5 Blogging Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Blogging Mistakes That Caused My First Blog to Fail

My Homemaking Life is not my first rodeo.
With my first blog, I made just about every blogging mistake out there.

Many will tell you, myself included, that there is no one “right” way to start a blog.
But there are definitely a few wrong ones, and I found them.
I found them like a metal detector finds a quarter at a retirement home in Florida.

Learn from my blogging mistakes and avoid them when starting your own blog.

Check out this FREE 12 Day Blogging Bootcamp that I used to get my blog going! 

 

Disclaimer: These are things that personally caused my first blog to not work out. If these things worked for you or someone you know, that is great! But after talking with a few fellow bloggers we all agreed that in our experiences, these 5 things are detrimental when blogging. This post contains affiliate links, I will only promote companies I trust. To see my full disclosure click here.

 

1. Writing What I Wanted to Write About

This blogging mistake is tricky.
Partly because it depends on what your end goal for your blog is.
And partly because it is a hard pill to swallow.

 

 

This may come as a shock, however…
Creating a successful blog does not start with writing everything you want to write about.
It starts with writing what your audience wants to read about.
This is especially true if you are planning on monetizing your blog.

That being said:
If your only goal for your blog is to have a creative outlet and you don’t care who sees it, this doesn’t apply to you.

Though if you are reading this post, you probably have a larger dream for your blog.
So, listen up. ?

 

Writing What Your Audience Wants To Read

What does that mean to “write what your audience wants to read”?
First off, it does not mean you should pick a niche you aren’t knowledgeable or passionate about.
It just means you have to write with an audience in mind.

You are most likely here because you want to learn more about homemaking or blogging.

If I wrote a post about caring for pet monkeys on My Homemaking Life, even if I was super interested in it, it would probably not do very well with my readers.

No matter how passionate I am about a topic, it won’t make a lick of difference if my audience has zero interest.

Writing good content also means writing well.
Good grammar and spelling, as well as making sense overall, are crucial to attracting an audience.

A great way to do this is with Grammarly.

It takes all of a few clicks to set up and even has a free plan to test it out.
No one is going to read content from someone who looks like they can’t write well.

The premium plan is perfect for bloggers as it checks for wordiness, overused language, and even plagiarism.
Things that can be detrimental to a blog if you aren’t careful.

Their basic plan is completely free!
And at only $11.66 per month, their premium membership is really a no-brainer.

 

2. Putting Design Over Content

I still struggle with this one, so if you tell me my site is ugly I will probably cry.
When I was a brand new blogger this was a massive problem I had.
I spent hours upon hours getting my homepage to look just right.

Guess what?
For the majority of blogs- hardly anyone will even go to the homepage!
The person who sees your site’s homepage the most: you.

What people do see, however, is your content.
You might have a slammin’ theme, but if you don’t have any quality content, it doesn’t really matter.

There are 5000 things on a to-do list for blogging, and that list never really goes away.
There will always be more you can do, whether it be changing your footer yet again or adding just a few more pictures to a post.

 

Make Content a Priority.

Keeping quality content at the forefront of your priorities is crucial.

With my last blog, content was a priority, but it was always the last thing I worked on.
This leads me to always feeling like I was in a state of frantic catch-up.

My Pinterest was optimized, and my logo looked fantastic, but I didn’t have enough new things for my readers.

This is a blogging mistake I am constantly working on.
And this is not just limited to design.
I often get all kinds of things messed on on my priority list.

Bottom line: focus on creating useful and valuable content.
Content is the essence of a blog.
Remember that.

 

3. Not Self Hosting

This is a huge blogging mistake that so so many bloggers make.
Nearly every blogger I know started out using a free blogging platform like Blogspot or WordPress.com and almost instantly regretted it.

I too made this blogging mistake.
If you recently started a blog and you are currently using a blogging platform website, do not fear.

This is not a difficult problem to solve.
I am now self-hosted via Lyrical Host, it was not a complicated process, and their customer service is seriously legendary!

You can Learn More about Lyrical Host HERE!

You get to use it, but it isn’t really yours.
You don’t have full control of it.
Go buy yourself a house!
Get a nice little piece of internet real estate!

By investing a little bit by buying a domain and getting web hosting, you will save yourself a lot of struggle down the line.
If you are serious about changing your life with a blog, you will outgrow a free hosting site.
The longer you go with a free hosting site the trickier it becomes.

 

What Hosting To Use

This is an easy blogging mistake to either fix or avoid all together!
So, the next question is what should you use for hosting?
Like I said before, I use Lyrical Host.

There are many other options, but the majority are overcrowded and offer far from personal service. Lyrical Host goes above and beyond in every single area.
Everyone has different needs and desires for our web hosting.

But for me, Lyrical Host outperforms every other hosting company I have interacted with.
From security to site speed, and even to real, personal customer service, they have been a wonderful company to work with.

 

You can save 10% off of your first order when you use the code “HOMEMAKING10” at checkout!

 

Seriously though, their customer service is stellar, I cannot say enough about it.
Helping with things big and small, no question has been unworthy of their support.
I would recommend Lyrical Host to anyone starting a blog, and to anyone who is looking to transfer their blog.

 

4. Not Utilizing Resources

All of these blogging mistakes are extremely important to avoid, but this one might just be the biggest.

When starting a blog it can feel as if you are completely on your own.
A sad reality is that most blogs out there are discarded in a few years.
Why is it that so many bloggers, who once started a blog with enthusiasm, decide it is no longer worthy of their time?

I believe they are not utilizing resources available to them, the people available to them.
When your blog becomes successful (and I do believe if you put work in the right places, that it will become successful) you will not be the first accomplished blogger.

You are not alone on this journey.
Use the knowledge of other bloggers that came before you!

While creating my first blog I did it all on my own.
I didn’t seek the advice or wisdom from anyone.
There was so much trial and error, and yes I learned a lot.

But, it took me years to learn things I could have learned from a fellow blogger much faster.
A fellow blogger who had already tried, messed up, and learned from it themselves!

 

 

Learning From Other Bloggers

The next question is: “Well, who do I trust?”
There are a lot of opinionated “Expert” bloggers out there.
So, who has your best interest?

When looking for resources like academies and courses look for people with actual results.
Even better is if they can provide you with proof of not only their results, but results of people who followed them.

Several fantastic resources can be found HERE at Dare to Conquer.
Dare to Conquer is more than a course or academy.
It is the complete of complete guides on how to start a successful, profitable blog.

Created by a man of the name Paul Scrivens, Scrivs for short, who has created not one, not three, but SIX successful blogs!

Scrivs is different from your average blogging guru.
He not only has several successful blogging businesses, but he tells others exactly what to do to achieve the same success.

He tells it how it is and doesn’t waste time.

You can find all of his resources, which include courses, boot camps, even direct step-by-step instructions on how to start an accomplished blog, and so much more at Dare To Conquer.

Here you can find his Free 12 Day Blogging Bootcamp, which is a fantastic place to start!

 

Get Yourself Into a Great Community

I am a part of a blogging community designed by Scrivs.
This was formerly known as the Billionaire Blog Club.

Joining got me access to ALL of the resources on Dare to Conquer, every single course, boot camp, and guide!
All of it!

Becoming a member also entered me into an invaluable community of fellow bloggers.
The amount of knowledge the experienced bloggers in this community share is immeasurable in worth.

An investment that is beyond worthwhile and that when implemented can EASILY make back your investment and so much more. Join HERE.

Avoid this blogging mistake!
Find other bloggers, and use their wisdom!

You do not and should not do this on your own.

Having a community of bloggers like the Dare to Conquer community (I talk to several people on it every single day) can make the difference between years of trials and expedited success.

 

5. Not Having Goals or Not Believing in Your Goals

Alrighty, I am going to get a little bit mushy on you for this one.
However, this is a completely valid, and all too common blogging mistake!

My goals when starting My Homemaking Life were/are as follows:

1. To uplift, encourage, and aid my fellow homemakers.
   I want to help others get the most from their lives, and I believe a large piece to that puzzle is homemaking. Everyone has a home life.
2. To have the absolute privilege of staying home with my son. A very big priority of mine is to be able to be a stay-at-home mother while I have young children. My blog has turned me into a work-at-home mother and I am so very grateful.

When starting a blog, you need to have clear, concrete goals.
A finish line in this blogging marathon. (The greatest thing about blogging is that when you cross that finish line you happily keep going!)
Having a clear goal allows you to build the steps to get there, and the motivation to do so.

Without a goal (or a few goals) you are jumping into the blog game blind.
Lack of knowledge is not the downfall of most failed bloggers, its lack of direction.
Set your goals, find your direction.

The second half of this blogging mistake is not believing in those goals.

We have all seen a sports drama film.
Do you think the Titans could have won the State Championship without a coach who believed they could?
Unlike a football team, when you start a blog you are the coach, the offense, the defense, and the waterboy.

You have to have confidence in yourself, and your goals to push them into reality.

Believing in your goals, big or small, will not magically make the steps to get to them easier.
But, it will keep you motivated to stay in the game, and calling it quits really is the only enemy for bloggers.

(I promise that is the last sports analogy… for this post at least)

Avoiding Blogging Mistakes

Even if you follow this list to a T, you will make some mistakes.

We all have and we all will.
Do what you can to avoid or fix them, then give yourself some grace.

The only truly fatal blogging mistake you can make is by giving up.

 

So, to recap because that was a lot. (My fingers are cramping up a bit.)

1. Write with your audience in mind, what problems can you offer solutions to?
2. Focus on getting great content out to that audience.
3. Truly own your website by getting web hosting through someone like BlueHost.
4. Utilize the knowledge of other bloggers! The best place I believe to do that is over at Dare To Conquer.
5. Set goals, make a plan to achieve them, and believe you can.

 

Let me say it again for the people in the back- BELIEVE YOU CAN.