Hey loves! I wanted to share a post about 5 mistakes to avoid when you start blogging, based on my personal experience. Maybe you’ve been blogging for a while already. Either way, I hope these are good tips for you to keep in mind as you start your blog or continue growing it!
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Don’t get me wrong, I’m still learning day by day.. that’s the great thing about blogging! You are constantly learning. A quick background on me and my blogging journey.. I started blogging approximately 3 years ago, I actually was always intrigued about it but too intimidated to start up my own. To me, blogging seemed overwhelming and way too complex to understand.
You may be feeling the same way! But guess what, I figured it out! I’m no mastermind when it comes to all this stuff, but with trial and error, you can definitely make your own blog as well. I finally dove in and took the leap when my boyfriend went away for Army Training, I was going insane with so much free time and I finally decided to use that time and learn how to blog. Best decision ever!
So let’s jump right in, here’s the 5 mistakes you should avoid when you start your blog!
1. Overthinking
Overthinking and hesitation is the number one reason people don’t accomplish their goals. Do not spend too much time behind your screen debating on what name to use, what to post about, how you want your website to look.. Of course you want to spend some time and put thought into this, but don’t fall into the trap of hesitation from all your thinking. My tip here is to set a deadline of when you want to come up with your blog name, brand, content, and stick to it!
2. Comparison
There are many other bloggers and creators out there, that’s the great thing about this platform. Anybody and everybody can do it, but what separates you from everybody else is your unique style! I do this myself sometimes, I scroll through Twitter or Pinterest and come across other bloggers who have great content and great themes. Then, I’ll compare their content with my own and start becoming hard on myself. Best tip is to jump into blogging and follow what your heart wants to write! Follow your instinct when it comes to your blog style. Use others’ for inspiration but never for comparison.
3. Spending too much $$$ straight away
When you begin your blog, you will see there are some costs for certain things. A good quality theme will cost money, a good hosting service will cost money, and any extra services or plug-ins you want to use can cost money. When you first begin, I would go with the most simple host and simple theme before you complicate everything. Get a feel for the blog and your content before you go overboard investing in the website. Personally, I started with Bluehost which has some flexible payment options, and I chose a free theme on my WordPress.
4. Lack of consistency or planning
When you begin your blog, you should set aside some time to think about the content you want to put out and how often. The only way you will grow your blog to success is with consistency. Don’t overwhelm yourself, I’d start out posting minimum once a week and build up from there!
5. Not willing to invest patience and time
Starting a blog, no matter what it’s about, will be stressful to a certain extent. When you first begin, you will feel moments of overwhelm and confusion. I promise, it gets better with time! As you use your blog more and more, you will grow familiar with it all. At first, you have to be patient and understand that you will want to throw your computer at the wall sometimes. I know when I first began, I was so overwhelmed and frustrated, some days I would just shut off the computer and walk away for a while because my brain felt so fried. This is normal and maybe to some of you, blogging will come easier than others! Either way, plenty of fellow bloggers are here to help you out and there’s some great free courses online to learn how to start up your blog! If any questions, feel free to email or contact me on social media! 🙂
I could maybe go on a bit more with mistakes I’ve made blogging but then we’d be here all day, so these are my top 5 most memorable mistakes that I would want to point out to any new bloggers out there. I hope these help and remember, I am here to help and answer any questions! I’m also learning still to this day, and I know I have a lot to improve on. That’s the great thing about blogging I think, you are constantly learning and challenging yourself!
Most importantly, take the leap! Don’t hesitate! And have fun!
Q: If you have been blogging for some time, what mistake would you avoid if you could go back in time? Let me know in the comments!
I totally overthought everything and struggled with comparison a lot in the beginning and there’s no need at all. Everyone starts from zero! I totally agree about not splashing out too soon. I used a free theme for my first year and my first host was £12 for the year. I knew I was committed before I splashed out on more expensive themes/ hosting plans etc x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
Author
Oh wow £12 not a bad deal! That’s great to hear you opted for low cost things your first year, totally agree that’s the best way to go!
This was a great post, full of some great ideas! I personally struggles with the comparison one. I’m not at all a new blogger, but I see all of these new bloggers with great blogs and achieving so much, so I wonder what I’m doing wrong. But my blog is different from theirs and I personally love what I write so I hope that other people will love it too! If I could go back in time I personally would have had more of a schedule and format for my blog. My earliest blog post subjects were all over the place, but in a way, that was good, because it gave me a chance to see what worked and what didn’t 🙂
Emily | https://www.thatweirdgirllife.com
Author
Thanks so much Emily! Glad you liked the post – I can agree, I think most of us make that common mistake of being a bit all over the place when it comes to content. But glad you’ve gotten to a good place with your Blog and you embrace it!
Each and every point of your words made sense to me because I have been through all of it. Thank you ao much for making me feel that I am not the only person who goes through it.
It’s been almost two months I started blogging. I was struggling between learning about the whole idea if blogging and was in a hurry to publish posts. That messed me up big time. Then I paused for a moment just so that i can fit in to a routine to maintain stability. I read many bloggers’ posts and articles. It was quite helpful to develop my self confidence and my website at the same time. I still need a lot to work on it.
Author
Thanks for stopping by and so glad you found this relatable to yourself and your blog journey! Glad to hear you’ve developed more experience and confidence over time! Wish you so much success as you continue your blog!
OMG this article resonates with me so much. GREAT info. I’ve probably been guilty of each mistake listed here but looking back I supposed it’s been a apart of the learning process. With that said, thanks for the rem diner and hopefully newer bloggers will truly benefit from this.
Author
I’m so glad you found it relatable Maggie! Agreed it’s part of the learning process!
While I do believe strongly in the importance of investing in yourself and your brand I feel like too many newer bloggers in particular get pushed to buy all sorts of perks that they simply don’t need – because there are great free options available, they don’t actually fit their niche and target audience or simply because they aren’t at that stage of their journey yet. It can really drive those new in the community away believing that this isn’t something someone can do unless they are prepared to spend A LOT!
Author
Totally agree with you Britt! There’s lots of coaching programs and training material out there, I truly found a lot of knowledge from simply taking time to google it and research it all!
I’ve been blogging for quite some time and my biggest mistake has always been lack of consistency. I’m still in college and sometimes it gets really hard to manage time blogging, being social and working on my college tasks. I definitely need to work on this. I loved the tip which relates to the comparison. It’s such a bummer when you see your blog is not as successful as others.
Much love, Amanda from smartgirlymindset.com
Author
Thanks for stopping by girl! I agree that comparison is something we probably all encounter, it’s inevitable! Just best to not dwell on it and fall into a dark hole about how others’ blogs look better than yours. Hope you find a routine suitable for you and your Blog soon! I know multi tasking with college especially can be overwhelming.
This is such good advice for new bloggers like me. I often struggle with comparison and overthinking. If I were to go back in time, I would probably try to start a following before launching to get traffic. Thanks for the advice!
Erika Marie | https://imerikamarie.com
Author
I’m so glad this could help you Erika! Totally agree building your social media audience is very important to your blog success!
You are completely right. I still thinks that comparison is the worst. I know many people who have given up because of that.
I am looking forward to your next post!
Author
Yup, comparison can kill you if you let it! I find it best to just stick in your own lane and own it!
I completely agree with all your points! Something I’d have started sooner had I known how good it would have been for my blog would be Facebook! I now get a lot of traffic from there and even started my own blogging group on there!
Mariam
bossbabechroniclesblog.com
Author
That’s amazing!! Facebook has become a bigger tool for me as well with my blog, glad to hear it’s worked out well for you!
I love these blogging tips! We are always learning every day and trying out different things to improve ourselves. No one is perfect. YESS I agree with you about comparison. It is not ideal because all of us are at different places and we might have different goals and resources. Having a plan is so important, especially if we want our blog to grow a certain way. Thanks for sharing all of these lessons learned!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
Author
Glad you found the post relatable! 💗
Looking back, I would have finished doing more stuff before I bought my hosting etc.
I actually bought my site in November of 2018 but I didn’t launch until mid January 2019 because it took me that long to figure out the basic legal pages, and write my about me page and 5 blog posts to start. I think if I could do it over I would have already written the first posts and figured out the legal stuff before I bought my domain and hosting. Then I would have launched more quickly without that two month gap.
My other tip – tie yourself in long term to keep yourself committed. I had done a bit of reading and read that a lot of blogs “fail” or are quit on in the first 6 months to a year, so I bought a 3 year hosting plan to keep me committed to posting for three years, even if I did end up only posting my friday recipes. I had the capital to buy 3 years at once (and it worked out more economical in the long run) which not everyone has, but I think it has kept me going through the months where I’ve struggled with myself when I might have cancelled a direct debit.