You’re trying to get your blog off the ground. You write diligently, you keep publishing new posts, you check your stats obsessively — but you’re just not seeing the success that you expected.
I’m pretty sure that you’re doing a lot of things right. You’re showing up, you’re working hard, you’re reading about blogging and trying your best to use what you learn.
It’s hard, though, to remember everything. It’s hard to always get it right. Today, I’m going to go through a few all-too-common mistakes that bloggers make when posting. None of these are hard to fix. But, for your readers, they can be deal-breakers.
Are you making any of these mistakes?
Mistake #1: Writing Posts With No Point
If you’re blogging seriously —aiming to make money, to promote your business, and/or to gain a readership — then every post you write needs to have a point.
Too often, I see blog posts that aren’t going anywhere. They’re like journal entries: this is what happened to me today or this is what I’m thinking about. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that — if you want your blog to be a personal journal. If you’re hoping to reach a wider audience, though, your posts need to have a point.
That means that each post should:
- Have a clear topic, reflected in a compelling title
- Deliver something valuable to the reader — whether that’s entertainment or information
Mistake #2: Posting Inconsistently
A lot of bloggers start out posting daily — and then end up letting weeks go by without a post.
You don’t have to post every single day. Yes, many large blogs do (it’s Daily Blog Tips for a reason…) but when you’re getting started, you can post once a week or even once every two weeks.
What’s important is that you post consistently. Figure out a comfortable writing routine that works for you: maybe two posts each week. Ideally, you want to give yourself a bit of slack, so that you can get ahead and “bank” posts for busier times.
Mistake #3: Forgetting to Proof-Read
When you’re rushing to get a post out — or when you’re getting really into your writing — it’s easy to go so fast that you hit the wrong key, or accidentally type the wrong word.
Your readers won’t expect your posts to be flawless — but they will be put off by constant typos and spelling mistakes. If your posts look sloppy and slap-dash, this reflects badly on your content: you might be an expert in your subject, but readers won’t have much confidence in your words.
After you write a post, take a few minutes to read it through. Even better, swap draft posts with a fellow blogger: it’s often easier to spot other people’s typos than your own.
Mistake #4: Ignoring Formatting
Every so often, I’ll come across a blog that looks like a dull mass of grey text. The blogger might have written a brilliant post — but I probably won’t read it (and the same goes for other readers).
Make your post look attractive, so that readers don’t get put off before they’ve even begun. Use subheadings, bold text, lists, and short paragraphs to improve readability: the more white space, the better.
And if all of that sounds like too much work, at least bump up your font size. This one tiny change can make a huge difference.
Mistake #5: Publishing Without Promoting
Your blog could be full of laugh-out-loud anecdotes and brilliantly-valuable information … but that’s no good if readers never find it.
When you publish a post, don’t just sit back and think that you’ve finished. You need to promote that post — which could mean Tweeting it, mentioning it on Facebook, emailing it to any friends who might be interested (don’t overdo this), asking a few other bloggers to link to it, entering it into a blogging carnival, mentioning it in your guest post bio… and so on.
Are you making any of these five mistakes? Or have you got your blogging sorted? Share your blogging successes — and lessons learned — in the comments below…
If you know your writing skills could do with a brush-up, you’ll want to check out Ali Luke’s ebook The Blogger’s Guide to Effective Writing, described by Colin Beveridge as “full of the tricks the pros use so that bloggers like me can put together posts and series that look halfway competent.” Read all about it here.