BEGINNER BLOGGING MISTAKES – NUMBER ONE
HOSTING YOUR BLOG ON A FREE PLATFORM:
Hosting a blog on a free blogging platform is one of the leading beginner blogging mistakes that I see over and over again.
If you’re just blogging as a hobby with no desire to turn your blog into a money-making venture, then using a free platform such as WordPress.com or Blogger.com should work just fine for you.
However.. if you are hoping to use your blog as a way to earn additional income through the use of affiliate programs and/or advertising, then the free platforms will not be in your best interest for many reasons.
* This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more info.
First of all.. the free platforms do not present you or your blog in any sort of professional manner. Hosting your blog on a free platform makes you look like an amateur.. and not like someone who has any sort of intention of being taken seriously as a business person.
Anyone who intends to earn an income from their blog needs to present themselves as a professional. Many of the better quality affiliate programs will not accept anyone who is hosted on a free platform for this reason.
The affiliate networks and affiliate managers.. as well as your potential customers.. would expect a business person, such as yourself, to be able to invest a few dollars a month for website hosting.
Otherwise.. it gives the impression you are running a fly-by-night business and although you may be here today.. you may very well be gone tomorrow. Trying to run a business on a free hosting platform creates a somewhat less than trustworthy perception of your business.
And yet these bloggers don’t seem to understand why they are not achieving the success they had hoped for.. or the success that so many other bloggers have achieved.
To learn more about the disadvantages of using any of the free platforms and/or website builders read our posts:
* Website Builders – Good? or Not So Much?
* What is a Self-Hosted Website
BEGINNER BLOGGING MISTAKES – NUMBER TWO
NOT KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DOMAIN NAME REGISTRAR AND A WEBSITE HOST:
Another of the beginner blogging mistakes is one that so many of my students have fallen prey to: The “host with us and we will include the domain for free“. NO! NO!
First of all.. for security reasons, you do NOT want your domain registered and hosted at the same place.
NEVER register your domain name with a web host.. and NEVER host your website with a domain name registrar! Don’t invite problems!
Each of these companies specializes in what they do best. In some cases.. a few have added in additional services to increase their income. This kind of one-stop shopping (as it were) may be good for them.. but for you not so much!
It is kind of like someone convincing you to take your Ferrari to the local Hyundai dealer to be serviced. Sure.. the Hyundai dealer may be able to get the job done.. but I would imagine the Ferrari dealer would be considerably more knowledgeable pertaining to the mechanics of your Ferrari.. as well as have more experience in dealing specifically with the servicing of a Ferrari.
Do yourself a favor and do things correctly from the beginning. Always go to the proper source to obtain the most reliable service!
Register your domain name with an authorized domain name registrar.. such as NameCheap.com We recommend NameCheap as their prices are lower than most other registrars.
Then sign up for your website hosting through an experienced and reliable web hosting company such as HostArmada or BigScoots.
For further information on registering a domain name and finding reliable website hosting you may wish to read the following posts:
* Registering a Domain Name
* Best Website Hosting Services
MISTAKE NUMBER THREE – NOT SELECTING A BLOG NICHE:
Another common new blogger mistake is failing to select a niche for their blog. A lot of beginning bloggers just sit down and start writing. They don’t give any thought whatsoever to selecting a blog niche.. or who their target audience will be.
They simply start writing about the things they want to write about. This approach is fine if the purpose of your blog is meant to be a personal journal of sorts.
Maybe you are creating a personal blog of your wedding and honeymoon photos as well as photos of family members, family gatherings, etc. Maybe your only goal is to create a place to share these things with friends and family.
If that is your goal and you really have no intention of having your blog found in the search engines.. that is certainly your prerogative.
However.. if the reason you are starting a blog is that you are hoping it will provide additional income.. then you need to define your niche. Who will your target audience be? Who are the people who will have an interest in what it is you are writing about?
To learn more about selecting a niche for your site.. read the following posts:
* How to Choose a Blog Niche
* What is the Most Profitable Niche
If you need help in deciding on a niche.. consider our eBook:
Steps to Selecting Your Perfect Niche
This eBook is available for purchase using the link above.. OR
The guide is also available as a FREE Bonus when purchasing my top-selling Course:
“Blogging Step-by-Step.
Blogging Step-by-Step
A Top Selling Course from 7-figure Professional Blogger,
Sherry Bennett aka The Blogging Queen
Need help getting started? Consider our Top Selling course.
Learn how to do everything correctly from the beginning!
Save yourself the time and stress of having to start over
when you realize you have been listening to all the wrong people!
READ MORE…
MISTAKE NUMBER FOUR – NOT KNOWING OR UTILIZING SEO:
Another of the most common beginner blogging mistakes is when beginning bloggers just sit down and start writing blog posts without giving any consideration whatsoever as to how their posts will ever be found on an Internet with nearly 2 billion other websites.
With all the millions and billions of blogs and blog posts out there you need to have a plan as to how you expect your website and/or blog posts to be found.
Without optimizing your blog posts for the search engines.. no one will ever find your site. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be a somewhat complicated subject.. but the basic concept is this:
- People go to the search engines to search for an answer to whatever problem they are looking to solve.. i.e. “where can I buy widgets in a variety of colors?”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - If your site specializes in selling widgets in every color of the rainbow.. you need to optimize your site accordingly so that your site will show up in the search results when someone is searching for the things that you have to offer.
Before you waste a lot of time writing posts that may have no chance of ever being found.. you need to, at the very least, invest in an eBook or two on the subject of SEO.
A couple of my favorite eBooks on the subject are written by Debbie Gartner. Her first book.. Easy on Page SEO deals with the on-page aspects of SEO.
Her second book.. Easy Backlinks for SEO deals with the second, and equally important aspect of SEO, and that is how to get backlinks to your site.
To read more about SEO books, courses, etc. that we recommend.. read our posts:
* The Best Blogging Courses to Grow a Blog
* SEO Training Courses You Actually Need
* Suggested eBooks
BEGINNER BLOGGING MISTAKES – NUMBER FIVE
NOT STAYING LASER FOCUSED ON YOUR NICHE:
Another of the major beginner blogging mistakes I see all the time is the failure to stay laser focused on a particular blog niche.
Some bloggers start out writing a few posts about fashion.. shoes, scarves, handbags, etc. Then.. the next thing you know they are off on skin care, make up, hairstyles and trips to Cancun and whatever else. Whoa!
When you first start blogging.. it is important to select a niche and stay laser focused on that niche. You don’t want Google to be confused as to the main focus of your site.
If there are too many things going on Google will not be sure which visitors might benefit from the content on your site.
If Google cannot be sure the visitor will find what they are searching for on your site.. they will send them to another site where they are confident the visitor will find what they are looking for. For this reason, it is always best to be laser-focused for the best results.. particularly in the beginning.
MISTAKE NUMBER SIX – CHOOSING THE WRONG HOSTING:
Choosing the wrong hosting can set you up for all kinds of disasters. Your hosting needs to be reliable and dependable.. something you can rely on to keep your site safe.
There is ONE web host that I am sure you have seen being recommended by a lot of very unethical bloggers. This particular host is fraught with problems.. downtime, outages, security issues and more.
The bloggers recommending this host are completely aware of the issues. The ONLY reason they recommend this host is because the affiliate program pays more than any of the other hosting programs. This practice is totally UNETHICAL.
And.. if you were to check their sites you would discover that they are most definitely NOT using this host for their own websites. To me.. that is kind of like saying “I don’t care to eat the poisoned mushrooms.. but I think you should try them.”
I would NEVER recommend anything that I would not use myself. This is not only unethical.. it also is a violation of FTC guidelines.
The host you choose is very important as this can affect the speed of your site, as well as a number of other things. If a host is using outdated servers and loading them way beyond the suggested maximum.. this can lead to slow load times as well as cause other issues.. such as downtime, outages, security issues and more.
If you would like advice as to some very reliable hosting companies.. check our post:
* Website Hosting Services for Your Website
BEGINNER BLOGGING MISTAKES – NUMBER SEVEN
PUTTING OFF PUBLISHING UNTIL EVERYTHING IS PERFECT:
Another of the blogging mistakes is when bloggers put off publishing their posts until everything is absolutely perfect. They are hesitant to put their posts online until they are sure they have covered everything they want to cover.
Keep in mind.. in the beginning it may take Google a while to index your blog. During this time you will have plenty of opportunity to go over everything with a fine tooth comb and make any changes you feel need to be made.
I always suggest using Grammarly to double check your posts as to proper grammar, spelling and punctuation. It is a free extension available for immediate download.
Other than that.. make sure to leave plenty of white space and ensure that your posts don’t look too cluttered if you have added images, infographics, banners, ads, etc.
Additionally.. a looong wall of black text on a white background is not advised either. This can make it very difficult to stay focused.. and can lead to the reader becoming bored and/or losing interest.
You should add an image or two.. as well as maybe some blocks of color behind some of the text just to add some visual interest.
To learn more about these techniques.. read our post:
* Content Creation for Beginners
And.. just when you thought everything was perfection.. you will think of something else you want to add.. or find an image you like better.. or occasionally just feel the need to update a few things.
A blog is never really finished. It is a work in progress.. an ever changing and always evolving project.
NUMBER EIGHT – BEING AFRAID TO INVEST IN YOUR SUCCESS:
One of the biggest beginner blogging mistakes is being afraid to invest in the courses, eBooks and tools that will ultimately be the keys to their success.
There is a lot more to blogging than just installing WordPress, throwing together a quick blog and sitting down to start writing. Trying to go it alone and start a blog with absolutely NO instruction at all is a recipe for failure.
That is kind of like strapping on a parachute and jumping out of an airplane without ever having any instruction regarding skydiving. I mean.. what could happen right?
Yes.. there is that small percentage of bloggers who make it through one way or another.. but the largest percentage of them fail. In fact.. consider these statistics:
Ninety-Five percent of bloggers DO NOT MAKE IT!
One of the major reasons is that they did not create their blogs correctly from the beginning. They went about doing what they were doing without realizing they were building their blog on a shaky foundation.
Two years down the road.. when they have gained a bit more experience they begin to realize all the things they have been doing incorrectly. Not just small mistakes.. but HUGE mistakes they have been making ever since the beginning.
In an effort to get their blogs on track.. they try to go back and redo everything.. starting over from the beginning. This becomes very labor intensive! They become discouraged and put off working on the reconstruction of their blog. Eventually, they just give the whole thing up.
BEGINNER BLOGGING MISTAKES – NUMBER NINE
TRYING TO RELY ON ONLY FREE ADVICE FOUND ONLINE:
While there is definitely some information available for free.. you could spend years reading blog posts on the myriad of blogs. And.. never mind all the bad, outdated, incorrect, and downright dangerous information out there that you will have to sift through in your quest to find a few nuggets of information that will actually help you to succeed.
You can spin your wheels for months on end in an effort to dig out the secrets to success for free.. and six months from now you will still be where you are today. Wanting to start your blog but having more questions than answers.
On the other hand.. you can invest in a few eBooks and take a few courses from some top earning bloggers that will have you up and running and achieving success while all the freebie hunters are still trying to dig out that one all-important tip or top secret method that is guaranteed to sky rocket their sites to the top of the search engines and make them rich beyond their wildest dreams in the next few months.
MISTAKE NUMBER TEN – THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE
GIVING UP BEFORE HAVING A CHANCE TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS:
Statistics show that 95% of bloggers fail. The most common reasons for these bloggers’ failures are:
1) They jumped in without having any sort of education as to how to do things correctly
2) They give up before they have a chance to achieve any success.
Blogging is not a get rich quick scheme by any stretch of the imagination! If someone goes into this expecting to be making 5-figures in a few months or so.. they will be sadly disappointed.
You have to look at blogging as a business. Any business venture will require an investment of your time as well as the inevitable investment of some money.
You need to have realistic expectations. Nobody starts a business today and is successful overnight. As you work to build your business you will slowly start seeing some success.
At first you have no visitors to your site.. then as Google starts to realize you are still there.. still working on your site.. producing more and more content.. they realize you are serious about this blogging thing.
You are not just another one of the dreamers who threw up a quick site and then became disillusioned after 6 months and abandoned your website.
Your traffic slowly starts to build. You start being able to get some valuable affiliate programs and in time.. as your traffic continues to build you will be able to apply and get accepted to the top ad management services like Mediavine and AdThrive if that is your goal.
Personally, I have never used any of the ad networks. I really do not want my site to be turned into a banner farm like so many sites I have seen with a spammy banner after every paragraph.
I have always earned my money with the use of affiliate programs and will continue to do so. That gives me complete control over what appears on my site.
About the Author: Sherry Bennett
Ms. Bennett is a Professional Blogger, who has been earning a living online with niche websites for 25+ years.
Through hard work and dedication, she has turned her passion for blogging into a 7-figure business.. and you can do the same.
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* If you are a new blogger just starting your blogging adventure
learn how to start your blog the right way from the beginning:
Blogging Step-by-Step
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Oops.. Some of these mistakes sound very familiar to me!