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If you are just starting your blog and want to turn it into a profitable blog later on, then it’s very important that you don’t make these amateur blogger mistakes.
Why?
Because by making these mistakes, you are either going to take much longer to start making money from your blog or not going to make any money at all.
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #1:
Many beginner bloggers choose to host their blog on a free blogging platform such as blogger.com or wordpress.com.
Yes, I understand it’s free domain name and also free web hosting.
If you are just using the blog to write about your personal life and thoughts and are not planning to make money from it (just like the picture of a free WordPress blog above), then it doesn’t matter that you use the free blogging platform.
BUT, if you think that you might want to turn your blog into a (side/full-time) business and monetize your blog later on, it’s best to register your own domain name and get a paid web hosting.
Why?
You own your blog and have total control of it.
The last thing you want is that all the content you write on your blog are gone because they decide to shut down the platform.
Also, with free blog hosting, you can only create a sub-domain name which goes something like this XYZ.WORDPRESS.COM or XYZ.BLOGGER.COM.
Does this look professional and unique to you?
Of course not.
So, to run your blog like a business, you should have your own domain name and your unique identity.
This way, you can build your own brand and establish your name in your niche.
The good news is that it’s NOT going to cost you a lot to get a domain name and web hosting.
Here’s what I recommend.
Below is the web hosting plan that I am personally using:
Bluehost is the BEST web hosting for beginner bloggers for a few reasons:
- FREE domain name
- FREE SSL for your blog
- 99% server uptime (i.e. your blog is up 99% of the time)
- Fast website load time
Register Your FREE Domain Name with BlueHost Now
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #2:
The second mistake that a lot of amateur bloggers make is that they just write everything under the sky.
Why is this the wrong thing to do?
Because this’s simply NOT strategic.
And it’s going to waste you a lot of time without getting any real results in terms of traffic or income.
So, when it comes to writing content for your blog, the No.1 rule is that you have to create content that your target audience loves and finds valuable.
Before you write, you should dive deep into your audience’s mind and think like your audience.
- What kind of content do they love to read?
- What specific problems do they need help to solve?
- What specific results do they need help to achieve?
- What specific challenge do they face?
Let’s look at this successful baking blog called ” Sally’s Baking Addiction”.
It was started as a small personal blog to share baking tips.
Now, it has become one of the most popular baking blogs with about 5 million blog visitors every single month.
What’s the secret?
Great content is definitely one of its success secrets.
As you can see from the screenshot above, these are all useful baking tips that its target audience wants to read about and can benefit from.
Besides baking tips, it also shares with its audience a lot of really good recipes that they can try themselves at home.
So, remember that your blog is meant to serve your target audience and keep them in mind when you write your content.
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #3:
Here’s another amateur blogger mistake that you should avoid which is not building an email list from the start.
What is an email list?
An email list is a collection of email addresses that you have received through your blog.
Now, we are going to use the same baking blog as an example to show you how blogs build their email list.
As you can see from the picture above, there is an opt-in box asking you to enter your name and email address to receive baking tips.
All you need is email marketing software like GetResponse which gives you a FREE 30-day trial.
If you are having a tight budget, there is an email marketing software called MailChimp which allows you to use it for free as long as your list of subscribers does not exceed 2,000.
However, my experience with MailChimp is not very pleasant.
After getting fed up with the FREE service, I finally decided to sign up for GetResponse which I am still using for this blog till this day.
Now, why is it so important to build an email list?
If you want to monetize your blog later on, then an email list allows you to promote and sell your own products (e.g. online courses, ebooks or coaching services) or other people’s products as an affiliate (e.g. Amazon Affiliate).
Without an email list, you have no way to reach out to your blog visitors.
Just think when was the last time you read a new blog and actually went back to look for the blog again?
Most likely never.
So, it’s important to start building an email list from the beginning if you want to turn your one-time blog visitor into a loyal reader and subsequently a buyer of your products or services.
Wanna find out how YOU can turn your blog into a profitable online business?
In this FREE email course, I will share with you EXACTLY what I did to take my blog from zero to a full-time income in less than 6 months!
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #7:
This mistake is an obvious one.
Blogging is a long term commitment, so you should never choose a blogging niche that you are not passionate about.
If you choose a niche based on profitability alone, you will have a tough time to grow the blog in the long term.
Here’s why.
Imagine you start a fitness blog but you are not really interested in writing about fitness.
Do you think you can keep writing about fitness for 5 years or even 10 years down the road?
Do you think you will keep thinking about how to improve this blog and make it one of the best fitness blogs?
Recently I read about Michael Jordan’s eulogy for Kobe Bryan.
I was deeply touched and also inspired by what he said about Kobe Bryan’s passion for basketball.
He said, ” It’s amazing thing about passion. If you love something, if you have a strong passion for something, you would go to the extreme to try to understand or try to get it, either ice cream, cokes, hamburgers, whatever you have a love for. If you have to walk, you will go get it. If you have to beg someone, you will go get it. What Kobe Bryant was to me was the inspiration that someone truly cared about the way that I played the game or the way that he wanted to play the game.”
Maybe it’s money that got you start thinking about blogging, but only passion will get you very far in blogging.
Recommended Tools:
To get started blogging, you need to register a domain name and also get web hosting for your blog.
Here’s what I recommend:
- Bluehost at $3.95/Month (I used this to start this blog)
Bluehost is the BEST web hosting for beginner bloggers for a few reasons:
- FREE domain name
- FREE SSL for your blog
- 99% server uptime (i.e. your blog is up 99% of the time)
- Fast website load time
Register Your FREE Domain Name with BlueHost Now
Once you have bought your web hosting, the next thing you need for your new website is a fast and responsive WordPress theme.
A WordPress theme is like the interior design of the new empty house you just bought.
When it comes to choosing the right theme, there are TWO things that are super important:
- Speed
- Responsive design
- Conversion-focused
Ideally, you want a WordPress theme that is light and fast, so your website will load quickly for your website visitors.
A fast website gives them a better user experience as well.
Next, you need your theme to be responsive.
That means your website can be viewed on all types of devices – mobile phones, tablets and laptops.
But, you shouldn’t just want a fast and responsive website.
At the end of the day, you also want a website that can help bring you more subscribers, more customers, and more revenue
For that reason, I highly recommend Thrive Themes which is conversion-focused.
Lastly, when it comes monetizing your blog, I recommend that you start with affiliate marketing first because it’s the quickest way to make money from your blog.
Right now, more than half of my blog revenue comes from affiliate marketing.
The best part about affiliate marketing is that it’s completely passive.
So, you could be earning an affiliate commission even while you are sleeping or spending time with your family.
That’s also one of the reasons I chose affiliate marketing because it gives me a lot of flexibility to spend more time with my son.
Here’s an example of me promoting investment books on my website.
Basically, what I did was that I signed up to be an Amazon affiliate.
As an Amazon affiliate, I can promote any product that is being sold on Amazon using my unique affiliate link ( yes, that is how they know the sale is referred by you)
The investment books above are shown at the end of one of my investing blog posts because I felt that it was relevant and it might even be helpful to some readers who want to read more on the topic.
If my readers think that the book is good and decides to buy, then I will be paid a small commission by Amazon at no additional cost to him or her.
So, I highly recommend affiliate marketing to anyone who wants to start blogging for the first time.
But, to succeed in affiliate marketing, you need to learn how to get started the right way.
Here’s a FREE affiliate training that you can sign up to get yourself started.
In this FREE email course, I will share with you EXACTLY what I did to take my blog from zero to a full-time income in less than 6 months!
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #4:
To become a profitable and successful blogger, you have to differentiate yourself from the other bloggers in your niche.
It’s just like a business.
If your business wants to succeed, you cannot just create a product or service that is similar to your competitor’s because you will never stand out and you don’t give your customers a good reason to choose you over others.
For example, the reason why Dyson brand became so successful is that it differentiates itself from all the other products in the same market.
It launched the first bladeless fan which is very different from all the other traditional fans out there.
So, as a blogger who is just starting out, you should think carefully about how you want to position yourself and be different from all the other bloggers in the same niche as you.
If you just blog about the same things just like others, you are NOT going to stand out and attract a loyal audience.
Let’s say you want to stay a parenting blog.
If you look at all the parenting blogs out there, you will notice that a lot of them are talking about pregnancy, postpartum, breastfeeding and motherhood.
First of all, it’s true that all these topics are relevant to their target audience – moms.
But, by covering a wide range of topics just like some of your competitors do, you are not only going to spread yourself thin, but you also make it hard to differentiate yourself.
That’s why niching down might be a good option for you.
For example, this parenting blog called “Little Big Dreamers” is specifically focused on helping parents with children behavior problems and sleep problems.
So, if you are a parent who is looking for help to deal with your kids’ behavior problems, you will want to check out this blog because it establishes itself as an authority in this area than other general parenting blogs.
Let’s look at another example.
There is another parenting blog called Lucie’s List which is all about helping new parents choose their baby gears.
Personally, I think this is a brilliant sub-niche to go into because it really solves a burning problem faced by all the parents.
I remember when I was still pregnant, I would spend hours and hours research on which breast pump is the best and which stroller I should get for my baby.
It would be a huge life saver as well as time saver if someone who has been there and done there could just give me recommendation on what is best for me.
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #5:
Blogging is all about creating a lot of good and valuable content for your audience.
Quality is understandably important.
But, quantity is also important.
Why do you need to write A LOT of content on your blog?
First, you can cover a lot of specific topics that are of interest to your audience.
When you have so much content, you can help more people with their specific problems.
Secondly, it establishes you as an authority in your niche.
Let’s compare blog A and blog B which are both in the dating niche.
Blog A has a total of 200 high quality blog posts on almost all the common dating problems.
On the other hand, Blog B only has a total of 30 blog posts on dating.
Now, in the eyes of search engine, which blog has a higher authority on the topic of dating?
As a reader, which blog would you read when you have a dating problem?
Of course, Blog A.
Now, let’s look at an analogy.
When you want to do grocery shopping, which one would you prefer, Walmart Supercenters or Walmart Neighbourhood Market if distance is not an issue?
Most likely Walmart Supercenters.
Because it carries a much wider range of products and more stocks for each type of product.
When you go to Walmart Supercenters, it’s more likely you will find what you need.
So, it’s the same for blogs.
When you have more relevant content, you get more organic traffic from Google because people are more likely to find the information they need.
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #6:
It won’t matter that you have the best content on your blog if no one is reading it.
So, it’s not enough to just write good content and a lot of it, but you also need to promote your blog posts.
When you are promoting your content, you want to get as many people as possible to read it and ask as many people as possible to help you share it.
The more it gets shared, the more it gets read.
And that’s what every blogger or content writer wants – their blog posts go viral.
Below is an article that went viral. ( great message, by the way)
This article got millions of shares on social media and also got featured on all the major sites such as The Huffington Post, MSN, Yahoo and Today.com
So, what makes this blog post go viral?
First, it got a great headline that piques readers’ interest.
Have you ever gotten the feeling that you have to read on and find out what it is after looking at a headline in a magazine or publication?
I have.
In fact, many times.
That’s why it is important to write great headlines.
Headlines can significantly influence your reader’s decision to read the full article or just skip it.
Next, for people to want to share your blog post, it has to make the sharer feel good or look good in doing so.
For example, sharing the article “Marriage isn’t for you” reflects well on the sharer.
Why?
Because it shows that the sharer supports the message – “a true marriage (and true love) is never about you. It’s about the person you love—their wants, their needs, their hopes, and their dreams. Selfishness demands, “What’s in it for me?”, while Love asks, “What can I give? “
So, having a great headline and a good message is essential for your post to go viral.
And to get the sharing started, you must first do the sharing yourself.
Here are a few ways for you to spread the word out:
- Share it on social media
- Share it with your email list
- Reach out to other bloggers and influencers in your niche to ask for a share
- Share it on forums and online groups
Wanna find out how YOU can turn your blog into a profitable online business?
In this FREE email course, I will share with you EXACTLY what I did to take my blog from zero to a full-time income in less than 6 months!
Amateur Blogger Mistakes #7:
This mistake is an obvious one.
Blogging is a long term commitment, so you should never choose a blogging niche that you are not passionate about.
If you choose a niche based on profitability alone, you will have a tough time to grow the blog in the long term.
Here’s why.
Imagine you start a fitness blog but you are not really interested in writing about fitness.
Do you think you can keep writing about fitness for 5 years or even 10 years down the road?
Do you think you will keep thinking about how to improve this blog and make it one of the best fitness blogs?
Recently I read about Michael Jordan’s eulogy for Kobe Bryan.
I was deeply touched and also inspired by what he said about Kobe Bryan’s passion for basketball.
He said, ” It’s amazing thing about passion. If you love something, if you have a strong passion for something, you would go to the extreme to try to understand or try to get it, either ice cream, cokes, hamburgers, whatever you have a love for. If you have to walk, you will go get it. If you have to beg someone, you will go get it. What Kobe Bryant was to me was the inspiration that someone truly cared about the way that I played the game or the way that he wanted to play the game.”
Maybe it’s money that got you start thinking about blogging, but only passion will get you very far in blogging.
Recommended Tools:
To get started blogging, you need to register a domain name and also get web hosting for your blog.
Here’s what I recommend:
- Bluehost at $3.95/Month (I used this to start this blog)
Bluehost is the BEST web hosting for beginner bloggers for a few reasons:
- FREE domain name
- FREE SSL for your blog
- 99% server uptime (i.e. your blog is up 99% of the time)
- Fast website load time
Register Your FREE Domain Name with BlueHost Now
Once you have bought your web hosting, the next thing you need for your new website is a fast and responsive WordPress theme.
A WordPress theme is like the interior design of the new empty house you just bought.
When it comes to choosing the right theme, there are TWO things that are super important:
- Speed
- Responsive design
- Conversion-focused
Ideally, you want a WordPress theme that is light and fast, so your website will load quickly for your website visitors.
A fast website gives them a better user experience as well.
Next, you need your theme to be responsive.
That means your website can be viewed on all types of devices – mobile phones, tablets and laptops.
But, you shouldn’t just want a fast and responsive website.
At the end of the day, you also want a website that can help bring you more subscribers, more customers, and more revenue
For that reason, I highly recommend Thrive Themes which is conversion-focused.
Lastly, when it comes monetizing your blog, I recommend that you start with affiliate marketing first because it’s the quickest way to make money from your blog.
Right now, more than half of my blog revenue comes from affiliate marketing.
The best part about affiliate marketing is that it’s completely passive.
So, you could be earning an affiliate commission even while you are sleeping or spending time with your family.
That’s also one of the reasons I chose affiliate marketing because it gives me a lot of flexibility to spend more time with my son.
Here’s an example of me promoting investment books on my website.
Basically, what I did was that I signed up to be an Amazon affiliate.
As an Amazon affiliate, I can promote any product that is being sold on Amazon using my unique affiliate link ( yes, that is how they know the sale is referred by you)
The investment books above are shown at the end of one of my investing blog posts because I felt that it was relevant and it might even be helpful to some readers who want to read more on the topic.
If my readers think that the book is good and decides to buy, then I will be paid a small commission by Amazon at no additional cost to him or her.
So, I highly recommend affiliate marketing to anyone who wants to start blogging for the first time.
But, to succeed in affiliate marketing, you need to learn how to get started the right way.
Here’s a FREE affiliate training that you can sign up to get yourself started.
I have read many blogs till now that give tips to newbies but yours is the most helpful guide I have read so far. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Thanks for your comment! Really glad that you found the post helpful:)
Wow! It’s awesome I have read your advice and I found it easier so that thank you so much sister.