blog writing mistakes

8 Common Blog Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Marketing

Since the first blog was published 23 years ago, content sharing online has grown in leaps and bounds. Blogs essentially democratized publishing and made the internet useful to the layperson.

There are now 152 million blogs published online, making up one-quarter of all content on the world wide web. The quest for eyes-on-screens is fierce. In fact, a new blog post is published every 0.5 seconds.

With so much content being produced every day, falling prey to common blog writing mistakes could be costly.

What’s a business to do? To compete in an increasingly global, internet-based marketplace, a relevant blog is critical. We’re here to help.

Blog Writing Mistakes

This article will talk about eight of the most common mistakes bloggers make. It won’t stop there though. We’ll also tell you how to avoid them.

Let’s dive in.

1. You Lack a Clear Strategy

Think about blogging like running a marathon. You wouldn’t take to the starting line without knowing where the finish line was. Otherwise, you’d be running aimlessly, forever, or until you burn out.

We often see both of these outcomes with poorly planned blogs.

What’s the Fix?

Arm yourself with data. Ask yourself the following questions before you write your first blog post.

  1. Why am I writing?
  2. Who is my intended audience?
  3. What is important to them, what questions can I answer for them?
  4. What is my long-term vision for this blog?

If other questions come up while brainstorming, log those too. The more clear you are the more clear your blog will be.

You can focus on certain themes each month, or pool topics for blogs from your client base by using surveys, the main objective is to find what will work for you. No two bloggers or blogs are the same. Finding your rhythm and niche will be what helps set you apart.

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2. Your Topics Don’t Land

If your topics don’t land with your audience, your blog won’t grow. Choosing topics for blogs that your readers actually will want to read is part of the planning process. So it’s really important not to skip it.

It’s common for bloggers to choose topics they personally find interesting. Topics which may be lost on readers if they don’t find it interesting. Or, they will write about their business, which can be redundant and boring.

What’s the Fix?

Utilize sales teams or blog insights. Pick their brains on what customers share with them. Just about every question a customer, or reader, has can easily become a blog topic.

For quick inspiration check out ideas on the web. There are tons of blogs about the best kind of blogs to write.

3. Publishing Schedule Is Erratic

When people first start blogging they tend to publish a lot of content. They are bursting with ideas and excitement. That enthusiasm quickly fades and blogging may lose priority. This is one of the blog writing mistakes.

Consistency is what really matters. Dumping all your best ideas all at once isn’t advisable.

What’s the Fix?

Planning! Plan out your content as far in advance as you can. Generate a list of ideas, or broad themes, that you want to cover and map them out.

The best practice is to have regular blog posts going. Your readers will come to anticipate your new posts. Potentially setting you up for easy email marketing.

4. Sloppy Content

The value of editing your content can’t be overstated. With all the free tools available to bloggers today there is no excuse for sloppy, unedited blog posts.

And yet, many bloggers miss the mark because of this mistake. It’s as if blogs today are waging a battle against grammar and punctuation.

What’s the Fix?

This one is so easy. Utilize some of the free apps and plug-ins out there. There are hundreds of them, but here’s 2020’s top 21. Or you can run ideas by other writers by using collaborative writing practices.

5. Lack of Variety

Publishing blog posts that all look the same is bad news. It can make your blog seem dull and may lack depth.

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Don’t misunderstand, listicles and quick reads are a great tool. But they can’t be the only thing your blog offers.

What’s the Fix?

When you are planning out your content and posting schedule, make sure to include details like article length. Publishing different blog lengths make your content interesting and varied.

Most blog posts come in at 1,000 words. Not enough to be considered long-form. Studies show long-form articles are worth it. Potentially unlocking up to nine times the leads as short-form posts.

6. Topics Are Broad

If you don’t follow some sort of outline, blogs can take a stream-of-consciousness type turn quickly. If you introduce a topic or question at the beginning of your post and don’t answer it, your readers won’t be happy.

Your readers came on board to hear about this one thing. Don’t let them down by losing your train of thought.

What’s the Fix?

This one is also, super easy.

Be specific and focus on one thing at a time. Solve one problem, or answer one question with your blog.

New ideas will probably come up as you write, and that’s OK. Just jot them down somewhere and stay the course with your singular purpose.

7. Topics Aren’t Repurposed

Work you have already done is super valuable. Say you wrote a blog post that went viral. You pat yourself on the back and never touch that content again.

This is a huge blogging mistake.

What’s the Fix?

Recycle that content! If people loved it that much in one format, think about other ways you can present it.

8. Unrealistic Expectations

Every blog post won’t be a home-run. If you go into blogging expecting every post you make to go viral, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

What’s the Fix?

In your planning stage set short and long-term goals. As you execute your blog strategy you can check in with them. This will give you real-time insight into how effective you’re being and allow you to course-correct if needed.

The Bloggers Bottom Line

The blogging game continues to evolve as technology advances. And now that you’ve got the key to avoiding blog writing mistakes, your content will really shine.

Well go on then, get out there and make some great content!

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