I’ve been blogging since around 2001, and I’ve made lots of blunders. I’m still making them, which is fine. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying. Accept that you WILL make the occasional howling blunder, try to learn from it, and move on.
Among my blogging students, I’ve noticed these blunders:
1. Forgetting your audience
Use YOU, think YOU, never forget YOU. Your blog’s reason for existence is your audience, so use the personal pronoun, “you.” What does your reader want to know? What will amuse him/ entertain him/ lighten her day?
Ideally, you’ll have a good idea of who your audience is before you start your blog. If you haven’t thought about it, think about it now. Get a clear picture in your mind of one of your readers, and write your posts to him/ her.
2. Hosting your authority blog on someone else’s domain
I started out with Blogger, years ago. That blog is long dead. My next authority blog was on TypePad, and I maintain that blog to this day. Sometimes I wish that I hadn’t started my writing blog on someone else’s domain, but with TypePad the benefits outweigh the downside: no hassles, someone else deals with stuff that goes wrong.
However, if you’re starting a blog which you hope will become well-regarded in its niche, host your blog on your own domain. Buy a relevant domain name (see #1 above), and build the blog on your domain.
3. Forgetting your About page
Readers want to know who YOU are. Create an About page, and tell your readers who you are.
4. Expecting too much too soon
Your blog may take off like a rocket, but most blogs take time to build their audience.
5. Not scheduling your blogging activities
Schedule your blogging in the same way you schedule your other activities, that way it gets done.
Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, blunders, mistakes, hosting, schedule
