5 Soul Crushing Mistakes That Beginner Bloggers Make
by Dean Hunt Posted in BloggingThere is nothing worse than seeing someone give up on their blog before it even got started. Sadly this happens to hundreds of new bloggers every day. So here are the five main mistakes that beginner bloggers make.
1 - Not Launching
Ok, so for the past 6 months you have been meaning to launch your blog, but you never got around to actually doing it. Listen, it is action that defines success, talking about doing something is as useful as an inflatable dart board.
2 - Being Cheap
Do not host your blog on blogger, typepad etc… e.g yourblog.blogspot.com - this will make you look cheap, and if you do become successful, it will mean that your blog is almost impossible to sell, as you don’t legally own it. You can get your own domain for as little as $7.
3 - Giving up
All good things in life take time. Don’t give up after a few weeks. Most successful sites are very quiet for as much as the first 12 months, so be patient.
4 - Early ads
It always amazes me when people plaster their blogs with ads, despite the fact that 2 people per day are reading it. What do they expect to achieve from this?
Do not put ads on your site until you are getting at least 10,000 visitors per month. It makes you look cheap, and can harm your brand. Think about it, is it really worth taking the risk for an extra 26c per day?
5 - All Design and No Substance
It is all the crazy to have a custom theme and a shiny looking blog, but your content is a LOT more important. Focus on making quality content for the first six months, and if you are getting a lot of visitors, then invest in a fancy blog theme.
What other beginner blogging mistakes would you add to this list?
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Great post Dean
Totally agree with you!
Michael DUnlop
Very good post, I am at this stage so need to be very careful!
I agree with most of that. But I do not see the problem with having ad slots from the get go. Do not plaster them everywhere, but a few harm no one. That couple of dollars a month could motivate you, and show potential.
I hate to pick, but I disagree with all of this except #1 and #3.
2. I disagree. Go on Blogspot, spend nothing, and create hundreds of blogs a month with ads. It’s cool to make money from spending nothing. And many people don’t care whether you have a domain or not. Just as long as they can find you on Google or a social bookmarking site. And there’s a trick in the XHTML to enable the ability to have your site indexed by Google.
4. No! Ads go up first. Better profit results. Trust me.
5. Theme is important. Content is important. They’re both important. People are turned off by a typical-looking, or ugly-looking, blog. Try to stand out, and make it look nice but yet not too commercial.
Hey Michael:Just came across your blog on 5 Soul Crushing Mistakes that Beginner Bloggers Make”. Well I think I am no.1. I am a 50ish young female and I want to start a blog. Have been reading and researching info. for about 3mths. I don’t know how to do the tags (I think thats what they are called) I don’t know how to add the banners and I’m beginning to think maybe I should just give up! But I don’t want to I want to do this. I’m hoping I can make some money off of it. I need tutorial help and not sure if I should puchase these tools you see like ” blogging all the way to the Bank-underground techniques”. Then I was thinking maybe I should contact the local highschool and see if there are any students there that might help me with the tech. part of cp.
Any suggestions???? Please help me if you can.
It’s really amazing that we all have done these mistakes (and always doing them) and I’m sure we’ll do them again on the future
People need to realize that blogging has a learning curve just like everything. Take the first step, start the blog today and begin to learn.
Writing about a subject that you know nothing about is one of my biggest irritations from new bloggers.
Of course everyone one wants to make a little coin, but the amount of “noobs” that pick a high paying keyword or niche, and regurgitate already posted material, over and over again, to try and make some adsense money is disgusting.
There are probably more, “How to make money online” blogs on blogger, than any other subject matter, with more starting everyday, from aythors who have never made a dime online. (or anywhere else)
[…] 5 Soul Crushing Mistakes That Beginner Bloggers Make […]
I like the last one, all design and no substance… I always felt like I was trying for all substance and no design
Nice post, thanks.
Thanks for the great advice and well done to the top bloggers!
I pretty much agree with everything you say.
Content is king! I read plenty of vanilla looking blogs with killer content.
Once you get to 10,000 page impressions a month don’t necessarily jump on the Adsense band wagon either - look around for the best advertising solution that will fit your design and also your niche!
Last point, if you have been thinking about it for 6 months and still have not put anything into action then I wouldn’t bother! Move on to the next idea…
I agree with the above points but there are people who make money with free domains like blogger and typepad. a custom domain would please the the visitors but i dont really thing blogging in free domains is bad.
Some great tips for a brand newby, thanks!