You hardly hear about beginner blogger mistakes most bloggers make. Most people only talk about the highlights. You see titles like “How I made my first $1000 in my first month of blogging”. I’m sorry but I can’t relate to that!
Nor can I relate to the bloggers that make it seem like everything is perfect. Like they had it all figured out from day one. I definitely did not. I made tons of mistakes in my blogging journey.
That’s why I wanted to share this list of mistakes to avoid as a blogger. So, you can start blogging on the right foot.
*Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase from a link on this page or choose to sign up for a program, I will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions are 100% my own.
Beginner Blogger Mistakes
1) Treating your blog like a diary
I see this all the time. This is definitely one of the most common beginner blogger mistakes! Unless you’re a famous celebrity or influencer your readers aren’t going to care. Not at first anyway. Your readers want to know how you can help them.
They don’t want to know where you honeymooned, or why you love scrunchies. This isn’t an Instagram story. If you want a profitable blog you have to write blog posts that answer search queries. Like how to save $100 on groceries.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t infuse your stories, personality, or experience into your posts. Just don’t make it all about you.
2) Ignoring SEO
Not every social media platform will bring your blog traffic. According to SEMRUSH, the number one traffic source for high-income bloggers is organic traffic from Google.
It’s not Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. I don’t recommend putting all of your time and energy into social media. As soon as you start your blog you need to optimize every post for search engines.
SEO isn’t as complicated as it seems. Even though you won’t see the results right away, it’s worth it. Most six-figure bloggers don’t ignore SEO. If you would like to learn more about SEO, I recommend this SEO course. It will teach you everything you need to know about SEO.
3) Using poorly designed graphics in your blog posts
I had no graphic design experience at all when I first started out. I didn’t know how to create graphics for my blog. I didn’t know what tools to use.
My older blog posts didn’t have the best graphics or pins. Of course, my traffic suffered as a result. It made me look like a total amateur.
I learned that well-designed graphics are key to getting traffic to your blog. Images are the first thing people notice. It’s what attracts them in the first place. They make you look professional.
Use Canva
I started to teach myself how to create graphics. I took courses, read blog posts, played around with Canva, etc. Canva Templates made it quicker to design graphics. It took a lot of trial and error in order to create well-designed graphics.
Once my Pin designs got better so did my traffic. My blog started looking more professional too. If you’re like me and have no graphic design experience then I recommend this monthly Canva Template Membership club.
You’ll get access to Instagram graphics, Facebook graphics, ebook templates, Pin templates, and more. Click here to join.
Canva was such a lifesaver. You can create an account for free. Plus get a free 30-day trial of Canva Pro when you click here. On top of that, get 40% cash back for using Canva Pro with Rakuten.
4) Trying to do all the things
When you’re a new blogger it is so easy to get shiny object syndrome. You think that you have to do everything. This “expert” tells you the key is TikTok, this other “expert” says to do Facebook lives, etc. So, you start doing all of it. You aren’t sure where to focus your efforts.
All you should be focusing on is writing blog posts, promoting them, and building your own audience. That’s it. Building your own audience doesn’t mean being on every social media platform.
It means pick 1-2 platforms. That’s all. One of them should be building an email list. I’ve made more affiliate sales from email than I have from social media.
I recommend this course on building your own audience with Elizabeth Goddard. It’s super affordable too. It’s only $27.
Or if you’re still struggling to get started with blogging, signup for this free blogging BootCamp course.
5) Poorly formatted blog posts
This definitely matters. Readers have short attention spans nowadays. You’re competing for their attention. So, your paragraphs need to be short. Like no more than 3-4 sentences per paragraph.
They don’t want to read big blocks of text. Readers tend to skim too. You should have h2 subheadings in all of your posts. Each subheading should illustrate a point.
Definitely incorporate images. It should be at least 2 images for SEO purposes. If you are in a niche like mine that doesn’t rely on images that’s ok. You can add pins, and infographics to your posts. I usually add a featured image for Facebook and Twitter.
6) Thinking that you can rely just on Google and YouTube
What do I mean by that? I mean you go to Google or YouTube whenever you have a blogging problem. Or you use Facebook groups to try to get answers.
Sometimes these methods help. But it will take you a lot longer to get to where you want to be.
These methods only give you a snippet of a strategy. They don’t give you the full strategy. You can’t piece together tips from different experts to create a strategy.
It doesn’t work. Many bloggers don’t see this as a mistake. That is until it’s years later and they still haven’t made any progress.
You’ll end up confused and overwhelmed. This is one of the beginner blogger mistakes that can hurt your growth. Invest in your blogging education.
But that doesn’t mean you have to buy everything. Look for resources that’ll deliver results. Look at reviews where students got real transformations. Or ask about a course in a blogging Facebook group.
7) Your blog posts are too generic
Community over competition sounds nice in theory but it’s not reality. Competition is real when it comes to blogging. In order to stand out from the competition, your posts need to be specific.
Don’t write posts like ” How to Start Working from Home”. Instead write a post like, “10 Apps to Sell Your Unwanted Stuff for Extra Cash”.
Specific blog posts can help you rank on search engines too. They even help you attract the right people to your blog. Believe me, you don’t want to write the same posts as everyone else in your niche. When other people start writing the exact same posts as you, it’s annoying.
This is one of the most commonly overlooked beginner blogger mistakes.
8) Not knowing who your target audience is
When I first started blogging, I had no clue who my target audience was. I knew what topics I wanted to write about. But that’s it.
That’s not good enough. When you don’t have a clear target audience in mind, your posts will be vague.
Coming up with blog posts gets harder and harder. Your blog ends up becoming vague too. Like when people see it, they aren’t sure if it’s for them.
When visitors come to your blog, they want to know it’s for them. It needs to be clear who your blog is for, the minute someone comes to it.
Targeting a specific audience isn’t the same as niching down. Don’t worry about making people feel excluded. Not everyone is meant to be part of your fan club. Not everyone is going to love your blog posts.
You want those die-hard fans. All you have to do is ask yourself, “Who do I want to help the most?” “Who is best suited for my blog posts?”.
9) Not having multiple streams of income
So many bloggers get tunnel vision when it comes to monetization. They want to focus on affiliate marketing or getting into Mediavine. Don’t do that.
It’s not smart to put all of your eggs into one basket. The smart thing to do is to have multiple streams of income from your blog.
Things are always changing in blogging and marketing. Companies change, and policies change. I’ll give you an example.
During the pandemic, Amazon lowered its affiliate commissions. So, a lot of bloggers who only relied on Amazon lost a considerable amount of their income.
There is a change coming to ads too. In 2023 Chrome is going to start blocking 3rd-party cookies.
Cookies are how advertisers track who clicks on their ads. So many bloggers who rely on ad income are making changes to their monetization strategy.
This is one of those beginner blogger mistakes that’s literally costing you money. To fix it implement multiple income streams from your blog.
Related posts: The Best Free Keyword Research Tool
10) Thinking every blog post will go viral
I hate to break it to you but not every blog post you write will be a hit. Don’t expect every blog post to get crazy amounts of traffic. It’s very common for a blog post to not take off until months later.
Some blog posts you write will be a hit. Others not so much. As time goes on, you’ll get better at knowing what to write. Sometimes it depends on the season too. Some posts do better at different times during the year than others. If you struggle in this area download my free guide!
10 Blogging Myths That Are Keeping You Stuck
Conclusion
I hope you avoid making the same beginner blogger mistakes that I made. These are the most common blogging mistakes to avoid. If you’ve already made some of them don’t worry about it.
The point is to learn from them. Learn, and change your habits. My advice is to learn one thing at a time. Don’t overwhelm yourself. Little by little you’ll get to where you want to be.
If this post has helped you, please share it on social media! If you would like to connect with me further follow me on IG @helpfulonlinemarketer!
What are some mistakes you made? Let me know in the comments below!
