12 Blogging Mistakes to Avoid When You Are Getting Started

Back in 2017, I decided to start a blog. I watched a YouTube tutorial that guided me through the process. 

And within an hour, I learned how to register a domain, buy hosting, and successfully set up an entire blog from scratch.

I was so excited about this new adventure that I started blogging right away. But after two months into blogging, I realized that blogging is not just about buying a domain and hosting.

There are many other things you need to consider before starting your blog. For example, niche selection, writing content, choosing the right blogging platform, and more. Unfortunately, I could not predict these blogging mistakes that I was about to make. 

And I don’t want you to make the same mistake As mine. So, I decided to share the common blogging mistakes that I made at the beginning of my blogging venture.

It’ll help you cope with any issues you are about to encounter when you are getting started. 

So, without further ado, let’s jump straight into it.

 

1. Insufficient Knowledge 

The first blogging mistake I made is I didn’t even get the basic idea of blogging. I needed to register a domain, buy hosting, and write content to become a successful blogger. 

And because of insufficient Knowledge, I never see blogging beyond these parameters.

But there are many other aspects involved in blogging besides those three. 

For example, what type of content should you post? How to choose a domain name? Which blogging platform is excellent? These questions are critical for you to answer before starting blogging. 

The lesson I learned: Before jumping into anything, always be sure that you have enough knowledge on that particular subject. Otherwise, you may end up making a lot of mistakes unknowingly.

 

2. Choosing The Wrong Blogging Platform

I chose blogger.com to start my first blog because it was easy to use and entirely free. 

However, as time went by, I realized that I was missing something because blogger.com is less flexible and doesn’t allow me to customize the look and feel of my website. 

This is where WordPress comes in. It allowed me to create a beautiful website with tons of features, so I switched to WordPress. 

The Lesson Learned: Whevener you decide to start a blog, always choose a platform that is flexible, feature-rich, and customizable. I recommend you choose WordPress.org.

 Related Post:  Best Blogging Platforms To Start A Successful Blog

 

3. Not knowing the difference between WordPress.com VS WordPress.org

Another common blogging mistake I made was not knowing the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org. 

WordPress.com is a hosted version of WordPress. It provides you with a free account that includes several features like unlimited storage space, automatic backups, etc. However, if you want to add extra features to your site, you need to upgrade to a premium plan. 

On the other hand, WordPress.org is open-source software that anyone can download and install on their server. But this also means that you need to pay for the service. 

Lesson learned: Always know the differences between both platforms. If you want to host your blog yourself, go for WordPress.org; otherwise, stick with WordPress.com.

 

4. Choosing A Wrong Domain Name 

You won’t believe it, but my previous domain was ‘Mechaplanet.org.’ 

Later I found that the domain was less relevant to my niche, so I migrated to ‘beginnersblog.org.’

For this reason, I decided to go through the domain migration process. And this cost me a lot, as I lost almost 70% of my traffic from google. 

It was a bad experience for me. And this is why I advise you to choose your domain wisely so that you never have to migrate to another in the future because it leads to low traffic and low Domain authority.

Lesson learned: Choose a domain name carefully. Please make sure that it is relevant to your niche, so you never have to change it in the future. 

 Related Post: How To Choose and BUY A Domain name wisely

 

5. Using a fancy and bloated theme

When I started my blog, I installed a bloated theme that looks fancy and had too many features.

But later, I realized that these themes don’t make any sense when you are just starting. So, I decided to switch to a clean-looking and specific theme. 

Use simple themes and focus on building up your skills rather than buying stuff.

Lesson learned: Always keep things simple. Don’t get carried away with fancy-looking themes. They may seem attractive at first, but they will end up causing you more trouble than good. 

 Related – How to choose a theme – Things you need to consider 

 

6. Not focusing on building an email list

I ignored email marketing for three years and never collected a single lead or subscriber. And now I am regretting it because I realize how important email marketing is. 

So, if you are planning to launch a new blog, then make sure that you start building an email list just after you launch your blog. It will help you generate sales and leads. 

Lesson learned: Start collecting emails right after launching your blog and building a relationship with them.

Related: 7 Free Email Autoresponder Tools For Bloggers and online marketers

 

7. Choosing a wrong niche 

Selecting the wrong niche was one of the most common blogging mistakes I have ever made.

If you are thinking about launching a new blog, always think twice before choosing a specific niche.

Because once you decide to write something, you should be ready to spend time researching and writing content.

Therefore, if you are not willing to do all those things, then better leave that topic alone. Otherwise, you might end up wasting your valuable time.

Lesson learned: Choose a niche that interests you and has earning potential. Otherwise, you will end up doing nothing. And also, be specific about your niche, and your readers should relate to your content.

Related: Best Profitable blog niche Ideas To drive insane traffic to your blog

 

8. Comparing blogs with others

I had a nasty habit of comparing myself with other bloggers. 

Whenever I saw someone else’s blog, I would compare their stats and determine what I could learn from them.

But this is an awful thing to do because you will only end up making yourself feel inferior.

Also, there is no point in competing with someone already established. 

Instead, focus on improving your skills and work towards becoming successful.

Lesson learned: Never compare your blog with others. Instead, use your energy to improve your skills and grow as a blogger. Learn from failure and try to establish yourself as an industry leader.

 

 

9. Posting content inconsistently

I was posting content inconsistently. Sometimes I posted a lot of content, and sometimes, I didn’t post anything.

I lost for a few months and didn’t post a single piece. Not just that, I was posting only 3-4 posts in a month.

It was tough for me to maintain consistency.

But it was harder for my audience, and they were getting bored with seeing the identical old posts repeatedly.

So, I started posting more frequently and tried to create a consistent flow of content.

Lesson Learned: If you want to become successful, you need to put effort into it. Consistency is key, and it helps you gain trust and credibility among your audience. Also, don’t forget to share your posts on social media. This way, you can increase your traffic and engagement rate.

Related: 15 Best Content Planning Tools For Bloggers

 

10. Not Repurposing Existing Content

In the beginning days of my blogging journey, I published very few posts and never repurposed my existing content. 

Repurpose means making a different version of your existing article. For example, you can turn a blog post into a PDF, publish a video or create an infographic to get more eyeballs.

However, when you start publishing a lot of content, you may find it challenging to develop new articles.

That’s why it is important to repurpose your existing content, and it’s an effective strategy to drive more traffic to your site.

Lesson learned: Always repurpose your existing articles by turning them into videos, infographics, ebooks, etc.

 

11. Not having the right blogging mindset

Blogging takes a lot of patience and dedication. But if you are not mentally prepared, it won’t happen.

You have to be ready to invest a lot of time and money into your blog. So, it would be best if you prepared yourself mentally before starting.

You must understand that writing a good-quality post requires a lot of research and planning.

If you are not willing to put in the required effort, you shouldn’t expect any success.

The most important thing is to have the right mindset.

Don’t worry about how much people read your content. Don’t stress about the number of followers you have.

Your goal should be to build a strong community around your blog. And once you achieve that, everything else will fall into place.

Lesson learned: Be patient, persistent, and have the right blogging mindset. Do what it takes to succeed. 

 

12. Not Spending time to proofread your blog post before publishing

I never spent the second-minute reading and proofreading my blog post, which made many mistakes.

When you write something, you should always proofread it before publishing it.

This will help you avoid embarrassing errors like spelling, grammatical, etc. Also, it will save you from wasting valuable time later. 

However, I am neither a writer nor a proofreader. But I use proofreading tools like Grammarly to proofread my blog post. Not just that, I used to read my post twice before publishing.  

Lesson learned: Proofreading is one of the best ways to ensure quality content. Make sure you spend enough time doing it.

 Related: 20 Proofreading Tips For Bloggers & Writers

 

Conclusion:

These were the 12 blogging mistakes that I made in the early stages of my blogging journey. I hope these lessons helped you in avoiding those mistakes.

Please share this post on social media platforms like Pinterest, Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook if you’ve found this post helpful.

Also, let me know if you faced other mistakes while getting started. I would love to add them here.