As a blogger, sometimes we make mistakes that we don’t even notice it. Today, I am going to talk about the 8 common blogging mistakes to avoid. This will help you to avoid those mistakes when you start blogging on your website.
#1 Keep It Useful and Relevant
Blogging is about helping a group of people solve problems by providing them with the information they are looking for.
It is always good to have more articles on your blog. But, the quality of the articles should come first. Useful and relevant content answered most readers query with value.
Relevant content should have value for your targeted readers and they find it useful. It can be just a short article with relevant information or a lengthy article providing all the related information.
Writing content around one main keyword is good. For example, Nancy is a busy working mum with 2 teenagers. She needs to rush home after work to cook dinner for her children. Relevant content for her might be a recipe to prepare a healthy meal in less than an hour.
For Tim, who is 60 years old looking for a birthday present for his grandson who loves playing video games. For him, buying guides for video games would help him in the process of purchasing a video game for his grandson.
As a blogger, you must always keep in mind that your content should be giving people value first. The more value you give, the more rewards will come naturally.
#2 Keep It Simple
As a blogger who has so much knowledge about a certain subject, that we forget to write in simple text for our readers to read and understand.
The content you are writing should be in simple language and easy to understand. The purpose of your content is to provide answers to your reader’s questions, helping them to solve their problem.
You must consider their level of knowledge about the topic and it is very important that they can understand what you are writing about.
#3 Write For Engagement
Sometimes when talking to someone, it is hard to get the message across. It will be harder to communicate online. You and your readers are communicating through written words and images.
So, write like you are talking to a friend while having a coffee together. In that case, your readers will feel like you are talking to them and this will help in building trust and relationship.
#4 Not Interacting With Your Readers
Once you published your articles, your readers will read your articles and leave you some comments.
Many bloggers make the mistake for not checking the comments left by their readers. You have to check the comments left for the article. You should always stay engage with your readers, whether their comments are positive, negative or just questions.
Don’t disappoint your readers, they take the time to read your articles and leave comments. They might need your help to solve their problems.
When you interact with them, you create a conversation. This will lead to more comments.
Replying to comment either by answering your reader’s questions, or clearing out some points for those who disagree on what you write about, is a great way to show your knowledge and expertise on the subject.
#5 Not Using Headers
If your article consists of long paragraphs cram with texts, your readers will turn away from that. Try to put your text in a small paragraph with headings and subheadings. Each paragraph should have 3-5 sentences.
This will make it easier to read and your readers will stay longer at your site.
#6 Focus On Word Counts
As a blogger, you need to communicate a message in the length that it takes to get the message across. You must try not to focus too much on the word counts.
For a certain topic, you will be writing short articles as there is not too much information to write about. In this case, do not try to squeeze in irrelevant information to bore your readers.
#7 Write For SEO Only
If you’re writing for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) only, your readers will get bored. If you’re writing only for robots, your readers will feel that you are wasting their time.
Remember to write for your readers first. What’s the use of writing articles when no one reads.
#8 Writing Conclusion
It is always important to summarize your important points at the end of every article. There are many readers who do not want to read the whole article. They will just skip to the last paragraph to read what the points are.
In Conclusion
To summarize those points above to avoid blogging mistakes, remember the following points:
- Keep it useful and relevant
- Keep it simple
- Write with engagement
- Interacting with your readers
- Using headers, do not cram too many words together
- Don’t focus too much on word counts
- Don’t write for SEO only
- Always summarize your points in the last paragraph
I hope you have learned something from the above 8 blogging mistakes to avoid.
Do you have a website and started blogging? If not you might want to create a website for free even if you have no experience.
If you have any questions about blogging, please leave them below and I will try my best to help you out.
Hi Christine,
I am a newbie of WA. Now I do work in site comments. I hope recently I will able to create my new website. I have a little knowledge about blogging. I thought I should write only about affiliate marketing. But from your post you clearly explained how can I write my blogs avoiding 8 mistakes. I have a problem that I always write anything in complex sentence. But you advised to write my blogs in simple sentences. Is it must to write conclusion before ending my blogs?
Thanks a lot dear. I will follow your important post and will share your helpful and informative post to others.☺️
Hi Snigdha,
I am glad that you find my article helpful and thank you for sharing it with others.
It is advisable to write a conclusion where you can give your opinion and a summary of the topic you are writing about. Some of your readers will not read the whole article, they will just skip to the conclusion.
All the best to you.
Hi, my name is Gomer, I’m a blogger from the Philippines.
Since English is not may primary language, sometimes I struggle composing a very good blog post and add to that, I must please Google too with its requirements such as the keyword must be on the header and also on the first paragraph of the post. Oftentimes, the post that I have published sound idiotic trying to please Google, and with your reminders here, I found relief as I now know that I should focus on my readers instead of trying to be good at SEO.
I’m really interested in improving my writing. Do you know of any program online that I can enroll so I can learn more how to improve my blog writing? I want to learn more how to write engaging content the way those American bloggers are doing.
Hi Gomer, thank you for sharing your experience.
You got it! As a blogger, we are always writing for our readers. We have to provide value to them.
The best way to improve writing is to write more. The platform that I’m using now to build my online business has training on how to write good content. If you are interested to learn how to write better content, you can join as a free starter member.
I wish you much success in blogging!