Everyone has to start somewhere,, and that applies to launching yourself as a blogger, where you have a lot to say and are eager to reach as many people as possible and build up a following, but a few elementary mistakes can soon halt your progress.
It often tends to be the same mistakes that trip up newbie bloggers so if you can identify those critical error trends and aim to avoid them right from the start you should be able to give yourself a better chance of making the right impact as quickly as possible.
Here is a look at some of the blogging mistakes that you should try to avoid, including why it pays to focus on what you have to say before and stick to a theme, how writing a blog is different to other writing tasks, plus pointers on how to use social media and other platforms to reach a wider audience.
So much to say
It would be hoped that you are fired up by the prospect of launching yourself as a blogger and it’s highly likely that you will problem find ideas popping into your head at all sorts of random moments.
That’s a good sign and shows that you should be able to engage an audience with your blog but what you don’t want to do is come across as someone who is blogging at random with no specific direction or theme.
Put all of those ideas down when they come to you and then sort them out so you show your personality in your blog in a coherent and not random presentation.
Relax
Simple advice but a tip that makes a lot of sense when writing your blog.
You are not writing a journal, a test paper or a letter to someone; you are having a conversation with words. Readers will quickly lose interest in your content if it is too stiff and formal so try to compose your blog in a more relaxed and informal style, so that people enjoy reading what you have to say.
Don’t be afraid to inject your personality into the style of writing as that is a fundamental aspect of your blog and if you succeed in portraying who you are in words, your audience will feel like they are getting to know you, which is good for building a loyal following.
Trying too hard to get noticed
A classic rookie blogger error is reaching for the stars and trying to write content that you hope has a chance of going viral.
It is fiendishly difficult to chase the viral with almost everything you post and the danger is that you end up producing superficial content that just says that you are seeking out attention.
A much better approach is to focus on quality writing, engaging content, and building your audience organically over a period.
Using someone like the HOTH, for example, could help you develop a plan for getting noticed with your blog that doesn’t go all out for glory with shock and awe tactics, that almost never work, no matter how good your content happens to be.
It’s not about you
Now is a good time for a harsh reality check here right at the beginning of your blogging career.
It would be wrong to assume that your newly-found audience cares that much about you and your stories and interests.
The fact of the matter is that when you first start blogging people are more focused on what you can teach them, how you convey that information can lead people to take a shine to you, but like any friendship, that takes time, so be prepared to accept that your blog is not all about you.
You can inject your personality into your blog in any manner of different ways, such as with a touch of humor, but the key is to show your personality and not to tell it.
Stay on topic
Another important lesson to learn from bloggers who have been there before you is that it is important to avoid making your topics too broad.
More specific topics and niches tend to be more fruitful in attracting a more targeted audience, which is no bad thing as this often means that you build up a following that is higher quality.
If you can follow some of those simple but effective rules of engagement you should be able to get your blogging career off to a positive start and avoid some of the more common rookie errors.
