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I don’t talk much about my first attempt at blogging. Why? Because it was a failure. A complete flop! I pretty much did everything wrong. Thankfully, what I learned from my failed blog has helped me succeed with my current blog. Don’t make these mistakes!
Starting a blog is great for a number of reasons.
One of the main ones (you were thinking it anyway) is to make extra money.
In fact, if you do things right you can make so much money that you end up quitting your job.
On the surface, this whole blogging thing looks pretty easy to do.
You start a blog and then you start writing.
From there, people visit and you make money.
Simple, right?
Well, not quite.
Blogging involves a lot of different things and this post isn’t going to cover all of those things.
In fact, this post isn’t going to cover most of those things.
It’s just going to cover one.
One single mistake that most new bloggers make.
Before you learn about the mistake let’s go into the mindset of your audience.
The idea behind any successful business is that people are selfish.
That might seem a bit extreme but it is true. When people are going to hand over money they want to feel as though they are receiving more value than what they are paying for.
You are probably that way, right?
Nobody wants to feel like they are getting ripped off.
No matter what price someone pays for something they want to feel as though they are getting value out of it.
That in itself isn’t selfish.
The selfish part of a blogging audience is that they don’t have to pay for blog content.
However, just because the content is free, that doesn’t mean that people will read it.
Far from it.
In fact, this is the biggest mistake that new bloggers make.
This is a simple question that you should answer before starting your blog.
When you have the idea for a blog you probably say things like this:
What is wrong with these statements?
They are all about you.
Odds are if you are reading this then you are not famous and therefore the majority of your audience isn’t going to care about you.
That sounds harsh, right?
But think about it.
These people don’t know you but they do know that you have promised them a solution to a problem.
They go to your blog because they need something for themselves.
That has nothing to do with you.
They don’t need to learn about you.
They don’t need to read your life story.
They need to read about the solution that will help them fix a problem.
You can’t offer them that if you are blogging for yourself.
There is a silly acronym that gets used often: WIIFM.
What’s in it for me?
That’s the question people ask when they visit your blog.
You might think that because you spent the last 3 hours sharing a personal story about yourself that people will want to read it.
Unfortunately, they won’t because they don’t know what value you offer them.
It’s no different than going on a date and the person only talks about themselves. They can’t stop talking about themselves.
Do you want to see that person again?
In contrast, when you go on a date with someone that shows genuine interest in you, it makes you want to learn more about them.
It’s a trade and it only works when you provide the value first.
This doesn’t mean you can’t blog about your own experiences because you most certainly can.
If you want to bring those into the mix at the beginning then simply integrate those into your blog posts as small snippets.
If you really feel that your audience should get to know you then your mailing list is a perfect opportunity for you to share those things.
That’s when people have already said that they are willing to listen to you.
Use your blog to open the door and other avenues to let them take a peek behind the curtain.
If you really want people to be interested in your blog then you need to provide content that helps them.
Although blogging can be very personal and your blog is your baby, it’s more about sharing your baby with the world so everybody can get something out of it.
Now that you know the importance of blogging for others it’s important to understand how to figure out what your audience wants.
Once you can do that you’ll find that coming up with new blog posts is extremely easy and you get more engagement and more traffic to your posts.
Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers spend months (or years) writing blog posts that nobody in their audience really cares about.
So it’s important to spend time understanding what your audience wants.
One of the easiest ways to get a feel for what your audience wants is by using Pinterest.
Pinterest?!
Yes, Pinterest.
Pinterest works well because it’s really just a problem-solving website.
Almost every pin you find on Pinterest revolves around a solution and a problem.
This is great for you because blogging is really about problem-solving.
Your audience starts to read your content because they have a problem and you are promising them a solution.
Just visit Pinterest and look for pins in your niche. You don’t want to search for just any pins. You want pins that have high repin numbers.
The higher the repin numbers the better.
This means that a lot of people found the Pin/post useful which means they were also looking for that specific solution.
Finding these kinds of pins can help you understand what type of content your audience wants.
You might be thinking that if someone else has already written about it why should you?
Because there are over 7 billion people in the world and not everyone is going to visit the same post on another blog. Plus, your post will provide your view of the world which is unique to you.
It’s important to understand that your blog and its content aren’t unique snowflakes.
Everything is a remix but because it is yours and you get to put your twist on things it becomes just a little bit unique.
Not having much luck with Pinterest?
That’s okay because there is another website you can use.
Buzzsumo has a free tier that you can use to input any URL that you want.
Input the URL of a competitor in your niche to see what their most popular posts are.
Another tactic you can use is to visit the comment sections of other blogs and see what types of questions people are asking in comments.
These questions can provide the basis for blog posts and you know they are relevant because people have taken the time to actually ask them.
The reason why the best blog posts are ones that have actionable content is that that is what people are usually looking for.
When they go online and do a search they are searching for something to help them.
A blog post that talks about your 14th birthday and how much fun you had isn’t going to help them out very much.
A blog post that talks about the right type of wood to buy to build a backyard shed is going to be extremely helpful.
If you keep in mind that every post is about your readers then you will find that your blog performs much better.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your blog is about you.
It never was and it never will be.
I think one big mistake is quitting too early – it takes a while before Google starts indexing your articles, before they start gaining traction. I think opting out too early can often be an easy mistake to make if you’re not immediately seeing the results that you’re looking for!
Hi Deya! I have to agree. When you are putting so much effort and not seeing traction, I could see how one could easily get discouraged and give up. So patience is very necessary because you could be comparing yourself to others. Thanks for posting!
Thanks Lauren! I have had made many mistakes in my day and I am sure I have many more to come. But, if I can help at least one person not experience the same issues, I have done my job! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
Great post! So straight to the point on why we’re blogging, I too wish I had done that early in my previous blog.
So many good points! The two things that really resonate with me are “you are not writing for yourself”, and “it’s all a remix”. I teach interior design, and I tell my students this all the time! It never really occurred to me that it applies to blogging as well! I am still a beginner, and still making mistakes, but the most frustrating thing for me is making a mistake, and having no idea what I did or how to fix it! I started getting about one email subscriber per day, even before I launched (while my maintenance page was active). I have no idea why. One day, it just stopped. I haven’t gotten a new subscriber since then. Again, I have no idea why, and I have no idea what to look for. I guess that kind of thing just comes with time (I hope!)
I would have to agree with Deya as it’s the mistake I’m currently in the process of making, namely: feeling like quitting too early and growing increasingly despondent at the complete lack of interaction and traction in my posts and social media activities. I think also being too generic in your blog and not honing in on a niche audience is another newbie mistake. I blog about socks (and being your best self, from the feet up) and am really struggling to narrow in on a target audience.
I think the biggest mistake at least for me is not keeping up the momentum. It’s easy to lose traction in the beginning and flounder instead of just powering through and getting a good foundation.
I like how in depth you go on just one reason why bloggers are failing. You don’t say that it’s the only thing, but you do say that it’s the number one and then you go on to support your why. Very well written and it also follows your advise, write something that will give your audience what they need, not what you need.
It’s really hard to avoid writing for yourself, especially when you are an expert in the topic. That’s what I currently struggle with, but am slowly extricating myself from that. Awesome advice.
I got a lot out of this post, Dorian. Thank you. It is hard not to write for yourself in the beginning. I have heard it suggested that bloggers should create a detailed Avatar for their ideal reader and write, pin, and create for that particular Avatar. That way you are addressing their needs and not your own. What do think?
My biggest struggle seems to be distraction. I sit down to do one thing and end up doing another. My mind is all over the place. I start with a list and sit down to make pins for my posts, and end up pinning other people’s pins or reading other people’s blogs. It seems like there is a lot of information out there and I struggle with not trying to read it all.
Your article is not only useful for new bloggers but for experienced bloggers too to check if they are doing anything wrong.
It is a good checklist to see why are they failing in blogging.
Great article! I agree there are some many bloggers that don’t think about what people want to read. The best blogs are the ones where the writer has a strong passion for the topic, but manages to write what people need and want to hear about. I don’t mind getting to know the writer behind the blog (that’s the whole point of a blog!), but I hate it when bloggers go off topic and talk about their dog for half an hour in a money article. If it’s not relevant, avoid writing about it!
Great post. I think we sometimes get the idea from some of the top bloggers that “a glimpse into my life”, posts can be successful too. But people want more of those posts after they start following you, first you need to solve problems to get those people in the door and interested in who you are because they appreciate the help you’ve given them.
Dorian,
I really enjoyed your article! I definitely was one of those newbie bloggers who wrote what I wanted or “felt” people would vibe with. Big mistake! I’m so glad I’ve since educated myself on blogging and gotten some sense of direction that helps make this thing work. Thanks for the tip on Buzzsumo. I wasn’t aware of that. Great post!
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The biggest mistake I made as a new blogger was not building my email list right from the start. I lost a lot of early visitors to my personal finance site from coming back because I never got them signed up.
@@disqus_OLvOwnkDtp:disqus This is something that I hearing more and more from bloggers. Your email list is so vital to your success that is must be one of the first things you do. I even wrote several posts about this including, Why You Should Start Building An Email List . I definitely recommend to anyone who will listen, to start working on the email list because it can work wonders for blog and/or business. Thanks for commenting!