Deadly Blogging Mistakes I Made in My First Blog

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Just let me guess: your new blog is failing, and you don’t know what you even did wrong….

Well, you’re not alone in this. I’ve had one failed blog.

And the truth of the matter is that I didn’t even know that my blog had failed in the first year.

You’re reading this post on the very same blog.

So, the question still remains: what did I even do wrong?

Well, don’t worry, I’m gonna tell you what blogging mistakes I made and how to fix them.

1. Having the Perfect Design

Like all new bloggers, I became obsessed with building and designing the best-looking brand website from the get-go.

Unlike what most blogging experts will tell you about your website design, but, this mentality is completely in the wrong.

You do not just buy a plot of land on day one and plop a mansion on it the next…

You need to build it up brick by brick.

Heck, even the famous YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) started his channel by uploading videos taken on a low-quality webcam.

To get started, what you just need is pretty simple…

A clean and simple blog, a good color scheme, and a well-designed logo…

It might seem a bit contradictory since I said to have a simple website design.

Also, having a good color scheme and a well-designed logo to match gives your new website or blog a unique identity.

Even though I said having a simple blog design for a new blog is good, but, blending in with the blogging crowd is bad too.

So, at least have a good color scheme and a good-looking logo for your new blog.

2. Running After the SEO Bandwagon

Having bad SEO is one of the most common blogging mistakes that you can make in 2023.

Even I’m guilty of making the same mistake.

I kept going for the perfect SEO score, made the perfect SEO-optimized title, and wrote the most optimized content you could ever imagine.

I practically followed all the steps that blogging gurus like Neil Patel have written down.

But, where did that get me?

Nowhere…

I had written more than fifty articles with great SEO scores, and still, I was sitting with 3-4 daily traffic (that too of the crawler bots).

So, what did I do to fix my blogging mistakes?

I just simply stopped letting the Blogging Gurus and the SEO scores and Plugins determine my content.

So, what’s my blogging schedule like now?

It’s pretty simple actually.

First, I do some keyword research… (Yes, it is still necessary.)

Then, I chose one good keyword and made up a good title. (this is very important for SEO)

And finally, I just wrote about my experience and take on the topic.

But if you’re still worried about the SEO of your blog, then don’t, because Google has your back on this.

Gone are the days when you needed to stuff your content full of keywords and related phrases to get a good chance of ranking your article.

With Google’s new helpful content update in September 2023, you don’t need to worry about it anymore.

Your content’s SEO is more about the topic and the EEATs factor.

3. Quality Content

Content is the core element of any blog post.

And this is the phase where I previously failed. That too, miserably.

No matter what I wrote, I couldn’t get people to come onto my blog to read my stuff.

In fact, my articles didn’t even rank in the top 30 of Google’s search results.

Why? I had the perfect SEO, the best title, and highly optimized keyword-rich articles.

I didn’t come to learn about my mistakes until a year later, and I was shocked to see what I had done.

Did you know that Google doesn’t like you shoving information down your audience’s throat?

And that’s what my blog posts had become.

In a rush to write the bestest blog posts with the highest SEO score, I had forgotten the main reason people blog in the first place.

“My Readers”

I had literally started writing blog posts that would push information that my readers would already know.

Big mistake, right? I wrote content that wouldn’t connect with my readers.

And fixing this mistake was the best thing that I ever did.

Simply speaking, I had to go back to the basics.

I had to find out why anyone should read my blog in the first place.

Blogging is not about stating the obvious and listing some issues.

It’s about sharing your experiences and providing solutions for your readers.

So, if you’re thinking of getting into blogging, then write content that can help your readers get clarity on the issues they are facing.

4. Word Count Still Counts

Do you know what still irks me to this day about blogging?

The word count…

My one big mistake when I first started blogging was that my content was too long.

I was simply writing novels instead of blog posts, which would kinda deter anyone from even wanting to read my content.

I remember spending hours crafting these lengthy pieces, only to have them fall flat with my readers.

The engagement was low, and the traffic was dismal.

It was as if I was shouting into the void.

After some time, I realized that my approach was all wrong.

I was trying to squeeze too much info into a single post, making it overwhelming and hard to digest.

I didn’t understand that people were looking for quick and straightforward info and not a literary masterpiece.

So, I decided to change my strategy.

I started writing shorter, more focused blog posts.

I aimed for a word count between 1,200 and 2,450 words, which seemed to be the sweet spot for most readers.

This gave me enough space to provide in-depth information without losing my audience’s attention.

The results were immediate.

My engagement skyrocketed, and my traffic increased significantly.

People were actually reading my posts and interacting with them.

I was finally getting the feedback I craved.

The Importance of Finding the Right Word Count

I learned the hard way that word count still counts when it comes to blogging.

It’s not just about putting out as much content as possible.

It’s about finding the right balance between value and keeping your readers interested.

A word count between 1,200 and 2,450 words looks like the ideal range for most blog posts.

This allows you to cover a topic completely without swamping your readers with too much.

Of course, the exact word count will change depending on the topic and the target audience.

5. Making Your Readers Search for the Answers

This is a very basic mistake that many new bloggers make. Heck, even I’m not immune to this.

Like I said before, when I first started blogging, I would write very long posts that would have them scroll through the entirety of my post before actually getting to the topic they were searching for.

While this trick may have worked in 2014, it cannot help you anymore.

It’s nearly at the end of 2023, and people do not like to scroll through paragraph upon paragraph of content to look for answers.

You have to know that search intent is a very important factor in ranking a blog post.

You need to write articles that are easy to read and you can get to the answers they were searching for in the first few lines of your blog post.

6. Create a Connection and Be Unique

Wow, this one is a tough cookie…

I always filled my articles with so much with info that I even forgot that I needed to create a connection with my readers.

People don’t read a blog post because they want all the answers shoved in their faces…

They read it because they want to know what you have experienced and how you solved the issues you were facing.

So, share your own unique experiences with them.

And also, you need to write like you speak.

While having a perfect and dramatically correct post is okay, leaving some anecdotes and mistakes in there is what makes your content more you.

Sometimes, this uniqueness is what sets your blog apart from the rest.

If your readers can feel this connection, they are likely to come back to consume more of your content.

When you create a connection with your readers, you’re not just giving them information…

You’re giving them a reason to care about you and your blog.

They will become invested in your journey and would probably want to see what you have to say next.

This connection is what builds loyalty and turns casual readers into loyal fans.

Till Next Time

Well, there you have it, folks.

These were some of the most common blogging mistakes that I could think of from the top of my head.

While there may not be many, these are some of the most typical mistakes that I see most newbie bloggers making.