Don’t Make These Same Mistakes in Your Blog

love-bloggingMore than six million blog websites exist, and another 12 million blogs are written on social media sites, reports the Marketing Technology Blog. Making the same basic mistakes as many other bloggers will keep your site unnoticed. Clean up your blog by checking it for the following common mistakes, and make it stand out in the crowd.

Capture Readers with the First Few Words

A headline that is unclear, misleading or oversells will dissuade readers from continuing to the rest of your blog, writes Inc.com. Tell them in the headline why reading your post will be good for them, or what they can expect. Remember there are millions of blogs to choose from. Make sure your headline keeps the reader on your blog site.

Headlines such as, “5 Amazing Ways to Get Rich From Your Blog!” sound like spam email. Visitors click and move on. “You May Need a New Domain Name to Compete,” on the other hand, lets the visitor know there may be a problem you can help with.

Don’t Lose the Reader With the First Paragraph

Keep the interest level high once you’ve stopped them with the headline. Social Media Today says the lead paragraph should contain some statistics, a story or a controversial statement to further engage the reader and make her want to finish reading your blog post.

Look for, and Clean Up, All Errors in Your Post

Beyond spell checking, check for grammar, punctuation, broken links, and inconsistencies. Double-check any facts and figures in your post. Readers will be quick to point those out to you. If proofreading and editing are not your strong points, consider having someone else do the quality check for you.

Don’t Make the Reader Wait

Do your research when looking for an Internet service provider to host your blog. Visitors will wait about 3.5 seconds for a page to load before they’ll bail out of your site, The New York Times reports. Don’t go with the cheapest outfit you can find. Use a resource such as WebHostingBlueBook.com to find an ISP that is reputable, has a high record of uptime, and offers additional features useful to you as your blog grows.

Post Frequently

Infrequent blog posts won't give you credibility, says Ken Mueller, social media marketing professional with Inkling Media. You won't attract an audience or build a community. Readers won't take you seriously. Pick a daily, weekly or bi-weekly schedule, and stick to that so readers know when to expect new posts from you.

Don’t Fill Up the Posts with the Same Material

Each post should be unique. If you duplicate your topics just to fill a self-imposed quota, you’ll lose followers quickly. If it’s too hard to come up with a fresh idea, perhaps today is not a good time to write on your blog.

Don’t Try to Do It All Yourself

Blogging Basics writes that a common mistake new bloggers make is to do all of the writing in the blog themselves. Look for guest bloggers in the same field. Offer to exchange blogging favors. Share posts on other sites with large followings. Using guest bloggers from popular sites may entice their readers to come to your site.

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Gary

CEO at 3Bug Media
Gary Shouldis is the founder of 3Bug Media, a web marketing company that helps businesses create 360 Marketing Strategies to dominate their market. His blog is read by over 20 thousand small business owners a month and has been featured in the N.Y. Times Small Business, Business Insider and Yahoo Small Business.
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