COMMENTS
I agree with all these, especially not getting discouraged and monetizing too early. I've been turned off by far too many blogs plastered with ads.
just FYI - you can map your own domain to a TypePad account, and there's also business-level services available. email me if you want to know more!
You're so vain, you probably think this post is about you.
It's not though, only an oblique reference to a misspelling in the article.
#8. Never post lists when there isn't enough content for 10 items.
Oh...and try to make it interesting.
This is all pretty basic stuff that anyone with a half a grey cell will work out fairly quickly. I made a few of these mistakes in my first two blogging months, but worked out the problems in short order.
As regards number 6 (Using a sub-domain (ex: myblog.typepad.com)), Seth Godin's blog - the God of internet marketing himself - still uses a typepad blog, and even his most recent venture kicks off with a typepad domain. I don't agree with Bob on this - it depends what your business and focus is. SOMETIMES you should host your own Wordpress blog, other times it's not so important.
As regards Bob Walsh, I have to say the guy does not impress me. I know he's now a moderator over at Joel's Business of Software forum, and he's got two books under his belt, but I read about half of his first book on Micro ISV's. It was very relevant to me at the time as I was starting my own ISV. About half way through the book he used a product called Whaddidoo as an example of an emerging software product. I'd already downloaded a trial version and come to the conclusion that it was a piece of amateurish trash that would never amount to anything. Even today, months and years later, it's only had 78 downloads from
www.download.com.
The problem I have is that Bob portrayed this guy as an expert, and treated his product in the same way, complete with full page screenshots and words of wisdom. Bob Walsh is a wannabee writer out to make money on the back or recent techie trends - he should not be taken seriously.
If you want to start your own blog - READ OTHER BLOGS! Look at their themes and see with your own eyes why they work. Seth doesn't have any Google ads, or fancy widgets, just rock solid content!
One should blog on a subject that is one's passion. Lack of traffic will not be a concern then.
Ads are sickening. Anyway, no good blog has ads anyway. When I see ads on a blog, I do not take the content seriously and move on.
I immediately escape from blogs that have huge blocks of writing. I need white spaces in order to take an interest in what someone is saying. Huge walls of endless "talking" is a turnoff, not to mention bad for your eyes. Save it for a book, people!
I have avidly followed novels and stories on blogs because they were well-written and posted in smaller chunks that take 5 to 7 minutes maximum to read. I myself sometimes let friends or colleagues know approximately how long a post will take to read (if it's non-fiction), when I send them a link.
Sometimes, breaking a post up into two parts is a good idea.
It never hurts to state the obvious. I did introduce a number of blidgets in my blog. But then I realized my blot was about writing good content. I got rid of them.
Agreed with all what's said in the post. I committed an additional mistake at two of my blogs and that was not updating timely.
I think I have fallen in the "7 Common Mistakes When Beginning Blogging" that you describe. But be shure I´ll be fixing them just from now. Thank you!
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For mistake #2, do you mean registering the Blog URL hosted on a free blog service if you already have a registered URL for your web site? I didn't think you can register a URL that is a sub-domain. Many thanks! This is helpful information.
There is no bogger turn-off than ads in a BLOG. I used ads in the very begining to no avail. People were probably not reading the blog.
Once I ceased, people visited my website and actually bought product. Don't do it, it's not worth it.
Byrdlegs
One less obvious blog blunder a new blogger can make is not seeking out opinions of readers and then addressing these concerns with other comments, or in future posts. Feel free to end a post wtih: "What do you think?" to make it that much more obvious that you want feedback. Going one step further, do an entire post that asks people what topics within your blog subject are of highest interest. Or send out an email and ask people. I have done all three of these tactics for my blog in the first few months and I learned a lot about what readers liked. --Ken (purethinking.typepad.com)
This is great! I only have about 3 or 4 "dont's"... Usually with other blogs i read there list is different and i get a 9 out of 10 wrong so, what is that called, improvement??
:)
So much to learn, so much to learn!
Although the layout isn't essential, you should still make sure it works on all the major browsers!
I don't agree that design isn't important - don't underrate the importance of the visual impact - a lot of female readers are impressed by this - we are not all geeks who like gadgets and widgets - good pictures are VERY important to hold interest.
Good article. I particularly like the points #5 & #7. I also wrote something like this a while back.
http://www.derick.in/13/9-must-dos-before-starting-a-blog/
I have to admit I made pretty much all these mistakes when I started out and I wrote about it here:
http://www.jasonslater.co.uk/index.php/2007/09/20/how-am-i-going-to-fix-my-blog/
So your post is very useful advice for new starters (as well as established Bloggers!).
Jas.
http://www.jasonslater.co.uk
How do i Build a Blog Site-Off Line at Home, too my Liking, And Then Post it or Send It In a Secure Line back to you, then Advertise, Obviously, i will Neg terms Conditions and (E.G. 5%), for each transaction through your Paypal line, within my blogger.....This is a small Bussiness of Mine which has been dormant for some time, it is a "Donation", type of bussiness....
1st, Questions.....let me see what you may say about the above mentioned,
Thank you,
Regards,
Mr.Frederik.J.Bezuidenhout.
@...
27793955685@vodamail.co.za
I have been trying to decide if I should start a blog ablut my office furniture business. I'm not sure I can create a daily dose of content for desks and such. Any thoughts are appreciated.
Mira: You don't need to create daily content (or for that matter, even weekly content) just to start a blog.
Frequency helps, but it shouldn't keep you from starting.
Great points. Thanks for the post.
I am new to Blogging. I had no idea there was so much to it. I am looking forward to using it in my marketing tool box.
I think the most important of the points is #5, Not getting discouraged.
Anything that is worthwhile takes time and effort. Some blogs start and are a instant success, others have taken years to gain a following.
The key is to find something you are passionate about, post to your blog consistently with good content and weather the storm.
intestering thought on the sub domain... I have a "regular" site http://www.MarkRyanGroup.com as well as the blog that I have hosted with template provider... wonder it there is any seo that will follow if I move the site? Not a redirect but actually change the dns setting?
Mark: If the URL for a given page does not change (because all you are changing is the DNS setting), I think most of the SEO authority will carry through to the new site.
It's the changing of URLs that requires a 301 redirect.
However, there are some that would argue that Google looks at changes in domain registration info and discount for that a bit. But, if the content is the same, my guess is that this would be minimal.
I guess that - in general - I agree with the first sixth mistakes, but I don't agree with the seventh.
I'm very sure that if the blogger wants to monetize usings ads, he/she should start as early as when launching. That way, there won't be changes in the general look of the blog, and the followers will not be "offended" by the ads.
By the way, there's nothing wrong about monetization, it's neither inmoral, nor ilegal and ALL of the Big Blogs monetize, one way or the other.
Another common mistake is starting a blog that doesn't have a content theme or strategy. When I see a blog that isn't obviously about a particular topic or theme, I move on. To attract and keep readers, a blog must be about something specific. The blogger shouldn't deviate much from the main theme of the blog.
These are all great comments. I'm removing my widgets and ads. Since I started writing blogs, I have found other blog websites listed under my main website on the search engines. Thanks for the encouragement.
Luckily I read "Clear Blogging" and want to echo your praise for it. I haven't made any of the 7 mistakes, though I sure make a lot in wordpress. I cannot envision talking about wind chimes on a regular basis, so I'm incorporating freeware & shareware into the blog, since I'm a software junkie. My blog officially opens the end of March, there will be several articles and you're all invited to visit! windchimesUSAmade.com
Solid advice - am removing ads from my blogs as I write. They are a distraction and I will note improvement in traffic over the next few months. It's still early days and other changes will also enhance and increase my readers' eexperience. Sussing it all out takes a while but the key is to try and stay true to yourself (as you are doing the writing) and your readers.'It is hard going in the beginning but my motto is: if I have nothing to say, then I shut up and don't post anything. I spend a few days mulling over ideas, reading newspapers, surfing the net, etc. I also carry a notepad around with me to write any flashes of inspirations. I often think: 'would this interest my readers? does it interest me?' It can become obsessive but it is very mentally rewarding.
Zee
Does this include Blogger and WordPress? I have read BlogWild and the author, Andy Wibbels, recommends WordPress. Others say Blogger is better.
Robert: Just to be clear, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with WordPress (I'm actually a fan). Just that you shouldn't host a blog on a sub-domain of WordPress.com.
Having your own domain and using WordPress is just fine.
I'm not sure about your 7th "blunder" not monetarizing too early. What might too early be - first week of publishing or first 100 views? There can be no fixed rule about this. Google adsense, affiliate links and banners cost nothing whether you have high visitor volume or not, so why not invest a little time and add these features at the start? Sure, your content is king, but ads look good, and if your premise were really correct, then I would be keen to contravene it as having ads will be a sure sign to my readership that mine is an established blog! Of course I need to build the content, that id=s the primary function of any blog, but I can only add so many posts per week, so why not spend my spare time working on my ad links too?
Clearly there is no right or wrong here, no hard and fast rule. Quite frankly, not only is my blog a commercial one, but I believe my ad links are a vital RESOURCE for my visitors! So it all depends on your angle, I guess!
What really bugs me is when you have a well presented, well designed blog on a topic of real interest with some quality content posts and then you discover the last post is more than a week old and the blogger only occasionally makes the effort to post. To me, blogging is essentially a busy, up-to-the-minute love affair with your writing and keeping in touch with your readers! A casual "as-and-when" approach can only be rewarded one way: low readership!
And to me, that represents the most terrible blunder of all.
It was really informative.
Just got to be careful how you tell people about it. I have seen some trying to push the messages about their sites down other people's throats, that for me is a turnoff.
As far as blunder 7 goes, I think putting a few ads on your blog does not hurt as long as ads do not dominate your own content. I can not speak for every blog there is on this one.
This is hecka random stuff! It seems a little obvious to me. This doesn't answer the question of user visibility at all. If you have a blog and the average time someone passes over it is less than 60 seconds, then there has to be something that will make people stay there. Know your audience and connect on a human level--it's always about people and not so much about technology.
I like these tips, especially the point about widgets, I found myself trying to sort through the widgets for hours with wordpress, trying to find the right ones to help me, and soon realized I'd just used up so much time, I didn't have time to blog that night. I run a website that is about website hosting, design, SEO etc. I think the best tip for a beginning blogger with SEO aspirations, download a free copy of wordpress (built in RSS features and SEO features). Thats my 2 cents worth.