Top 8 Mistakes Of Blogger Newbs

42 | Posted In Blogging by David

Every new blogger makes mistakes. I made tons of them when I got started.

Here are the top mistakes I see out there that you should avoid:

  1. Not selecting a market. For your blog to succeed, it needs to have a point. An online journal, where you write about whatever crosses your mind, is not conducive to growth or making any money one day. Choose a market where the people in it (a) have a motivating, emotional driver to do things, (b) you have something to contribute.
  2. Not interacting with others. Guess what, the secret to blog traffic is NOT posting more crap to your blog! Instead, it is in forming relationships with people, referring them to the blog, and then giving them a reason to stick around. You need to be active in social media, interact with others and build real connections. This is a people business.
  3. Not starting an email list. You should start your email list from day #1. A Feedburner RSS-to-email list does not fit the bill. I’m talking about a REAL mailing list where you can send them anything you want.
  4. Not using WordPress. Don’t build your blog on a crappy platform. Don’t use some free blog service out there where they own your content and they could turn it off at any time. Get a real web host, install WordPress, and build on a stable, supported platform.
  5. Not writing very well. Writing for a blog is very different than the way you learned to write in school. Learn how to write in a compelling way.
  6. Not getting a good blog layout. Serious bloggers will INVEST in a decent layout. Yes, that means pay out a little money to have somebody do it for you if you don’t know how. Cookie-cutter themes scream amateur because people see the same theme on other blogs. And amateur graphics make your blog look cheesy. You need to convince new readers that your blog is quality within SECONDS of them getting there. Trust me, a decent theme which is unique and backs up your personal brand is VERY important. If you’re not super technical, check out Headway.
  7. Overuse of Ads. Bloggers who wish to monetize often make the mistake of (1) limiting themselves to banner ads, and (2) overloading the site with them. Look, the reality is that banners are a SSLLLOOOOWWWW way to make a buck with a new blog. You’ll be better off just concentrating on building a solid following, then pitch relevant offers to them as your own personal recommendations. Or better yet, create your own product. Don’t be a crappy business person.
  8. Not Being Real. You want people to know, like and trust you. That’s not going to work out very well if you’re being fake or if you’re being as boring as an accountant watching paint dry. Blogging isn’t a college lecture (we all fell asleep in there). It is about being a REAL DUDE (or gal, if you’re not a dude). :) Show some personality!

Are you still making any of these mistakes? Do you have any you want to add from your own experience?

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  • http://www.johnpaulaguiar.com John Paul

    Nice Tips. Man I was deff Guilty of #7..lol But I have learned my lesson slowly.

  • Anonymous

    David – I agree with you on almost all of those posts, but there are at least 2 other platforms for blogging that I would tell you are acceptable.

    Using something like businesscatalyst.com would be awesome (great built in CRM with email lists etc) or HubSpot.com which has an awesome blogging for money set-up.

    The big difference… cost. Businesscatalyst (if you go through a reseller) is min $40 a month. Hubspot is hundreds a month.

    If I were ever to consider making a switch to a full time blogger (and I am not), I would probably use one of those two platforms. HubSpot might be too costly for personal blogging (we use it where I work), but I would buy a BusinessCatalyst account in a heartbeat.

  • ckluis

    I disagree with 4 (if only to be a contrarian).

    I think BusinessCatalyst & HubSpot are excellent tools that could/should replace wordpress for the serious blogger.

    They both have built in mini-CRM systems, email management, lead nurturing, and analytics. HubSpot has the benefit of also having a strong Social Media arm, while BusinessCatalyst was just bought by Adobe.

    The only drawback is cost (40 a month for bizcatalyst, 100s for HubSpot), I think for someone serious these platforms offer enough benefit to be considered over wordpress.

  • ckluis

    Keep up the good work!

  • http://twitter.com/virtualvip Jeff Yablon

    Very nice.

    I’d looking at the WordPress point too, and I agree with you. It’s solidly robust, and you can control it, for real.

    In fact, relative (specifically) to Hubspot and the comment from ckluis . . . as great as it is (and it truly is THAT good), once you’re in bed with Hubspot you create a problem for yourself re: getting back out. And that problem gets worse and worse every time you add a post.

    Not looking to pick on them, by the way; I like Hubspot a lot, and they’re genuinely trying to deliver a best-in-breed service. But your blog is YOUR blog, and anything you do to reduce the impact of that statement is a serious mistake.

    Jeff Yablon
    President & CEO
    Answer Guy and Virtual VIP Computer Support, Business Change Coaching and Virtual Assistant Services

  • http://blog.theentrepreneursadvisor.com/ Stuart

    good stuff – I reposted to my facebook fan page and twitter. Anything to help stop the clutter

  • http://izzataziz.net/blog izzat aziz

    love this tips, since i'm new blogger let me do the bencmark

    1. I think i already select my market – about blog, checked.
    2. They comment on my blog, i say thank you and pay visit to their blog, and sometime i do send email as thank you.. if they have problem with something i will help.. so checked.
    3. I just use rss, maybe later.. not checked.
    4. I'm using wordpress alright, checked.
    5. I don't know whether i write well or not, but i know i always need to improve more and more, but since my reader enjoy it.. so checked.
    6. I design the layout by myself.. and i love it even need to improve here and there.. but it wasn't ugly, checked.
    7. I have zero ads, so checked.
    8. I real, i write the way i want to write, checked.

    so i need to do something about #3.

  • http://izzataziz.net/blog izzat aziz

    yes it good too.. but wordpress just better.. so why not use something that always better :)

  • http://umerinsurance.com Umer Hayat

    Provided the perfect list. Im 100% agree with you. In starting I also did these mistakes except the one “not using WordPress” as I'm using it from starting…:)
    Anyway thanks

  • http://www.teenbloggerkid.com/ Teen Blogger

    Nice post.

    I think lots of newbies use too many ads and have a poor design. They dont have useful content and hope that the ads will bring them money, but without the good content and design they will realise very soon that they need too bring their standerd up to make money blogging.

  • http://www.DonnyGamble.com Donny Gamble

    These are some great beginner tips that new bloggers should definitely take account of. It will allow them to progress a lot faster and gain some good notoriety as a blogger

  • http://www.ronblogger.com/ Blog Tips

    I think i will add more to that is some bloggers tend to stop from learning, they just focus on how to earn more lols. They forgot that blogging is building relationships

  • http://www.adesojiadegbulu.com Adesoji Adegbulu

    Short…Sharp…Direct

    Thanks David…I'm making adjustment

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    I don't think there is a chance they'll replace WordPress. WordPress has that HUGE community momentum and nothing is going to derail it anytime soon.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Start that mailing list. I can't even begin to overemphasize how important that is if you ever want blogging to evolve into a full-time business.

  • http://davidrisley.com David Risley

    Right on, bro. :-)

  • http://twitter.com/GrantGriffiths Grant Griffiths

    Great post David. And let's not forget the number one mistake newbies do. They don't post to their freaking blog. It really is that simple. I love it when people complain about not getting traffic and noticed with their blogs. And they are the same ones who are not posting on a regular and consistent basis.

  • http://www.jrgriggs.net JR Griggs

    Over thinking everything, not taking action cause they are too busy trying to make everything perfect first.

    - guilty!

  • http://tllmn.com/ TLLMN

    Not using a link masking plugin on your WP installation.

  • grglucas89

    I am totally agree with you. These are the basic 8 mistakes people make. There may be some others but they are negotiable.

  • msfreeman

    I'm guilty of many of these bullet points, #6 in particular. I need to lay down the cash for a theme soon.

  • ckluis

    Oh, I didn't say anything could replace WordPress. But, I don't think WordPress is the end-all be all for converting readers into sales. That's where I think tools like HubSpot and BusinessCatalyst win.

    Especially for non-techies HubSpot is excellent for converting customers to sales. Easy forms, easy CMS, easy lead nurturing (someone has signed a form saying they were interested in xyz, send them to thank you page, send them thank you email, send them 1,3,5,10,15 day follow-up emails…). Track users activity with cookies allows for a powerful cross-sell, upsell situation.

    Similarily, with BusinessCatalyst you can see each users activities on forums, blogs, or anywhere else on the site.

    WordPress is awesome! But, it shouldn't be the defacto standard. I would hazard a guess that most bloggers would make much more money using HubSpot. (Perhaps just because it forces you into doing best practices, like email lists, social media, etc, etc, etc).

  • http://www.MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com/blog/ Tom Wanek

    Many good tips here. I just learned my lesson and switched back to WordPress after operating on Squarespace, which was just too limiting.

  • remarkablogger

    Great list. #5 is the biggest problem nobody wants to acknowledge, because there's no magic bullet for it.

  • http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com/ The JackB

    You make some excellent points. I am especially appreciative of interaction. Far too many bloggers sit inside a cocoon and miss out on opportunities. Interaction is huge.

  • http://travelsofadam.com Adam

    Awesome list. I'm going to take your advice and update my brand new blog. I've also got to work on getting an e-mail list. I think I may have focused all my original effort on the design which is infinitely more fun than any other part of setting up a blog.

  • http://www.personalfinancenotebook.com/ Patrenia

    I'm a new blogger and I think I've got the bases covered EXCEPT for #3. It's on the list of to do's. I have been following your blog for a while and yes, slap my hands, but I didn't realize that this was A LOT of work. Studying, Learning and Implementing…I love it though!

  • http://amanofnonation.blogspot.com/ Kevin Post

    I am not a serious blogger but thanks for the advice anyway; it is very informative if someday I decided to dedicate more time to my blog.

  • http://dave-lucas.blogspot.com DaveLucasNotes

    Do you think I could move my blog “lock stock and barrel” 100% intact to WP?
    take a look, please, and let me know:
    http://dave-lucas.blogspot.com

  • ponting

    I think i will add more to that is some bloggers tend to stop from learning, they just focus on how to earn more lols. They forgot that blogging is building relationships

  • http://www.yourhomebusinessroadmap.com/ Trish

    “2) Not interacting with others” – good point. Talk about looking the wrong way! I think newbies are so worried about widgets and SEO that they never realized that you have to go out and bring people to your blog. I did. Live and learn.

  • HomeBizTips

    David,
    You're so right. My new Blog has been up for about a month now.
    I still need to set-up a newsletter subscription on my blog.
    I'll definitely take notes from your post here.

  • mayasmart

    I've got to agree with you on this point. I recently switched from WordPress to Hubspot because of the integrated lead nurturing features and robust analytics. Beyond that, I really enjoy having live people that I can call with questions. My inbound marketing consultant and the technical support folks really have my back. As a solo entrepreneur, feeling like you have a support team is priceless.

  • http://thoughtsunlimited.net/blog Ashwin / Thoughts Unlimited

    Very well put. I made a few of these mistakes at the start of Blogging (still making a little of those) but I am trying my best to come out.

    Thanks for putting them together. Happy Thanksgiving!

  • http://themoneycult.com jaredplittle

    David, great list and great advice I really like number 8 as I read this I am trying to remember why I stopped visiting and commenting here regularly. Need to add that back on my habit list as I find just about everything you write very helpful.

  • http://twitter.com/AminFahmy Amin Fahmy

    Thanks, very much appreciated !
    Some points got me reconsidering.
    Cheers

  • ckluis

    Lockin definately scares me with any vendor. But, there's a difference between hobby blogging and blogging for leads.

    Hobby Vendor = not a single question use wordpress (I tried hobbying a few times and realized I'm no good at that)

    Small-Large Business = consider alternatives. I use HubSpot at work. I'm considering buying a reseller license for BusinessCatalyst for some personal sites.

    Here's a question, what is $250, 500, or 1,000 a month for the best tool if it helps you get more leads. What is a lead worth to you? A sale?

    We targeted 4 keyword combinations 2 days ago and have already jumped 60 keyword combinations from past 50 to top 10 in google search.

    WordPress doesn't do that. You would need to use Keywordelite or combinations of other programs. For the unsophisticated (lets just say most small businesses) having a program and a process that says …

    DO THIS FIRST…
    TARGET THIS NOW…

    That's pure gold. Worth every penny.

    To do proper keyword research and all the

  • ckluis

    Lockin definately scares me with any vendor. But, there's a difference between hobby blogging and blogging for leads.

    Hobby Vendor = not a single question use wordpress (I tried hobbying a few times and realized I'm no good at that)

    Small-Large Business = consider alternatives. I use HubSpot at work. I'm considering buying a reseller license for BusinessCatalyst for some personal sites.

    Here's a question, what is $250, 500, or 1,000 a month for the best tool if it helps you get more leads. What is a lead worth to you? A sale?

    We targeted 4 keyword combinations 2 days ago and have already jumped 60 keyword combinations from past 50 to top 10 in google search.

    WordPress doesn't do that. You would need to use Keywordelite or combinations of other programs. For the unsophisticated (lets just say most small businesses) having a program and a process that says …

    DO THIS FIRST…
    TARGET THIS NOW…

    That's pure gold. Worth every penny.

    To do proper keyword research and all the

  • http://www.brandonconnell.com Brandon Connell

    WordPress IS the be-all and standard for blogging. I have tried a lot of platforms, and wordpress is capable of much more than all of them put together. It is the only platform I use across multiple blogs and one I recommend every single day to clients.

  • http://www.brandonconnell.com Brandon Connell

    #1 selecting a market isn't completely true. I mean, you will side toward a specific topic but it is wise to blog your everyday things too. That makes you real to your readers.

  • http://blogcontentsecrets.com/ Tom Southern

    Great article. Thanks David. If you put other people’s ads on your site you’re sending YOUR visitors to your COMPETITION! If YOU want to make money stop sending people away from your site. Okay, so you want to be generous to your blogger friends, gurus and associates, but don’t you also want people to buy your solutions too?

  • http://www.theuniuni.com/ Payton_vege

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