Are you one of those that do not yet have the capability of blogging to help your business or brand yourself? Then, you are way behind all the others. Professional and small businesses alike have already taken their marketing into blogs to communicate and keep in touch with their target customers and consumers alike.
You may have heard about it already. How people already have their own blogs and how they work successfully with their niche market. Reports have also shown how their profits have been boosted because of blogging. These and among other things are enough for you to jump up and start blogging right away.
What you may not know about is that there are also many bloggers who have fallen into some of the pitfalls of blogging when they first started their own. And take note, these are the same persons who are so good in running their business.
Now, the question. Why do this competitive and successful people fall short when it comes to blogging?
The answer? Blog pitfalls. Not knowing what are these and how to best avoid them.
What are some of the pitfalls in blogging that you need to be aware of to ensure you do not make the same mistakes that others have fallen into?
1. Writing nonsense instead of writing answers to questions your consumers have. You have not undergone keyword search or asked your clients what they want to know first. And you may be thinking that blogs are just like diaries online.
With this beliefs, all you write about is you, your life and other related details. You are actually drifting away from your target. And you are contradicting the business building tool capability of your blog.
2. You pretend to be an expert in order to build more credibility but in reality, you do not have any idea about the blogging software you are using. You can blame this part on the new technology being used on blogging that you are not an expert on. But that is not reason enough.
You need to research and learn more about how to use your blog features before you even start one. Get to know how to make use of your blogs for visibility and accessibility over the Internet. Have a basic knowledge about trackbacks and permanent link features. They will prove important and necessary.
3. No blog category. The readers are confused about what topics are you writing about. They do not have any idea what they are getting into. They probably would not even attempt to find yours if they have to guess first what it is you are trying to say.
What is your main message? Your focus? What will be in your blog that your readers can benefit from? Try to answer these questions.
4. Your blog does not reflect you and your business. Your blog is a mess and your customers cannot seem to find any similarity between your blog and your business.
Your blog should be an extension of your business. Make your customers feel like they are doing business with you in the comfortable ambiance of your office. Your blogs should reflect your business image.
5. You have no idea about other blogs in the same field. You do not spend time looking at other blogs to see what is being written about and to see the strategies that others are using. You do not know what is happening on the market.
Blogging takes commitments. You have to let your readers know that you are present and that they are able to contact you through your blogs. Give some of your time to your blogs.
6. Your blogs have no appropriate contents posted. If all you ever have in your blogs are advertising and marketing about your products, expect your customers to get bored, go away and never come back. They have had enough of sales being presented to them.
Spare them the sales talk. Try to write something not about what you are offering. Find other related topics you can talk about.
7. You have not visited your blog for some time. One of the sins in blogging is not updating what is written. Expect to lose the traffic you have been getting.
If you are not doing anything about your blog, why have one in the first place?
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Good stuff, Ben. I will slightly counter #3, if I may. Though I have them, I believe that if someone is basically going to write about one thing, and in their mind it’s all the same thing, then categories don’t really matter. Truth be told, I’ve never gone to anyone’s blog and decided to read a category of posts, and I’m not sure all that many other people do either. However, if they do, I’m sure I’ll read about it here. lol
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Ha well yea.. You may be right to your stand but I guess it helps your readers understand better what topics you cover on your blog. Helps you get organised better as well.
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i think your blog being able to reflect you is fairly important because you dont want your readers to just read and not know the person behind the information. getting a little personal on your blog is good as well, building that relationship and bond with your readers to a level where they feel pretty comfortable itneracting without having to worry about impressions and what not.
good stuff, Pei. am i the only one that calls you Pei instead of ben? i think i got stuck on it from your domain
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Lol it doesn’t matter.. I respond to both names! =)
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If you stop updating your blog then you are doomed from the start. You have to keep content fresh and if at all possible , unique. Blog commenting and visiting other blogs can give you a great feel of how successful blogs ( this one
) are run.
Keep up the good work Pei…I mean Ben
Jason
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Wow so much flattering here, you’re making me fly Fulton.. I mean Jason. By the way I am glad you got a photo for mybloglog now!
Ben Pei’s last blog post..Avoid These Common Traps In Blogging
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Excellent post – these are all things that most people should want to avoid – as with any blog, not updating is the killer.
Many blogs come and go based on this fact alone – don’t become a statistic!!
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Yup whats the point of starting one if you don’t want to update it?
Ben Pei’s last blog post..Avoid These Common Traps In Blogging
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Very pertinent point! Time management is definitely a critical issue here, and it seems like loads of people just haven’t got the time or energy to dedicate to supplying their blogs with quality content on a regular basis, whilst trying to run a business too.
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I think one of the biggest misunderstandings with starting a blog is that many noobs take the infamous “you don’t have to be an expert at something to make money online” saying that all the popular gurus swear by, and noobs get confused with not having to be an expert and pretending to be an expert.
and that line does NOT apply to a personal blog.
Don’t pretend to be something you’re not. Plain and simple.
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Ben You are right, if we are not going to update our blog often then why having one in the first place. Even your Alexa ranking start to come down if you do not update. We need fresh content for the old readers and some more topics to help the new bloggers that do not know much yet.
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Nice post Ben. I see alot of people oversaturate their blogs with aff marketing banners and complement with posts that haven’t been updated in months. #7 is something I’ve noticed quite a bit.
BrandC’s last blog post..The End of the McMansion
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Yeah it would be weird if you don’t even visit your own blog!
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I see these traps as being all beginners mistakes. If you are a blogger who has been blogging for at least 6 months and are making some of these mistakes, you need to take a step back and re-evaluate your goals and objectives.
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Unforgivable sin that will be…
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Hi Ben,
Excellent points about the common traps in blogging! It’s a good thing I’ve been exposed to something like this early so I knew how to avoid certain things.
Hrmm, I think I’ll include the ideas I got from this post in a little report that I might be coming up with soon~ Thanks Ben!
Asher
Asher’s last blog post..20 Point Starter Guide To Professional Blogging
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Sure.. benefit your readers too!
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1 more point to add to the common traps that new bloggers often fall into and that is choosing of niche. Many people see that A-list bloggers are making 5 figures per month because they are blogging about MMO/blogging niche and they just follow blindly without knowing anything much. As far as I am concern, these are the huge mistake that people should avoid.
Wei Liang
Wei Liang | Earn Money Online’s last blog post..Lesson 24: Affiliate Marketing (Part 1)
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True.. I admit I stepped in blindly as well but I have’t stopped learning..
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Sweet stuff Ben, some of which I’ve been mulling over as well…interesting changes/additions coming to DSWM.
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You’re doing quite well actually.. I like your writing style..
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nice post as usual ben. i am truly agree with the points you have covered here. i also want to add a stuff that new blogger is not able to choose proper niche or having problem in doing that and because of that after getting jump start to the blog he is not able to perform regularly. by the way nice points covered. thanx
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You’re right about the pretending to be expert part. I respect people who blog and give recommendations provided he or she has been there done that. Like if someone tells readers about how to make money he himself ought to be making money using this method or product.
Peter Lee
Work From Home Business Blog’s last blog post..Blog Carnival of Link Building, Blogging Tips,Traffic Secrets
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Yah man Peter.. I was thinking of writing a post about this as well.
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In this case he creates additional competition for his business,if he has already used the method and made money he might be an expert in it though the situation is not the same.
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I find it so funny how many people try to act as a expert blogger
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i do did these mistakes earlier but corrected it.
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