During my 8 year blogging career I have seen a wide range of blogging mistakes. A few errors seem to afflict most bloggers at one time or another during their careers. If you are making these specific mistakes you can turn things around quickly. Honestly check yourself as you read through this list. Being truthful about your current situation can help you change your blogging trajectory quickly.

1: Paper Chasing

You may want to make money through blogging but don’t make this your prime driver. If you do, expect to fail like virtually every blogger who gets in the game mainly to chase that paper.

Your computer is not an ATM and your blog is not the key to unlock untold profits. Blog your passion. Follow your fun through blogging. This detaches you largely from money outcomes which moves your attention and energy to helping people through your blog and a few of the below channels. This is also the way to make the most money through blogging. Ironic, right?

2: Not Building a List

Most bloggers make the massively catastrophic mistake of not building an email list from day 1 because they feel they have no following. This is self-sabotage at its finest because you don’t grow a following until you build an email list. Building a list ensures that people read your posts. Everybody checks their email inboxes regularly. Most people are in and out of their email 10 to 20 times a day if not more. Build a list. Skyrocket your traffic and increase your blogging profits.

3: Not Guest Posting

Guest posting is one of the ultimate ways to reach huge, targeted audiences. But many bloggers skip out on guest posting due to the fear of failure and fear of criticism. I avoided guest posting like the plague for many years. I believed my guest post requests would be rejected. I also envisioned my guest posts being picked apart by critics. Hundreds of guest posts later I can say that this networking strategy is a supremely powerful way to grow your email list and to increase your blog traffic and profits. Establish friendships with top bloggers. Promote them. Help them out. Many blogging buddies will invite you to guest post without you ever having to pitch them.

4: Not Commenting on Blogs

Blog commenting is a vastly underutilized marketing channel that most bloggers ignore. Some bloggers feel nobody reads blog comments. Others feel they have nothing of value to share. A striking majority of bloggers totally overlook blog commenting, leaving a high volume of traffic on the table. I have been blessed to appear on some top notch sites primarily through the power of blog commenting. Comment to make friends. Write a 5 paragraph or longer masterpiece. Personalize the comment. Thank the blogger for sharing their knowledge. Expound on some point made in the post and add your personal experience. Make friends with top bloggers and grow your online visibility.

5: Not Monetizing Intelligently

Monetize intelligently to avoid this debilitating blogging mistake. Bloggers tend to monetize without any real planning. Throwing Adsense on a blog with 100 visitors daily guarantees you may see 1 to 5 cents a month in revenue. Ditto with any blogging income stream you pursued just because you wanted to make a few bucks. Monetize your passions. If you enjoy hamming it up for the camera consider creating video courses. Lovers of writing could write and self-publish eBooks on Amazon or offer freelance writing services. Think through your monetizing streams. Select only good matches.

6: Thinking Successful Bloggers Got Lucky

One of my big blogging mistakes was thinking successful bloggers got lucky or were born with their talents. Successful bloggers rock it out because they think, feel and act like successful bloggers. Don’t make the common error of thinking that top bloggers are the object of good fortune. This only disempowers you. Roll up your cyber sleeves. Get to work!

7: Not Treating Blogging Like a Business

Blogs are businesses. But too many bloggers treat their cyber real estate like a casual, amateur venture. This leads to endless struggles and ultimately failure. Treat your blog like a business. Buy a domain, hosting and premium theme. Invest in your blog. Track income. Keep track of write-offs for tax time. If you see blogging as a business you will grow a successful, prospering venture.

8: Posting too Frequently

A majority of bloggers post content too frequently. This results in thin, weak content which does nothing to build your authority. Pull back on posting daily. At most you should publish 2 to 3 posts weekly. Create quality, thorough, SEO-optimized content. Draw in targeted readers. Grow your blogging business.

9: Not Following Leaders

Many bloggers do not follow leaders in their niche. Even if they follow leaders they do not regularly follow their advice. This is why most bloggers fail horribly online. Follow advice from pro bloggers like Darren Rowse and Zac Johnson. Learn from the best. Follow their advice. Succeed.

10: Doing Zero Mindset Work

Most bloggers do no mindset work and seem baffled when they fail. As within, so without. Spend 30 minutes daily working on your mindset. Meditate, visualize and take time to think through your day. Clear your inner world to see outer blogging success.

Your Turn

Are you making any of these mistakes?

 

Ryan Biddulph is a blogger, author and world traveler who’s been featured on Richard Branson’s Virgin Blog, Forbes, Fox News, Entrepreneur, John Chows Dot Com and Neil Patel Dot Com. He can help you retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging at Blogging From Paradise.