When starting a blog, you have to be very careful today because there is no shortage of other relevant blogs your visitor can turn to. Mistakes made during content writing and blog setup can be very costly because once a visitor leaves your domain, it will be very hard to get them back, especially when they had an initial bad experience. This is why I recommend doing your research before getting started so you can be careful what strategy you implement into your blog. I’ve made it a point to research common blogging mistakes every 2 months to ensure I’m following the fundamentals and what other experts are saying about the common blogging mistakes being made. Some bloggers have made it their initiative to do nothing but perform case studies, trying to find creative ways to either do something or avoid the common mistakes.
Today, I’d like to take some more time out to go over some other common blogging mistakes that you have to be careful about when setting up a blog or on your existing blog.
No Contact Email
The worst mistake you can make is NOT providing a way for people to get a hold of you. It adds credibility to your blog and you are genuinely trying to help people out, which is why you should always provide an email address. However, you have several ways this can be done and I encourage everyone to install a WordPress plugin that will set the entire form up for you. This form will obviously be placed on your contact page, but keep these things in mind as well.
A contact form is a great way to:
- Get user feedback
- Get content ideas
- Business opportunities
- Earn credibility
Don’t worry about people sending spam because email contact forms have evolved so much, you have “captcha” technology to protect you going forward.
Not Responding to Comments
This is a quick way to destroy your user loyalty because it’s always great to know the owner of the blog cares about your opinion. Let me ask you this: How would you feel if you leave feedback and no one replies back? It would make you feel like your opinion doesn’t matter and doesn’t count…right? If you want people to keep coming back to your blog, then it’s important you accept and reply to comments. This way, you’ll be able to get different opinions, which can lead to topic ideas and debates.
If you’re using WordPress, a simple plugin will be able to install the right comment box easily.
Slow on Social Media
If you’re starting to blog then don’t wait on social media and get your accounts setup right away. Social media will build reputations fast so if you haven’t built any profiles, then here’s something you should know: Your competition is already building their profiles, attracting readers. With competition comes the chance of you becoming obsolete faster so always stay ahead of the competition. The last thing you want is for readers to be drawn to your competition through social media because this will force them to forget about you. Social media is a great way to keep quality content in front of people so imagine the leverage your competition will have if you don’t have a social presence.
I’m not saying start spending hours, but it’s important to have some accounts on the major players like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
Inconsistent Content
This is a mistake made by both beginners and existing bloggers so it’s important you keep your focus. First, you need to know your audience and the type of content they love to read. This will help guide your content writing going forward, keeping you focused on what’s most important. I like to pay close attention to the type of content my readers are sharing, looking for a pattern. Through this strategy, I can find what kind of content I should be focusing on going forward because I know my audience loves it from the social pattern. The worst mistake you can be doing is writing content that is NOT engaging enough for your readers. This is usually the case when your content topics are inconsistent, often because you don’t know your audience and their engagement pattern.
Content Formatting
With so much competition online, it’s important to give your readers what they need right away. By making your content easy to read and skim, you’ll be able to give them an immediate glance into what value you provide. I always write content in a way so if someone arrives on my page, they know they’ll find what they’re looking for. Here are a few tips I recommend:
- Provide a breakdown of the content covered in introduction
- Use “target” keywords in the main sub-headings
- Breakdown the content into smaller paragraphs
- Add images to portray your point
- Infographics and videos work very well in illustrating the point quickly