5 Common Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them in 2019Posted by Nouman Ali Awan on March 27th, 2019 Believe it or not, blogging is the best way of converting online visitors into leads. Many of the organizations are realizing its importance, with many expanding their content department to reap its benefits. That said, 91% of the marketers use content as a tool for reaching their target audience with 85% of them considering it as a key strategy. However, all of this is not possible if you keep serving your users with stale blogs that are devoid of any meaning. So, to stop your blogs from hitting a dead end, here are five common mistakes that you need to look out for!
Writing blogs without a defined niche is like shooting arrows in the dark; you just cannot hit the target! If you are blogging on behalf of any organization, then you could create content in areas which that organization deals in. However, problems arise when solo newbies jump into the blogging world with no clear niche idea. To resolve this issue, simply pick up a niche and stick to it. If you want your blog to be all about DIY projects, then dedicate your time and efforts toward it. Or, if you want to pick up a popular niche i.e. food blogging, then, by all means, go for it. The only problem with trendy niches is that too many blogs already exist which increases the competition. You can add your touch to solve this problem. For instance, you can blog on DIY projects that follow a particular color scheme and so on. The point is, choosing a specific niche increases your chances of driving maximum revenue and generating leads. So be careful about your niche and select one without narrowing it down too much that it becomes difficult to generate topics.
In the literal sense, guest blogging is sharing other people’s posts or requesting them to share your posts on their platform. It is a great way of increasing readership that also aids in link building. Sometimes, newbies do not realize the importance of guest blogging and tend to avoid it to maintain a form of control over their platform. However, creating all the content on your own is the biggest blogging mistake! Since guest blogging is one of the best ways of expanding reader base, look up for guest blogging opportunities. Approach established blogs and ask them to post your content with a link to your original blog. Through this way, you can have a fair share of their large following. In return, you can share their content. All in all, guest blogging is fine as long as you are not overdoing it as it can have serious repercussions!
Remember the person who claimed to have cured cancer? He served a term in the Federal Prison just because he misled people by using all the wrong words. Do not let this be you! Every industry has some unspoken rules that are meant to be followed. The same goes out for the niche which you have decided to blog about. Additionally, some care must be taken while blogging in professional fields like medicine, law or health care. This is because if you are a little careless with your words, you could land in hot water. For instance, if you are writing about some fitness diet, state your thoughts as opinions and not as facts to avoid legal trouble and so on. Lastly, the best way to blog without causing legal trouble is to do some research before publishing your posts. Because at the end of the day, it is better to be right than be first!
Nothing hurts a blog more than an inconsistent posting schedule. It not only hurts your SEO but it also turns your followers away. No matter how much authority you have gained in a particular niche, or how much established your blog is, if you are not pumping content, you will lose readership. Buffer’s research can concur with this fact! The biggest reason for an inconsistent schedule is that writers cannot brainstorm for ideas. They think, and think, and think, and come up with ideas which already have tons of blogs on it. This is where an idea generator for blog topics can come in handy. Just enter your keywords and it will suggest topic ideas which could keep you busy for the entire week. The point is, the basic purpose of blogs is to add value through content, and if this is not done properly, your followers will ditch your platform.
When it comes to search engine optimization, bloggers either ignore it completely or produce content solely for the purpose of securing better ranks. Here is a news flash; none of these things will work for you. Simply ignoring SEO means that you will not be ranked, thus you may not get the desired number of readership. On the other hand, writing only with an SEO point of view would destroy your content’s quality as you may have to rely on the nonsensical keyword use. Also, what is the point of making it to the top when your posts refuse to make sense?! Like every other sensible blogger, focus on producing quality yet engaging pieces. That said, only use keywords when necessary. A good rule of the thumb is to limit the number of keywords to only 3-4 or depending on the post’s length. You can add more keywords; however, you need to increase the content’s length as well to balance it all out. While you are at it, do not forget to write interesting blog titles and incorporate great visuals to maximize your SEO efforts. TakeawaysIf the truth is told, blogging is not what it used to be. The increase in competition has made it all difficult to blog with a peaceful mind, except when you are blogging about the stuff you like, in which case it will be blissful. However, blogging about your favorite stuff is the only rival of authoritative blogging. To gain some authority, one must set aside their interests and blog about stuff that others want to read about. Only then would people want to frequent your online place. If doing so is still not working for you, then read the article again and try to improve your blog with regards to the above-mentioned blogging mistakes. You can also consult with companies that provide content writing services if all else fails! Like it? Share it! |