The Five Biggest Mistakes That Bloggers Make

Posted: April 30, 2012

[caption id="attachment_10028" align="alignright" width="400"]© gunnar3000 - Fotolia.com[/caption]Are a few silly mistakes holding back your blog?

I work with a lot of bloggers, and I see some mistakes cropping up again and again. There’s so much to learn about blogging that it’s easy to get things wrong … but these mistakes can really cripple your chances of success.

Mistake #1: Not Having a Clear Goal

Why do you have a blog? How does it benefit you and your readers?

You need to know the answer to these questions in order to have a clear goal for your blog. For instance:

If your blog exists to make money, then your goal might be to reach $1,000/month through sales of a digital product.
If your blog exists to establish your expertise in your niche, then your goal might be to get named on lists of “top ten” blogs.
If your blog exists for you to build up a writing routine, then your goal might be to post a 500 word piece every day.

None of these goals are “right” or “wrong” … but you do need to know what you’re aiming for.

Fix it: Work out your main purpose for your blog. Set yourself a medium-term goal (something you could realistically achieve within a year).

Mistake #2: Formatting Posts Badly

I come across a lot of excellent writers who are producing blog posts that simply won’t get read. Why? Because they don’t pay any attention to formatting.

It’s physically harder to read on a computer screen than on paper, and most visitors to your site will be distracted by email messages, Facebook, Twitter, Skype … you need to make their life easy.

You can:

Write shorter paragraphs than you normally would
Use bullet-points to help break up the text and to increase the white space on the screen
Use bold text to highlight key points
Use subheadings to divide your post into major sections

Fix it: Take a look at your most recent post. Does it look attractive and easy-to-read at a glance? If not, look for places where you can add formatting.

Read the complete article The Five Biggest Mistakes That Bloggers Make.

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Written by Ali Luke