6 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid in 2022
More than 1.7 billion websites are on the internet, and blogs account for more than 500 million of them. And this number will probably only rise over the next few years.
Blogging can be a great way to gather more traffic to your site and boost your brand awareness. But it’s not as simple as you may think. In fact, you’re probably making one or two blogging mistakes already.
If you’re thinking of starting a blog or maybe are battling with your existing blog, we can help you. Keep reading to learn about blogging mistakes to avoid in 2022.
Benefits of Blogging for Your Small Business
Having a blog attached to your website can be a crucial way to boost your business. In addition, creating a successful blog for your website can help instill confidence in your customers, who will be more likely to purchase or inquire about a service you’re offering.
Content marketing can be exceptionally helpful in implementing SEO, which can do wonders to raise your Google ranking. This is where knowing which blogging mistakes to avoid can also help your ranking.
Other benefits of blogging include:
- You get long-term results
- It drives traffic to your business
- It helps with link building
- Blog content can be upcycled for social media posts
- It’s a way to connect with your customers
So now you know why you should have a blog; let’s get to some mistakes people make with their blogs.
Blogging Mistake #1: No Content Plan
We put this one first because this should be the first mistake you address. Having an idea for a blog is very different from actually having to create content. Waiting until you’re sitting down to write to think of a topic can waste a lot of time and make a non-cohesive blog.
How to Avoid This Blogging Mistake
Instead, sit down each month and do some keyword research. Think of topic ideas and even look for inspiration from other blogs.
Note all of your findings. Then take some time to create blog topics you can write and release over the next four weeks.
Do this at the beginning of every month, and you’ll have a successful content plan.
Blogging Mistake #2: Sporadic Posting
Suppose you’re using your blog for your business. In that case, you need to be consistent in how often you post—as such, posting when you feel like it will result in customers never knowing when they can expect new content from you. They will look elsewhere for more reliable content.
How to Avoid This Blogging Mistake
If you’re blogging for your business, create a schedule and stick to it. For example, if blogging more than once a week feels overwhelming, post once a week or two, but whatever you choose, make it consistent. Knowing your goals for blogging can also help.
Blogging Mistake #3: The Wrong Blog Topic
Blogging just for blogging’s sake is a fast way to lose interest in content creation. So before starting your blog, think about what you’re passionate about. Remember, all your blog posts will center around this particular niche, so choose wisely.
How to Avoid This Blogging Mistake
It’s never recommended to start a blog about knitting projects and then switch to something completely unrelated like travel just because travel blogs are trending at the time. Instead, stick to your niche, and you’ll always remain passionate enough to think of new topics.
Blogging Mistake #4: Delaying Monetization
This mistake you may be making without even realizing it’s one of the top blogging mistakes. But unfortunately, not thinking about monetization from the beginning can make the job much more difficult to learn later.
How to Avoid This Blogging Mistake
Learning about monetization early on can teach you to take advantage of it if your blog or a post suddenly goes viral. In addition, if you start monetizing early, you can take time to become familiar with all the aspects of setting your blog up to make you money.
Blogging Mistake #5: Errors Galore
Nothing turns off potential clients more than a website with spelling and grammar errors. It lowers confidence in your business, because making errors in your content will get potential customers questioning the reliability of anything related to your business.
How to Avoid This Blogging Mistake
Utilizing tools such as Grammarly can go a long way to helping lessen your grammatical and spelling errors and are worthwhile. Take time to read and re-read your writing before going live, or hire someone to check over your work instead.
We aren’t all experts on everything, so asking for help where you need it is a smart business move.
Blogging Mistake #6: Using Other People’s Intellectual Property
If you’ve been pulling your blog images off Google, it may only be a matter of time before you’re found out and sued by the original creator. You may think using someone else’s images is acceptable if you credit them or link them back to them, but you would be incorrect.
How to Avoid This Blogging Mistake
It’s polite and considered good practice to ask permission before using someone else’s intellectual property. You can do this by emailing them or making contact over social media, but you have to respect their answer.
If they say no, you can always look for “royalty-free” images from sites like StockSnap.io, Pexels, and Burst.
Curb Your Blogging Mistakes and Watch Your Site Take Off
Figuring out how to blog while figuring out other aspects of your business can make content creation an overwhelming task. This can easily open you up to making common blogging mistakes.
But don’t despair. Invest some time in market research and find out what your potential customers want to know. Focusing on trending keywords can help drive traffic to your site.