If you are a new blogger or have been blogging for a while…
Then you may have made some mistakes at some point or another.
And if we’re being honest here, I have made them and thankfully I have learned from them.
So today I wanted to address the seven top mistakes that happened to me and how you can easily avoid them!
These are just a few of the hundreds of mistakes that need to be addressed, but they are very important to learn from so you can get back on track to hit all of your blogging goals.
And by now, I am sure you can tell that blogging not only takes a lot of research (like reading this post) but it also takes a lot of trials and errors.
So are you making these blogging mistakes but just don’t know it yet?
Here are 7 mistakes that most new bloggers are making that can easily be avoided if you know about them!
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7 Mistakes Most New Bloggers Make & How To Avoid Them
{this post contains affiliate links, see disclosure for details}
1. Not Choosing The right Platform And Hosting Company.
To avoid wasted time and energy, a good thing to know first is who you should host your blog with!
If this is your first time looking into setting up a blog, or maybe you already have a blog that’s not generating the results that you want, then make sure that you choose the right blogging platform so that you aren’t limited from the start.
Mainly if you are wanting to start a blog and go with a free build and drop site that’s because you weren’t told that it will limit you.
And more importantly, if you are wanting to look professional and own your own URL then you have to know that hosting your blog is your BEST and should be your FIRST option.
Here’s why…
If you build a blog with Wix or Blogger.com you are going to have limited functionality, high cost for the web builders (that are built-in with it) and they aren’t really necessary for your blogging needs at all.
They are coded differently than WordPress so it will make your SEO (search engine optimization) just that much harder for you. Basically, in laymen’s terms, your site will only crawl up the Google ladder, when you want it to run!
In fact, a lot of people switch from Wix sites to properly self-hosted WordPress sites, because of those reasons.
I also personally know this because I too also switched my business website from Wix to WordPress for those same reasons.
So why not start your journey off right by not having to do that! Start with Bluehost and WordPress from the start and you will be good to go!
Important self hosting Tip for blogging!
A self-hosted WordPress site, shouldn’t cost more than $5 a month and because you are reading this now (!!) you get a special discount through my special link (only for my readers) if you are just getting started.
And to not make this critical blogging mistake, Sign Up With Bluehost.
A crucial reason for being self-hosted is having control over your content and having ownership over your content.
When you are blogging and putting content on sites like Blogger or Wix or with a membership-based hosting package, your blog and your content (that is on their servers) could get lost!
If they even have problems with their servers, you may not have access to your content anymore. Pretty scary right?!
That’s why I chose Bluehost mainly because I was very impressed with the professionalism and overall quality of their product and service.
Honestly, they make it so easy to set up and you can even have your blog set up in under 15 minutes!
I also wrote an easy step-by-step guide to help you get your WordPress site set up in minutes.
They are actually one of the largest hosting companies that are out there in the market today with the two other popular hosting sites being Hostgator and GoDaddy.
Bluehost has over two million websites worldwide that they currently power and about half of those are WordPress sites and they have a dedicated WordPress server for those as well.
That’s the power of Bluehost and being self-hosted with them.
Bluehost has an anytime money-back guarantee, they also have $150 offers of free things to get like free themes from Woothemes and even ad credit for Google and Yahoo!
Their plans are very inexpensive, and through my special link, you can get it at a discounted price for as alow as a small inexpensive cup of coffee a month.
So as you are reading this now, you can actually get Bluehost at a discounted price. How cool is that?!
2. Stop Relying On So Many Plugins.
Now that I’ve addressed one of the most important factors that will translate into you being a successful blogger or not.
That is if you are not aware that being self-hosted with a hosting platform such as Bluehost and having it paired with the WordPress platform, you are already making a critical mistake.
Having a WordPress blog is what you will need from the start! I address this in the 50+ blogging tips post for new bloggers and I also have a really simple 10-minute guide on how to set up a WordPress blog all on your own.
Now with saying that, because that’s not the mistake I am addressing here, what will really hinder your WordPress experience is having too many plugins installed.
Having too many plugins can lead to many problems.
To make my point clear, I’ve even had a plugin that broke my blog and I lost two weeks’ worth of work. Don’t let that happen to you!
So how many WordPress plugins are too many?
The best way to answer that is, are you are finding your site running too slow, OR do you have to constantly update them?
If you answered yes to both, it’s best to go into your plugins page and do a general maintenance sweep.
That way you can see what you need and what you can deactivate.
When you do this you’ll notice that some plugins are actually just sitting there. Here are some good questions to ask yourself regarding plugins:
- Do you have any plugins that are disabled?
- Are your activated plugins working but not really in use?
- Do you have any that seem to make the site slow? (very important!)
- Can you replace some with something better like a paid version?
This blogging mistake is really important because just like burglars can enter your home, plugins can have loopholes in the code that can be exploited which can hinder the security of your blog.
Also when you add more code to any website (through plugins, because yes they are still coded!), it can really slow your website down.
And we all know that Google doesn’t like slow websites because it disrupts the user’s experience. So try to be picky with how many plugins you use for your site!
To Help you Combat This, here Are the Plugins That Every WordPress Blog Should Have:
- Security Plugin.
There are people out there that will want to hack into your site. It’s crazy but it’s true. So to hinder that from happening, the plugin that I use is Itheme’s security plugin and it’s free. They also have a paid version, but it isn’t necessary, the free version is perfectly fine. - Backup Plugin.
Why a backup plugin is important is that it needs to be off-site on a different server from your hosting company. Most new bloggers rely on that their hosting site is all they need, but a secondary backup plugin is essential and the one that I use is Updrafts WordPress plugin and it’s free! They also have a paid version, but it isn’t necessary, the free version is perfectly fine. - SEO Plugin if you want Google to send you organic traffic.
There are several SEO plugins out there but by far the best one to go with is the Yoast Plugin. It’s also free! Yoast is backed up by a big company in the blogging industry, so their Plugin is almost always up to date. - Google Analytics Dashboard for WP.
This one plugin is what you should be tracking to know what posts do better than others and it is essential if you want to start monetizing your blog in the future. The one that I use is Google Analytics for WP by MonsterInsights. - Caching Solution Plugin. A caching plugin helps you rank better and it reduces your bounce rate from Google. WP Super Cache is a plugin that is supported by WordPress. If you do have a shopping cart on your website, make sure your cache plugin excludes those shopping cart pages. It can screw up your shopping cart so do a little research if that’s what you are looking for.
- Security Plugin.
Pro tip: If you would like to start a blog of your own, you should check out my step-by-step guide here!
3. Not Being Passionate About Their Niche.
First, before we begin with this blogging mistake here is what a niche market means; being able to provide a specific product or service in order to solve one problem for a specific group of people.
This is probably one of the most important things, if not the most important thing if you would like to stay consistent with your blogging venture.
That is to actually be passionate about what you are writing about!
Finding your niche is one of the most important parts of building your personal brand. Not only that but showing up to work every day will be easy if it’s something that you actually like doing!
Moreover, the reason I am addressing this blogging mistake is that I get a lot of emails regarding the home niche that I picked. They always ask me if it’s too broad.
And the answer I say to anyone who asks me this is…
If you enjoy writing about your chosen niche and it is simultaneously resonating with your audience (in terms of clicks, traffic, and comments) then you are doing something right!
I would also say that if you are going about blogging for the long term, you should at the very least decide what you are most passionate about.
Also, while you are thinking about it, ask yourself if you are going to be passionate about it five years down the line.
Hint, I love home decor, learning home tips, home organizing, and working from home and my site reflects all of those things!
4. Not Niching Down at all or picking a niche they know nothing about.
This is a great trick to hit your traffic goals!
Your readers will always have expectations and when they are not being met, that’s when your traffic suffers and this is the number one reason why a lot of people will give you the advice to niche down.
Yet, you also have to know that… you can’t be everything to all people, at all times!
Here’s another example, if you are going to write a book for a million people, nobody’s going to buy it.
But if you write a book for 1000 people, they will most likely read it and love what you wrote, because you focused on their one problem and catered to solving it.
So that’s what I mean by picking a niche that you know nothing about. And the best way to combat this is experimenting with what you like to write about, then pairing it with a niche you enjoy — then niching down from there.
Here are a few more ways to find what you enjoy writing about:
- Passions aren’t found they are developed and that also applies to choosing a niche. What people mistake is that they think there is some apparent passion or sole purpose that they need to ‘figure out’ when it comes to blogging and this is so much further from the truth!
- Blogging takes time to figure out what’s trending online and what you enjoy writing about. Your sole purpose for when your blogging develops over time is to find out what your readers are most engaging with, what they like, what they like to read about, what they’re commenting the most on — and go from there. Developing your blog and learning is a critical part of the journey. A lot of people tend to forget this. Know that your niche may come to you through time (it did for me!).
- Understand the difference between a niche and an industry. These two are not the same thing. Most people are not obsessed with the industry at all, because what they actually love is the niche that is within the industry. Ex; Health & Fitness (industry) vs Vegan and Yoga (sub-niches). Pick your industry and then scale it down from there if you can.
- Choose 3-5 Sub-Niches Within Your Niche. Choosing sub-niches within your niche will help you target your writing towards the right people. It will also give your blog your main categories and this will help guide your readers to the other posts on your blog that are similar. Moreover, the 3-5 category rule is important because it gives your readers a faster glimpse of what your blog is about if they quickly scan your site and leave to come back later. Remember, you want to be easily remembered so people can easily come back to visit your blog. So having 3-5 categories is a great rule of thumb and helps your blog be more memorable.
- Identify The Problem Within Your Niche. Always make sure that you are educated within your market and identify the problem in your niche by seeking out forums and answering the main key questions within your topic for your content creation.
- Are people happy to spend money in your niche? If you choose a niche where people are excited to spend money, that is a really good thing. A lot of people are scared of the big competitive niches but don’t be! Just remember that the more competitive is it, the harder you just have to work! I chose blogging and home living and those two are very competitive but they are both working great for me!
There is so much competition out there, so unless you are super focused on giving really valuable content and it’s paired with what you like writing about, then you’ve chosen a great niche to compete in.
5. Not Having A Financial Cushion as a backup plan.
If you are starting out blogging and you also have a side job — that’s a great way to start.
Most bloggers usually start out blogging as a hobby first because the security when it comes to blogging full-time can be risky.
But on the contrary and if you are anything like me and went full in?
Know that it’s always a good idea to make sure that you are financially backed before you commit to blogging full time.
You have to remember that you are essentially starting a new business and if your aim is to make money, you need to take note that it could take up to a year to make good revenue from your hard work.
Another note is that most affiliates hold onto your earnings for several months and even up to 90 days, so even though you have made money from your blog, you might not see it for months to come.
And another thing I’ll add is you are not going to be in an office with other people, you’re not going to be communicating with other people face-to-face, and you won’t be talking about your ideas out loud, and you will have to learn how to formally craft your emails, learn WordPress, interlinking, no-follow links all while marketing your blog all on your own.
All of that can be very stressful and lonely at times and after you have given blogging a fighting chance, you still might consider that blogging isn’t for you because of that.
So make sure that your blogging career is a calculated risk because this will help keep you motivated to keep on heading towards your personal blogging goals!
6. Not Treating Your Blog As A Business.
Most of the time when you are new at blogging you are going to be by yourself and what happens is you can get in your head and obsess over all the little things.
And sometimes the wrong things and that can really impact your motivation.
Here’s how to treat your blog like a business:
- Think of Your Blog As Building a Portfolio.
Even if you think that maybe one day you’d love to turn your blog into a career, you have to start thinking with the mentality of building your blog as your own personal portfolio.
If you think of your blog as your portfolio, you are essentially building an online resume of what you are good at and if people can grasp that right from the start, then you are on the right path to building your blog as a great business.
- Brand The Blog That is Unique To You.
To build your blog portfolio, start looking at the different ways you can brand your blog. One of the ways I did this was by branding my feature images differently. I love my feature images (the images at the top of the blog!). I am just so happy that they are totally unique and my own.
- Choose Professional Brand Related Royalty-Free Imagery or better yet create your own.
Brands, companies, and people that are willing to pay you for your services (for you to write product reviews) want to look at your blog and see how it looks first. If the aesthetic it portrays is not as professional as it can be or if your branding isn’t consistently paired with good quality images, you are already doing yourself a disservice.
Blogging should be looked at as building a business from the ground up, and it takes all these little details to be able to be considered a professional blogger in the eyes of other brands and customers.
7. Caring Way Too Much of What Others Think.
I added this last mistake because it was something that I had a hard time dealing with at the beginning of my blogging career.
Plus, like most new bloggers, you’re probably putting your blood, sweat, tears, and dedicated time into making your blog a success.
And the very last thing that you want — is negative feedback about it.
So to combat this… you literally CAN’T care what others think of you or of your blog because there will always be negative feedback out there that people are oh so eager to give out!
The best way that I faced this fear, was I carried on with confidence.
Of course, confidence is hard when you are starting anything new, however, once you keep threading the needle, and keep creating and learning new blogging tips and tricks to make your blogging journey run more smoothly… You will get there!
There you have it, learning from other people’s mistakes is really the best way to get ahead especially if you’re treating your blog as a business.
And these 7 mistakes were definitely ones that I personally faced within the first year of launching my blog.
I hope you liked this article! Please make sure to sign up for my newsletter to get the heads up when I post another article like this one!
If you have any questions at all, please get in touch with me or leave a comment below.
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Author: Everything Abode
Welcome to Everything Abode, your daily inspiration for every activity at home!
Our goal is to inspire you to live an elegant and chic lifestyle from the comfort of your home.
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