{"id":2238,"date":"2016-07-30T21:04:38","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T15:34:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2024-03-15T03:04:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T21:34:06","slug":"blogging-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/blogging-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Avoid Common Blogging Mistakes"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #0099ff;\">Blogging Mistakes<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Blogging Mistakes<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Several times per month, I consult with authors looking for an evaluation of their online presence and often that includes their blog content. Sometimes they\u2019re wondering why they don\u2019t have more traffic, or they ask if they should continue the effort at all.<\/p>\n<p>Given the time and energy that\u2019s involved in meaningful blogging, it\u2019s an important question. Here are five blogging mistakes that I often discover when I evaluate authors\u2019 blogging efforts.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/blogging-mistakes.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2240\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/blogging-mistakes.png?resize=600%2C197\" alt=\"blogging mistakes\" width=\"600\" height=\"197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/blogging-mistakes.png?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/blogging-mistakes.png?resize=300%2C99&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0099ff;\">1.\u00a0Blog post headlines are too vague or general.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Writers, being creative and imaginative people, can be tempted to get clever, poetic, or metaphorical with their blog post headlines. Unfortunately, this is exactly the wrong tendency. Post headlines need to be dead literal and specific, for several reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Google and other search engines don\u2019t understand metaphorical or clever headlines, so vague headlines can hurt the potential for your content in search.<\/li>\n<li>If you or others share the article on social media, people may only see the headline and little else. Will readers have enough of a reason to click based on the headline alone?<\/li>\n<li>People reading and discovering content online are typically speeding through lists and articles. They\u2019re unlikely to slow down and pay close attention to your content unless your headline is compelling or your name carries significance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It may seem boring to be direct and literal with your headline, but I guarantee better headlines will result in more traffic and more engagement. To be sure, I\u2019m not advocating clickbait (a headline that is sensational and doesn\u2019t really deliver), but an accurate headline that \u201ctells and sells.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/how-to-write-a-perfect-resume\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to write a Perfect Resume<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0099ff;\">2.\u00a0The blog post\u00a0includes no images.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Every blog post should have an image included, even if it doesn\u2019t appear to directly relate to the content. Having an image will increase the perceived value with readers as well as engagement. But there\u2019s another reason beyond this to ensure you\u2019ve got an image: social media shares.<\/p>\n<p>Every time your article is linked to on social media, a \u201ccard\u201d will automatically be generated that includes the article headline, the key image for that article, and sometimes a 1-2 line summary of the article. If you don\u2019t include an image in your post, your \u201ccard\u201d may also be without an image, and it won\u2019t attract as much attention when shared on social media\u2014where visuals rule.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/commonly-misunderstood-words\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Commonly Misunderstood Words<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0099ff;\">3.\u00a0The overall blog lacks any cornerstone content strategy.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Cornerstone content includes the content that consistently attracts traffic and attention through search or other types of sharing.<\/p>\n<p>Your job as a blogger becomes immensely easier when you have a few of these posts consistently bringing in a fresh readership who may be interested in all of your new posts going forward. To develop cornerstone content, think through what problems or challenges your readers have that they might use Google to search for. Or, think about the most popular topics, events, or issues that your work centers around. You can also consider building resource lists, interview series, or link round-ups on a regular basis that get shared or talked about in your community.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/21-writing-prompts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">21 Writing Prompts<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0099ff;\">4.\u00a0The blogger doesn\u2019t thoughtfully share their posts on social media.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Some bloggers set up their posts to share automatically on the social media accounts where they\u2019re active. But this is a huge mistake\u00a0and\u00a0missed opportunity to share your content along with a personal message, question, or other means of engaging people on each social media network.<\/p>\n<p>If you value your blog content, then value how you present it and introduce it to people. Don\u2019t just dump the link and walk away, and expect people to care about it. Share with them why it\u2019s important to you, or why it might be important to them.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/one-word-substitution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One Word Substitution<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"color: #0099ff;\">5. The blogger doesn\u2019t identify who will help spread the word in advance of writing their posts.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Social media sharing is important for new blog posts, but if you want to expand your audience beyond those you already reach, you need to go a step further. Before you dump a ton of effort and energy into any blog post, consider: Who will help share it and spread the word the content exists? Come up with specific, individual names, then respectfully contact them via email or social media with a personal and brief note. Explain the value of the post, why you think their audience will be interested, and make a specific suggestion: \u201cIf you think this post would of value to your readers, I\u2019d love a tweet\u201d (or whatever is appropriate given their platform). You\u2019ll have more luck with this strategy if you\u2019ve already been sharing\u00a0<em>their<\/em> content.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Final note:\u00a0<\/strong>Authors who are disappointed with the results of their blogging usually haven\u2019t given much strategic thought to the content they\u2019re producing, or even why they\u2019re producing it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blogging Mistakes Blogging Mistakes Several times per month, I consult with authors looking for an evaluation of their online presence and often that includes their blog content. Sometimes they\u2019re wondering why they don\u2019t have more traffic, or they ask if they should continue the effort at all. Given the time and energy that\u2019s involved in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2239,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,273],"tags":[223,221,219,218,213,214,51,164,217,215,199,216,222,224,17,53,220,19,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-2238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-how-to","8":"category-learning-zone","9":"tag-articles","10":"tag-author","11":"tag-blogger","12":"tag-blogging","13":"tag-blogging-mistakes","14":"tag-blogs","15":"tag-english","16":"tag-how-to","17":"tag-mistakes","18":"tag-offline-blog","19":"tag-online","20":"tag-online-blog","21":"tag-reader","22":"tag-reading","23":"tag-tips","24":"tag-vocabulary","25":"tag-writer","26":"tag-writing","27":"tag-writing-tips"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/blogging-mistakes.jpg?fit=800%2C521&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Writing Geeks","author_link":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/author\/writinggeeks\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/blogging-mistakes.jpg?fit=800%2C521&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6uhmH-A6","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3918,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2238\/revisions\/3918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}