, but the sooner you learn them, the sooner your blog posts will get picked up and shared, helping you attract more readers.
Without doing any keyword research or learning SEO your audience will only be by chance, and for as long as you are actively promoting your blog.
To gain a long term, growing, passive audience, you really need to learn how to use keywords and SEO best practices.
Places like KeySearch are perfect for anyone confused by SEO who are looking for an affordable, easy to use option!
Installing Too Many Plugins
I touched on this mistake in THIS POST but this is a trap so many of us have fallen into!
Plugins are wonderful things to help with the aesthetic and running of your website.
They can allow you to carry out a whole host of tasks and functions and there are some that are absolutely necessary.
When this turns into one of the mistakes that new bloggers make though, is when you get carried away and install A LOT of plugins.
Not only can plugins clash with each other, but they can also make your website SLOW.
As with most aspects of the blogging world, plugins do need to be updated.
Sometimes plugins that have worked well together in the past, once updated, decide to not play nicely with others.
This doesn’t happen too often but the more unnecessary plugins you install, the more likely you will run into compatibility issues.
As your blog grows you will find there will be other plugins you want to install along the way too. This is another good reason not to overload your blog with plugins early on.
Install the necessary plugins, and try to keep the less necessary ones to a minimum!
Not Marketing Your Blog
If you are putting in all the work into starting and wanting to grow your blog, I’m sure you want people to read it!
Even if you are wanting to blog anonymously, be it completely anonymously or just not to be seen by those you know, marketing your blog is important.
This is a common mistake that new bloggers make as I think to some degree people feel like visitors will just stumble across your blog in time. In some cases this may be true but it’s unlikely to be many or often, without a plan or strategy behind it.
Being found on Google can take months.
Pinterest is quicker as you can be found instantly. Be aware though that if you have a new Pinterest account, it can take several months before Pinterest starts really sharing your pins with people.
The quickest way to market your blog as a brand new blogger is sharing your link on social media.
Blogging groups on Facebook and Twitter are probably the fastest way to get fresh eyes on your website in the beginning.
The more you market your blog, the quicker your reading audience will grow!
Using Images Without Permission
There are a few legal aspects to blogging, one big one being to NOT use images you find on Google, Pinterest, or any other website you find.
Even if you plan to credit the photographer/owner of the photo you like the look of online, unless it has the right licence on it to use on your website, you’re not allowed to use it.
To get photos, you can either pay a subscription to use stock photos, use royalty free photos from websites such as Pexels or create your own images somewhere like Canva, either using their free or paid plan.
It will depend on your blog niche as to which is best for you, or you can use a mix of all of the above.
The beauty of Canva is that you can use their own photos (check the licensing depending on your plan), or you can upload your own photos or stock photos and edit those.
Copying Others Blog/Work
As with the above point, you cannot plagiarise or copy other bloggers’ work.
You can absolutely research and get inspiration or information from other websites and blogs, but you must re-word it and make it your own.
Don’t take an entire post and reword it, but if you need more information or inspiration on a specific topic then you can of course look to other blogs for help, as long as it’s not a copy.
I don’t feel this is a mistake new bloggers make often, but after the image sourcing point, I felt it was worth adding in just in case!
Expecting Instant Results
Blogging is not the kind of business where you will see instant results.
You may get some views, even a decent amount of views, but you really need to be in it for the long haul.
Don’t be shocked if you don’t see “big” results in the first 6/12/18 months – or longer!
It will all depend on your experience, your knowledge base, your niche and more.
It’s so important that you blog because you enjoy it as much as wanting to make an income from it.
You can go into blogging with making an income in mind, but you need to be in a niche you can easily talk about for months/years without earning much back to begin with.
Once it starts to snowball is when you will see the biggest results, but at what point that snowball starts to take form is the unknown factor.
Not Staying Consistent
Blogging takes time.
It can be so hard to stay consistent when you don’t feel anything is happening.
Putting in hours of work on your blog and not getting any/much return for it isn’t easy – for anyone!
This is why it’s so important you enjoy what you’re talking about, enjoy blogging overall, and know in advance not to give up too soon!
If you want to really grow your blog and make a good amount of income from it, you need to stay consistent.
This is a big one I have struggled with in the past but Google and other search engines much prefer consistency over post 16 times one week and then nothing for a month.
If you have time to write loads one week, absolutely do this but then schedule them over the coming weeks in a set schedule.
Whether you can post once, twice or three times a week, find a schedule that suits you and stick to it until the results really start to show.
Not Starting An Email List
If you have never blogged before and are getting to grips with every single aspect of blogging, I wouldn’t advise starting an email list from the beginning!
What I would advise though, is starting to build an email list as soon as you feel comfortable blogging.
You can start with an email software that is simple to use and offers a free plan for beginners.
Mailerlite offers a free plan for up to 1000 subscribers and is perfect for beginners!
Email lists for email marketing are so important when building your own audience and even community.
At the end of the day you own your blog (presuming you chose a self-hosted blog) and your email list. What you don’t own is Pinterest, Youtube, or any of the Social Media platforms.
Say for example you received a lot of blog traffic from Instagram, but then Instagram accidentally blocked/deleted your account. How would you get in touch with any of your readers? How would you promote your blog?
This is where your email list comes in. People have subscribed to you, and you own your list. So no matter what happens with Social Media, you always have a way of promoting your content to readers you know are interested in your blog.
It can take time to grow a large email list, so starting as soon as you feel able to do so is key.
Not Supporting Other Bloggers
The Blogging community is an amazing place.
Even as a brand new blogger you will be welcomed in with open arms!
As mentioned earlier, Facebook blogging groups and Twitter are amazing places to start promoting your blog in the early days. They are also amazing ways of connecting with other bloggers and finding other bloggers in a similar niche!
The key thing here is to help support each other.
If you are looking for viable backlinks and good guest posting opportunities, being active and supportive in the blogging community space is so important.
Make friends and network with other bloggers.
Even if the bloggers you connect with aren’t in the same niche, that’s okay too. You can still share tips, ask questions and cross-promote each other on social media etc!
Even think from your own point of view. Would you rather connect with someone who is barely visible, or some who you see helping, supporting and connecting with others.
One of my favourite quotes is “We Rise By Lifting Others” by Robert Ingersoll – and it’s so true!
If you help and support others, they will help and support you.
Not Engaging With Your Readers
Second to the above point but of a similar nature is the mistake of not engaging with your readers.
If someone has taken the time to leave a comment on your blog, reply to them.
Same goes for messages on Social Media, or questions you may receive.
As your blog and accounts grow it won’t be able to reply to everyone. But in the early days this point is more important than you may first realise.
The beauty of blogs is that they are a personal thing. They are often written by an individual or small team of people. This makes the wording and the “feel” of the posts more personal than a specific website.
If people like your blog and feel you are knowledgeable in your niche, they may want to leave a comment or ask a question!
People don’t leave comments or ask questions if they aren’t looking for a response.
You are building up an audience of readers who enjoy your writing style and your blog. They also will start to like and trust you. You need to be active in replying to comments and engaging with them.
If someone has commented on your blog it has had a big enough impact on their day for them to want to reach out and tell you.
Never take this for granted!
You don’t want to lose readers like this over lack of engagement.
The most important thing in blogging is your readers. Growing an audience of people who enjoy what you put out there. So why wouldn’t you want to engage and get to know them?
If they have a blog you can pop over and leave them a nice comment too!
For any questions your readers may have, try and answer them as best you can.
Your audience is so important. It’s important to treat them as such, and for them to feel it.
Poor Quality Content
I left this one to the last of the mistakes new bloggers make as this is one that will get adapted over time.
Of course it’s important to put out high quality content.
But we all start somewhere and rarely does anyone start off writing decent articles to begin with.
We all start at the beginning, and rarely does someone get it all right in the early days – in anything.
The mistake here though, is not improving and updating your content or writing style over time.
We expect the first few posts to not be overly great – that’s normal!
By the time you have 30 posts on your blog, there’s the expectation that by that point, they will be high-quality (or at least good-quality).
There is a lot to learn when it comes to blogging in terms of SEO, keyword research, user experience, readability etc.
Over time, the more you learn and become more experienced, the more your writing will improve. Not just the text itself but the content of each blog post too.
You can update older posts when you feel you are at a stage to improve them, so even the older posts can end up as high-quality posts in time!
The mistake would be to not learn how to improve your blog post writing skills, as without good content, your blog won’t grow.
So that’s the list!
These are the most common mistakes new bloggers make – and how to avoid them as much as possible!
Have you made any of these mistakes?
Were there any other mistakes you made you think other new bloggers should avoid?
Write them in the comments below!
Speak soon!
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75 Comments
Rena
“We rose my lifting others” indeed!
Gayle
This was so informative. Having too many plugins is a mistake that I have made in the past so I’m glad you mentioned that.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I think we have all been there! We all get carried away! Taking off any inactive or unnecessary plugins can really help overall!
T W
That was deep 🙌
Rena
“We rise by lifting others” indeed!
Katherine McLee
It’s so true!
Gia
Very helpful. As a new blogger, SEO does seem to be pretty tricky but I’m sure I’ll understand it more and more over time. Thanks for this!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It’s one of those things that takes learning and practice but then one day you will realise it all makes sense and you’ll start to see the results you are wanting! 🙂
Meg Flint
Great list! Now that I’ve been doing this for a year I see these and I’m like, yup! Wish I had realized some of this sooner.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I really think that most of us have done most of them, or at least a good few! It’s all a learning curve but some things can definitely be avoided if possible!
Colette
Very helpful and inciteful post! I have to remind myself of these things from time to time. Thanks for sharing!
Katherine McLee
Thank you so much! I’m glad you found it helpful!
Holly
Great post with great tips! Thank you!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
Deanna | Life By Deanna
This is a great list!! I defs installed too many plugins when I first started and had no idea it could slow down my site! Lesson learned haha
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Haha I did exactly the same! It’s like installing apps and I think most of us get carried away to begin with lol!
Fransic verso
These are defintiely some bloggers did include me haha. However, now I changed and still working on fixing some issues.
Katherine McLee
I think we all have probably made at least a few of these mistakes over the years lol there’s always things to learn!
Ariel Ayangwo
Great tips, thanks for sharing!
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Tracy McHugh
Great info! Thanks for sharing.
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Debbie
Very solid tips and helpful information for new bloggers. There is such a learning curve and you provide amazing advice. Thank you for sharing!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It really is such a learning curve but is so worth it! 🤗
MyHollywood
SEO feels like something I keep messing up. I just can’t get the hang of it, and it changes too fast. And I was using the wrong plugin to help for too long.
Katherine McLee
I honestly think that unless someone is an expert in SEO, we are all just doing our best with the information out there! Which plugin were you using? A decent SEO plugin can really help if you’re unsure!
Literally Laurie
I love this post and as a relatively new blogger I’m still learning and trying to get everything right. I keep chipping away on the things I need to do to promote my blog while balancing my time to write, trying to post 4x a month. Love your posts on helping us bloggers learn, grow and improve!
Katherine McLee
It’s a long learning curve but the more you do it the more you will learn! Thank you so much! It can take more time than people realise but is so worth it! 🙂
Rekki Bhaila
Very helpful guide for any starting out in blogging! Definitely covered great points like why we should post consistently, how to host and how to create better opportunities.
Katherine McLee
Thank you, I’m glad you found it helpful! Everyone is different but these points cover most people! 🙂
Dallas Portrait Photographer
I love all of these tips. Great reminders for keeping your blog running well. I will definitely apply these tips to my photography blog. Love the reminders about SEO and supporting other bloggers. Those things we can easily forget about!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! It can be so easy to focus on certain things and forget about other aspects when it’s a combination that really can help!
Liv
Another great read! I deffo need to step my game up with my blog
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m glad you liked it!
Anita
These are great tips! I especially liked this: “Would you rather connect with someone who is barely visible, or some who you see helping, supporting and connecting with others” There is so much truth in that – and you are awesome at it. 🙂
Katherine McLee
Thank you! That’s really kind! I feel very much that blogging is a community and it’s SO much harder if you try and do it all completely on your own! 🙂
Malak
Learning the importance of SEO is a great point here. And I personally have to improve my skills in SEO. Thanks for sharing! All love and support.
Katherine McLee
SEO is so important! We are all always improving in terms of SEO! 🙂 Thank you!
Bunfuns
Thanks for the very helpful tips!
Katherine McLee
Thank you!
Sarah N.
This post is so helpful! Informative tips and advice that is easy to understand and apply!
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Catia
What a great list! My downfall was definitely choosing bad hosting at first. Switching was also a time-consuming nightmare! Great that new bloggers can look out with a list like this.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I think things like hosting can be so tricky for new bloggers, but getting it right makes such a difference!
Casandra
Great advice! Too many plugins is where I’m struggling to find balance.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I think we all get carried away! They can slow your site down but if it’s improving user experience, I’d keep them!
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Literally Laurie
Question about SEO: My blog comes up when looking it up by name, but if looking for a post using keywords it doesn’t. Does that mean it’s showing up on Google?
Katherine McLee
Have a check on Search Console to check the posts are indexed and if so then they can show on Google. Sometimes posts may only show up a few pages down though, or under different keywords than what you think they will! You can use a keyword checker to see which keywords your website is ranking for!
Anita
I keep seeing references to KeySearch. I’ve been using something else, but I think I’m going to try it too. Thanks for a great summary of information I can use!
Katherine McLee
I love keysearch! As with anything it takes a little while to navigate around but I’ve noticed a difference since using it, plus it’s super affordable!
Janice Mariano-Pratt
This is very informative article, and it has everything I need. Thanks for all the tips!
Katherine McLee
I’m really glad you found it helpful!
Lani
I agree with all that was written here. I just remembered the hell I went through when I just first started.
Katherine McLee
It can be a tricky thing to navigate in the early days! It’s all a learning curve for sure!
Diomayra
Thank you for always sharing amazing blogging tips!
Katherine McLee
Thank you so much!
Olga
Honestly, I made almost all mistakes with my first blog and 3-4 with the second one. And there is still so much to learn. I’m getting ready to start working on email list.
Katherine McLee
I really think a lot of us make at least the majority of the mistakes in this list! There’s always lots to learn but it’s worth it!
Maureen McMorrow
I had shiny object syndrome when I installed so many plugins in my first couple of years. I’ve been paring them down. But with algorithm changes, it seems that when I finally figure out the “ideal” mix of strategies, I have to adjust again. Never a dull minute!
Katherine McLee
It’s so easy to go overboard with the plugins! Down the line we realise how many we do need, so need to be careful with how many “extras” we install where possible! I know what you mean about the algorithm changes!
Jane
Great post. Sending to a friend who is just embarking on this blog journey.
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I hope they like it!
Monika
Great post! I definitely made a few of these mistakes, especially not connecting with other bloggers. I didn’t realize how important it is until much later. But blogging is a lonely journey – you don’t have colleagues you can ask for help and most of your friends don’t really understand what you’re actually doing all day. Thank god you can find really good groups online. There are so many amazing people out there ☺️
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Absolutely! I think it’s a mix of people not realising there are blogging communities, and people not thinking they need to join any! Both big mistakes! Having those people around you is lovely isn’t it!
Ale
Thank you for a good post.. You brought up issues I really need to learn and know about. Thank you yet again..
Katherine McLee
Thank you! I hope it was helpful!
Kat
This was very helpful and thorough! What is your advice if you didn’t start with a self-hosted blog? Should you transfer it or just adjust as best as you can? Thank you!
Katherine McLee
I’m really glad it was helpful! It depends what your longer term goals are. If you want to have your blog as a business and make money then I would switch to self hosted. If you are happy blogging and learning or aren’t 100% sure if you want to make money from it, there’s no harm in keeping it on a free platform for now! 🙂 Make sure you have a good backup of your current posts!
Debbie
These are really helpful things to be aware of as a new blogger. A reliable host is so very important. I think new bloggers make the mistake of going with a cheap host and learn quickly the mistake after it’s too late.
Katherine McLee
You are so right! Choosing the right host can save a lot of time and worry for when things don’t go to plan or you just have questions! Definitely one of the biggest pieces of advice I’d give to any new blogger is to choose a decent host!
Pradnya
Very useful article.
Just wanted to know how do you promote your blog and connect with other bloggers on Twitter?
Katherine McLee
Thank you! Twitter can be fab, engaging with others in your niche can work well and using hashtags to find similar writers such as #writerslift can be an amazing way to promote your blog on Twitter! 😀
Corrinne
This was really helpful! Thanks for the tips and advice.
Katherine McLee
Thank you so much! ❤️