Would you like to know the 10 mistakes pro bloggers never make when starting a new Blog ?
then this is for you .
As an amateur blogger, everything can feel overwhelm .
- Where do I even start?
- What should I make a priority?
- Which blogging tools are the best?
- What do I write about?
I know this because I ’ ve been there .
Hi there, my name is Katie. I ’ ve been a full-time blogger for 3 years, and I started over 10 years ago. You can imagine I made about every amateur blogger err in the books .
But, this doesn ’ metric ton have to be you !
I ’ molarity going to let you in on the 10 secrets professional bloggers understand so you don ’ t have to make these amateur blogger mistakes yourself and grow a successful web log in no time !
The Difference Between a Pro Blogger and an Amateur Blogger
Yes, when you start your blogging journey, everything feels overwhelming and confusing .
But, you don ’ t have to feel this way for long .
The very difference between a professional blogger and an amateur blogger is their ability to cut through information clutter, become hyper-focused on what moves the needle, and learn from their mistakes .
Because you know what ?
Mistakes aren ’ metric ton a bad thing .
They ’ re actually the best way to learn .
The only veridical mistake here is to assume you already know everything, and you don ’ t make any mistakes. so there ’ second no military action for you to take .
Action leads to results .
pro bloggers take hell-bent action. They identify what ’ s working and what isn ’ metric ton and then make it better and better .
now let me take you behind the scenes of my biggest blogging flops and fails so you can take hell-bent action yourself. Making sure you don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate fall into the lapp trap as I did .
Don ’ t hear to invent the wheel .
And be bright about taking the right action !
1. Not Self-Hosting Your Blog
The most coarse err I see in amateur blogs is that they ’ rhenium not self-hosting their web log .
Self-hosting means you started your web log with a free service such as WordPress.com or Wix.com. rather of a self-hosted web site like wordpress.org, where you pay for your host and your world .
Don ’ thyroxine find bad if you already made this error .
Want to know my biggest blogging regret ever ?
Why do you think this is what I ’ megabyte starting with ! You can read all you need to know about my odyssey, starting a blog with WordPress.com and then 6 months late realizing this was the WORST decision ever here .
If you started a blog as a side bunco to make some extra money, you need to have a self-hosted web site .
Period.
here ’ rhenium just some of the things you can ’ t if your amateur web log international relations and security network ’ t self-hosted :
- Use AdSense or Mediavine to run ads on your site and keep your profit!
- Install plugins!
- Install a professionally designed blog theme!
- Have total control over your branding!
- Optimize your site for SEO and Google!
- Make money from your blog!
- Have a custom domain! (it will always include something like YourSite.Wordpress.com or YourSite.Wix.com instead of just YourSite.com!)
- Using HTML and code
Want to get started right away ?
I got you .
Check out my easy “ How to Start a Blog Tutorial ” that will make you money in no time here !
2. Setting the Wrong Permalink Structure
Another mistake I made ( Yes, I know I ’ meter starting a composition here ), and I can still see in many amateur blogs, is not defining your “ Permalink ” structure proper !
A permalink is the web address ( URL ) used to link to your content. The URL to each post should be permanent wave and never change. You can decide how your permalink structure looks like in your WordPress settings .
It is set to default to include the day the mail or section was published and the post ’ randomness list .
Something like :
hypertext transfer protocol : //YourBlog.com/2018/10/92/YourBlogPost
But, alternatively, I recommend you use post appoint entirely adenine permalinks as your url alternatively because it will look much nice and clean like this :
hypertext transfer protocol : //YourBlog.com/YourBlogPost
here is how to set this up in your wordpress.org blog :
Settings > Permalinks > Choose Post Name as URL Structure
significant : once you have launched your Blog and published posts – Please do not change the permalink structure. Once you change your URL, no one will find that post anymore because you changed the address without telling the internet ! You can redirect the old URL to the new URL with a redirection link. however, if you have an older web site, you can imagine how much work this would be as you would have to redirect every one URL on your Blog to the new one ! therefore, why my url still looks icky .
3. Not Growing Blog Subscribers and an Email List From the Get-Go
Starting an electronic mail tilt means the same thing as growing web log subscribers .
What now ?
I know ; it took me some good few months to figure this out .
back in the days, I had this plugin on my web log that was supposed to grow my web log subscribers. One day I realized the plugins showed XCY subscribers but immediately what ?
How could I get in equal with them ?
DM or email them ?
The plugin was of zero consumption to me .
What I should have started rather was an electronic mail list .
Your electronic mail list is a number of all of your subscribers ’ electronic mail addresses and names stored and organized in a separate electronic mail number military service. once people are on your e-mail list, you can start communicating with them via e-mail .
e-mail is still the most effective way of selling to people because it ’ mho much more personal and master than early internet strategies .
Plus, you own your e-mail number, not like your Pinterest or Instagram followers, which could disappear overnight.I recommend you check out ConvertKit .
It uses boost features such as “ Automated Email Sequences, ” “ Targeting, ” or “ Visual Automation, ” which are incredible to create electronic mail sales funnels !
Pro Bloggers start their electronic mail list the day their web log launches .
4. Not Using the Power of Social Media to Grow Traffic!
not getting enough dealings is one of the No.1 struggles I hear from amateur bloggers, and I can relate .
We ’ rhenium putting sol much feat into creating our blog and its contentedness, and no one ends up reading it !
It ’ mho thwart !
I get it .
now there ’ rhenium long-run strategies such as SEO and Google I will touch upon in a second, but social media can in truth help you get traffic to your amateur blog extremely fast .
even when you ’ re equitable starting out !
I ’ ve created respective guides on how to generate more traffic to your web site with social media, and it ’ s a personal rage of mine !
here are a match of my favorite and most successful posts on that subject :
P.S., you check out My YouTube Channel here. I post a fresh video about getting traffic from Pinterest every Tuesday !
Sneak Peek below :
5. Ignoring SEO and Google Traffic
SEO and Google is where loads of amateur blogger get scared .
I wholly get it .
SEO takes a draw of time, and if you ’ re good starting out and not seeing the clamant effects of your scheme, you are easily inclined to ignore SEO wholly .
This is a huge mistake .
beginning, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimizations. It includes strategies like doing keyword inquiry and writing long optimize pieces of the capacity to rank high on Google. Yes, it takes time to see the effect, but this is precisely the reason why you need to start making chic SEO decisions correct from the begin !
Truthbomb. I ’ meter no SEO adept .
But I ’ ve invested quite the energy, money, and clock to learn adenine much as I can .
I still don ’ t particularly enjoy the subject ( I ’ meter truly selling SEO to you, am I : ) ) …But I understand its importance to my business .
Ranking high on Google and receiving a short ton of organic traffic can mean the dispute between succeeding or failing with your blogging clientele .
social Media traffic is big, but you never actually know when they ’ re going to change their algorithm again.
Read more: 3.2 Grading System | Grades | Fordham
possibly Instagram decides to change the algorithm, and all your traffic just “ puffs ” into flimsy air .
SEO and Google traffic are much more long-run and safe .
I recommend Mike Pearson ’ sulfur on-line course, “ Stupid Simple SEO. ” All I know about SEO, I have learned from his course. And he teaches complicated Google stuff in a means you can easily follow along !
Learn more about Stupid Simple SEO here !
6. Not Monetizing From the Get-Go!
Blogging international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate easily, and it besides normally doesn ’ t make you 10K a calendar month just because you press print !
I ’ megabyte regretful .
I ’ m besides sorry people are lying to you and making you believe blogging is a immediate fix to making a short ton of money without putting in any campaign !
The good news is, though, you can make money from your amateur blog ! The even better news, you can start making money from your web log from the beginning !
so why does it take many amateurish bloggers years to make their first $ blogging ? I believe it ’ s because they don ’ thymine know how a web log actually makes money. You see these fancy blogger income reports and think making money blogging is slowly .
It ’ second not .
Making money from blogging is just like any other clientele .
It ’ s a business .
You either :
- Offer or promote some kind of product or service.
- Or you have a ton of traffic to make money with ads.
It ’ second not like money is magically going to appear in your bank account just because you have a web log now. You need a plan. amateur bloggers much make the error of having no design any about what they ’ ra sell .
If that ’ south, you don ’ thyroxine worry .
here ’ re my darling ways of making money from a brand new blog that works for amateur blogs are :
A. Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate Marketing is when you promote a product or military service on your blog. When person clicks that link and buys your recommend product, you receive a sales committee .
start by finding products in your recess which you would love to promote. Apply to affiliate networks and then select products you know and love to recommend to your reader !
Read my in-depth post on Understanding Affiliate Marketing hera !
B. Selling Digital or Physical Products
Start an on-line shop :
- You can use a service like Shopify to create a store on your blog and sell your physical products.
Create an on-line course :
- Or you can start selling your digital products like digital downloads or an online course! My favorite tool to create online courses is Teachable. It’s an incredible online teaching platform where you can host and sell your online course. It’s super easy to put together, and once you have uploaded your teaching material, you can start earning money right away!
Sell digital products :
- If you want to sell your first digital download, check out Thrivecart. It’s an easy checkout cart service. You don’t even need to set up a whole shop.
📌 Found this post useful and inspiring ? Want to read it late ? Save THIS PIN to your Blogging Board on Pinterest !
7. Not Creating a Content Plan
Another one of my personal blogging career err highlights .
I call it “ random blogging. ”
It means not having any plan what content and blog post to put out there .
I ’ megabyte not a type-A kind of person at all .
On effective days, we ’ rhenium organized. On bad days, we ’ re struggling and equitable want to put something out there and get it done and over with !
But, it ’ sulfur identical important to plan your content :
- Be consistent.
- Create high-quality content!
- Post content with a purpose!
Your web log should become a one-stop-shop for all resources in your niche !
I love using Trello to organize my Blog “ To Do ’ s ” and create a “ Blog Content Plan. ” It ’ s an excellent free creature to create lists, boards, and cards you can use to organize and prioritize your projects in a fun, flexible, and rewarding way !
Since I discovered Trello, I am using it every individual day .
once you ’ rhenium blog and team grow, I recommend Asana .
Asana is a project management instrument, and you can get all illusion with your blogging scheme and content design .
Asana becomes a must once you have to manage tasks in a team. Before that, Trello works great .
8. Designing your Blog or Using a Free Theme
Branding is one of my favored topics and a huge part of why I enjoy blogging. But I see a set of amateur blogs struggle with this !
My No. 1 tip here is to invest in a premium web log theme !
A agio blog theme helps you get your blog ’ south basic purpose correct from the beginning. You can get premium themes designed by professional designers !
You don ’ t have to design your web log yourself .
Most likely, you shouldn ’ triiodothyronine .
You ’ re going to get stick designing your blog, which, truth be told, doesn ’ triiodothyronine matter excessively much in the beginning. An slowly and clean blog design works great .
Plus, you don ’ triiodothyronine want to spend time working on your design when you should write capacity, build traffic, grow an electronic mail list, and work on your products alternatively. Design is not that crucial .
It hurts my soul, but it ’ randomness dependable .
That ’ randomness why I 100 % recommend buying a ready-to-go, professionally pre-designed theme .
All you have to do is adapt the root, which will structure your site with your brand colors and personal images. It is super simple but very effective .
personally, I love Bluchic Themes for Beginners, and I have personally used the Victoria Theme for years for my blog. If you want to learn more, read the fully mail on “ The Best Blog Themes ” here .
9. Disregarding your Blog Security + Backups
In October 2018, my web log got hacked, and I honestly do not wish this upon anybody, and for sure, no amateur blogger !
My URL got used to create a short ton of fake posts about buying prescription drugs for a better price on-line .
Can you evening imagine !
It was a nightmare .
Site security might sound bore, but if you don ’ thymine want to become the victim of a hack and see your site misused to create false posts, or worse, see your personal information spread on-line, get yourself some blog security system and stand-in in space .
I recommend you invest in a :
Backup Service:
My favorite backup service is called UpdraftPlus. This pay overhaul helps you with hacking, serves crashes, chancy updates, and drug user errors who can all ruin your locate !
You can create manual or scheduled backups of your locate and restore your locate directly from WordPress if something went ill-timed or your web site is down !
Get Updraft plus HERE !
Site Security:
Site Security should be on every amateur blogger ’ s radar ! The internet is cruddy, and people will try to hack your site and use it for all kinds of wrong things !
You need to have some security in stead, which helps you against those attacks ! I would recommend Wordfence Security for this .
Wordfence includes a firewall and malware scan for your WordPress locate. It blocks attacks from the outside and scans the inside of your web log for malware, spam, and malicious redirects and code injections .
Sounds chilling, I know. But there ’ s no way of sugar-coating this capable. You ’ ve got to tackle it frontal and secure your web site .
Get Wordfence plus HERE !
10. Not Making Necessary Business Investments!
not investing in yourself or getting aid to run your blog are two of the biggest mistakes I see in amateur blogs .
It ’ south very common to get overwhelmed when you realize blogging international relations and security network ’ thymine american samoa easy as you thought .
Blogging means thousands of small tasks .
We need to be creators, managers, designers, and teachers and at the same time manage our finances and occupation, resolve IT problems and lead our clientele into the future as a drawing card and visionary !
The good news is, we don ’ t have to do it all alone. We can get help and invest in our business. Investing in your occupation and blog means you ’ re taking it badly and committing to your cause. You ’ ll reach your goals a million times faster .
And there ’ re necessary and unnecessary investments when you start as an amateur blogger .
then here is an overview of things I recommend you invest in and things you can save for late :
Necessary Investments:
- Siteground Blog Hosting ($3.95 – $11.95/month) get hosting here!
- Siteground Domain Name ($12/year) start here!
- Professional Blog Theme ($65 once) read more here!
- Secure your Site with Wordfence Security ($99/year) here!
- Site Backup with Updraft Plus ($42/year) backs up your site here!
Unnecessary Investments:
- Hiring a Social Media Assistant. The overwhelm is real, but until you are making a decent amount of money from your social media accounts, I would start by organizing your posts with the help of Social Media Schedulers:
Read More on Pinterest Schedulers here !
Read More on Instagram Schedulers here !
- Advances Landing Page builder such as Leadpages. Landing pages are one-pagers where people can opt into your email list or buy your products. Many email marketing services provide basic “Landing Page Builder” and “Opt-in Forms” already, and I would recommend starting with them using, for example, ConvertKit.
Woop Woop, you equitable resolved some reasonably huge problems you might have with your amateur web log, and you are on your room to kicking some butt with your amazing Amateur Blogs !
If you have any questions or other remarks, I would love to hear from you in the comments !
I wish you a draw of fun with your raw web site, and I am always hera for you if you have questions or remarks of any kind !
All the best
twenty Katie
