Blogging for Dollars Blog

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Here we are with a brand new year. It’s your chance to start afresh and make your blogging a huge success.

Let’s look at eight mistakes you should avoid this year:

1. The plan-less blog

The biggest mistake I see novice bloggers making is the lack of a concrete plan which works. I hammer the benefits of a plan in my Blogging for Dollars course, and I give you a plan which works.

How to avoid this mistake:

Get a plan for content and for marketing. Know what you’ll post and when. Create draft posts. Plan your marketing a month in advance.

2. The me-too blog

A me-too blog is a copy-cat blog. I’m not saying that you should avoid blogging in an industry in which there are well-known blogs, but if you decide to do this, approach the industry with a new angle.

How to avoid this mistake:

Get an angle which popular blogs aren’t covering, then make sure that there’s some search engine traffic for your angle. For example, if you want to start a cooking blog, choose an angle like cooking for low carb diets, or cooking with chocolate. Avoid niches which are too small - there’s no traffic.

3. The orphan blog

The orphan blog hasn’t been posted to in three months. By its chronological nature, a blog needs to be updated.

How to avoid this mistake:

See #1 - plan. If you’re pushed for time, make at least a short post every week, or even once a month.

4. The where-the-heck is my traffic RIGHT NOW blog

Patience, grasshopper. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is your blog. In your first month of blogging, focus on content. Then focus on content AND marketing.

How to avoid this mistake:

See #1 - market your blog.

5. The just-a-blog

This mistake, the just-a-blog is a form of the Me-too blog, but it’s even more insidious. This kind of mistake happens when you start a blog in an area in which you have no real interest.

How to avoid this mistake:

Aim to blog in areas in which you have a real, passionate interest.

6. The who-are-you? blog

You need an About page to orient your readers. Tell them who you are, why you’re blogging, and what your expertise is.

How to avoid this mistake:

Create an About page.

7. The cheap blog

You create a cheap blog when your favorite word is “free.” While many blogging tools are indeed free, the cheap mind set is bad for you, because it comes across in your blog.

How to avoid this mistake:

Treat your blog as something of value - as an investment. Invest in it by buying tools and information on how to blog. Yes, a lot of stuff online is free, but it’s often worth exactly what you paid for it.

8. The make-money-blogging blog

This area is very crowded - there’s a lot of competition.

How to avoid this mistake:

Avoid a make-money blog unless you can bring a totally fresh and exciting angle to it.

So there you have eight mistakes to avoid in 2008.

Wherever you are in the world, dear blogger, I wish you a happy and successful 2008 - make it your best blogging year ever!

Technorati Tags: blogging, tips, make money blogging, how to blog

Do you track how you’re doing with your blog(s)?

I have lots of blogs, and blog for others too, keeping track of what’s happening with each blog is a challenge. I use several online apps, including Basecamp and HighRise, as well as a couple of calendar programs.

For 2008 however, I decided to get an Agenda as well, a letter sized Circa, with a week to two pages just to track what’s happening with my blogs SEO-wise, and income-wise.

Circa products are wonderful, with great paper, and the 2008 Agenda starts on December 17, so its been open on my desk all week.

I’m pleased with it: now I’ll be able to flip through the weeks, and see exactly how my blogs are progressing. Until now, I’ve been tracking via a spreadsheet, and I’ll continue to use that, but paper’s more satisfying.

You can add pages to Circas, too, so I’ll be able to add other information wherever I want it.

When you’re blogging, tracking your progress is vital; with many blogs progress in traffic and income is slow to non-existent at first, then they take off.

Do you track your blog?

Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, SEO, income

You’ve got a blog and you’ve been posting to it for a year or two. This means that there’s treasures in your archives.

Top 10 Tips for New Bloggers From Original Blogger Jorn Barger recommends: “Re-post your favorite links from time to time, for people who missed them the first time.”

You’ll always get new readers who haven’t followed your blog, and who’ve missed all the great stuff you’ve been posting.

Post some links to great posts in your archives occasionally.

In addition to posting the links, you can add new material to the link post. For example, let’s say you posted: “Five Ways to _______” a few months ago. Update the post with “Three more ways to _______” in your link post.

Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, archive, re-post