Monday 26 December 2016

Five Blogging Mistakes to Avoid


Many of us start a blog thinking it will be a money spinner for us. But, more often than not, their efforts fail.  One thing you have to keep in mind is that every blogger is different and the way they go about their task is also different. Whatever advice you garner while going through various blogs of successful bloggers or follow the “mantras” dished out by them, you must keep it in mind that these are just basic guidelines and is not a step-by-step instruction. Here we will discuss some common mistakes made by newbie bloggers.
1.       Not Focused: Many bloggers start off without a specific plan. They just take the plunge because the idea fascinates them. They begin without clearly thinking what they want to be a part of their blog. So the blog ends up being a mumbo jumbo of all sorts of things, not at all focused or does not target a particular set of audience. Decide on these questions. What is your blog about? For whom are you going to write? What is your aim in starting this blog? Without clarity on these points, your blog will not have any direction and will simply be too broad.
2.       No connection with the Reader: you write and you want readers to go through your blog and appreciate the contents. There is good chance that people visit your blog but do not return.  A very effective way of marketing is through e mail. Offer RSS feeds on your blog. This way, they can return to your blog to have a look at the updates.
3.       Lack of Consistency: Many bloggers start off as enthusiasts, but, over a period of time, lose interest and the blog suffers. Sometimes, blogs do not get updated frequently or the topics are not consistent with the blog.  Your blog should be based on a particular theme or idea. Your contents should revolve around this. Deviating from this will make readers or visitors lose interest.
4.       No Article Variation: Visitors like to read new contents written in well thought out style. A blogger has to look for different topics on the same niche and must not ramble about the same topic repeatedly.   The key to a successful blog is based on keeping the reader engaged. It is important to write on new ideas, products or contents that your blog revolves around.
5.       Poor Formatting or Research: Every blogger should keep it in mind that many of the readers prefer to read the posts on smart phones. It is a great idea to use bullets to break up text and keep the sentences short. Many times, bloggers also do not do much research on the topic they are writing about and end up posting a poor article which does not hold interest.

Blogging is an art. No one gets it right at the beginning, but, it pays to know how to go about it. It is a great idea to be in touch with other bloggers and learn from them. Do a bit of research before starting a blog of your own.