12 Mistakes to Avoid if You Want Your Blog to Succeed

How to start a blog with the right tools and mindset

Since 2016, blogging has been a major part of my life.

I always loved the idea of sharing personal ideas with an audience next to my freelance writing gigs and my corporate job.

My first travel blog started as a muse project and became a profitable side hustle over time.

Even though it is now obsolete, it was a great introduction to the online business ecosystem and financed my first round-the-world trip.

Recently, I transitioned into other niches and co-founded new sites.

My sites nowadays make up a significant chunk of my income and I am looking forward to continuing my blogging endeavors in the future.

However, all beginnings are difficult. Like any newbie blogger, I made a lot of mistakes In the first two years.

Even though I now see most of them as part of a fruitful trial and error journey, I don’t consider them unavoidable.

On this basis, here are 12 mistakes to avoid if you want your blog to succeed.

1. Treating it like a hobby

The first key to success for any blog is the right attitude.

If you want your blog to be more than a muse project, you need to treat it as such.

Consequently, you need to invest the right amount of time, energy, and resources from the getgo.

I know, many of us begin with a small budget and no blogging experience.

However, if you want your blog to become successful — in essence, profitable — you need to adopt two thinking patterns right away.

First, always think long-term. Don’t see your blog as a fun little hobby for today. Even if you start out as a hobby blogger, consider its future potential.

Secondly, always be aware of the required time commitment. In the launch phase, every successful blogger invested endless hours with little to no return.

2. Not worrying about the design, font, and theme

When it comes to blog design, the coin has two sides.

On the one hand, your blog shouldn’t look like a cheap 2005 site. On the other hand, you shouldn’t spend 10 hours a day on themes and fonts.

I’ve been there. When I started my latest blog, I remember spending 7 hours on potential fonts. My clock suddenly revealed that I had wasted an entire day.

The next day, I devised a plain solution. I looked at a few blogs I liked, inspected their fonts, and used similar ones. Problem solved.

On this basis, find a font and design that make your site intuitive and easy to navigate. Once achieved, focus on your actual posts.

3. Not covering the legal bases

In simple terms, every blog nowadays needs three legal pages: a privacy policy, a disclaimer, and a terms and conditions page. These pages must include certain clauses like data protection measures, opt-out possibilities, and so on.

If you are not a lawyer, chances are you’ll want a free template for those pages. Unfortunately, they are hard to find.

If you are unsure of the mechanics of these pages, the best course of action is to buy them.

I know, this might hurt your blogging budget, but it will be vital for your blog in case of future discussions with sponsors, readers, or customers.

4. Using bad pictures

In 2020, having a blog with low-quality, uninspiring pictures is simply not acceptable anymore.

Of course, not all of us are gifted photographers.

Opt for beautiful, high-quality pictures from free resources like Unsplash or Pixabay if you can’t take better pictures yourself.

If your budget is higher, Shutterstock or Adobe Stock are recommendable options.

5. Not working on SEO from day one

My first blog took three years before making over 1,000 dollars a month. The main reason for its long and arduous road to success was my sheer lack of SEO.

Back then, I didn’t know any better, but now, even first-year marketing students know about Search Engine Optimization.

On this basis, if you want your blog to succeed in its first year, devise a proper SEO strategy at the outset.

Start with a free Wordpress plugin like Yoast and work your way up toward more complex SEO techniques.

Build backlinks as quickly as possible and try to score some guest posts. If you are new to SEO, take a small course, or get some useful resources.

In this regard, one of the most helpful websites is MakeTrafficHappen. With free and premium guides, MTH helps beginner bloggers learn about SEO and link building without too much technical jargon.

6. Not setting up a long-term growth strategy

As with most online businesses, designing a long-term plan for your blog is crucial.

How long? I would say three years. Most blogs are tributary to the 1,000 days rule. As such, it will take around three years before your blog could — in theory — replace your corporate job.

Of course, many factors come into play, but a long-term strategy is essential to turn your blog into a business. Set publishing goals and try to improve every month. Put systems in place to stick to your plan.

If you persevere long enough with the right systems, success will be a byproduct. Besides, a long-term blogging strategy will kill two birds with one stone.

First, it will keep you motivated and help you overcome writer’s block.

On the other hand, It will also enable you to track your progress constantly — a major component of any successful blogging journey.

7. Not posting enough

In simple terms, post as often as you can.

Especially in the beginning, building a loyal audience through regular, high-quality content is crucial.

How often?

There is no scientific answer, but I would recommend posting at least three times a week in your first year. If that’s impossible, try to publish a strict minimum of 10 articles per month.

8. Choosing the wrong niche

A common blogging rule states that you don’t know your preferred niche until you’ve written 100 articles.

I agree. For rookie bloggers, it’s very hard to find a suitable niche in the first year.

How do we tackle this predicament?

Unfortunately, there is no easy solution. One effective method is to enter an existing niche and try to find your angle.

If you manage to write 100 or even 50 articles with this angle, you can be sure that you found the right niche.

9. Neglecting the finances

I know, if you start a blog, you don’t necessarily think about it as a business with financial implications. That’s a colossal mistake.

No matter how small your blog is, track your spending, earnings, and investment projects.

In the long run, you’ll need it.

10. Not delegating

Again, delegating sounds far-fetched for bloggers with a small audience and a limited budget.

However, there will be a point when you realize that you can’t do everything yourself.

Once your blog grows to a certain level, don’t shy away from getting help for some of the most strenuous parts.

Even if it’s just a one-off design help or some coding assistance, delegating will save you heaps of time. You’ll be able to invest that time into what makes your blog unique — the creative part.

11. Forgetting your audience

“Successful blogging is not about one time hits. It’s about building a loyal following over time.” — David Aston

Many bloggers start their project because they love writing. And there is nothing wrong with that.

In a previous article, I stated that your love for writing is the single best reason to start a blog in 2020. I naturally stand by that.

Nevertheless, you are not just writing for yourself. You are running a blog, a website designed to attract an audience with its content.

Hence, you need to get to know your audience, identify their interests, and solve their problems.

By determining their main reasons for visiting your site, you’ll be able to harness their interest. In the long haul, this will secure their engagement and turn them into a loyal following rather than casual visitors.

Some efficient methods to interact with your audience are polls, social media, and email lists.

No matter your method of choice, try to feel the pulse and adapt your blog to your audience — all while retaining your authenticity.

As business greats like Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss say, you only need 1,000 true fans to build a lucrative online business.

12. Disregarding other bloggers

Finally, many first-time bloggers make the mistake of building their blog without considering what the competition is doing.

In the beginning, this will not impact your site. Over time, however, you need to understand your niche and adapt. Niches constantly evolve and audiences change over time.

In this context, a stale website will send your audience to the competition. Try out new things and always incorporate fresh topics. Look at what other bloggers are doing and find inspiration.

By staying in tune with the times, you’ll bypass the dreaded blogging plateau that discourages many bloggers in their first or second year.

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