When I first started blogging, I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing. I didn’t know a think about SEO, heck…I didn’t even know how to edit a simple picture. Slowly but surely, I started learning more and more. But I think we can all agree on one thing, we’ve all made a few mistakes along the way. Today I’m sharing a few blogging mistakes I used to make, and if you happen to be a newbie…lucky you, maybe you can avoid making these mistakes.
Mistake #1: Bad Images
Let’s face it, people like to see pretty things…I know I do. And what’s one of the first things people see when they go to read your post? Pictures. When I first started I would snap a picture without thinking twice about it. I’ve said this time and time again, you don’t need a fancy DSLR camera to take good pictures. Spoiler Alert: I’m working on a blog post where I’ll be sharing some tips on how to take good quality pictures with your cell phone & I’m also going to include a freebie that you DON’T want to miss!
Mistake #2: No Branding
Before my blog got a little makeover, the design elements weren’t consistent. Nothing was cohesive, I didn’t have a color template, and it just wasn’t attractive. Making a few changes, like purchasing a template makes a big difference. And then you can slowly make other changes. I’ll be honest, I feel like my blog is ready for another makeover…
Mistake #3: Not Being Fully Committed
Something clicked one day and I had that “aha” moment where I realized that I truly loved blogging and wanted to make it work for me. I just wasn’t fully committed into putting in the extra work that is required to have a successful blog. Now, my blog still has a LONG way to go, but the difference between then and now, is that I am 100% committed to putting in the work! Sometimes all it takes is a little motivation.
Mistake #4: Taking Free Product As Payment
This is a huge no-no for me now! I’ve watched plenty of webinars, read tons of posts and have even done some research on this topic. Bloggers who take free samples as payment, are not only hurting themselves…but other bloggers as well. Now, I’m not saying that every blog post should be sponsored or that you shouldn’t accept the free products. I actually have several options that I send to brands when they reach out to me…just keep in mind that every blogger has different rates — traffic, social media statistics, content, along with so many other things are contributing factors to rates.
Mistake #5: Not Monitoring Traffic
Can you believe I never kept up with my traffic, much less my following! Now I try to keep a close eye on my traffic…where it’s coming from, what posts are getting more engagement than other posts, and all of my social media statistics as well. A great way to keep track is by updating your media kit often. Or you can also keep a spreadsheet saved on your desktop for easy access. All in all, knowing what posts bring in more traffic help YOU! For instance, my blogging tips, affordable makeup and infertility posts bring in the most traffic…I now know what my readers like, helping me create more content that they want to read. It’s a win, win!
Mistake #6: Not Planning Ahead
I’ve always been a planner, but for some reason when it came to my blog I totally slacked! Which was a big fail. I would find myself out of ideas, rushed to get content up or I would just not get anything up at all. Therefore, I would either have bad posts that didn’t bring any traffic in. It was a mess! So now, I PLAN! And I plan ahead of time, my planner has helped so much!
Mistake #7: Comparing My Blog To Others
It’s bound to happen…at one point or another, I think we all begin to compare our blog with another blog. Nothing good comes out of it…we end up down in the dumps with unrealistic expectations. One thing to keep in mind…everyone started at 0. We all started at the same place and it’s up to US to get where we want to go. It’s up to us to make things happen.
I could honestly go on and on…but these are just 7 mistakes I think are more common, and quite frankly easy fixes. Don’t beat yourself up about it, we all learn from our mistakes.
Are you guilty of any of these mistakes? What are some that you have done?
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