And how to correct them today so your blog can grow!

You may be surprised to know, that there are three very common blogging mistakes that most are making right now. Three little errors that can actually prevent your blog from growing. And this is especially true if you’re new.

But, the good news is that these blogging mistakes are easy to fix, if you know what to look for.

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Disclaimer: This post contains some affiliate links. This means that I’ll be providing some recommendations that I feel great about. Selecting those will not cost you a penny more, just helps fund my dreams. This is also not a paid advertisement or review; only represents my opinion 100%.

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Blogging mistakes are bound to happen. We get so excited to launch, launch, launch that we don’t see those tiny landmines until tripping over one or two, accidentally. Not a huge game changer; but, certainly aggravating. It’s the fine-print no one usually covers, until now.

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1. Social Media Mayhem

You’re probably wondering – what the heck?! How could setting up social media add to this “blogging mistakes” convo?! It’s not just about setting up your socials, for instance. It’s a little more complex.

First, it’s about understanding the attention each one needs and gauging which one takes priority. Then, it’s learning about balancing what you are trying to accomplish with each one and knowing when to do it. We’re talking sheer strategy and maximizing your social presence.

Consequently, creating too many social accounts can be a big contributor to one of the most common blogging mistakes out there: social media overkill. Start small and prioritize.

Top 5 socials listed in order of personal preference

(My Favorites)

• Twitter – hands down the best social platform for building your online tribe, family. Here you will find a community that will fill you with inspiration and motivation. Pro-tip: however, be careful if you’re looking to drive blog traffic, not all bloggers who boast “return all comments” do. Not all “Blogger Re-tweet Accounts” actually RT your content. So, don’t get your feelings hurt or blast them on Twitter. Take a mental note and move on.
• Pinterest – hands down the best social platform for building your blog traffic. There is less of that “back and forth” Twitter type convo; however, you get more of the “hi, here’s my great pin, read my fabulous post so follow me” action. Pro-tip: take an eCourse or two. But, don’t pay hundreds of dollars. Follow my lead and get on the Lauren Duclos bandwagon. I grew my monthly views from 500 to over 6,000 in just 45 days! You can read all about that journey here.

(Social Limbo: still assessing)

• YouTube – Currently, a love hate relationship. I love being on camera. I love the idea of going viral. However, I don’t love the idea of investing upwards of $600 or more in great lighting and video equipment, today. I’m also not an Apple product user so bye-bye iMovie possibilities (sorry, Android girl here). Similar to Pinterest, this is one social platform that requires a tremendous amount of investment and time. Pro-tip: above all, take as many eCourses as possible. Prioritize this channel once your Pinterest account is running strong, growing tens of thousands of monthly views.

(Social Meh: not convinced)

• Instagram – 100% flaky and one of my least favorite social platforms for driving blog awareness. Be warned: the algorithms are a true mystery. You gain 10 followers, lose 15 on any given day. I’m stuck at the same mark, regardless of who I follow, what I post or hashtag. My insta-follower-ship success is starkly juxtaposed with the growth I see on my other socials. Pro-tip: don’t make this a priority and certainly don’t buy followers. Also, don’t get too obsessed with the “unfollow” process. Breath in and let it go.
• Facebook – I set up a Facebook page for one reason alone: to keep my personal and business lives separate. Consequently, not a priority for me, today. Pro-tip: having a Facebook page is not going to make or break you. Start by following other like-minded Facebook Pages/Groups to get the gist of things first. That being said, your Business Facebook page does tie into your Business Instagram account.

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2. Affiliate Marketing Craze

You’re probably shaking your head again in disbelief and asking: how will I ever monetize and make money if I shun affiliate marketing? In other words, shouldn’t I load my pages up with tons of ads? Yes and no.

Here is the bottom line. If you launch your blog and apply to the top AMs like CJ, Awin, Amazon, etc. you’re going to be accepted. And then 180 days later and 3 qualified sales short, Amazon is going to send you a Dear John Letter and break up with you.

(Speaking from experience, wasn’t the best feeling ever. BUT it did inspire this post. I’m “girl glass half full” and excited to share my blogging mistakes so you don’t make them too)

And while you’re thinking: super easy to recommend a product. It’s not that easy if you didn’t do the legwork first: building your blog traffic. Chasing those AM dollars before building site views is easily comparable to putting the cart before the horse.

3 pro-tips to save you time and heartache

• Pro-tip 1: before applying to endless AM groups, build your blog traffic. You can’t sell a thing if you have 10 views a day. Focus on getting a steady stream of 100-500 or more views a day and then think strategic monetization once you’re in the 1000s. Yes, you can always re-apply. But, for now keep your eye on the prize: grow your blog traffic and avoid those pesky beginning blogging mistakes!

• Pro-tip 2: establish the proper mindset and ask yourself: what AM group works best for me? After all, you’ll be making personal recommendations. Think about what products you use. In my case, I am an Amazon Prime fanatic. But, both CJ and Awin also support products I can relate to, such as: CatholicMatch, PureFlix, here and try it for free!

• Pro-tip 3 : clean up the number of ads you have on your blog. This is because, you want your new traffic focused on your content not navigating ads to get to your content. Start small, prioritize. Go to Gourmet, for example. Add a footer/header tag, maybe a couple ads here and there, side menus until your traffic size is up to par. And then, just be faithful to a few good ones. Don’t over do it.

Once you build your traffic into the 10s of 1000s, there are some solid partners out there that will help you build some serious cashflow. Case in point: Mediavine.

Mediavine is for big bloggers and smaller publishers alike, placing a premium on original content and website quality. How do we define that, and do you qualify?

Mediavine

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3. SEO What

It took me months to finally feel like I understand what a SEO is and more importantly how to make Yoast work for me. Most of us don’t get how this can probably be one of the biggest blogging mistakes out there. It’s easy to miss.

Search engine optimization is the process of affecting the online visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine’s unpaid results—often referred to as “natural”, “organic”, or “earned” results. 

Wikipedia

So, if you had to re-read that quote or got stuck in thinking “wow, Yoast is a funny name, rhymes with toast…” well, you’ve got your work cut out. Your blog may not reach the scope you desire and deserve until you figure it out.

But, that’s perfectly OK and you are not alone. I’m right here with you! Pro-tip: read up on SEOs, sign up for an SEO eCourses. I did my homework and now am on the wait list for Dana Nicole’s acclaimed Savvy in SEO course! In the meantime, I’m doing some prep work and taking other free SEO eCourses.

A proper SEO course will not only help structure your blog optimization properly; but, will help build your Domain Authority (predictor that figures out how you will rank on the internet). You’ll confidently close the door on this blogging oversight.

3 important things I learned about blogging and SEOs

• The internet loves when you “interlink content” in your post. What this means is that you are referencing your past posts within a current post. Posts that relate to each other.
• “Back links” are also a great way to drive that virtual presence on the internet. This is when you guest post on another blog. They, in turn, reference your site in theirs. I had a couple of great opportunities this past Christmas, during Blogmas (interlink example) to do that. My favorite guest post was with Women With Gifts. To see my guest post, click here (example of back linking).
• Yoast. Yes, the plug-in that rhythms with toast. Literally saved my blog life. Above all, a complete game-changer. This will help you with meta tags, keywords, permalinks, etc.

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Hope this was helpful! Tell me about your blogging mistakes. Drop me a comment in the section below. I love hearing from you!

(Catch up with my all my free Bloghelp here)