21 Dumb Mistakes That Will Doom Your Blog From Day One (Solved)

Anyone can start a blog, but the real test is getting readers.

Blogging, at its core, is simple. You write great content, promote it, readers come, and you start cashing checks.

However, don’t mistake simplicity with ease.

Becoming a successful blogger isn’t easy. In fact, almost 70% of bloggers aren’t earning anything, and only about 2% of bloggers earn a decent living.

Those numbers are scary, but the good news is that most bloggers fail because they make the same dumb mistakes over and over.

Wouldn’t you love avoiding these mistakes?

So, for this post, that’s what I decided to talk about. Let’s start by vaccinating you against the dumb mistakes new bloggers make with their blogs.

Dumb Mistake #1: Not Believing in Yourself

Nothing will work if you don’t believe in it.

Starting a blog without believing in your abilities of being able to make a resounding success is the biggest mistake you can make as a blogger.

There’s no point in even taking the first step as you’re doomed to fail.

Solution:

Being a blogger doesn’t require any degrees, special powers, or having lots of money.

Therefore, only you can stop yourself from becoming a successful blogger.

In order to succeed at anything, you must first believe in yourself.

I come from a third world country and English isn’t my first language…. If I can do it, so can you.

I had my doubts about becoming a full-time blogger just as any normal human being considering a change of career path would.

However, I didn’t let those doubts prevent me from taking the plunge.

I started by researching successful bloggers and finding out what made them so “special.” Come to find out, they weren’t special, they’re normal human beings just like you and me.

Knowing this transformed all my doubts into insignificant afterthoughts. My believe of becoming a successful blogger skyrocketed and the rest is history.

If you’re struggling believing in yourself. Research other bloggers in the niche you wish to enter and see for yourself that they’re nothing special.

You can do everything they’re doing and then some.

Dumb Mistake #2: Not Setting Goals

How can you taste success if you don’t know what it looks like?

As a blogger, how can you put together a marketing strategy if you don’t know what you’re shooting for?

It’s very difficult to plan anything if you don’t know what your end goal is.

Solution:

If you haven’t started a blog yet, take the time to write down your short-term and long-term goals.

Short-term goal examples:

• • Start a blog by “x” date
  • Publish two blog posts per week
  • Reach out to 10 influencers per week
  • Do my first guest post within 30 days
  • Reach 10,000 visitor mark within 6 months
  • Make my 1st dollar
  • Make $1,000 within 6 months

Long-term goal examples:

• • Grow my blog to 50,000 readers a month within two years
  • Make $5,000  per month midway through my second year of blogging
  • Become an influencer
  • Quit my full-time job
  • Travel the world with my blogging income
  • Buy a new car/house with my blogging income
  • Become a millionaire within five years

The key here is not overreaching. Set goals that are hard to achieve, yet attainable.

There’s no sense in setting a short-term goal of reaching the one million visitor mark within three months of launching your blog. That’s just setting yourself up for failure.

Note: Try not to copy the examples above. Look deep within yourself and decide what you truly want to achieve. No matter what it is, that’s what you should write down.

Lastly, don’t give up because you failed to reach a specific milestone. Your goals are a guideline, so if you didn’t reach “x” amount of visitors within “x” amount of time don’t kill yourself over it.

On the contrary, it should add fuel to the fire within you to continue growing as a blogger and reaching all your goals.

Dumb Mistake #3: Using a Free Blogging Platform

If you’re blogging for your family and friends, it makes sense using a free blogging platform such as WordPress.com, Medium, or Blogspot.

However, if you want to monetize your blog. Stay far away from free blogging platforms.

Why, you might ask?

1. 1. Storage limits
   2. Your blog can be taken down without warning
   3. Less customizable
   4. Must upgrade (pay) for certain features
   5. Some place ads which you cannot remove
   6. Less ways to monetize
   7. Long URL structures
   8. Less professional
   9. Lack of customer service
   10. You don’t own anything

You’d be hard pressed to find a professional blogger using free blogging platforms.

Don’t do it unless you feel like testing out an idea prior to launching your blog.

Solution:

Go self-hosted from the get go.

I personally use Bluehost (affiliate link) for all my blogs. You can get started for only $3.95 a month, and get a free domain name for the first year.

The benefits of going self-hosted are endless… below are some of my favorites:

1. 1. You control everything
   2. Millions of pre-designed blog templates to choose from
   3. Endless customization options
   4. Thousands of plugins to make your life easier
   5. No limits on monetizing your blog
   6. 24/7 USA based customer support (Bluehost)
   7. No storage limits (Bluehost)
   8. Peace of mind (Blog cannot be taken down unless you stop paying)
   9. Can have multiple blogs (Bluehost)
   10. Easy to use and track visitors

I use Bluehost (affiliate link) to host all my blogs and recommend them because they have been excellent. However, there are other web host companies out there to consider.

One such company is Siteground. Have never used them and have no affiliation with them, but have heard nothing but great things about them from the blogging community.

If you haven’t chosen a hosting company yet. Do your research and choose the one that best suits your needs.

Bluehost should be good enough for 99% of you, but if you’re looking for cloud hosting or something out of the ordinary, I’d suggest you look further.

Dumb Mistake #4: Writing Poor Headlines

On average, 8 out of 10 people will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will go on to read the content.

What’s the point of spending an entire day writing an absolute beast of a blog post if no one is going to read it because you chose a shitty title?

This isn’t to say you should spend all your time coming up with a great title. However, don’t overlook its importance to the success of each blog post you publish.

Solution:

Image Courtesy of Feldman Creative

Learn to write clever headlines that people will be itching to click on.

How?

I wrote a blog post called “199 Title Ideas for Your Next Blog Post.”

Study it and use some of the templates to come up with your own magnetic headlines.

Dumb Mistake #5: Improperly Researching Your Topics

Some topics you’ll be able to write about without having to do any research.

However, no matter how knowledgeable you are on your niche, there will always be certain topics you can learn more about.

2+2 = 4, but so does 1+1+2.

In most cases, there are many ways of solving a problem. It’s your prerogative as an authority to show your readers the different ways to solve their problems.

Solution:

The first thing I do when I decide to write about a topic is head over to Google and see what others have to say about it.

Most of the time I have my own thoughts on the topics I write about, but I find that research infuses my content with new information that I might not have otherwise discussed.

There’s always something new to learn. Be thorough with your research, and provide your readers with the best information possible on the topics you discuss.

Researching won’t just be useful to your readers, but also to you. It will help you grow as a blogger and will bring to light unknown ideas (to you) on your topics.

Dumb Mistake #6: Not Creating an Identity

You have your own personal identity and so should your blog.

There are over 31 million bloggers in the US alone.

As a blogger and researcher, I’d be bored to death if every blog I went to looked the same, and spoke about the same topics with no personality behind it.

Think of your readers… what would they do if you were talking about the same topics as your competition, and in the same tone?

Why would they choose you over the competition?

Solution:

Feature some of your sass in your writing.

You’re a unique individual so why would you want to sound like everyone else?

Sure, you don’t want to bore your readers with your problems or day-to-day routines, but bring out some of your personality in your writing.

Allow your readers to connect to you by showing them you’re different than everybody else.

Note: Your blog’s identity can be similar to that of your competition, but you have to find something to differentiate yourself from everyone else. It’s what will make your readers want to keep coming back for more.

Dumb Mistake #7: Being Ashamed of Your Writing

Not everyone can be Stephen King.

English isn’t my first language so trust me when I say this… Writing was the biggest obstacle I had to crush when I decided to become a full-time blogger.

Being insecure about your writing is completely normal and instead of being ashamed, you should embrace it.

Why? Well because most bloggers fall into three categories:

1. 1. Inferiority complex: Bloggers who think they’re awful, but actually, they’re not really that bad.
   2. The opposite: Bloggers who think they’re writing is amazing, but not many people agree with them.
   3. The Middle: Bloggers who know they aren’t the worst, but know they have room for improvement.

I had an inferiority complex, so don’t feel bad if you do as well. Let’s embrace it and work on it.

Solution:

Read, read, read, and read some more. I can’t stress this enough.

Find out who the best bloggers in your niche are, and study their writing styles.

This doesn’t mean I want you to copy them, but by studying them, you’ll notice similarities that you can incorporate into your writing style.

Example: I noticed most well-known bloggers in this niche write short paragraphs, address their readers directly, and write using a conversational tone.

Have you noticed how most of my paragraphs are two or three sentences long? or how I use the word “you” every chance I get?

That’s because I studied the best bloggers in my niche, not because I knew it from the beginning.

I know there’s still lots of room for improvement, but little things like that will boost your confidence and before you know it, you’ll be looking forward to “writing time.”

Dumb Mistake #8: Not Caring About Your Topic

It’s hard enough getting up everyday and going to a job you don’t like, so why would you want to blog about a topic that doesn’t interest you?

Not caring about your topic can be detrimental to your blog’s success.

Can you imagine having to write 100 articles on a topic that doesn’t interests you, or one you know nothing about?

Solution:

Before starting your blog, jot down niches of interest to you.

Next, go to Google and research each niche.

Try your best to find out the following information:

• • Is there a broad enough market for you to monetize a blog around this topic
  • Is there a lot of competition (competition is good, don’t be afraid of it)
  • Is there a missing link? something within the niche nobody is covering
  • Are bloggers making money within this niche

If not sure about any of the above, contact bloggers within the niche and ask them directly. You’ll find that most bloggers are super helpful.

You should now know which of your niches are worthy of your time. Choose the one you feel best about and go with it.

Keep that list in case you decide to expand in the future, but focus on one to begin with.

Note: If you already have a blog and feel like it’s a chore to run it, try looking into other routes… As with everything in life, it’s better late than never.

FYI: You don’t “need” to love the niche you get into. Sometimes we have to sacrifice passion for the all mighty dollar. However, don’t ever start a blog based on a topic you don’t have the least care for. Sometimes the $$ isn’t worth it.

Dumb Mistake #9: Not Understanding Your Audience

Do you know your target audience? If you do, skip over this section.

If you’re an aspiring blogger, this is crucial for your success.

Most bloggers begin with an idea of what they want to blog about, how much money they want to make, and what they want to do with that money.

The one thing they seem to forget is who their audience will be.

How can you expect to make a living as a blogger if you don’t know who you’ll be selling your products or ideas to?

Solution:

Imagine what your typical reader looks like… take it a step further and figure out who your customers will be.

Not every reader will buy what you’re selling, so you must fine tune your blogging strategies to your ideal customers.

BloggingPlas example:

• • Broad audience: Bloggers
  • Specific audience: Beginner and intermediate bloggers
  • Customers: Aspiring bloggers

You see what I mean? This blog can benefit most bloggers, no matter how far up the chain they are, but my intended customers are aspiring bloggers.

Why, you might ask?

Well, if you read my blog posts you’ll notice that most are geared towards aspiring bloggers who have yet to take the plunge, or new ones that are looking for guidance on how to grow their blog traffic and earn money.

That’s why I’ve partnered with companies such as Bluehost (affiliate link) to help my ideal customers be able to easily start a blog.

Once they start a blog, they can follow me to learn how to grow their traffic and earn money from it.

Take your time with this one. Knowing your audience will make it so much easier to come up with content for them, as well as figure out ways to monetize your blog.

Note: Your ideal customer might change over time. I used to think my ideal customers were all bloggers in general, but as you can see from above it’s not so. However, because I did this exercise I was able to start on the right path and fine tune my methods on the fly.

Dumb Mistake #10: Publishing Blog Posts at the Wrong Time

Bloggers normally write, edit, and publish.

They don’t care about what time they’re publishing their posts. All they know is that it’s been published and anyone can access it.

Nothing’s wrong with that, but you might want to get a leg up on them and publish yours during optimal times of the day.

Solution:

Studies have shown the best time to publish your blog posts is between 9:30am and 11am USA East Coast time.

I schedule most of my posts to be published at 8:00am. This ensures that my posts are ready during peak reading times.

My publishing schedule looks like this:

• • Monday 8:00am
  • Wednesday 8:00am
  • Friday 8:00am

I publish three blog posts a week. However, if you’re publishing less, be sure to schedule one for Monday morning as its generally the best time to publish.

Don’t know how to schedule a blog post in WordPress?

There you have it… While writing your blog post, go to the menu on the right hand side. Where it says “Publish immediately,” click edit, and enter your preferred time.

Note: Publishing your blog posts during optimal times will provide more exposure. However, the most important thing is that you actually publish something.

Dumb Mistake #11: Waiting to Monetize Your Blog

I don’t understand why most bloggers start their blogs and think about monetizing it later.

They believe one must reach a specific amount of traffic before monetizing it.

I guess that’s OK, but isn’t every reader a potential customer?

Solution:

First, you need to figure out how you want to monetize your blog.

• • Affiliate Marketing: Earning a commission by selling other people’s products and services.
  • Ads: Placing ads throughout your blog — pay-per-click.
  • Products: Selling your own products directly to the consumer.
  • Sponsored Posts: Charging companies to post on your blog.
  • Services: Providing a service which you charge for.

There are other ways of monetizing your bog, but most fall into those five categories.

Once you know how you plan on monetizing your blog, there’s nothing stopping you from implementing it.

Ads and sponsored posts will require the most traffic to see results. However, even if that’s the route you decide to go, it’s a good idea to research companies you might want to reach out to in the future which might be interested in placing their ads on your blog.

And you never know.  One of your first posts could go viral and you miss out on potential income just because you wanted to wait until you had “x” amount of traffic to start monetizing your blog.

I planned on monetizing this blog through affiliate marketing and products. Therefore as soon as my blog went live, I started making partnerships with companies who’s products I was already using.

Examples: Bluehost (hosting), and MailChimp (email gathering).

I got my first commission at the end of the first month with very minimal amount of traffic.

Had I waited until the blog had “x” amount of traffic that’s one commission check I would have missed out on.

Set yourself up from the get go. If you don’t make any sales for a while, don’t worry about it… at least your ready for them.

Dumb Mistake #12: Betting The Bank on SEO

Just in case you don’t know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

This is the practice of making specific adjustments to your blog that will help it gain traffic from search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo in the long run.

Getting traffic from search engines should be a priority for all bloggers. However, putting all your eggs in that basket can be a disaster.

Nobody knows for sure how the Google algorithm decides your rankings, but any SEO expert will tell you the biggest, most important factor is the number of links from trusted sources.

You can optimize your site perfectly, but if you’re not getting any links from trusted sites in your niche, nothing you do is going to quickly raise your ranking.

Translation:

For beginner bloggers, SEO is a long-term traffic generation strategy.

Solution:

Make sure every blog post you write has the right ingredients:

1. 1. Killer headline
   2. Compelling lead
   3. Appealing graphics
   4. Useful headings and subheadings
   5. Authenticity
   6. Internal links
   7. External links
   8. SEO :)… Don’t dismiss SEO, just know it’s long-term.
   9. Substantial length: Aim for 2,000+ words
   10. Proper grammar and spelling
   11. Call to action
   12. Summary

Once you’ve written a blog post with the correct ingredients. You must publish it and do the following:

1. 1. Persuade influencers to spread the word
   2. Create a social media blitz
   3. Scavenge for backlinks
   4. E-mail everyone you know
   5. Answer related questions on Quora
   6. Post to Aggregator sites
   7. Respond to comments
   8. Comment on other people’s blogs (related)
   9. Refresh constantly

This combination will ensure that you’re not only taking care of the SEO aspect of things, but also generating traffic while you wait for the search engines to start ranking your blog high enough for traffic to start flowing from them.

Note: Don’t ignore SEO as over time it could potentially become your best source of traffic. However, don’t sit back and wait for it, be proactive and generate traffic through other avenues.

Dumb Mistake #13: Thinking Valuable Content is Enough

Writing awesome content is crucial to your blog’s success.

That’s why many bloggers believe all their focus should be placed on creating great content.

However, publishing the best blog post in the world and no one knowing about it doesn’t do you any good.

No matter how great of a writer you are, just publishing a blog post isn’t going to make it go viral.

Solution:

This is where the Pareto principle (AKA 80/20 rule) comes in handy.

You should spend 20% of your time creating epic content, and 80% of your time promoting it.

You may choose to promote it on social media, to your friends, or to influencers in your niche.

The point is… promote the sh*t out of every blog post you publish.

Go back over the solution to step #12 in order to understand what you must do once you have created an epic post.

Dumb Mistake #14: Not Making Friends With Influencers

Have you ever noticed that most successful individuals around you tend to be well connected?

Why is that?

Perhaps because the better connected you are, the more chances you have of succeeding in life.

So why do most bloggers stubbornly think they can make it on their own?

This is such a neanderthal way of thinking that I’ll just quickly jump to the solution.

Solution:

“It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know That Matters Most.”

You can take that to the bank.

No matter what career path you choose in life, I guarantee you it’s much easier to reach the top if you’re well connected.

Same applies to bloggers. Especially when starting out.

Search engines take their sweet time sending you a constant flow of traffic, and it will take you time to gain a large enough following on social media to make a difference.

However, making friends with influencers can provide a shortcut to growing awareness of your blog’s existence.

Influencers in your niche will already have the connections needed to quickly grow your blog. It’s your duty to find them and get them to share the word about what you’re up to.

Dumb Mistake #15: Having A Presence On All Social Media Platforms

The logic here is that Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and other social media platforms are good traffic sources.

The problem, you might ask?

Math!

There are 24 hours during the day.

Assuming you sleep 8 hours a day, that leaves you with 16 to do everything else.

Maybe you love working and don’t care about spending time with friends and family, or doing anything else for that matter.

Let’s take away 2 hours for things such as showering, eating, resting, and whatever else you might do.

That leaves you with 14 hours and you’ve yet to do any blogging for the day.

Can you imagine trying to build a presence on a bunch of social media platforms with such scarcity of time?

Solution:

Starting out, focus on the one social media platform that will generate the best return for you efforts.

If you’re a lifestyle blogger, Instagram is probably the way to go, but if you’re blogging about nonprofit organizations Facebook and LinkedIn are better options.

Your niche will be key in deciding what’s the best social media platform for your blog.

See where other bloggers in your niche have their largest presence to get an idea of what might be best for you.

Note: Master one platform before moving on to another. It’ll do your blog no good for you to be a jack of all trades and master of none.

Dumb Mistake #16: Wasting Time Redesigning Your Blog

Starting out, you’ll have a million ideas on what you want your blog to look like.

Once it finally goes live, if you’re like most bloggers, you’ll want to tweak it.

Tweak this or that, and next thing you know your spending more time tweaking your blog then growing it.

Solution:

Create your blog and move on.

Focus on the things that really matter such as writing epic content, reaching out to influencers, building a social media presence, getting back links, and so on.

Your blog’s design can be changed in the future if needed.

Dumb Mistake #17: Writing Everyday 

I know what you’re thinking…. he must be kidding right?

Actually, no I’m not.

Most bloggers will recommend you write as much as possible. Heck, they’ll tell you to publish multiple blog posts in a day if you can.

The reason why they do this, is because content is the backbone of every blog.

However, if you spend all your time writing, who’s going to promote all these posts?

Solution:

Decide on a schedule you can work with.

For me, it’s posting three times a week and spending the rest of my time promoting those blog posts.

Remember… the best way to grow your blog is to spend 20% of your time writing, and 80% promoting.

Note: If you want your blog to grow fast, you need to expand your readership exponentially, and posting everyday isn’t going to do it for you.

Dumb Mistake #18: Waiting For Your Traffic To Blowup

Back in the day, you could write a few blog posts and wait for the search engines to bring you traffic.

There wasn’t much competition, therefore most bloggers were getting traffic by default.

It was perfectly acceptable to start out with a few readers and allow your blog’s traffic to grow organically.

Today, bloggers produce over 70 million new posts each month.

What makes anyone believe they can just wait for their blog’s traffic to blow up is besides me.

Solution:

Be proactive. Do everything in your power to bring awareness to your blog.

Doesn’t matter what tactics you decide using, just take action.

Below are some ideas to get you going:

• • Reach out to influencers
  • Paid ads (don’t recommend it, but it works)
  • Social media mentions
  • Email everyone you know
  • SEO
  • Answer questions pertaining to your niche

Note: Don’t wait, promote.

Dumb Mistake #19: Writing Long Paragraphs

Nobody likes reading long blocks of texts.

People’s attention span continue to shrink.

Source: https://www.wyzowl.com/human-attention-span/

Avoid long paragraphs at all costs.

Solution:

Do the following and you won’t have a problem:

• • Highlight important keywords
  • Use bullets to make important points stand out
  • Use subheadings to break out key sections
  • Focus on one idea per paragraph

Note: If any idea seems to require more than three lines to get its point across, break it down into several paragraphs.

Dumb Mistake #20: Violating Copyright

I see many bloggers who take pictures from Google images or other blogs and use them as if they owned them.

That’s a huge mistake…

Not knowing it’s a crime to do so, isn’t going to exempt you from its consequences.

Violating copyright laws can earn you fines of up to $150,000 per image.

I’m not a copyright lawyer so I cannot be of service if you get caught violating copyright laws.

Solution:

If there’s any question about whether you can share someone else’s content, ask its creator for permission.

The only other solution is to never use some else’s content in your blog.

Note: Use sites such as Pixabay, and Unsplash to find images you can use in your blog without having to worry about violating any copyright laws.

Dumb Mistake #21: Expecting Instant Results

Some aspiring bloggers quit their jobs expecting instant results.

They believe there’s a magic recipe that will put money in their pockets instantly.

Next thing you know, money starts to run out, and they’re scrambling trying to get a job anywhere they can to pay the bills.

Don’t make this mistake. Earning enough money to support yourself as a full-time blogger takes time.

No matter how great you might be, it’s not likely to happen overnight.

Solution:

Plan correctly. If you have a regular job, don’t quit until you’re certain blogging is for you.

Also, build at least a six month cushion prior to leaving your constant paycheck behind. This will allow yourself enough time to focus and start generating income from your blog.

Never quit if you have no cushion to fall back on.

Note: The best thing to do is to start your blog while still working your regular job. Quit once your blog is generating enough income to live off of.

Dumb Mistake #22: Being Sleazy

Many bloggers will do anything to make a quick buck.

Be it using black hat SEO techniques to quickly grow their blog’s traffic, or lying to their readers in hopes enticing them to buy something.

Some sleazy tactics work in the short-term, but in the long-run your’re doomed to fail if you decide to go this route.

Solution:

Be genuine. This doesn’t mean you have to tell your readers everything about your life.

However, what’s the point of selling them a product you know nothing about?

I personally use every product I recommend on this blog without exceptions.

Sometimes I’ll mention a competitor’s product which I am not a user of for the following reasons:

• • Provide other options even if I don’t make money from it
  • Other bloggers have great things to say about the product

I don’t think money should always be the reason behind your recommendations.

That’s why I sometimes provide my readers with options I feel might be adequate for them. Even if they take away potential income from myself.

Note: There’s nothing better for your long-term income potential than creating genuine connections with your readers… Don’t sell out for a quick buck.

Dumb Mistake #23: Underestimating the Power of Images

I come across many blogs that make little use of images.

This could work if you’re a long time blogger that has a loyal following already.

However, if you’re just starting out, you better understand the power of properly using images to enhance your blog posts.

Xerox found that colorful images made people 80% more likely to read the content.

Solution:

There are many things you can do:

• • Use colorful images above the fold
  • Use images throughout your post to add credibility
  • Avoid low quality images
  • Use infographics
  • Always set a featured image

Note: Try including several relevant images in all of your blog posts. Images are very helpful in enhancing your blog posts chances of going viral.

Dumb Mistake #24: Trying to Reinvent the Wheel

I applaud bloggers who reinvent the wheel for their niche.

However, I don’t feel it’s the best way for you to get started. There’s just too much uncertainty involved.

Why reinvent the wheel when you can study others and become a successful blogger following their footsteps?

Solution:

Do your research… See what’s working for successful bloggers in your niche and do your best to replicate it.

Note: Always put your own spin on things, but don’t waste your time trying to reinvent the wheel while starting out.

Dumb Mistake #25: Not Collecting Emails

Some bloggers don’t collect emails because they think it’s hard to do.

However, it doesn’t take much.

Most blogs are a simple plugin away from collecting emails.

Solution:

Start collecting emails the moment your blog goes live.

Benefits of collecting emails:

• • Creates a more personal connection with potential customers
  • Can send your new blog posts directly to your readers email address
  • Allows you to recommend products to people who are interested in your stuff

Might be a while before you start collecting a good number of them, but I use MailChimp which is free for up to 2,000 subscribers so it doesn’t hurt to get started right away.

Dumb Mistake #26: Focus Too Much on Word Count

It’s a well known fact that longer blog posts tend to do well in the rankings.

As you can see from the above graphics. The average post ranking at the top of the search engine results is around 2,450 words.

So it’s understandable that bloggers should strive to write long-form content.

However, focusing on word count is the wrong way to go about it.

Solution:

Don’t worry about word count.

I can’t believe I’m saying that, but hear me out for a sec…

I believe in order to provide in-depth information on most topics regardless of niche requires a high word count.

Could be 1,000 or 5,000. The one thing I’m certain of is that no 300 word article is providing anyone in-depth information on any given topic.

Therefore, strive to create the most well-thought-out information on every topic you write about and I assure you word count won’t be an issue.

Dumb Mistake #27: Being Inconsistent

Inconsistency is rampant among bloggers.

Snoop around on bloggers in your niche and you’ll notice most publish blog posts at random.

Some will have social media profiles, but you’ll be hard pressed to find any rhyme or rhythm to their habits.

Solution:

Remember… we’re creatures of habit.

If you post twice a week for a month, and then go a few weeks without posting anything you can expect your loyal readers to find another blog to indulge on.

Get organized.

Decide how often and which days of the week you’ll be publishing on.

Set a schedule for when you’ll work on specific tasks required to make your blog a success.

Don’t deviate from that schedule if at all possible.

This will ensure you become a workhorse during working hours, and that your readers always get what they expect.

The happier your readers are, the happier your wallet will be.

Conclusion

Bloggers make dumb mistakes all the time.

It’s not just beginners either, us veterans are guilty of making some of the dumb mistakes mentioned in this blog post.

Don’t feel bad if you’re guilty of making some of the dumb mistakes mentioned in this blog post.

Take charge by using the solutions provided, and avoid committing the same dumb mistakes again.

What mistakes are you guilty of committing?