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7 Blogging Mistakes I Made During My First Try As A Blogger

7 Blogging Mistakes I Made During My First Try As A Blogger

Good morning this is a guest post from Mark Ross Canaoay, he has a blog called the Money Saving Dude that aims to help its readers save more of their hard-earned money. You can connect with him on the following social networking sites: Twitter and 

-Start of story-

I’ve started my first blog last March of 2013, and I sold it almost seven months after I made it. Why?

It’s because I failed to achieve my goals and I decided to give up on it completely. Maybe I could turned it around, but I didn’t have it in me in those days.

I decided to focus more on my studies, and I did it, I passed the semester with better grades than the previous one.

After several weeks of thinking, I decided to start another blog of my own still in the finance category but this time I made it more specific, it’s now more about ways people can do to save money, and you can easily tell it by its name, the Money Saving Dude.

What urge me to make another website?

Well, I just missed blogging, and the opportunity was there. I learned my lessons, and I know what to do and not to do this time around.

-End of story-

So, what are those mistakes I made during my first try as blogger that I will definitely not make this time around?

Blogging Mistake #1: Choosing the wrong site name

I’ve read a lot of “how to start a blog” articles before I started my first site. I was fortunate that I was able to choose the right web hosting on my first try, but I wasn’t able to pick the write domain name.

I chose a domain name that didn’t have any valuable keywords in it, and I just realized that it’s really not that catchy.

Maybe you’re wondering why I chose it, well, I was trying to replicate another popular blog’s name here in the Philippines, and it didn’t help me at all.

I didn’t get noticed by anyone until I finish off my first four months of blogging.

Maybe being unique is really the key to becoming successful in the blogging world, isn’t it?

Advice: Think of a good domain name that will catch your audience attention and tell them what your blog is all about immediately

Blogging Mistake #2: Not interacting with other bloggers

I already told you that no one noticed me until I hit month 4 of my blogging venture, and it wasn’t fun at all.

The first blogger who approached me was Jeremy of Modest Money who asked me if we can share each other’s articles on Twitter. I did agree on that deal, and it did bring me some kind of traffic that I was dying to get. After that, John of Frugal Rules asked me to do the same thing.

I felt happy but disappointed because I neglected the value of networking. I wasted valuable time to grow my blog, and I hope you will not do the same.

Go out there and chat with your fellow bloggers. Most of them are great people who are willing to help you with your blogging problems.

Advice: Interact with other bloggers in your niche ASAP

Blogging Mistake #3: Being unable to utilize social networking sites properly

Before I disabled my first site’s Twitter account I had 67 followers, yes, after 7 months of blogging and several articles I only got 67 followers. I don’t even know why John and Jeremy approached me to share their articles to very few people when they have thousands of followers themselves. That’s when I realized I made another mistake.

Advice: See advice on Blogging Mistake #2

Blogging Mistake #4: Worrying about the number of articles being published

I really thought that posting more article per week will get me more traffic which may get me more followers and subscribers, but in reality it didn’t happen.

Quality over quantity.

That’s what I realized.

One could publish ten 400-word posts and still get the same traffic that a single 1500-word article will receive. I was publishing many low quality articles and very few quality articles during my first time as a blogger, and it didn’t help my case.

Advice: Only publish high-quality articles

Blogging Mistake #5: Worrying about traffic too much

As you can see above, I was a traffic maniac back then. I worried about it every single day. I was checking my Google Analytics account every time before I go to my WordPress dashboard.

It was a struggle. I was looking for more traffic than what I really deserve, and that only made matters worse. I had a harder time writing articles, and I began publishing less and less each week, and even if I’m publishing less often, I’m still making low quality articles.

I’m not gaining any followers or subscribers, I’m losing them.

In my last month on my first site, I lost about 15 subscribers and that’s about 30% of all of them.

Yes. I only have at most 40 subscribers back then.

Advice: Don’t worry about traffic too much, it will come if you really deserve it

Blogging Mistake #6: Not guest posting enough

How many guest posts did I made during those 7 months of blogging?

2.

Yes. Only two. I was too lazy and focused on achieving more traffic that I gave little effort in sharing my articles to other finance blogs.

I received very little traffic from other finance blogs that I commented on. Most of my blog’s traffic came from Google’s search engine but that wasn’t enough because my site’s bounce rate was in the range of 85%-95% back then.

Advice: Share your articles on other blogs in your niche, their readers might like it and come visit your site

Blogging Mistake #7: I focus on things that are not important

I focused on producing more content, not publishing high quality articles. I focused on traffic, not finding ways to improve my website. I focused more on monetizing my blog without thinking about my audience’s experience.

Now, what is the most important thing here?

For me, it has to be the content of your blog. It’s what connects you to your audience. If you’re giving them worthless articles, your blog will not grow just like you want it to.

Advice: Find your voice (That’s what J Money of BudgetsareSexy.com used to say to his readers), and start producing quality content for you site

Conclusion

I hope that you learned from my blogging mistakes, and be able to avoid making those yourself. Blogging is fun, and you should think it that way every time. Don’t make it hard on yourself. Try to work on your own time and just have fun.

Now, do you blog? Did you made mistakes during your first months as a blogger too?

Feel free to share your experience in the comments below.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
Albert Einstein

This post was featured on Starting from Zero Blog, thank you!

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Lovely comments

  1. Skint in the City says

    Good, honest advice which I’m sure echoes with us all? I agree, the temptation is often to focus on content but actually promotion – getting out there and connecting with other bloggers is where it’s at! It’s that 20:80 rule – 20% of the work you do gets you 80% if your success – if you only know which 20% to promote! Best of luck with the new site, Mark.

  2. Holly@ClubThrifty says

    I think we’ve all made similar mistakes. I look back on our website design at the beginning and wonder what we were thinking. Fortunately, most mistakes can be corrected over time. You live, you learn!
    Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted…I Hate Spam: A RantMy Profile

  4. Daisy @ Prairie Eco Thrifter says

    I have been blogging for years, and I have definitely learned a few lessons in that time. I agree that choosing the wrong blog name can be a hinderance. My first blog had everything to do with personal finance but the name didn’t match. Connecting with other bloggers is one of the best things you can do as a new blogger to get yourself out there!
    Daisy @ Prairie Eco Thrifter recently posted…Contingency Budgeting: Low, Medium, and HighMy Profile

  5. John @ Sprout Wealth says

    Good post Mark! I believe we’ve all been there and made most, if not all, of these mistakes just starting out. I love watching stats, but at the end of the day so much of it comes down to quality over quantity. Networking is huge as well, especially as you’re just starting but even more as you continue to grow your site. Best of luck with the new site!
    John @ Sprout Wealth recently posted…How to Start Investing in the Stock MarketMy Profile

  7. Even Steven says

    There is some great takeaways here Mark, thanks for the article. I’m in your boat with having a new blog, I want it to be different, I want to tell a story and tell it my way, I want to be able to share with others my good times and bad. A little down the road, I’d love to share stories on how things are going.
    Even Steven recently posted…B-U-D-G-E-T-S Part IIMy Profile

  8. J.Money says

    You know it, brotha! Find your voice and just rock it. It’s all about community for me, and the blogging world is full of awesome like-minded people 🙂

  9. Alex says

    I like the honesty of this post and the problems it tackles for bloggers. Some useful hints that we should all pay attention to when starting out, which remain equally important as time goes by.
    I hope your blogging days are filled with traffic and enjoyment now.

    • Mark Ross says

      Still working hard to get to that Alex, but I’m not that worried about it anymore than my first time. I know that day will come, I just know it now.

  11. David says

    Wow, great points. I guess you learned from your mistakes!!!
    I happen to comment every day, make carnivals, and write blogs that are both practical and useful. These are some great tips that every new blogger should utilize.
    David recently posted…Is Global Warming truly happening?My Profile

  13. Jeff @Project Ikonz says

    What site were you trying to replace? “I was trying to replicate another popular blog’s name here in the Philippines” I guess your not the french girl writing this. Good lessons by the way. Thank you for sharing your mistakes so other bloggers will learn from them and improve. How to retire a millionaire if you don’t see mistakes as lessons toward success?
    Jeff @Project Ikonz recently posted…Ebay side hustle is awesome and crap at the same timeMy Profile

  14. Mr. Utopia says

    This is all solid advice. I can identify with all of it except for that I’ve always tried to produce quality articles. I can especially relate to mistake #5. I became addicted to checking traffic and, more often than not, I would be disappointed. It is very counter-productive because it makes it easy to get discouraged. I still struggle with being too caught up in checking, but I’m not quite as bad these days.
    Mr. Utopia recently posted…The Secret to Getting Out of DebtMy Profile

  16. Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank says

    I think my biggest mistake early on was not getting to know other bloggers. Quite often they have so much information that can help you out, rather than struggling along on your own.

    I have also thought about starting another blog, but I need more time to work on it than I have at the moment.

    Best of luck to you with the new site.
    Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank recently posted…Protecting your assets with insuranceMy Profile

  20. Kimsea Sok says

    Pauline, Thanks for sharing your mistakes..!

    You know..? We almost have the same mistake while we was a newbie to blogging. Actually, it was the same to me. When first I start my blog, I did not know about how to choose my business name.

    I have used too long domain with long keywords in url. You know? It is less attractive, I think that sometime I almost could remembers my own address.

    I spent less for building relationship and community of my business. Moreover, I never care about why the people doing guest.

    You know..? What is the big mistake is that I have copied other blog content for my own post. LOL..! Isn’t it silly..?
    Kimsea Sok recently posted…Complete SEO Writing Tips and Tricks for Better ContentMy Profile