Today it seems that just about everyone is a blogger. If you’re ready to enter the wide world of blogging, it’s important to think through your approach carefully. You might have fun, but you won’t find real success unless you work hard and steer clear of these major don’ts.
Posting Unfocused Content
Image via Flickr by Paper Cat
Your blog needs to have a purpose. It’s fine for you to enjoy diverse interests, but posting about your love of pig figurines, contemporary ballet, and homemade sushi all on the same blog will spell disaster. You don’t get more readers by appealing to different audiences. You just get more confused readers. Pick a specific niche and stick with it so you can target loyal fans of that one topic.
If you don’t target a specific niche you’re pretty much talking to the whole world when there are countless others talking to the same world. What this means is that you are losing out on the chance to appeal or reach to a small group of people who are looking for the information you provide. By targeting a specific niche you are ensuring that your information reaches a specific group of people faster, and this results in the probability of more traffic to your blog site.
Getting Offended Too Easily
Image via Flickr by Creative Donkey
When you enter a public forum, you naturally open yourself up to criticism and critique. The edgier and more opinionated you are, the more likely it is that you’ll spark some controversy. Don’t let negative comments bring you down. If there’s something productive that you can from them, do what you can with the advice. If the comments serve no real purpose other than to tear you down, throw them away and forget about it. So it’s good to carry with you a reasonable amount of thick skin if you don’t want to run away from the blogging scene at the same speed by which you came in.
Giving Up Too Soon
Image via Flickr by photosteve101
Bloggers don’t become rich or famous overnight. It takes a lot of time and dedication to become really successful with your blog. Don’t expect to wake up the morning after your fist post with thousands of dollars in your Google Ads account. Keep plugging away at it and the rest will come in time. If you’re serious about blogging, your notebook will become a trusty friend that stays at your side every day, ever-ready for the next strike of inspiration and another well-worded post. As with all good things in life, the monetary gains from blogging could take some time to come, but when they do, they might open out a host of financial possibilities for you.
Using Poor Spelling and Grammar
Image via Flickr by Cubosh
Always spell check, grammar check, and reread your posts – twice. Nothing will turn readers off more than a poorly written blog. Many readers will click away at the first haphazardly constructed sentence or spelling error. If you’re sharing a fact-filled post, accuracy is even more important. No one will trust home remedies from a blogger who doesn’t know the facts and does not know how to convey those facts to the readers without error. Oftentimes, the quality of a site is gauged by the reader on a quick scan, and if factual, grammatical and spelling errors catch their eye, rest assured they are not coming back to your site.
[Don’t Miss: Things To Do After Writing Your Post]
[Further Readings: Read My friend Sue’s Grammar Lesson]
Updating Your Posts Erratically
Image via Flickr by photosteve101
Successful bloggers update often. You can’t post for five or six days in a row and let the blog stagnate for months while expecting your traffic to increase. Repeat customers are important if you want to have a successful blog. If someone comes back two or three times to the same top post, they’re going to stop coming back, period.
Stealing Content from Others
Image via Flickr by sfslim
Photos, videos, and articles on the internet are not free for all. If you want to quote another source, do so in a clear and respectful way. Link back to the original source. Provider proper attribution for photos and videos. Never copy and paste work from another writer, or lazily reword here and there to make someone else’s work your own.
Being a great blogger takes time and dedication. The rewards will come, but you must stay smart about how you manage your blog and yourself to get them.
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This article is written by Shaun Chatman, who is a well published author on many authority sites. He lives in Dunedin, FL, and spends his free time playing with his kids or his notebook.
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Hi Atish and Shaun,
What a great post – I can’t argue with any of this, it’s excellent advice and very well written – and I just love the pictures, especially the little boy!
I like that point about not taking offence – it’s really important to be willing to accept that someone else may have a different point of view – also to recognise you don’t get it right all the time. I included a reference in my last post that Mayura politely pointed out was quite out of date – and I was fine with that, he had a good point!
I also think you need to be prepared to take risks and go out on a limb sometimes, even if there’s a chance other people won’t agree with you – it’s the genuine debates that make blogging interesting.
Thanks very much for the mention, by the way – appreciated!
Sue
Sue Neal recently posted…Are Disqus or Livefyre the Answer to our Blog Commenting Woes?
Thank you very much sue for your nice comments. You are right need to accept that different people can have different point of view. When you right a post then you have to be ready to accept positive as well as negative feedback as there can me so many people whose point of view differs from you.
Thanks Sue!
Atish Ranjan recently posted…Highest Earning Websites Of 2012
@Sue, thank you so much. Yeah, I found that pic cute and apt too. Yes, I agree with you that writing run of the mill stuff that everybody agrees with is not as worthy as writing something that provokes and promotes ideas and a fresh way of thinking.
Certainly most bloggers fail mainly because above reasons. I would add that many of the unsuccessful bloggers read a lot of misleading guides and setting up unachievable goals which leads to loosing motivation.
Yea Carl. This is also a big issue. Most of the newbie reads so many misleading guides and trust them because of less knowledge. Thanks for your views.
Thank you, Carl. You are right. Having a solid but realistic plan will help you reach your goal faster than having an unrealistic one and giving up midway.
The Biggest Sin Would be Copying the Content and Crying why the Hell Google Banned them. Also Most of the Bloggers try Blogging Just for the Money which is Biggest Distraction
Ravi recently posted…How to Create WordPress Parallax Scrolling effects?
Thanks Ravi. I agree with you. Earning money from blogging is not wrong but Yes there should be passion for blogging. If you do only for money then success is not for you. 🙂
keep coming!
Atish Ranjan recently posted…Samsung Note 8.0 Released! – A Proactive Move?
I couldn’t agree with you more, Ravi. Thank you for that!
Hi Atish
Stated everything one should keep in mind while blogging. People jump in this profession just for money and fame, but his is more than this. It is more about the passion and the zeal to connect with your audience.
I appreciate this effort.
Hope it will help fellow blogger like you and me to make big in the virtual world.
to be a good blogger you need to have the passion for it. Money comes naturally in blogging when you do the good work. Thanks Rashmi for your comment.
Atish Ranjan recently posted…Highest Earning Websites Of 2012
Yeah….your passion should be your muse not money…money will come naturally.
Rashmi Sinha @ Technology Blog recently posted…Nokia Armed With Two New Lumia Phones : Lumia 720 and Lumia 520
You are right on the money, Rashmi. ‘Passion’, that’s what should be the driving force. Thank you.
Nice post Shaun. “Never give up” – that’s what every blogger must do, as there’s always a bright morning after a long dark night :).
PrIyAnGsHu @ Finance Blog recently posted…Top 10 Business Entrepreneurs from India
Thank you, Priyanshu! Yes a never-say-die spirit never hurt a good blogger. That said, if the passion is strong, it will help one overcome all the obstacles.
This article shows a good way to give credit to the image sources. Really amazing presentation of the credits.
I would like to point the last heading ….
Most of new bloggers do so,, they don’t know so much about blogging and other niche,,, copy the articles from another good site and make them their own.. this all is rubbish…
They should avoid it. Blogging is not so easy for everyone. It requires a full dedication and hard work.. It takes time to have online reputation in blogging.
By the way.. really pleased while reading this article.
Thanks Atish 🙂
Ravi Verma recently posted…Happy Holi Facebook Timeline Covers
Thank you, Ravi. Yes, there are some newbies — like Atish mentioned — who end up taking the faster and easier route to success, and eventually their blogging adventure ends in huge disaster. Well, some people never learn.
Hi Shaun and Atish,
What a great Post! I couldn’t agree more with all the points made.
Indeed, you have to have a passion for blogging and connecting with others and that should be the driving force and then all the other pieces will fall into place in due time.
I liked what you pointed out about not getting offended by other people’s opinion and that what makes a blog post interesting and debatable as not all people will agree on one point. There are different opinions towards one topic and that’s what makes it really interesting.
Thanks Atish for the valuable content and for having Shaun share this great post with all of us. Highly appreciated.
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Neamat Tawadrous recently posted…10 Tips On How To Engage Facebook Fans!
Thanks Neamat for reading and commenting here. Yes as a blogger its our responsibility to answer every positive and negative feedback. We don’t have to get offended by negative comments or opinion.
Atish Ranjan recently posted…What Is A Toll Free Number-The Cost Effective Business Tool
Hi Neamat,
Well, blogging is more about give and take than just being a keyboard and mouse warrior. In that context it is important to be receptive to the opinions and views of others. Thanks for taking the time to read the article. Glad you enjoyed it.
hell Atish.
This article shows a good way to give credit to the image sources .so i would like the your thought and last lines are very effective for me. so at last thank for this article.
Amazing and informative post for all bloggers .Blogging is not easy work for everyone. It requires a full dedication and hard work.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you, Priya!
I’ve definitely been guilty of posting a bit erratically recently, I keep meaning to post more often but it can be difficult when I’m busy with work and other things.
Hey Atish . This is a really neatly written article. I agree with you, It is very important to check Spelling and Grammar before posting a article.
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Thank you, Aktar!
very nice article Atish,
giving up is the major sin that is generally committed by the new blogger., Its very hard to get success in blogging instantly.
you are dong great job Atish by motivating newbies 🙂
thanks for the article
Rohit kabdwal recently posted…Java: What is Java (basics covered)
Very nice article. Blogging is not an easy thing,
It is based on hard work. Waiting for more information.
Thank u for sharing, keep sharing
Thank you for reading, Gajendran. Much appreciated.
Really a morale boosting article.
I have a tech niche site,and i am thinking of sticking to phones for a specific to time gain some traffic.Lets hope for the best.
Amaan recently posted…20 Stunning themes for Windows 7 and Windows 8
One should never ever copy content of others. This is the most deadly sin that a blogger should never commit. What do you think?
I must say Shaun, all the points you mentioned here are true and every blogger out there should never do these kind of things. Personally i hate those bloggers who copy content of other blogger. These are ruining blogger community. Would like to know your views on this?
Thanks for this post Shaun and Atish. Very nice. Good to learn about the qualities of a blogger.