15 Common Mistakes New Bloggers Make (How To Avoid Them)

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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