16 Blogging Mistakes You’re Probably Making (And How to Fix Them!)

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Starting a blog is super exciting!

You just started a new adventure and are ready to help people around the world through your blog posts. It’s an exciting moment.

But it can also be a bit of a “what am I doing?” moment.

I remember when I started my first blog (not this one). I always enjoy trying different things so when I started my blog, I was super pumped to share my perspective with the world through my blog posts.

I spent days designing the perfect website, wrote down 5 blog posts, hit publish, and then nothing happened. It was total silence for months.

Turns out, I didn’t choose a specific niche for my blog – oops! (spoiler alert for mistake #3). I was writing just whatever I wanted to write about.

So, I learned from my past mistakes and I still look for ways to improve myself. We all make these kinds of mistakes, especially when we’re just getting started.

And that’s why I created this post. To make sure you don’t make these common blogging mistakes so you can save yourself time, and a whole lot of unnecessary headaches.

Let’s jump straight to the topic!

Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products, tools and services which I trust. For more information, read the full disclosure here.

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16 COMMON BLOGGING MISTAKES TO AVOID

Let’s discuss each blogging mistake in detail one by one and how to fix them.

#1 NOT WRITING WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE WANTS

One of the biggest and most common blogging mistakes is not writing for your audience. Do not make this mistake!

Write what your audience is looking for. That’s the number one rule of blogging.

Your audience is your main focus. Provide them with valuable content and in return, you’ll earn profit.

You can’t just write on a random topic and expect people to find it. What if there’s no audience for that topic? What if that’s not what your audience wants?

Will you get any page views like that? Obviously not!

You have to research what your target audience is looking for, the search volume, the competition of the topic, etc. Researching is a big part of blogging.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Find out what your competitors are writing about. Take inspiration from them, learn from them.

You can also brainstorm some topics that you think people would search for. That’s right! Think like your audience then create a list of topics to write about.

Once you have a list, you can do keyword research about those topics to find out how many people are searching for them.

I use Google Keyword Planner to conduct keyword research for my blog post. Just pop in the keyword in this tool and it will give you all the data related to the keyword. Easy peasy!

Take a look at this ↓

The keyword ‘female puppy names’ has average monthly searches of 10k-100k which means many people are searching for it and the completion is low.

Since you are a beginner, I suggest you go with low-search-volume keywords (approx 10-1000 monthly searches) because it’s easier to rank that way.

This is a great keyword and a topic to write about!

Some helpful tutorials:

➤ How to write your first blog post

➤ How to do SEO of your blog posts easily

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#2 NOT BUILDING AN EMAIL LIST FROM DAY 1

An email list is a must for your blog because you can build a loyal online community through it. YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO NOT HAVE AN EMAIL LIST!

Ignoring the importance of email list building is one of the blogging mistakes that can limit your blog’s growth.

You should start building an email list from day one of your blogging journey. But you may be wondering ‘What’s the need for it’?, or ‘What to do with it?’

Let me answer that for you.

You should build an email list:

• because you can communicate with your audience easily
• to introduce your new products, content, and services to your subscribers
• because your Email subscribers are considered your ‘real’ followers because they are genuinely interested in your services or content
• because you can control your email list easily, unlike social media
• because it’s one of the most cheapest and powerful marketing techniques

Honestly, I can go on and on about this because that’s how important it is to build an email list.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Choose an email marketing tool to start building your email list. I use MailerLite because it’s free and offers all the features a blogger will ever need to build an email list.

These days, people won’t sign up for your email list by just putting a ‘subscribe to my newsletter’ section on your website. That would rarely work.

You have to offer value to your readers in exchange for their email which is called lead magnets or opt-in freebies.

Offer extra free content through the lead magnets and ask for their email addresses in return. You can offer checklists, cheat sheets, workbooks, blueprints, free courses, etc.

I have a full tutorial on how to use MailerLite to build an email list easily. Check it out!

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#3 NOT CHOOSING A NICHE

As I’ve mentioned earlier, when I was new to blogging I didn’t choose a niche for my blog, and that resulted in me not getting any results for months.

That blog was a complete failure!!!

I don’t want that to happen to you. If you haven’t started a blog yet or just started a blog, you must choose a niche for it and then create a strategy.

A blog without a niche means hopping inside a vehicle and continuing driving without a purpose or destination. Did you get what I’m trying to say here?

A blog without a niche = A blog without a purpose or goal. Avoid these common blogging mistakes to grow your blog faster!

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Don’t worry, even if you just started your blog and haven’t chosen a niche for it, you can still rework it. It’s not too late.

How to pick a niche for your blog:

• Choose a topic on which you love to talk and write about
• Choose a topic in which you have expertise to teach others
• Choose a topic that has demand and people are searching for it
• Choose a topic in which you can make money from different streams
• Choose a topic in which you can create a lot of content

Recommendation: Don’t choose a niche just because you can earn more in it. If you have no expertise in that then it will be even more difficult and you may end up getting burnt out.

But don’t choose a very broad niche.

One of the critical blogging mistakes is trying to cover too many topics at once, which can confuse your readers and dilute your niche.

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#4 NOT PROMOTING

Let’s get this straight. Blogging is 30% writing and 70% promoting.

You can’t expect people to magically find your content online. According to stats, approximately 7.5 million blog posts are published per day! YES!! PER DAY!!

There is no shortage of blog posts on the internet. So, your job is to attract people to your blog which you’ve worked hard on.

And what if I say that you can do that even if your blog is brand new?

I must say that it’s not easy but it’s also not impossible to bring visitors to your brand-new blog. Let’s see how!

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Create a Pinterest account! But why?

That’s because Pinterest has a lot of potential for bringing traffic to your blog. It’s a search engine, not a social media platform.

What makes it different is that it encourages Pinterest visitors to leave the platform and visit other sites, for example, your blog.

This is something other social media platforms lack. It’s also easier to rank on Pinterest, unlike Google.

Pinterest doesn’t care if your blog is brand new or years old. Just keep posting pins consistently and optimize them for SEO. That’s all you gotta do!

So, if you’re a blogger and have not created a Pinterest account then you are missing out big time. Your main focus should be Pinterest for promotion and you can choose other social media platforms along with it such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter (x), etc.

It depends on your target audience. Just focus on two platforms that work the best for your niche (including Pinterest).

Helpful Guides:

➤ How to optimize your Pinterest profile and bring traffic to your blog

➤ How to find Keywords for your Pinterest Pins

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#5 NOT FOCUSING ON SEO

I’ve said this a million times in my blog posts: SEO is the backbone of your site’s growth. Your site cannot live without it.

One of the most common blogging mistakes is neglecting SEO, which can drastically affect your blog’s visibility.

Let’s discuss the recent scenario of SEO and bloggers.

Google algorithm updates are the nightmares of every blogger. The recent updates affected the organic traffic of many bloggers and their traffic was reduced by almost 50%. Yeah. This sucks!

I told you this because SEO is getting difficult day by day and you have to diversify your traffic sources.

But that doesn’t mean you should completely abandon SEO. No, don’t do that!

Even though a lot of sites get affected by Google algorithm updates, the major traffic source of your website would still be from Google.

So just follow what I say next.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Work hard on the SEO of your site because as I’ve said, Google is where you’ll get the majority of your site traffic from.

Diversify your income streams: Don’t completely rely on Google traffic. Take advantage of social media and bring as much traffic as you possibly can to your site.

Turn those social media traffic to your email subscribers and make them your loyal readers. Make sure that 70 out of 100% of your audience becomes your customers/loyal readers.

So, in short:

➤ Work hard on SEO
➤ Promote on Pinterest + other social media platforms
➤ Turn your readers into your subscribers
➤ Diversify your income streams

Don’t put all your eggs into Google’s basket. Keep this in mind.

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#6 NO CONSISTENCY

Consistency is the key part of blogging success. Don’t get overwhelmed by it because many people misunderstand the word ‘consistency’ in blogging.

Being consistent doesn’t mean posting every alternative day. No. You will burn out. I don’t recommend doing this.

Instead, do this ↓

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Post one blog post per week. If you can post more than one then it’s even better.

Just remember to prioritize quality over quantity. Creating one quality blog post is much better than creating half-hearted 3-4 blog posts.

If you put in the hard work to create one quality post, then your audience will appreciate it. Search engines also prioritize quality over quantity.

Keep maintaining the consistency and you’ll gradually see positive results.

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#7 NOT CREATING EVERGREEN CONTENT

Let’s first understand what an evergreen content is, shall we?

Evergreen content is content that stays relevant for a very long time after its creation. It’s the complete opposite of seasonal content.

For example, ultimate guides, faqs, case studies, etc.

Evergreen content is also good for SEO purposes because they are considered high-quality content.

Now that we know the basics, let’s see what you can do next.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Your every single blog post doesn’t have to be evergreen. You should create 85% evergreen content and the rest 15% as the normal content.

Keep in mind that evergreen content is high-quality content which means it takes quite a lot of time to create it.

So, make sure that you are creating evergreen content from time to time.

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#8 LOOKING FOR OVERNIGHT SUCCESS

If you have a mindset of getting overnight success through blogging then you may want to reconsider it.

Let me tell you that it takes at least one year to see a regular amount of traffic to your blog. Depending on your promotion strategies, it may even take longer.

Blogging isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It requires patience, consistency, and hard work. After that, you’ll see the good results.

You have to think long-term for blogging, meaning it will take time to grow and earn from it.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Remove the mindset of getting overnight success if you’re serious about blogging.

Your mindset plays a major role in blogging so you must keep it positive and clear. Think of long-term success. As the saying goes, “If it comes fast, it will go fast”.

Keep working. If you want it, you’ll eventually get it.

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#9 CHOOSING ONLY ONE MONETIZATION METHOD

Don’t put your eggs in one basket!!!

In terms of blogging, diversify your income streams. Blogging is competitive day by day and if you wanna grow and earn from it, then don’t stick to only one monetization method.

Affiliate marketing is one of the best monetization methods but if you are thinking about earning through only and only affiliate marketing, then you may wanna rethink your strategy.

There are many many ways to make money from your blog. Let’s see what you can do.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

There are multiple ways to make money through blogging. Take a look at this ↓

That’s pretty great, right? That’s the beauty of blogging.

There is so much you can do, however you want to do, and you don’t need a very huge audience for it.

You can build a small online community through your blog and follow these monetization methods to earn from it.

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#10 FOCUSING ON QUANTITY OVER QUALITY

One of the most common blogging mistakes is focusing solely on quantity over quality—valuable content always wins in the long run.

Let me tell you this. Search engines and humans, both of them adore high-quality content.

Why? Because high-quality content means detailed and great content. Search engines like Google aim to provide the best content possible to the readers so it prioritizes high-quality content over mediocre content.

As for humans, who are your readers, appreciate high-quality content more than a piece of content with half information.

So, here’s what you can do to create high-quality content

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Before start writing your blog post, search the keyword of the post on Google and analyze the top 5-10 blog posts on the first page of the result page.

Create an outline and plan on how you can create a better blog post than those top 5-10 posts. You can include videos, infographics, more details, and update the outdated information.

Just focus on creating your best and take your time to do proper research. I suggest posting one high-quality blog post per week to maintain consistency.

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#11 POOR STRUCTURE

The structure of your blog post matters a lot. Both for SEO purposes and to make it easier for readers to navigate your blog post.

I’m talking about a good and proper structure. A CORRECT STRUCTURE!

One of the most frequent blogging mistakes is writing lengthy posts without breaking them up with headings, images, or bullet points.

I have seen many new bloggers writing however they want to write their blog post and completely ignore the structuring part.

Trust me, blog editing is very different from writing a journal or an essay. You have to keep a lot of things in your mind while writing and editing it.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

First, I have a full guide on how to structure your blog post for beginners like you. Check it out!

Now, here are some tips to create a good structure for your blog post:

• Use the proper heading and subheading hierarchies. H1 then H2 then H3….
• Write short, readable, and simple paragraphs
• Use images in your blog posts
• Add a table of content
• Add internal and external links

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#12 BORING TITLE

Your blog post title would be the first thing your readers will ever notice. If your title is something boring and non-clickable, they’ll never click on your post.

WE DON’T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN!!

Let’s see how you can fix this mistake.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Take some inspiration from other bloggers in your niche. See how they write their blog post title and how you can make changes to yours.

Let’s take an example. If I want to write a blog post on the topic ‘dessert ideas’ then which of the following titles would the readers click on?

1- 10 Dessert ideas you can try at home

2- 10 Delicious Desserts You Can Make at Home with Simple Ingredients

THE 2ND ONE!!

See how much difference it can make if you change a few words in your blog post title. It’s all about strategy and creativity.

Don’t worry, if you are not very good at creating clickable titles, then you can get some help from ChatGPT too. It will give you some awesome ideas!

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#13 NOT USING CTA

CTA stands for call to action which means to encourage your audience to take some kind of action after reading your blog post.

The action can be buying a product, signing up for your email list, leaving a comment reading another blog post, etc.

One of the big blogging mistakes is not having a clear call-to-action, which leaves readers unsure of what to do next.

Using a CTA will help you build a community and it’s also good for SEO of your blog post.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

You can include a CTA in your blog post intro, main body, or conclusion.

After you’re done with the main body, encourage your readers to sign up for a freebie that is related to the blog post, or to buy a product from your shop.

Many bloggers (including me) add a Pinterest pin at the very bottom of their blog posts, encouraging the readers to share it with others.

This is a great way to get more eyes on your post. You can try other methods too!

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#14 BLOGGING FOR FREE

If you want to make money from your blog then starting a blog on a free platform is a big no!

Treat your blog like a business if you’re serious about making money from it. You’ll have to invest something to gain profits.

Don’t go for platforms like Blogger, Wix, WordPress.com, etc. which offer free blogging services. This is a huge mistake.

Even if you’re using WordPress to start a blog then go for WordPress.org and not WordPress.com. Yes, there’s a difference between these two!

Here are more details about WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

Learn the difference between these two platforms and if you have already started a blog on WordPress.com for free (or paid) then my suggestion is to rethink your blogging goals and then go for WordPress.org if you’re serious about it.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

If you’re still reading this then it means that you’re serious about starting a blog. Amazing! You made a great decision.

For starting a blog, you’ll need two things: a domain and a hosting provider.

With these two things, you can create your OWN website (self-hosted site) and control it however you like.

For hosting and domain, I suggest going with Hostinger. You can start a blog at $2.9 per month with a free domain for the first year.

I use Hostinger with the free Elementor website builder. It’s perfect for beginners and easy to use!

I have a full tutorial on how to start a self-hosted blog for beginners. Check it out!

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#15 COPYING OTHERS

Do not copy from others. Remember to maintain and follow blogging ethics and blog honestly.

Taking inspiration from fellow bloggers is completely okay but blatantly copying from them is unethical, unprofessional, and not good.

Don’t make this one of the biggest blogging mistakes of copying content from others—originality is key to standing out.

Here’s what you can do to avoid this blogging mistake.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

If you have no prior experience in blog writing then I suggest taking some time and learning.

Take a look at your fellow blogger’s blog posts and analyze their posts. See how they are doing the writing process. Many bloggers also create posts on how to write your first blog post.

Sharpen your skills and keep practicing.

I know it takes some time to find your own voice and style but you’ll find it eventually. Keep working hard and you’ll definitely see a difference after some time.

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#16 NO GOALS

Your blog is a business and a business without a goal doesn’t really make sense.

Rushing through content creation without planning is one of the blogging mistakes that often leads to poor-quality posts.

Goals define your business. What you started blogging in the first place and what do you want to do?

It doesn’t matter if your goals are small or big. If you achieve them, you’ll be the happiest person on the planet.

WHAT TO DO NEXT?

Set some goals from day one.

Your blogging goals can be big or small. Just make sure they are achievable. Every blogger has a goal. I have a goal too.

You can create a content calendar to work on your goals or you can set goals using the S.M.A.R.T goals technique.

Trust me, setting blogging goals from the very beginning is very important for blogging success.

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We’ve reached the end of this post. I hope you learned something from these common blogging mistakes.

Now all there’s left to do is correct your blogging mistakes if you made any of these so far on your blogging journey.

This post came out longer than I expected but is an important one. I made some of these mistakes too and I’m still learning. That’s the beauty of blogging. There’s so much room for growth in it.

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