So you have spent hours creating your beautiful new blog. You press publish on your first few posts and sit back and wait for the readers to flock to your site. All you get however is crickets. No one is reading your content that you pour so much energy into creating. So what’s the problem? Chances are you are making 1 (or more!) of the following mistakes! Don’t worry! I will give you some tips and tricks to overcome those mistakes! Read on for 5 mistakes you are making with your blog and my 5 tips for overcoming them!
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Mistake #1: Not publishing content regularly
This mistake is probably the biggest mistake new bloggers make. Content is KING. If you are not publishing content on a regular basis your blog will shrivel up and die. The most successful bloggers publish content regularly. ALWAYS! No excuses! This is HARD to do! Publishing consistent content is probably one of the hardest hurdles to overcome as a blogger. Creating content requires research, creativity, and time! There are plenty of distractions when you are attempting to create content. (some of my distractions at the moment include laundry that needs to be switched over, a dog that needs a walk, and a grocery list to be made.) BUT those distractions can wait!Blogging Tip #1:
My biggest tip for creating consistent content it this: Set a 30 minute-1 hour chunk of time EVERY DAY to write content. This is completely uninterrupted time. Hold yourself accountable and do not let distractions get in the way. As I mentioned before those distractions can wait! Give yourself the time and space to actually get that amazing content written down! This uninterrupted content creation time serves two very important purposes. The first is that it allows you the opportunity to continue the cycle of creating amazing content. The more content you create = more visitors to your blog = more sales = more money = a successful money making blog! The second important purpose it serves is that you become a better content creator! Creating content is a skill! Skills require practice! Blogging is a skill that does not just develop overnight. It requires stamina, dedication, and passion! Give your skill the time it needs to develop. Don’t let distractions hold you back from creating content EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
FREE EBOOK
20 pages of free content including:
- Frequently asked blogging questions
- hosting
- WordPress
- theme recommendations
- 75 niche ideas
- 25 blog post types
- creating and registering a domain name
- writing tips
- and more!
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Mistake #2: Not providing internal links
Providing internal links on your blog is really important for two reasons. The first is it increasing page views. The second is that internal linking increases your SEO! For those of you unfamiliar with SEO, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is basically how new readers will find your blog. When someone uses a search engine to find an answer to a question, the search engine, like Google, has a complicated algorithm for deciding which content to show a reader first. The better your SEO is the higher on a search result page your content will show up. The higher on the page your content shows up the bigger chance that the reader will click on AND engage with your content. This increases visits to your site which is basically one of the main goals of every blogger.Blogging Tip #2:
Include 3-5 relevant links to other pages on your website. I like to research all relevant posts during my research phase of a post. This helps me to weave my content more effortlessly than trying to link related content after the fact. I also like to batch write 3-5 related posts within a week. For example, on my mommy blog side of things I did a series on the stages of labor. I researched and wrote a post on Labor Essentials, Early Labor, Active Labor, Transition, and a Postpartum Recovery Guide. This allowed me to research and write all parts of this series and provided me plenty of opportunity for internal links. I find that I am a much more efficient writer when I batch write a series together like this. I seem to get more bang for my buck and can bust out more content with a little less effort.Mistake #3: Not utilizing external links
External links are links within a post that connect your reader to content that is from another website. Much like how internal linking improves your SEO external linking does this even better! External linking provides legitimacy to your site and shows search engines that your content is valuable. I’ll be honest, In my early blogging days I was always so hesitant to adding in external links. I felt like I was telling my readers that I didn’t always know what I was talking about and that they should look elsewhere for the information. But then I came to the conclusion that my main goal as a blogger is to help people. If I want to help my readers solve a problem then I need to provide the best information! If I am not the best resource I should direct them to the best source. Your readers will trust you more and will come back for more! For more information on external links and SEO check out this post on Moz.com a blog completely dedicated to SEO!Blogging Tip #3:
Always link to credible and valuable sources! Also ensure that “open in a new tab” is enabled, by clicking the gear icon when inserting a link, so that external links open up a new tab. You don’t want to direct your readers away from your own awesome content without allowing them the ability to pick up where they left off on your page.Mistake #4: Not replying to comments
Most of the most successful bloggers I know talk about the importance of engaging with their audience. You want your readers to feel that they have access to you and that you are developing a relationship with them! Engagement with readers drives sales! In the early days, you should be sure to reply to all the comments you receive. This includes comments on other platforms such as Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram.Blogging Tip #4:
Set time to reply to comments EVERY DAY! This shouldn’t take long in your early days as your audience will be small, but it will have big payoff!Mistake #5: Not marketing your content on other social media platforms such as Pinterest or Instagram.
In case you haven’t gotten the memo. Pinterest and Instagram are great places to market your content! If you simply publish your content on your blog and never market it anywhere the chances of your readers finding you on the great abyss of the internet is pretty minimal. You need to take steps to get your content out for your future readers to see!Blogging Tip #5:
Start with one social media platform and learn it well. I highly suggest you start with Pinterest. Pinterest tends to be a blog marketing dream! Did you know that the average Pinterest pin has a life of 7 months! To put that in perspective the average tweet life is 7 MINUTES and the average Facebook post life is 30 MINUTES. We are comparing MONTHS to MINUTES ladies and gentleman! Take my advice, start with Pinterest and then, after a few months add in another piece of the social media puzzle.
FREE EBOOK
20 pages of free content including:
- Frequently asked blogging questions
- hosting
- WordPress
- theme recommendations
- 75 niche ideas
- 25 blog post types
- creating and registering a domain name
- writing tips
- and more!
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