32 Common Mistakes That Can Kill Your Blog

We all make mistakes, whether you new to blogging or a blogging master, mistakes are easy to make. One of the best ways to learn is from making mistakes, but why not learn from other people’s mistakes? To help you out we have pulled together the top 32 blogging mistakes, with a blog post for each one which explains how to avoid making the same mistakes, again!

1. Don’t Try to monetize your blog too early, or over monetize it
We all want to make money from our blogs, but trying to monetize your blog too early can kill your readership.
2. Don’t forget to build a relationship with your readers
Readers are the life blood of your blog, so build a relationship with them. Read their comments, visit their sites, email them personally if they have a questions, etc.

3. Don’t lack predictability
People read the same blogs because it covers the subject matter they are interested in, so don’t chop and change too must. Variety is the spice of live, but too much variety can kill a blog. Read more…

4. Not updating your blog often enough
This is one of the most common mistakes. We all start with the best of intensions but before you know it, several weeks have past. This can kill your blog in no time at all. Read more…

5. Don’t choose the wrong blog name
You wouldn’t chose your child’s name in 5 mins, so don’t do it for your blog. The name is the one thing which is difficult to change once you have a reputation so take your time and get it right. Read more… and more… and more… and more… and more…

6. Don’t lack a focus
Its vital that your blog has a clear purpose. Having a focus will help you write clearer posts. Readers will greatly appreciate - even thrive on - consistency and continuity. Read more… and more… and more…

7. Start too many blogs at the same time
You start a blog make a bit of money and think “with more blogs and more topics, I could get more readers and make more money” right? Wrong. Trying to grow a single blogs is hard enough, don’t put too much pressure of yourself. Read more… and more…

8. Concentrating on blog design only
A good looking blog is nice, but remember that people want to read blogs not admire the CSS code or pretty pictures, KISS (keep it simple stupid). Read more…

9. Don’t use shared hosting
If you are going to be serious about blogging don’t compromise on the hosting. Read more…

10. How now to run a contest
Contests can be great for generating a buzz, links and readers, but get it wrong and you could be in a whole heap of trouble. Read more…

11. Don’t do rushed, unverified or incomplete posts
There is always a temptation to get a quick post up to “fill the gap”, but as they say “less speed and more haste”. Read more…

12. Don’t try and run contests until you have enough traffic
If your idea need reader participation, don’t run it until you have some readers. Sounds simple but its an easy mistake to make. Read more…

13. Installing your blog in the wrong place
The standard installation for some blogs is here “www.domain.com/blog”. This can mean that you blog could be accessed either through “www.domain.com” or “www.domain.com/blog”, meaning that the Homepage was duplicated, this is bad for SEO.  Read more…

14. Not including images and videos in blog posts
A picture can say a hundred words, so why not use one and save yourself written a hundred words. In age of youtube people almost expect a video so why not add one and add an extra dimension to your blog. Read more…

15. Don’t open links in a new window
Some purest think opening links in a new window is wrong, but I’m not sure. Read more…

16. Don’t comment on other blogs unless you have something useful to say
Comments can be a useful way to gain traffic but don’t go for the shock tactics, if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. Read more…

17. Use a smart permalink structure on your blog when setting it up
A good link structure is important for SEO and SEO is important for generating traffic, so great it right at the start. Read more…

18. Don’t copy your blog post from Microsoft Word
If you copy your blog post from Microsoft Word directly into Wordpress you will be asking for trouble, either use notepad or the inbuilt wordpress editor. Read more…

19. Don’t have too many draft posts you will never complete them
We have all don’t this mistake, starting a post, saving it as a draft them never complete it. Have a rule, never have more than two draft posts. Read more…

20. Don’t underestimate the time needed to make your blog a success
Blogging is not a magic trick where you write a few times and suddenly every customer is beating a path to your door. It is a long term process where you build a rapore and nurture a community, build trust and develop friendships. This can take months. Read more…

21. Don’t forget to delete the first post
Hello-world is the WordPress default name for the first post. Don’t forget to delete otherwise the URL of your first post will screamed “newbie”. Read more…

22. Don’t forget to participate in link building events
Links are vital to getting traffic, so take part in link building event ASAP. Read more…

23. Don’t get sidetracked
Blogging takes time and commitment. Getting sidetracked is easy, but its important not to let it happen. Read more…

24. Don’t ignored some basic rules of SEO optimization
Virtually all websites are found via search engines, so if your sites isn’t optimised its unlikely its will even been found, so at least ensure that the basics are covered. Read more…

26. Hiding the email sign-up form
Email can be a great way to keep in touch with your readers. Replacing the email sign-up form with a link killed one blogs sign-up rate. Read more…

27. Adding too many plugins can slow your blog down
Traffic is great, but if you are ever lucky enough to make the homepage of Digg.com your will regret adding too many photos and plugins to your blog. They can slow your site down and eat-up bandwidth like is no tomorrow. Read more…

28. Not having the right categories
Its easy to just let the categories grow organically, but before you know it you are in a mess. Decide on the category structure early on. Read more…

29. Focus on blogging, not begging for links
If you write great, informative and valuable content, links and traffic will follow. So spend as much time as possible writing the best content you can. Read more…

30. Don’t run out of inspiration
If you ever run out of ideas for your blog posts, take some time out and read some material outside of your niche. Read more…

31. Don’t mimic other bloggers
Coke is the real thing, it’s the most popular cola drink in the world because it’s the original. So aim to be the original, find your own voice and don’t waste your time trying to be someone else. Read more…

32. The biggest mistake of all is not blogging
If you want for the “right time” to start blogging you will never start. The sooner you start your blog, the sooner you’ll be a great blogger. Read more…