Today I’d like to discuss which 5 mistakes you should avoid as a new blogger, honestly you
really don’t want to be making it harder for yourself.
You can make this journey very easy for yourself by reading about the 5 mistakes that you should avoid and how to fix them. But let’s first look at the list and carefully analyze where you can go wrong.
Which 5 Mistakes Should I avoid?
1. Don’t pick a niche where you can’t make money
2. “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”
3. Do Your Research! It’s not time wasted.
4. You need help! Build Your Website on a learning platform
5. Don’t be impatient, success takes time and effort.
1. Pick a money-making niche
What I mean by this is to pretend for a minute that you’ve never created a website. You are all excited about telling people about relationships (especially your own). You think that a relationship website might be a brilliant idea. But is it?
Are you an expert (with training) in developing good relationships? No? Then should you be advising people on their love life? Maybe not. Could you perhaps sell a course on relationships?
Well, let’s go and have a look in ClickBank and see what they have. There are a lot of products available for sale about relationships. So, yes you could make money selling these products, but you will need to research the best ones to promote.
Do you feel that you could write 2 – 3 articles about relationships on your blog per week? Then this could be perfect for you!
No matter the niche idea that you are dreaming about, make sure that all that work will bring you sales, and even better look for reoccurring commission sales. Be paid every month!
Ensure your success by getting help right from the start to build your business and be aware of which 5 mistakes should I avoid as you build your business.
2. Make a Plan for Your Business
You can’t just wing this. If you are serious then you need to work out your overall big-picture plan of action. Where would you like your business to be in 5 years? 1 year? You can dream big and then scale it back to reality, whatever works for you. Set a money goal if that will motivate you. Use this as a template of which 5 mistakes should I avoid.
A business like babies will grow naturally and you will need to revisit this plan again to polish up your expectations. When I started my business online I set a plan to be in learning mode for 2 years and really understand how to be successful online. I knew that if I could understand why I had been successful then I could teach others.
My goals did include some income points but I knew that I would use that money to pay for the hosting of my website and the plugins that I needed as my business grew. A year later I started using some of my income to pay a copywriter so that I could get a post on my website every day. You will have total control of your website and the choices you make, so be careful what you choose.
It’s ok if you change it later or you find that you don’t need to do some of the tasks, just give yourself an outline at least.
You could include:
1. Find a hosting platform
2. Get a mentor
4. Write lots of content and learn the best way to get noticed by Google
5. Learn about ranking and SEO
6. Put an email collector on your website for subscribers
7. Learn how to promote on social media
8. Create YouTube or Webinars
9. Create a funnel and landing page
10. Learn to use PPC promotion
3. Do Your Research
The research will be the cornerstone of building your website, so make a game of it as you will be doing this to build success. Always keep in mind which 5 mistakes should I avoid as you build a healthy business.
Two types of Research that you will be using:
1. Researching keywords and your competition for post topics
2. Research how to fix issues with your website, promotion, and learning.
If you want to rank in Google and drive organic traffic to your new website then you will need to learn how to write killer content that includes keywords that people ask questions about and good SEO practices.
I’ve written a post on how to write killer content that ranks in Google, it has masses of tips so that you are heading in the right direction from the start. Click on this link to have a read!
You will need to know who you are competing against on page one of Google for every post that you create and there is a trick to ranking quicker. Killer content tells all.
4. Build Your Website on a Learning Platform
Many adventurous entrepreneurs decide to build a website business without thinking about where they will learn how to do this. Yes, there are free training videos online and you can join Facebook and other groups to pick up tips and tricks. But is that really the best option for you?
The cheapest website hosting is often lacking in the basic security and technical support that is necessary. It doesn’t teach you anything and you could become so frustrated that you give up.
Wouldn’t it be better to find a hosting platform where you can build a website in 30 seconds, have some free lessons to get you past the basics, and know that you have someone watching your security and technical issues 24/7?
I knew absolutely nothing about the internet when I started 2 years ago and now, I mentor people while they create successful websites. It’s a great advantage to know that if you get stuck you can ask a whole community for answers. This is a journey of 1000 steps, so why make it harder for yourself?
5. Be Patient, Success Takes Time and Effort
We all like people to be patient with us when we are learning and growing and this is something that you need to do for yourself when you build a business.
When you create a website, it can take from 2 – 6 weeks before Google indexes it. Then each time you write a blog post on your website you will have to wait for that to be indexed (which means that it is showing on Google).
This is on top of waiting for your indexed posts to be ranked, which is based on how old your website is and your SEO practices. The more posts you have the faster generally that your posts will be indexed and ranked (mine are indexed within 24 hours now).
Ranking on page 1 of Google comes down to the keywords in the title of your post and many other little tricks and Google changes these about once a year. Lol
Is your head spinning, I know that mine was at the beginning.
Just know that all this is learnable and once you begin to apply the tips on which 5 mistakes should I avoid you will see results, just never as fast as you would like.
The best thing that you can decide is to give yourself a year to see results. That’s not to say that you might not make some sales after 3 months, it’s just that you should take the time pressure off.
As you learn and apply more to your website, you will see results, and at the beginning that will show up as organic traffic to certain posts (you can track this in Google Analytics for free.)
Conclusion
If you have read this far then I’m sure that you are serious about starting a business online and have made a commitment to the learning journey. I would like to invite you to have a read about the hosting and education platform that I belong to. Here you can explore which 5 mistakes should I avoid as a new blogger and gain confidence in a safe environment.
It’s been going for 17 years, has a 2 million-strong community, and is so sure of the quality of the lessons that they offer a free trial with no credit card required. Now that’s confidence!
Read more about Wealthy Affiliate and I look forward to welcoming you into this fascinating world soon if you choose to move ahead.
Know that there are 1.2 Billion websites online now and that will be added to every day but there is still room for many more. You just need to learn how to stand out and I will show you how.
If this has helped you in your research, I would love you to leave a comment, or a like and share. Don’t be shy, tell me what you think!
Thanks for visiting.
These are excellent points for those just starting out with blogging. I totally agree that you need to make a plan for each year. At the end of the year, you can re-evaluate and create a new plan for growth the following year. I use Wealthy Affiliate to host my blog, as I love all the training videos and community support they offer.
I think planning is the key Alicia. Even if it is a loose one in your head of say, do a lesson on Wealthy Affiliate a day and apply it. Learn each section of the process from creating, maintaining a website, social media, content writing, affiliate links, and so on. You can refine it over the year or yearly. Doing these steps will lead you to success over time.
I believe when I started out I made at least three of these mistakes. The biggest reason is that I tried to start blogging on my own without a mentor or community support around me. I also didn’t have the proper training and education when it came to starting an online business. I am so glad you are helping people who are looking to get started in this area so that they can become successful a lot faster!
Absolutely Daniel. It surprises me that we assume that we need to train to be a chemist, builder, or doctor but not to run a professional website business. I really want to encourage people to find a learning platform where they can build their business with knowledge and support.