5 Blogging Mistakes You Must Avoid

by Onibalusi Bamidele on April 26, 2010

make money online

This is a guest post by Onibalusi Bamidele from YoungPrePro.

Blogging is a great way to interact with people, build your brand, make money blogging, create awareness and even satisfy yourself. Blogging has its own rules, and not following these rules can cause you more harm than good on the long run.

As in every other thing, there are also various do’s and dont’s in blogging. There are some things you must observe to build a successful blog and there are things you must avoid in order to be successful.

To maximize your chances of success in blogging, there are somethings you should really try to avoid as much as possible.

blogging tips

Below are 5 blogging mistakes you must really try avoiding:

1. Not Hosting Yourself

One of the most terrible blogging mistakes you must avoid is not hosting yourself i.e. not having your own domain name with a hosting company of your choice. Not having a self hosted blog will have some adverse effects on you sooner or later because your blog might grow to a very large extent, it will then be very difficult to move to your own domain because you will not want to loose your readers and even search engine traffic.

You might be thinking of using a 301 redirect but search engines also take into consideration domain age. Another problem with not hosting yourself is that your free host can just decide to close down when they like, just like when GeoCities decided to close down and all websites hosted on it were affected.

2. Not Having A Professional Design

First impression is very important. Not having a professional design for your blog might have a negative effect on your blog because all visitors are not the same and might not continue with your site if you don’t have a good design. You might think only content is what matters, but not all visitors know this especially those coming from search engines.

Some people who are new to the internet might even think a professionally designed website is also loaded with good content. Try to take care of your design, it is very important. To add to it: a professionally designed website will always be easy to remember.

3. Writing For Many People

If you have ever read from companies, you will understand what I mean better. Another major blogging mistake is to be writing your blog posts as if you were talking to a large group of people. You don’t need to blog as if you are talking to 10, 100 or even thousands of people but rather blog as if you are talking to only one person, as if you are talking to your friend. This will make your message look more interesting and will also make your readers know you care about them.

Your readers will even think you are having a one-on-one conversation with them. Just imagine opening an email to read a message titled “Dear first name” (substituting first name with your first name :-) ), your attention will be keen towards reading what is in the mail than coming across with a message talking to a group of people. Your readers want to know you care for them and them only; they are not ready to know about others.

4. Blog Instability

Some people are so unstable with their blog and they just change their blog anytime they want, today it is “aaa.com”, tomorrow it will be “bbb.com” etc. It is very important to take your time to think well before you start your blog, you have to brainstorm what you want your blog to be about, what the main objectives of your blog will be and you should be able to research effectively before choosing a name for your blog because this will have an effect on you in the future.

Some people suggest choosing your name as your blog because this will give you the flexibility of using your blog for anything that pleases you in the future. If your name is too long (like mine: Onibalusi Bamidele) or might be difficult to remember you might choose a name related to your website.

5. Not Promoting Your Blog

Yeah! This is the problem most people face. I just wonder when I come across a forum post where somebody is complaining of setting up a website two months ago and nobody visited the blog. I never experienced this problem before because 151 people came to my blog on its first day (being a forum spammer then  :-o ), all jokes apart.

You should not just blog and be expecting people to visit your blog from the blue, you have to have a plan for your blog, how do you want to get traffic to your blog? Is it through SEO, PPC or Networking? You should decide how you want to get visitors from your blog because users can’t just come from nowhere (even if you have the best content).

At The End, I would Say That…

There are many other blogging mistakes you must avoid, but the ones above are the foundation and avoiding them will also help you avoid many other blogging mistakes.

Let me know if you have committed any of the above blogging mistakes or were just going to commit and boom, you realized that it will be a big mistake. Also let me know in your opinion what are some other common blogging mistakes which bloggers must avoid.


Top 10 Search Terms:

• what happened to youngprepro site


THIS IS A DO FOLLOW BLOG --- ADD YOUR COMMENT

Article Written By Onibalusi Bamidele

Onibalusi Bamidele is a Young entrepreneur. Get his free ebook on how to build a better website. He also shares some tips on making money online on his young entrepreneur blog at http://www.youngprepro.com

Onibalusi Bamidele has written 3 superb article(s) on this blog


{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }

Ninja Media April 26, 2010 at 4:31 pm

so how the right way to promote our blog???
.-= Ninja Media´s last blog ..Asus Eee Pad The iPad Serious Challenger =-.

Reply

Typhoon April 26, 2010 at 4:34 pm

These are not blog promotion tips..these are blogging mistakes which bloggers usually commit and which they should avoid.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 26, 2010 at 4:59 pm

Hi Sushant,
Thanks a lot for publishing my guest post, I really appreciate it.
Onibalusi
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 Things to do to Achieve Blogging Success =-.

Reply

Tushar April 26, 2010 at 6:24 pm

no 3 is quite new….obviously we need to identify out target audience and that way we know what we have to write for them
.-= Tushar´s last blog ..Higher Visits = Higher Popularity!!!! Not Always Dude…. =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 12:56 am

Yeah! Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Kamal April 26, 2010 at 6:37 pm

I would add – don’t provide too much personal information. This can be a really important issue is your blog becomes really popular or if you are underage.
.-= PowerPoint Templates´s last blog ..Hard Drive PowerPoint Template =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 12:57 am

Exactly, Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

John Paul from How To Make Money With A Blog April 26, 2010 at 7:21 pm

Oni great tips. man.

3 and 5 are the Must Do’s.

First, writing for your target niche small or large will get you most foryour content.

Great content is needed, but without promoting that new post, many people will not see how grat it is.
.-= John Paul@How To Make Money With A Blog´s last blog ..My Crazy Simple 7 Step Plan To Promote A New Post =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 12:58 am

Yeah! exactly.
Great content is very important and without promoting it then it is of no use.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Lee Ka Hoong from Make Money Online April 26, 2010 at 7:54 pm

I strongly agree with your point #1, I’ve seen many people doesn’t have their own hosting and domain even they’re serious in online business. I’ve told many people that if they’re serious in online business, they must be having their own hosting and domain, that’s the first step of being an online marketer.

Anyway, other points are very true as well. Nice post Onibalusi!

Regards,
Lee
.-= Lee Ka Hoong@Make Money Online´s last blog ..Sunday Killer Link Love Post #22 =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 1:00 am

Hi Lee,
You are absolutely right, many people fail to understand the importance of having their own domain and be self hosted.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment,
Onibalusi
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Lee Ka Hoong from Blogger Theme May 1, 2010 at 11:48 am

Not a problem Onibalusi. One of the disadvantage of not having own hosting and domain was the issue that Alan Liew’s MoneyMakerinfo.blogspot.com had been removed by Google 2 days ago, he paid so much effort to build the blog for 4 years. With that said, building a serious blog in free blog platform is very risky.

He got back his blog yesterday, but it’s better to have our own hosting and domain which we can fully control them.

Regards,
Lee

Reply

Typhoon May 1, 2010 at 12:40 pm

hmm..I think Alan should now really think to move over wordpress..It will be safe for him for future..By the way did blogger notified him anything like why his blog was closed for those few days? Any news somewhere?

Reply

Noah Rainey April 27, 2010 at 12:44 am

Great points… but didn’t you forget quality content/original?
.-= Noah Rainey´s last blog ..5 Tips to Building Backlinks =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:02 pm

Yeah! That is also true.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Dennis Edell from Direct Sales Marketing April 27, 2010 at 2:05 am

4. Blog Instability is extremely important. What I think might be even worse then changing domains is constantly changing it’;s focused niche. I went through this the first couple yrs of my blogging.
.-= Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing´s last blog ..Comment Contest: 5 Days Left! =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:07 pm

Yeah! This is right, Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Chuck Edwards April 27, 2010 at 2:12 am

Yes, these are five good tips for better blogging. The third tip in particular is one that all bloggers should take to heart because it is precisely this type of personal, one on one nature that makes blogs so popular. Readers are more likely to become faithful followers if they feel that they know you, and will in turn feel more comfortable about supporting or buying from you.
.-= Chuck Edwards@Weight Loss Tips´s last blog ..How to Lose Weight at Home =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:10 pm

Hi Exactly! your readers want to be able to say, “I know you”.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Fazreen April 27, 2010 at 3:46 am

I don’t agree with point no. 2 Just look at zenhabits, mnmlst and other weblog that I couldn’t remember the name. Oh yeah, not to forget Seth Godin’s blog. They are all have simple design, neither interesting nor professional (personal opinion) but they manage to capture huge readers. It’s all about credibility and contents.

I’m sure, the most mistake newbies did is wasting time for searching good design. They should concentrate on creating good contents at the beginning and slowly grow up.

Just my two cents,
fazreen

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:05 pm

Hi,
Do you know how many readers they would have lost? Truly they are big blogs, because of their name! but they will do even better with a professional design. Look at copyblogger.
Glad to see someone who disagrees :)
Thanks a lot for the nice comment
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Josiah from Youtube Layouts April 27, 2010 at 5:23 am

Wanting to flip-flop on my niche is something that i think about a lot. I realize now that this would be a big mistake. Heck, if i want to talk about fitness and social media, i’ll just go start another blog hah.

Thank you for the advice!
.-= Josiah@Youtube Layouts´s last blog ..50 Cent: Blood on the Sand =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:13 pm

Hi,
Glad you now realize, thanks a lot for the nice comments.
Onibalusi
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

George185 April 27, 2010 at 6:34 am

This is a good post for new blog owners. It can be tempting to avoid paying for a domain name and hosting if you don’t have any money, but it could hurt you in the long run.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:16 pm

Exactly! it is important to avoid any temptation of such.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Dev | Technshare April 27, 2010 at 9:34 am

Great Points bro :)
There Many bloggers like seth Godin, Alan Liew(Moneymakerinfo) etc. who are still using free hosting.
Recently blogspot has closed Alan Liew’s blog for no reason. I think it’s better to have self-hosted WordPress and Domain.
Thanks for this great post bud.

Cheers,
Dev
.-= Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..Interview with Glen Allsopp From ViperChill =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:19 pm

Hi Dev,
Exactly! I just checked moneymakerinfo.blogspot.com and I wondered what happened to him overnight. This is a very sad event ;)
This is being said everywhere, don’t use a free domain name, he that hath hears, let him hear.
Self hosted blog is the best.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Michelle from Poster Prints April 27, 2010 at 12:18 pm

Very good post and all true. I cannot agree more with promotion being the key to a successful blog. Keep being great a giving out awesome tips.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:23 pm

Yeah! exactly.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Adam April 27, 2010 at 2:13 pm

You should also engage with your readers. By not engaging with them and reply to their comments and answer their questions would be one of the biggest blogging mistakes you would do.
.-= Adam @ Selling Manager Ebay´s last blog ..10 Most Effective Ways to Sell Your EBook =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:27 pm

Exactly! engaging with your readers is very important.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Ralph April 27, 2010 at 3:55 pm

Great tips! I would probably add not taking the time to deliver valuable content to the list.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 7:25 pm

Exactly! Rightly said!
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

bbrian017 April 27, 2010 at 7:16 pm

Creating a list of blogging mistakes and limiting it to 5 must had been hard. I think we have so many ways to make mistakes with our blog it’s almost not worth worrying about it. But I do like your like list it’s very realistic and important for bloggers to remember.
.-= bbrian017´s last blog ..Guest Blog at Blog Engage =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 27, 2010 at 11:21 pm

Yeah Brain! exactly!
Thanks a lot for your nice comment, I really appreciate it.
Onibalusi
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 keys to build a better website =-.

Reply

Jorgen Sundberg April 27, 2010 at 10:03 pm

Point 4 really strikes a chord, I run 3 blogs and if I had know better from the beginning they could all have been one… But hey-ho, they all rank decently so just have to keep it up!
.-= Jorgen Sundberg´s last blog ..How to Get Speaker Bookings: Write a Fact One-Sheet =-.

Reply

Onibalusi Bamidele April 28, 2010 at 6:29 pm

Hi, That is great!
Thanks a lot for the nice comment.
.-= Onibalusi Bamidele´s last blog ..7 days challenge – how it went =-.

Reply

Vivek Krishnan April 28, 2010 at 7:52 pm

Not hosting on your own domain and web hosts is a major mistake which many bloggers make!
.-= Vivek Krishnan´s last blog ..4 Things I Wish All New Visitors Did On My Blog =-.

Reply

blognseo April 28, 2010 at 9:11 pm

yes , not hosting your own blog is the biggest mistake ! better stop blogging at that point rather than continue blogging
.-= blognseo´s last blog ..Top 5 Reasons to choose wordpress over blogger =-.

Reply

Mad Geek from beingPC April 30, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Promoting: I do promote my posts on Social n/w and voting sites but I don’t actually get much traffic from there, what could be the reason?
.-= Mad Geek @beingPC´s last blog ..What’s new in Windows Live messenger Wave 4? =-.

Reply

stephanie April 30, 2010 at 7:25 pm

this is a great post! a lot of good points. very logical and makes a lot of sense! keep it up.

Reply

Eric April 30, 2010 at 7:55 pm

These are all good ideas to avoid doing. I myself need to get a better design done and work on promoting my blog a bit more.
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Twitter Is Powerful When Used Correctly =-.

Reply

Murlu May 1, 2010 at 7:50 am

Another mistake you may be making is not capturing your readers.

On many blogs, you’ll see free ebooks and email subscriptions. This allows you to email your readers at a later point to help promote your blog or if you ever create a product – sell it to a relevant audience.
.-= Murlu´s last blog ..How To Make Money Online With ArticleMe =-.

Reply

Felix May 1, 2010 at 12:15 pm

I guess hosting your own blog is an option. Some businessmen do the testing first, if they are really passionate about what they are doing. After they found out what would be the outcome, they will decide what would be the best decision they will make.

Because if you invest money on the internet while you are still searching what is the best for you, then you are wasting your money and time where the hosting services and domain you purchase is running and keep consuming your money.

So, before you invest money or effort, make a test first then go for a conclusion, like what other big companies out there.

But anyway, thanks for the post. It serves as a reminders to many bloggers out there.
.-= Real Blogging Advice´s last blog ..How to Choose Profitable Keywords Using Google Keyword Tool =-.

Reply

Randi May 2, 2010 at 1:47 am

Very useful information here and they all seem very logical, but which are the costs involved? Because not all of us know how to create websites, SEO and so on. So you need help from someone else, and this is not cheap. And still there is no success guaranteed, because you may choose a very saturated niche were there are not so many gains. What are the chances of earning something if you do not know to do all this on your own?
.-= Randi´s last blog ..Top Get Paid to Blog Websites =-.

Reply

Kahy from Giraffe Print Purses May 4, 2010 at 5:30 am

These are all very good points, but I don’t agree 100% with #1. I know of many bloggers who use the free Blogger.com and are pretty successful, both financially and with their followership.

Reply

Biodun from UK webmaster forum May 5, 2010 at 2:14 am

Having a blog without promoting it is a really great mistake. The blogosphere is a big and busy world with over 100 million blogs published every minute and growing. How do you attract visitors to your blog without effective promotion?
.-= UK webmaster forum´s last blog ..Post your best twitter tools and tricks =-.

Reply

edward July 12, 2010 at 11:27 pm

Yes this article is right, I just lost my other blog last month, though I have a domain name I hosted it with blogspot and they closed it because of spam that I never did.

Reply

Leave a Comment

CommentLuv badge
This blog uses premium CommentLuv which allows you to put your keywords with your name if you have had 3 approved comments. Use your real name and then @ your keywords (maximum of 3)

{ 1 trackback }



whos.amung.us