10 Common Blogging Mistakes (and How to Fix It)

Are you thinking of starting a blog? That’s awesome! But first, you may want to find out what not do do when starting a blog. Today I’m sharing the most common blogging mistakes every new blogger makes.

When I started this website three years ago, I had no idea it would turn into a profitable blog.

I didn’t know anything about blogs, social media, or how to make money online. I learned everything from scratch, which meant there were a lot of stressful times when I was ready to call it quits.

Even though I made a lot of mistakes when I first started my blog, I did one thing right. I never gave up.

Just a few years ago, I was unhappy at a dead end job. And now I’m my own boss! It’s amazing how much my life has improved and I feel so blessed.

Starting a blog is a lot of fun. BUT, if you’re looking to make money blogging, then there’s a few things you MUST avoid. A lot of these blogging mistakes are ones I personally made. You can avoid making the same mistakes I did.

Related Posts:

• How to start a blog the right way (it’s easy)
• How to become a full-time blogger: Step-by-step guide
• 5 ways to make money on Pinterest

1. Starting your blog on a free website

If you’re just blogging as a hobby and have NO desire to make money from your blog, then it makes sense to use a free platform, such as wordpress.com or blogspot.com.

But if you want to make money from blogging, you’ll want to avoid using free blogging platforms. This is the one of the most common blogging mistakes newbies make.

Here’s why if you want to make money, you should avoid free blog platforms:

Brands and advertisers prefer to work with self-hosted blogs. This means you want to avoid having a domain name which looks like this:

http://wanderlustadventures.wordpressblog.com

I can appreciate that starting a blog for “free” sounds appealing, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. You’re not paying for hosting with a free blog, but you’re “paying” in other ways such as…

• Free blogs usually have slower speeds
• It’s hard to run advertisements on free blogs (making it difficult to make money)
• Free blogs don’t rank well in search engines because Google favors self-hosted websites
• Free blogs have limited customization options and look unprofessional
• Having a free blog looks sloppy and gives your visitors the impression that you’re not committed
• Free blogs are a waste of time because you need to be self-hosted if you want to make make good money

These limitations can prevent you from growing your blog and making money from your passion. That’s why I recommend getting a self-hosted website from the start. This ensures that you have the right foundation for your blog to succeed.

If you want to make money from your blog, freelance or turn your blog into a business someday, then paying for your hosting (such as through Bluehost) is a MUST. It’s cheap to get started, and you can run your own advertisements, affiliate links or product sales with a blog using Bluehost.

You can start your own money-making blog for as little as $2.95/ month. Plus, you’ll get a free domain name when you sign up through my tutorial.

I started my blog with Bluehost and recommend them. That’s why I partnered with them to get this special price for Mint Notion readers.

2. Choosing a bad web hosting company

Many new bloggers are quick to sign up with cheap web hosting companies that are well-known, such as GoDaddy. Unfortunately, this is one of the top blogging mistakes people make.

Why? Because these web hosting companies offer poor quality hosting and their customer service is non-existent! In other words — you get what you pay for.

There are many web hosting companies to choose from, but Bluehost is one of the best. It’s one of the top web hosting companies of 2020. It’s also super easy and affordable to start your own blog with them.

I started my blog with Bluehost and recommend them to anyone interested in starting a self-hosted blog. Plus, they offer a 30 day money-back guarantee. So there’s very little risk in starting a blog through Bluehost, and a lot of potential to make money blogging.

You can click here to get started or follow the step-by-step instructions in my tutorial:

How to easily start a WordPress blog in minutes

For my fellow Canadians, you can check out this guide: How to start a profitable blog in Canada

If you’re interested in learning more about starting your own blog, I recommend signing up for my free 5-day blogging course. In this course, you’ll learn everything you need to know about launching your own blog, growing your audience, and even earning your first dollar.

3. Trying to please everyone

Many new bloggers worry they’ll run out of ideas for blog posts if they stick to just one topic. This is why they write about everything and anything. (I was definitely guilty of this when I started my blog).

While it sounds smart to create a blog that appeals to everyone, it almost NEVER works. By trying to please everyone, you end up attracting no one. Instead, your blog will lack focus, your readers will get confused and have no idea what your brand is about or why they should care.

Does this sound like the type of blog you want to have? Probably not.

Successful bloggers have a strong niche. They know WHO their target audience is, what their reader is struggling with, and how to motivate their reader to accomplish their goal.

I know this can sound overwhelming right now, especially if you’re a new blogger. Don’t worry. I didn’t have a target audience when I started my blog. It took me awhile before I found my blogging voice and established a strong niche. These things take time, and that’s okay.

To help you get started on finding your niche, here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. What are you passionate about?
2. What are your skills? Are you knowledgeable about a certain topic?
3. How can I make money from my passion and knowledge? For example, if you choose the niche “fashion”, look at how other fashion blogs are making money.

4. Wasting time trying to make your blog perfect

Here’s the moment of truth when it comes to having the “perfect” blog: There is NO such thing as the perfect blog.

Got it? Okay, good.

I see SO many new bloggers get caught up with the belief that they need to have a perfect blog name or the perfect website design.

Unfortunately this mentality prevents new bloggers from getting ahead because they’re too afraid to take risks. They waste so much time on small details that really don’t matter in the big picture.

There are many blogs with catchy domain names and beautiful website designs that don’t make any money.

If you want to be a successful blogger, focus on creating profitable content. Share products your audience will find useful and provide value to them. You could have the most beautiful-looking blog in the world. But it’s ultimately your content that will make the biggest impact.

Do you want to start your own money-making blog? First you need to start a blog. If you’re interested in starting your own blog, you can use my free step-by-step guide here to set up your blog. For as little as $2.95 per month, you can easily start your own blog and get a FREE domain name when you sign up through my tutorial. This special price is exclusive for Mint Notion readers.

5. Spreading yourself too thin on social media

Many new bloggers feel the need to be on EVERY social media platform because that’s what they see other bloggers doing. The truth is, every social media platform works differently. For example, growing your audience on Pinterest involves a different strategy than growing your followers on Instagram.

One of the biggest blogging mistakes I see beginners make is spreading themselves too thin on social media. Instead, I recommend focusing on ONE (or two) social media platforms to promote your blog, and doing them really well.

Not sure which platform to focus on? My suggestion is to go where your ideal audience hangs out. For example, Pinterest is my favorite platform for promoting my blog content.

6. Neglecting your email list

An email list is vital to your success as a blogger. One of the top blogging mistakes beginners make is waiting to start growing their email list. Some bloggers don’t even offer an option for readers to subscribe to an email list (which is even worse).

This is one of the blogging mistakes I made in the beginning. It took me two years before I signed up with MailChimp to start my email list. I didn’t the value of having an email list. I’m sharing this with you because I don’t want you to make the same error I did.

If I could go back in time and tell my younger blogging self what I know now, starting an email list from day one would be on the top of my list!

Why? Because you OWN your email list.

Social networks come and go, algorithms can change, but your email list remains the same. Plus, your email subscribers are more likely to be product buyers. This means if you ever decide to sell a product or service, you need an email list.

Your email subscribers are your MOST engaged blog readers and will be your most loyal customers. For new bloggers, I recommend using THIS email service (free for up to 2,000 subscribers) or THIS email service (which was created specifically for bloggers and the one I personally use).

>>> Click here for tips on how to grow your email list

7. Being afraid to invest in tools that will help your blog grow

Many new bloggers are afraid to spend money or invest in tools that they NEED to help grow and make money from their blog. This is one of the blogging mistakes I made in the beginning.

It’s funny because many of these new bloggers are also afraid to pay for web hosting and instead choose a free blogging platform (hoping they can make it successful someday). Choosing a free blog to test the waters is a mistake.

When you have a free blog, you won’t take blogging seriously – and neither will Google or brands you want to work with. However, when you pay for web hosting (which is only a few dollar per month), you’re more likely to invest in your blog and take blogging more seriously, which will pay off BIG in the long run.

How many hobbies can you think of that only cost a few dollars per month?

How many business ideas can you think of that only cost a few dollars per month to start?

Blogging is one of the MOST affordable hobbies / business ideas I know.

I used to be afraid to spend money. I was scared to pay for a self-hosted blog. I was scared to spend money on a professional WordPress theme. And I was really scared to invest money in buying blogging e-books or e-courses.

Then one day I realized that these fears were holding me back from pursuing my goals and getting ahead. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

Knowledge is power, my dear reader!

Once I invested in a professional WordPress theme, my blog traffic instantly increased and I received so many compliments on how easy my website was to navigate and read.

Once I bought my first blogging e-course, I was able to use the strategies I learned in the course to turn my hobby-blog into a profitable blog. The course creator makes $50,000 per month from affiliate marketing, so I knew that I was learning from the best. She even made over $300,000 from ONE blog post.

If you’re interested in learning more about this e-course, please check out this great interview I did with the course creator.

Results from the e-course: Thanks to the teachings in this course, I have been able to turn my blog into a full-time job! I now earn $8,000 – $12,000 per month from blogging.

8. Ignoring your blog’s branding

It sounds silly to think about it now, but your blog’s brand is important. Creating a style guide for your blog will instantly make your website look more professional and less like a newbie blogger.

You don’t need to invest a lot of money to get a custom website theme, fancy logo, amazing photos, and epic graphics. All you have to do is keep it simple. Here are some helpful tips in creating a style guide for your blog:

• Logo
  Create a simple logo which reflects your blog’s brand and core values. I created a simple logo using Canva, however you can pay someone to create a custom logo if you wish. To keep things simple, I recommend creating a typographic logo.
• Fonts
  Stick to 2 or 3 font choices for your blog’s brand. This keeps things looking clean and professional. I have two font choices for my website: one font for my headings and second font for my body text.
• Colors
  What colors come to mind when you think of Coca-Cola? If you said red and white, that’s because they have good branding. Colors are important for expressing the unique personality of your blog’s brand. I recommend sticking to 2 or 3 colors. Here are some ideas to get you inspired.
• Photos
  Your images are an important reflection of your blog’s brand. You don’t need to get a fancy camera, there are lots of free and paid stock photo websites to choose pretty images for your blog. Some of my favorites include Pexels, Pixaby, and Unsplash.

9. Stressing about publishing a new blog post every day

One of the blogging mistakes I made when I first started my blog was to try and publish a new blog post every day. This strategy was exhausting! And it’s impossible for anyone to be a successful blogger with this strategy, unless you have multiple contributors to your website.

Many new blogs fail because they get overwhelmed and think they need to constantly pump out new content. Content is important, but you don’t need to publish a new blog post every day to be successful.

Quality is more important than quantity.

You can post three times per week, two times per week, once per week, or a couple of times per month. Whatever posting schedule you decide to do, make sure to be consistent.

10. Giving up too soon

There were many times in my first year of blogging that I wanted to throw in the towel and give up on my blog.

Before I started Mint Notion, I didn’t know anything about blogs, social media or how to make money online. I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. But fortunately I did one thing right.

I never gave up. I believed in myself and I stayed persistent.

Many new bloggers start a blog hoping for overnight success. But overnight success never happens overnight. It takes time.

Giving up too early is one of the most common blogging mistakes beginners make.

So whether it takes you 5 months or 5 years to achieve success, the important thing is to never give up. Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about. Set goals, create an action plan, and make a commitment to yourself to keep at it, even if it seems like a struggle.

You’ve got this, my friend!

Do you want to start your own money-making blog? If you’re interested in starting your own blog, you can use my free step-by-step guide here to set up your blog. For only $2.95 per month, you can easily start your own blog and get a FREE domain name when you sign up through my link. This special price is exclusive for Mint Notion readers!