Let dig deep and explore the common mistakes novice bloggers make. Here is a useful list of tips for beginner bloggers.
There are lots of things I never knew when I was starting out as a blogger. I made lots of mistakes; from ignoring the SEO to rushing to ways of making huge sums of money with my blog.
A few months after launching the blog I thought it was going to generate me lots of cash. I gave up. I failed. Terribly.
You are possibly reading this because either you are already a blogger or yet to launch your first blog. You don’t have to make the same mistakes I made.
A Comprehensive List of Tips for Beginner Bloggers
In this blog post, I’ll be outlining some great lessons I have learned throughout my blogging career. I hope you learn from my mistakes.
1. Keep It Real
I have seen bloggers brag about the fancy lives they live. Fancy cars. Fancy vacations. All these in the name of blogging. The truth is, they want you to buy what they are promoting.
Don’t be like them. Don’t lie that you’ve been blogging for over 5 years when in the real sense, you are only 3 weeks old in blogging.
Be who you are. Be real. Share with your audience the lessons you learn while blogging. You may be new to blogging but very experienced in internet marketing.
Let your audience know that. Don’t be shy about it.
No one will run away from your blog if you say that your blog is only one month old. People are interested in your content. Not your blog’s age.
2. Invest In Your Blog
Look at your blog as a business and you as an entrepreneur. Trust me, in a few weeks, you are going to create great products that are going to earn you legit cash. In short, you are going to start running a business.
To ensure that you don’t end up failing in this industry, invest. Buy a domain name. Buy a quality web hosting package from a trusted web hosting company.
What you must also give to your blog is your time. Set aside time to answer emails, reply to comments, work on new blog posts, write email campaigns and so much more.
3. Set Realistic Goals
There is nothing more discouraging to me than setting a goal and then failing to realize it. And that is why I like to set a goal that I know I can be able to achieve. And I know they are goals relevant to what I’m doing.
That’s exactly what you need to do. I know it’s advisable that you dream big but look, these are goals you are setting. And don’t forget, you are not superhuman.
“Here is how I set my goals: I write down a list of my goals. I pick only one from the list and set a timeline of 90 days to achieve it. For example, let’s say my goal is to increase my blog’s page views. I’ll write down all the activities I’ll need to undertake within the 90 days to ensure that I realize this particular goal.”
The key point: you must be able to realize the goals you set.
4. Promote Your Blog
I see new bloggers publish good content and then do nothing afterward. It doesn’t work that way. Publishing good content and expect people to come and read it?
You must promote your blog and the content you publish.
Find out where your audience hangs out and lure them to your site. Be helpful to them. Answer questions they ask in a professional way.
And if you have a blog post from your site to support your answer/tip, include it. Don’t spam these places with your content.
Use social media and other channels to promote your content like Quora, Reddit etc.
You are starting out as a blogger and trust me, it’s going to take some time before people start streaming to your site. Don’t ever be shy about promoting your own blog.
5. Don’t Listen To Naysayers Blindly
People will try to bring you down. Don’t listen to them blindly. Some will tell you that it can’t be done. Just focus on the bigger picture.
Don’t lose sight of why you started to blog. Don’t be afraid to try new things.
A few weeks ago I saw a certain blogger promoting her eBooks on how to increase page views using Instagram. She had a huge following on Instagram.
One of the bloggers told her that she might have bought her following and so the ebook might have as well be fake.
What I liked about her is that she never gave up. She continued to promote her product. She didn’t listen to that other blogger.
If anyone tries to bring you down, play deaf and continue doing what you are doing. Because you are a winner.
I’m not saying that you should sign up for all the social media platforms. No. Find out where your audience mostly hang out and join them.
Facebook is a universal platform. Everyone is on Facebook. Just pick on two to three platforms and actively participate in them. Join relevant groups on Facebook and take part in relevant conversations on Twitter.
Be helpful to other bloggers or your audience on social media.
Create social media pages to your blog. That way, there will be some legitimacy to what you are doing on your blog.
Communicate with your audience through these pages. Share updates and run challenges. Just try to be active on social media.
7. Learn, Learn & Learn
As a blogger, you should be ready to learn. Learn new tricks to help you solve your problems as you blog. Read other blogs. Buy eBooks and courses from other bloggers. Learn.
You shouldn’t pay for every service on your blog. Learn how to do most of the stuff on your own. That way, you’ll find it very economical to run your own business.
Read more – 100+ Blogging Terms Blogger’s Should Know [Blogging Glossary]
8. Keep Off Stats
This goes to the new bloggers. Avoid checking on the stats all the time. Just keep working hard. I’m not saying that you should avoid checking on the stats completely.
What I’m trying to say is that don’t be checking on your stats like after every 30 minutes. It might be discouraging when you’re starting.
9. Publish Consistently
This point is coming at #9 but I think it needed to have come at #1.
Have a realistic publishing plan.
If yours is to publish one post every week, then so be it. Remember, your audience plus the search engine crawlers will be expecting a fresh post from you on a weekly basis.
A consistent publishing plan is not only good for you and your audience but also for the purposes of SEO.
10. Don’t Forget To SEO Your Blog
SEO is very important for your blog.
SEO stands for search engine optimization. Meaning, there are certain things you must do to your blog and your content so that your content can appear on the first pages of search engine results.
Activities like adding your site to Google search console is very important for SEO. And if you do it correctly, you won’t have to worry about running paid ads on Google or Facebook.
11. Take Care of Your Blog At Backend
Be alert on the new updates. From the version of the CMS (Content Management System eg WordPress) to plugins to the WordPress themes, you are using.
Remember, hackers, are always waiting for you to make a mistake. Don’t let them invade your blog.
Updating these features and installing security features to your blog will help reduce such cases.
12. If You Can’t DIY, Hire Someone
You are getting into blogging and I know, there are lots of things you might not be comfortable with. Don’t struggle to do them yourself because you might end up making huge mistakes.
Sites like Fiverr and freelancers.com exist so that people like you can get help with their blogs at affordable prices.
There are experts from these two and other sites that will help you with stuff like designing logos, optimizing your site to content writing at affordable rates.
13. Why Avoid Displaying Ads At The Early Stage
Look, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t make money out of your blog. No. What I’m trying to say is, build trust in the early stages.
Usually, readers get bored when there are few blog posts but too many ads.
You might be pushing your readers away with lots of ads when you still don’t have enough content on your blog.
Also, applying for Google Adsense when your blog is barely 3 months old will make you feel discouraged because of the numerous disapprovals.
Work on your blog first. Start displaying ads when you finally have enough content and receiving good organic traffic.
14. Search And Reach out To The People You Admire
I personally admire Darren Rowse of Problogger.com. He is an amazing blogger. When I sent him an email about something I needed help with, it took like a week or so before getting a reply from him.
And when he finally, replied, I tell you, it was super awesome. An email from Darren Rowse! I was so happy about it.
What am I trying to say? Reach out to the people you admire. Send them emails. Not too many emails.
They’ll push your emails to spam folders if you send too much of them. Be patient. Learn from them. Don’t copy them. Learn from them.
15. You Are Not Going To Make Millions Of Dollars Overnight
One of the reasons, in fact, the main reason why people get into blogging is to make good cash. Well, it’s a fact that blogging pays. And it pays really well. It’s just that it takes time.
Don’t do lots of things so fast at the same time thinking that they’ll drive you millions in a day. Instead, pick one of the methods of monetizing a blog and focus on it.
You won’t regret this. If it’s creating courses, let it be that. Or it might be affiliate marketing, focus on that. If you can be able to combine the two, that’d be great.
Just don’t use like several and irrelevant methods on your site. You’ll lose your readers. And you will fail. Terribly. And you don’t want that, do you?
16. Think Of Blogging As Way Of Having Fun
I have read stories of bloggers that started their blogs just for fun. In fact, to them, it was like a notebook where they could go and pour their experiences and thoughts.
And then what?
People began to love their blogs. And then they compiled their blog posts into super eBooks, sold them and made good cash. They also created courses and realized that their blogs had become their major source of income.
If you are doing something for fun, trust me, you’ll do it with all your heart. And without pressure or fear of making money or turning it into a huge business empire.
Have fun. Enjoy.
17. Make Time For Your Blog
Your blog becomes a part of your family. Family members don’t like to be ignored or neglected. You must therefore make time for her.
18. Use WordPress
There is no other blogging platform better than WordPress. It’s a simple, customizable and easy to use CMS.
19. Start Building Your List From The Word Go
Email marketing is the most reliable method of marketing in this century. The following you have on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram can disappear in a single second. And you won’t be having followers.
Email lists, on the other hand, you own them. I mean, if someone decides to give you his/her best email address, they like your content and they’d love to keep being in touch with you. These are people you can sell to.
Building your email list from the beginning will help you grow a huge audience within a short period of time. It’ll also enable you to develop trust with your community as you and your blog grow.
20. Connect With Others
Networking will help you create new friends and learn lots of things from the web.
Through networking, you will also get Guest posting opportunities which is great for link building.
You never know, that Blogger you meet online might end up being your long term best friend or even a business partner.
Conclusion
If you can be able to observe and practice the tips for beginner bloggers I’ve mentioned in this blog post, you will definitely become a great and successful blogger.
Are there any tips for beginner bloggers you would like to share? Feel free to mention them in the comment section below. I will be happy to learn from you all.
As I always say, happy blogging folks.