When it comes to top-of-the-line blogging, most new bloggers fail to meet the bar. That’s not necessarily because their writing is bad or because they aren’t producing quality content. The issue lays more in their technique rather than in the actual writing.
Every blogger has to start somewhere. To be frank, no amount of reading blog tips and tricks from experienced bloggers will actually help you ramp up your blogging game to pro status quickly. Inexperience is a force to be reckoned with.
So why am I telling you this? You’re probably thinking, Amelia, you literally just told me that blog posts about blogging from experienced bloggers isn’t going to help me so why should I read your post?
Good question!
Pro bloggers can give you the tools to better your blogging strategy but your experience with implementing these tools will be what helps you make or break your site.
In this post, I’m going to give you a list of the mistakes that I made as a newbie blogger. You’re likely making the same mistakes as I was!
The goal isn’t to get you into pro-blogging mode ASAP. I can’t give you experience. The goal is simply to arm you with the right tools so that you can gain experience on your own and hopefully avoid some of the biggest rookie mistakes out there.
Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
Using the Wrong Platform
I know. I know. I know. You’ve probably heard this being preached to you dozens of times. But the right platform makes a HUGE difference for your blog. I already talked about this in my How to Start a Blog in 2020 post but I think it’s important to reiterate here.
I started my blog on Google’s blogging platform, Blogger. While it was a great beginner’s platform, it was not very suitable for my blogging goals. The platform was very limited and restricted a lot of things I wanted for my blog.
Eventually, I spent a day transferring the entire blog over to WordPress. WordPress offered more opportunity for blog expansion. It came with thousands of plugins to help me achieve my blogging dreams, amazing and easy to use themes, less html work, and better post applications. If you want to know more, read my Why I Moved my Blog to WordPress post.
Benefits of WordPress:
- Thousands of plugins to help ramp up your blog
- Simple post layout tools with loads of add-ons
- Beautiful and responsive themes
- Great ecommerce features
- Accurate Analytics tracker
Not Self-Hosting Sooner
Like the above section, you’ve likely read from tons of bloggers about how self-hosting is crucial. In all honesty, I don’t think self-hosting is crucial. It is important, but it is not a “make or break” for any blogger.
I use BlueHost for my blog hosting. I paid roughly $60 for a whole year with the platform. To this day, I’m still not entirely sure why self-hosting is so important. Many people say that its because you get to own your content 100%. With a free platform, you risk losing your content if the platform goes out of business or you’re at more risk of copyright fraud.
Again, I’m not sure if those rumors are true. What I DO know is that self-hosting gives me direct access to my blogs code and files which helps to me personalize and customize it more often and in an easier way.
I’m not going to lie, the entirety of your sites code is pretty daunting. But I really enjoy having access to it.
Additionally, BlueHost’s platform is super simple to navigate and use. All of your files are in an organized menu which really helps newbies to access their site code.
Not Using Affiliates and Google AdSense
When it comes to monetizing your blog, many bloggers don’t reach out to the right resources. When I started blogging, I had no clue that people could actually make a steady income blogging. I knew as soon as I discovered it was possible, I had to implement these tactics on my site.
I started with Amazon Associates. They’re one of the simplest platforms for new bloggers. Not only do they have links to everything under the sun, but they also accept new bloggers with little to no traffic.
There is a downside though.
Amazon affiliates will kick you from their program if you don’t make enough sales within 180 days. The first time I joined their program, I made nothing. So of course, I got kicked from the program entirely and had to wait another 90 days before I could reapply.
Another great affiliate network for new bloggers is shareasale. The thing about shareasale is that it’s a platform with a collection of affiliate networks. This means that you have to apply to each network individually and the company/brand reviews your site to determine whether or not you’d be a good partner.
Shareasale is great because their are so many brands to work with in every industry. As a blog focused on writing, blogging, and productivity, I am able to partner with brands that involve office supplies, stationary, web content, etc.
Something else you can try as a new blogger is Google Adsense. I’ll admit that it doesn’t pay super well and you have to have at least $100 earned before payout, but it is a simple platform that can prepare you for other ad networks like MediaVine and AdThrive.
Not Using Tailwind
I avoided Tailwind like the plague. Seriously…
I had heard countless bloggers praising Tailwind and asking me to purchase it’s “amazing” membership to help grow my blog. I thought it was a load of crap. Eventually, I caved and tried their free trial period…and I was disappointed.
Here’s the thing: months later I came BACK to Tailwind and tried it again on the free trial and I was blown away by the results.
When I tried Tailwind for the second time, there were a few key reasons why I accumulated more traffic and better results.
- I had over 50 blog posts the second time which helped to diversify my queue and allow me to promote more pins without being too spammy.
- I knew of Pinterest’s best SEO techniques and was able to create appealing pin images, keyword-rich descriptions, and searchable tags.
- I had finally figured out how to best use group boards and tailwind tribes.
The reason Tailwind failed for me the first time was because I only had about 15-30 blog posts to pin about. Even with 3 unique pin images, that only brought me to about 90 pins in total (which may seem like a lot, but believe me, they go fast!).
I was also using crappy images and very little to no descriptions. It’s no wonder I did so poorly!
But here’s the thing, Tailwind increased my traffic and reach by over 200%! That’s insane!
Not only that, but Tailwind tribes helped me to connect to others in my niche which has been beyond amazing.
Using Pinterest Incorrectly or Not at All
Going right along with Tailwind and what I said above, the thing that hurt my site the most was not using Pinterest correctly. I have used Pinterest for years as a search engine and leisure media site.
I had no intention of growing a following or building outreach because my only goal was to use it for inspiration.
After starting my blog, I began to pin my images to Pinterest. They were blurry, the wrong size, and poor quality overall. My boards weren’t niches down enough. I had 0 board descriptions. I didn’t use tags or hashtags. And I typically didn’t right a pin description if I didn’t have to.
Today I recognize that those were ignorant choices. But its okay! We grow! We evolve!
Today, Pinterest drives almost 70% of my blog traffic. Without it, my blog would basically be underground.
Not Being Consistent
When I first started blogging, I did not have a blogging schedule. I would write content and then post it whenever it was finished. Sometimes that was on a Sunday. Sometimes it was on a Wednesday at 9pm. Sometimes it was twice in one day!
After I went off to college, my posting fell off the face of the earth. I wasn’t writing content and therefore only posted snippets of work every two to three weeks.
In January of 2020, I realized a change needed to be made.
I started posting every Friday at 9am and the results have been priceless!
Why is posting consistently so important?
- It helps you create a blogging routine
- The google algorithm loves consistency and is more likely to consider your site trust-worthy.
- People like reliability and are eager to return for more.
I really enjoy posting my blog posts on Fridays because the weekend provides a lot of traffic for me. Additionally, Friday’s are when I typically publish any marketing and content grabs so that’s a plus!
A great tip is to write, edit, revise, and format your blog posts ahead of schedule and then set them to publish automatically on your chosen date and time!
Using too Large Image Files
I had no idea that web platforms (like WordPress) could run out of storage space. Better yet, I had no idea how much large file sizes affected the quality of your site.
When it comes to SEO, images are crucial for audience retention and breaking up long posts. Furthermore, images need to be clear and make sense for your post.
When I first started blogging, I didn’t think too much about image file size or quality. I just wanted my images on a page!
A few months ago, my site crashed due to image sizes that were far too large. I made the mistake of using PNG images because they had better quality. BUT they were also fairly large.
Now, I know to use jpg or jpeg almost exclusively aside from a few home page photos. I use Smush (a wordpress plugin) to help compress and optimize my file sizes as it would take me months to go back and do it by hand.
The problem with large files (even if your site doesn’t crash) is that they take up a lot of space and therefore create slower loading times. Page speed is one of the top indicators of a quality site and thus, google deems it important when it comes to SEO and ranking in search.
So, make sure you lean towards smaller file sizes if and when you can!
Not Investing in SEO Techniques
As with everything I said above, SEO is probably the MOST important aspect of good blogging. Honestly, until I took some marketing courses in school, SEO was just another word to me. Now, it’s my main motivator.
I can’t go super in depth in this post on SEO for the sake of brevity. But I can offer you some quick tips for different sites!
Blogging
- Have longer titles that include an odd number
- Have a keyword rich title and H2’s. Mention you keywords often throughout your post
- Shorten your permalink to the necessary keywords
- Use Alt text on images to help search engines know what they are
- Include links to other posts to help readers navigate your site
- Include email opt-in forms in the middle and end of every blog post
- Include a lead magnet for your opt-in
- Use tags for your blog post if you can
- Include sharing links by your post cover image and at the bottom of your post
- include links to your social media accounts
- Share your blog post on your social platforms
Tailwind/ Pinterest
- Include keyword rich titles on your pins
- Include long and short-form keywords in your pin description
- Go into depth in your pin description
- Use hashtags, as many as Pinterest will allow
- Pin your pins to relevant boards
- Pin to multiple group boards in your niche
- Pin to tailwind tribes (follow tribe guidelines)
- Create 3 different images for every blog post
- Re-pin routinely without being spammy (Tailwind helps you accomplish that!)
YouTube
- Create a YouTube video about your blog post to help further your reach and get traffic
- Include your video link in your blog post
- Create a separate blog post for the video link and share that as well
- Link back to the original blog post often!
So that’s all I’ve got for this post! I hope my suggestions help you to create a successful blogging platform! Remember to take my story and advice with a grain of salt as everyone’s path is different!
If you like this post, check out some similar posts of mine below:
Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know your blogging tips!
You can also email me with questions or concerns you may have at info.amelia.wilson@gmail.com
Also, check out my poetry book, The Lights are on but Nobody’s Home, available now on amazon for $6.99!
Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
Thanks again