Even if you have only recently developed an interest in digital marketing, you’ve probably still come across something that talks about the benefits of blogging.
Many people enjoy reading blogs, either ones that they follow or ones that are recommended to them.
Even though there are many bloggers who have failed, there are also many who have been successful. The successful bloggers have mastered a few key elements that make blogging so alluring.
To be a successful blogger, you need to be friends with social media, work hard and write quality content consistently. You also need to find a way to get attention and make money, which are the main reasons people start blogs in the first place.
Although it may be difficult to see at first, there is always something to be learned from failure. There are many lessons to be learned from failure, not just one.
It’s important to identify the reasons why these bloggers failed, so that you can avoid making the same mistakes.
We’re going to look at some of the blogging practices that don’t work well and why they don’t work.
We look at the mindsets and habits that make bloggers unsuccessful, and what successful bloggers do instead – from making money through affiliate marketing to writing about topics that are interesting to them.
After reading this post, you will have the knowledge needed to become a successful blogger and join the ranks of successful bloggers.
Let’s get started.
1. You don’t take blogging seriously
You will not be successful at blogging if you treat it as a hobby or side project. This is a mistake that many people make and they end up with poor results.
In order to be a successful blogger, you must be consistent and dedicated in order to produce quality content that is shareable on social media. Creating new content on a regular basis will help increase the amount of traffic your blog generates.
According to research, companies that blog 16 or more times a month receive 3.5 times more traffic than those that blog 0-4 times a month.
Moreover, companies that blog frequently also generate more leads through inbound channels.
HubSpot defines inbound leads as a form of marketing that “focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be.”
If you want to run a successful blog, you should publish quality content on a regular basis. The more content you publish, the better your results will be, especially in the long term.
You must keep in mind that blogging cannot be something you do for fun. It will take a lot of hard work to be successful. A successful blogger knows this and continues to work hard to produce quality content.
2. You’re not creating engaging content
If bloggers want to be successful, they need to produce content that is engaging and of great quality. With there being so much content already out there, bloggers need to aim for excellence if they want to stand out.
It is important to create engaging content, as 72% of B2B (Business to Business) content creators have made it a top priority. Although it may take some practice to produce quality content regularly, there are a few shortcuts that can be taken.
The most important thing you can do is to gain a better understanding of your industry.
If you have extensive knowledge about a topic, you can provide your audience with information that would be difficult to find elsewhere. You can also break down complex topics so that your target audience can understand new developments in your industry.
You can become a successful blogger by thinking like one and taking the time to do all the necessary reading, watching, listening, and thinking. You can then discuss complex topics in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. If you want to stay up to date with the latest developments in your industry, consider setting up a Google Alert to get notifications whenever something new is published.
You can also improve the quality of your content by expanding on what is already available.
If you had just started a business that sold green tea, you might want to start a blog as a way to tell people about your product.
You can improve your chances of success with green tea related content by finding topics that have already been successful.
You don’t necessarily want to do this forever, but a method like this can help you get started. BuzzSumo is a tool that you can use to determine what types of content are popular in your niche.
You can use BuzzSumo to find topics for your green tea blog by typing ‘green tea’ into the search bar.
If you want to make the results more relevant, you can change the date range or use a different keyword.
It can be helpful to think of combining your niche keyword with words like ‘how to,’ ‘guide,’ or ‘tips’ to create keywords that will produce results-oriented content, which usually does well across different niches.
3. You’re not promoting yourself
As I mentioned earlier, more people are blogging nowadays.
Many popular forms of content are in the form of blog posts.
This increase in competition means that you will have to work harder to stand out from the rest. Consider ways to promote yourself such as social media, guest posting, or the suggestions below.
The best way to promote something is to make sure it is high quality to begin with. However, if you follow the tips above, you are likely to already have that part covered.
So, what can you do to promote your content?
You have two choices of how to promote your website. You can use organic methods that take a bit more time, or you can promote it using paid methods. The organic methods can be divided into two categories. The first is on-site optimization, which are changes you make to your website to make it easier for Google to find. The second category is off-site optimization, which is building links to your website from other credible websites.
If someone has shared similar content to what you have created in the past, you can email them to let them know that you have made something similar that they might also enjoy.
You can identify the individuals who have shared your content using the ‘View Sharers’ feature in Buzzsumo, and then obtain their email addresses so that you can notify them about your new content.
4. Thinking it’s all about the money
If your main intent in starting a blog is to generate income, you may be in for a rude awakening. Blogging is not a get rich quick scheme, and it requires enormous investments of time and effort. We are talking here about independent blogs. If you are using a blog to promote your business that is a whole different story.
Many bloggers give up too soon because they either start blogging for the wrong reasons or they expect to make a lot of money without putting in the work. It takes time and effort to make money blogging, and if you’re not willing to put in the time, you won’t be successful.
Most successful bloggers have been blogging for five or more years and most did not start seeing any significant financial growth until a year or two after they started.
The phrase “being in it for the money” means that someone is only interested in something because they stand to make money from it. In the context of blogging, this means that someone is only interested in blogging because they think it will make them money, rather than because they want to create a platform that is valuable to their audience or because they want to help people. This person is likely to be unsuccessful as a blogger because they will not put in the time and effort required to learn about their audience and what they need, or to learn the best practices for blogging.
5. Choosing the cheapest way out
It is possible to start a blog for free or at a low cost, however this may not be the best idea if you want your blog to be successful. Free or cheap options might not offer the best solution for a growing, successful blog.
To begin with, a free blog does not allow you to have your own unique domain name.
There is also the issue of your blog being possibly watermarked with the name of the platform you are using for the free blog. This can affect your ability to attract readers or provide a good user experience.
If you want to grow an audience or be visible in your industry, you need to have a well-made blog, not a cheaply made or free one. Although there have been a few bloggers who were successful with a free blog, it is almost impossible to achieve that level of success now.
If you’re not ready to launch a serious business, a free blog domain is a good way to get a feel for blogging. However, there are affordable options (such as starting a Medium blog) that will let you explore blogging without holding back your brand.
6. Poor or non-existent SEO strategy
SEO(Search Engine Optimisation) can be a difficult topic for new bloggers to understand. Things like keyword research and making your posts more searchable are not always easy concepts to grasp or put into practice. Google’s ever-changing search algorithm can be difficult to keep up with.
If you’re not using an SEO strategy for your blog, you’re severely limiting your blog’s potential. Without SEO, your blog content may never be seen by anyone.
The main way that content is found online is through search engine results, so SEO will be the main source of website traffic for your blog. Even if you have a strong social media presence or a large budget for display advertising, your blog will not continue to grow if you do not have a strong focus on SEO. What elements should be included in a suitable SEO strategy for your blog?
Hiring an SEO expert can be costly and not practical for a blogger with a tight budget. But there are a number of best practices you can follow on your own, including:
- keyword research is vital to article marketing success. Article marketing success depends on doing targeted research to include the best keywords in your articles.
- Optimizing titles and headings with appropriate keyword use
- Naming images appropriately and using alt text
- Creating relevant meta descriptions for each page
- Creating a sitemap
- Including suitable internal links
- Investing in user-friendly and mobile responsive design
- Writing content in a natural and engaging way
- Optimizing for voice search functionality in your blog posts
- Including options for social sharing is a great way to promote your blog. Sharing your blog posts on social media and encouraging readers to do the same is a great way to promote your blog.
7. Impatience
While it may take some time to achieve blogging success, giving up too soon is one reason why some blogs fail.
If you’re looking to see immediate results from your blogging, you’re going to be disappointed. Even if you’re doing everything right, you’re competing against hundreds or even thousands of other blogs on the same subject matter. As a new blogger, people aren’t familiar with your brand yet and won’t naturally gravitate towards your work unless you already have a substantial online following.
Just because things aren’t happening immediately doesn’t mean you should give up. If you keep working hard and making sure that your blog posts are high quality, eventually you will start seeing the success you want.
Conclusion
There are many other things that can keep a blog from succeeding. However, the seven reasons mentioned above are among the most common. If you manage to avoid these setbacks, you will have a great chance of achieving your long-term blogging goals.
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