Many bloggers don\u2019t even make it to a full year. The truth is, blogging is much more difficult than most people realize. It seems easy enough, keep an online diary on a topic you love and people will read it, right? Wrong. I\u2019ve witnessed so many blogs rev up\u2026and burn right back down. Avoid these common pitfalls to stick around for the long haul!<\/p>\n
Not true. The internet is enormous. Sure someone might stumble on your page by accident. It\u2019s not likely though. If you want people to read your blog, you need to go get your readers. There are people out there that want to read what you have to say. You can write the best content on the planet, if you don\u2019t promote it; it\u2019s as if you are writing into a black hole.<\/p>\n
In that case, it might as well be a robot writing your blog. Blogs are personal. No matter what the subject matter, a robotic unemotional blog is not going to have many fans. If you don\u2019t get personal, you have a website. Not a blog. This doesn\u2019t mean you write about every diaper you change or girl you date. It just means you write like a human being with emotions.<\/p>\n
What is the main focus of your blog? Does it really make sense to go into full details about the cavity you just had filled? If you have a dental blog\u2026maybe so. If you have a crafting blog, probably not. Use discretion, and remember your online persona does not have to showcase every facet of your real life personality.<\/p>\n
Do you know where the majority of your readers are right now? They are on Facebook. They are on Twitter. They want you to make a fan page for your blog. They want you to update it. That might be the only way they see your content nowadays. Bloggers are expected to be social; therefore you need to be involved in social media to have any kind of success.<\/p>\n
Bloggers do not have competition. They have colleagues. Become active within your niche and participate. Even if you think blog hops are silly wastes of time\u2026if it\u2019s something that your niche participates in\u2026put on your sneakers and hop along. Most niches work with each other. You scratch my back, I\u2019ll scratch yours.\u00a0 If you are always the one taking, you will not be popular with other bloggers in your niche. This means they won\u2019t link to you and won\u2019t look for you when they need something.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve been blogging a few months, you have decent traffic, a loyal readership\u2026and you take it for granted. You don\u2019t post on a reliable schedule. You get complacent with your status in the blogging world. The next thing you know, your readers are gone.\u00a0 I guarantee even professional bloggers network daily.\u00a0 Your readers follow you because they are interested. If you stop providing what they came for, they will stop coming.<\/p>\n
You decided you want to make an income blogging. This doesn\u2019t mean you turn your blog into one big fat advertisement.\u00a0 If you consistently give nothing but positive opinions on products and link your readers to spam, they won\u2019t come back. You want to get paid for what you do, but to keep getting paid\u2026you need the trust and respect of your readers. If I don\u2019t trust you, I won\u2019t click your affiliate link.<\/p>\n
If you are an exact cookie cutter of another blog, it will show. Every blogger is unique. We all have something special to bring to the table. If you aren\u2019t showcasing your own voice and your own ideas, you are simply being a copycat. You have to have passion for your topic, and you have to be original in some way.<\/p>\n
I am a people pleaser. I don\u2019t like people to be upset with me. This is the hardest part of blogging for me. Not everyone thinks what I post is the next best thing to sliced bread. Not everyone always agrees with me. This is a fact that as a blogger, I have to accept. I can\u2019t bend over backwards to please everyone. I won\u2019t keep every reader who happens upon my blog. If I tried, I would be miserable. Don\u2019t even try.<\/p>\n
Your mind becomes overwhelmed with the possibilities for your blog. So much so that you realize you are living for your blog. Every moment is a bloggable moment. Every picture you take is set up so you can post it. You turn down obligations because they aren\u2019t blog-worthy. Your blog should enhance your life, not take it over.<\/p>\n
Being a blogger is probably the hardest job I\u2019ve had in my life. The hours are insane, the day is never done, and the return doesn\u2019t always reflect the effort put in-yet.<\/p>\n
It would be so easy to give up.\u00a0I refuse to give up. The professional bloggers don\u2019t give up. They work for their money, but most of all, they work for their readers.<\/p>\n
Never lose sight of why you started your blog. I started to help people. To teach them what I had to learn the hard way. Bloggers are successful when they are active within their niche, earn the trust and loyalty of theirs readers and when they participate in life.<\/p>\n