One of the biggest mistakes bloggers are still
making is not identifying their audience.
Many get the topic and have the facts, but don’t
connect with anybody.
As bloggers we have to understand the problems
our readers face and empathize with them.
Literally feel what they feel and see through their
eyes.
Once you do this, creating engaging posts that
solve problems and answer questions is a breeze.
Aside from interacting with readers comments
and installing Google Analytics, asking questions
with a survey plugin like YOP Polls is great for
identifying demographics.
You can even step the look up a notch with a
service like Survey Monkey.
With the free version you get up to 100 responses
and 10 questions per survey… and it’s easy to set
up.
Mistake #2: Not Choosing a Strong Niche:
Another big mistake that bloggers make is trying
to be everything for everyone.
You can’t underestimate the benefits of strong
focus.
Having a tightly defined and clear mission, makes
you much more likely to gain a strong and
passionate following that’s incredibly valuable.
Being passionate and excited about whatever it is
you’re blogging really presents itself in your
writing.
Mistake #3: Covering Too Much:
A lot of bloggers want to appeal to a broad
audience, so they write about a ton of topics.
You might be thinking, “well, that’s doesn’t seem
like such a bad idea.”
The issue is, the blog can get a little too bloated
and easily lose connection (and trust) with the
reader.
Mistake #4: Inconsistency:
This is one of the greatest factors of an
unsuccessful blog, both in publication frequency
and quality.
The hard part is these “elements of success” can
sometimes seem like opposing forces.
Creating great content doesn’t typically take 5
minutes, which is a problem for those of us
accustomed to instant gratification.
Ensure quality content on a regular basis by
simply adhering to a publishing schedule.
Base your blogging on routine, not on whenever
the muse comes to visit.
Don’t put out a great first post and follow it up
with rushed crap. You’ll lose readers quicker than
it took to write your lackluster content.
Mistake #5: Lack of Commitment:
Not committing to blogging is another big
mistake.
A lot of people get into blogging, and think it will
have an instantaneous impact on their business –
most receive a rude awakening.
You should plan on writing at least a couple posts
per week for the first six months. It’s not likely
you’ll experience overnight success.
But don’t get discouraged and quit because…
“
“Anything in life worth having is worth working
for.” –Andrew Carnegie
Mistake #6: Quantity Over Quality:
Your readers don’t want quantity, they want
QUALITY!
Internet users want solutions to their problems
with easy to digest information.
It WILL take you some time to research, write,
and edit a good blog post…
Otherwise, a quick Google search would offer
“good enough” information for your prospect.
Do yourself a favor and set your blog apart with
unique content!
Steve Kamb of NerdFitness.com does a great job
of making his content stand out in a VERY
competitive industry.
Mistake #7: Writing For Yourself and Not Your
Audience:
Even if it sounds fun to share what’s on your mind
in the moment, if it doesn’t help your audience,
don’t post it.
You can’t be selfish. You need to leave that to
your readers.
They want information that’s helpful to them.
Recognize your audience’s selfishness and feed
them.
Indulging yourself doesn’t help your reader,
which doesn’t help your blog.
Mistake #8: Making Your Blog About You
Remember, your audience doesn’t care about you
unless you’re a celebrity.
Write blog posts that are entertaining, topical,
and/or useful.
Unless you’re somehow directly relevant to how
useful, interesting, or good your blog posts are,
don’t make it about yourself.
Mistake #9: Poor Writing:
A blogger’s job is to find and retain readers.
When you have more readers, you have an
opportunity to help more people and make more
money.
With this in mind, there’s one SUREFIRE approach
to turn away new readers…
POOR WRITING.
Always proofread before posting. Use spell-check
and review your readability statistics in Microsoft
Word.
Take time to research the concepts, facts, and
ideas in your posts.
Remember, your focus should always be helping
people – especially if you plan to profit.
Mistake #10: Not Using Provocative Headlines:
Engage your readers with compelling headlines.
Everyone’s more excited to check out a blog post
when it has a provocative headline.
Make people want to read your stuff with
seriously enticing headlines.
Here are 11 great examples of provocative
headlines:
Don’t Even Think About Blogging Without
Reading This Report!
Amazing New Discovery Kills Kitchen Odors
Quick!
Why Some People Almost Always Make Money
Online?
Is The Life of a Child Worth $1 to You?
7 Reasons Income Diary Readers Live Better
Free Book Tells You 12 Secrets of Incredible Sex
Why Some Foods “Explode” in Your Stomach
The “Friendly” Health Advice You Should NEVER
Take
The Strange Breathing Technique That Improves
Your Posture
Thousands Now Play Who Never Thought They
Could
Lose Weight While You Eat (10 Foods That
Actually Burn Calories)
Mistake #11: Blogging on Your Own:
Learning to adopt skills from popular journalists,
digging up stories and interviewing others from
my industry has enhanced my writing skills and
opened many doors.
A lot of bloggers think they have to do everything
themselves.
And I was guilty of this too.
Thing is, this puts a lot of weight on our shoulders
and drains creativity.
Expand your reach by emailing other bloggers
from your industry and asking them for
interviews and to exchange guest posts.
Mistake #12: Adding to Information Overload:
Don’t just publish content for the sake of
publishing content.
Try to create something unique and compelling.
Make sure every post has a lot of value, and
doesn’t just contribute to the clutter that’s
already out there.
Mistake #13: Too Much Self Promotion:
Go outside your own products, services, and
company and talk about other necessary subjects
to offer solutions to your readers’ issues.
This builds trust, and shows you really care.
Besides, you can’t solve everybody’s problems.
Mistake #14: Not Connecting With Your
Audience:
A lot of bloggers just publish their posts and
forget about them.
Looking at your comments, responding to them,
and sincerely engaging with your audience, will
help build strong relationships.
Mistake #15: Not Thoughtfully Responding to
Comments:
One of the most blatant mistakes a blogger can
make is not taking time to respond thoughtfully to
comments and interact with users.
Show your readers some love and respond to
them.
Let them know you’re a real person that truly
wants to improve their lives.
Make it clear by going beyond the initial response
and following it up with engaging comments of
your own.
Mistake #16: Not Promoting Your Blog Posts:
To my disbelief, I see many bloggers not
promoting their stuff.
Once the article goes live, they’ll jump on
Facebook, put a link on the fan page and that’s it.
Then you have those who go overboard and
promote too much…
You have to strike a balance, getting your posts
the attention they deserve without driving your
followers crazy with self promotion.
Ideally, you want people sharing your content.
Your traffic will go up once your stuff starts to get
shared on social media.
You’ll achieve this by consistently writing engaging
content geared toward solving your readers’
problems.
Mistake #17: Not Becoming Part of the
Community:
One of the most limiting mistakes bloggers make
is trying to do everything alone.
There are a lot of dedicated, passionate writers
out there who would like to help you craft a
community blog around the great content in your
niche…
This would accelerate the growth of your site with
additional promoters and give you a greater
social circle to utilize for exposure.
Resources like Blog Catalog can help you find
other popular sites in your niche.
And communities like BlogEngage are awesome
for the exchange of feedback and links by like-
minded bloggers.
Mistake #18: Not Engaging Other Bloggers in
the Industry:
You want close collaboration with other bloggers
in your industry.
You could even try to form a blogging group in
your local community and start or join a group on
Facebook.
The sky’s the limit.
Don’t think of your blog as a separate entity,
acknowledge it as part of a larger community –
collaborative partners can only help your site.
Think of your blog as one of many and link up
with others for the benefit of your audience.
You’ll destroy yourself trying to cover everything
your niche has to offer alone.
Mistake #19: Not Sharing Your Expertise:
Sharing your talent and expertise with other
bloggers and websites builds trust, reputation,
and credibility.
The quickest way to develop a community on the
Internet is to share information.
Your readers can and will come from other
authority blogs.
Get your foot in the door with the best blogs in
your niche by doing guest posts, commenting on
their stuff and asking to do interviews.
Mistake #20: Ignoring Keyword-Rich Titles to
Appear Clever:
A lot of bloggers choose really clever or catchy
titles, but they don’t think about keywords.
Keywords can make a big difference to the search
engines – especially for the long term.
Choosing a keyword-rich title can make the
difference between your post living on and fading
into nothingness.
You DEFINITELY want a catchy title, just make
sure it’s relevant to your message.
We live in the age of information.
On a daily basis we’re exposed to more ideas,
blog posts, and news stories than we could ever
consume.
That said, time is a limited resource for most
people these days.
And with an abundance of mediocre and
regurgitated information, treating your readers’
time with respect is critical…
Remember, the best way to respect your readers’
time is by delivering great content on a regular
basis.
Success by choice, not by chance.
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