I have been blogging for almost ten years now and I am still learning. To master a skill, you have to keep learning and that is something I am always open to doing. Sometimes it may seem like the whole blogging process is a hit or miss, or just down to pure luck but that is usually far from the true story. To have a successful blog, you have to put in the work. Your blog wouldn’t become an overnight success. It takes a while for you to start the results of all the work you have been putting into your blog, and that is why it is always a good idea to have a real passion for writing and creating.

Blogging should come naturally to you for you to be successful at it. If writing feels like a chore, then you may find it hard to create content on demand. So, my number tip for the newbies is to check you are in it for the right reasons before you invest your time, energy, and money on a blog.

3 mistakes to avoid as a blogger

If you are a new blogger and you are passionate about blogging, you are reading the right post. Here are three mistakes you should try to avoid with your blog:

• Ignoring SEO

This is one mistake I made in the early days of blogging. I set up my blog purely as a creative outlet; an escape from my boring customer service role. I knew nothing about keyword research or SEO (search engine optimisation), and I had to learn myself through trial and error. If I could go back in time, I would pay more attention to SEO from day 1 of blogging. SEO is so important when it comes to standing out online and drawing my eyeballs to your blog. Keyword research and SEO help you create content with the right keywords that would generate the most traffic.

• Wrong blog post formatting

This is another mistake I made back in the day. I knew nothing about blog post formatting and just published blog posts with all sorts of formatting errors. Now I know better and I know the right blog post format increases the chances of ranking high on search engines and also looks better.

• Focusing on my own interests

It is okay to blog for yourself and publish content that you find interesting but it is also smart to ensure you are blogging with your audience in mind. Striking the right balance is the way to keep everyone happy and this is something I didn’t do much of when I initially started blogging. I focused more on the content I found interesting and my blog views reflected that. Now, I write content I enjoy but I also publish interesting content my blog readers like to read (like this one).

Have you been blogging for some time? Which mistakes have you made in the blogging process? Please share them in the comments section below. Thank you.