Blogs or blogging have become an integral part of marketing. Blogging is about offering something with value for its readers. As at its core, it is about content promotion. This has led to several online novices resorting to it for content promotion. There are several areas in which the beginners lose sight of some of the main points that make the blog lose its purpose –of generating a clear sales lead, the sole purpose of any blog.
Some of the common mistakes that need to be avoided while generating a blog either by a novice or even by those who have been at it for years are:
Not reaching the right sites:
Blogging content that you have in hand needs a good platform, the site on which it has to be talked about. It is always effortless to use websites that are provided free like Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace.
However, the most important thing that remains is, having visibility at a platform that has better reach and more acceptability while presenting the content on a platform. A free site can have several disadvantages not evident initially, as it may have come your way as a friend’s recommendation or you learned about it through a favorite podcast.
But it would always do good to use a website that has been paid to carry content as the charges are nominal enough to be used; after all, at the end of it is the visibility that is of utmost significance.
Not vying for everyone’s attention
When it is creating a product, there are a few points that need to be considered of utmost priority. A way forward is to strategize how to bring it to people to read it. A loyal following online can be generated by creating content that readers find useful and good enough to consume and share.
Therefore, it should be a topic that can vie for everybody’s interest and gain attention. Even if the content is a great story, it should solve a common problem.
One of the disadvantages of blogging is; bloggers use the space for self-promotion — a widespread mistake that is not likely to gain your attention –therefore, the sole purpose is lost when blogging.
Choosing the wrong topic
It is most important to determine the purpose of your blog and ensure to stick with it. A blog is mostly initiated by qualifying first who your readers are going to be. The segment, the age and then; a draft is written strategizing on how to reach there.
To be true to your goal remains important while writing a blog.
Questions like is your blog providing product information? Is the blog good enough to stir a conversation when reading it? Have you done enough to comment on trending topics? If a blog post isn’t worth sharing, it is not likely to generate much value for any reader or blogger.
Not leveraging social media enough
To have better dividends or an assured return from your blog ensures a one-time investment for it on social media platforms. If used on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and emails of your blogs, the’ share’ button can only help in intensifying the reach further.
It becomes more comfortable for people to share your content with their network; more likely is its reachability and readability to grow. Therefore, to put together the Blog in a particular form is one of the most important parts of blogging which should not be avoided at all costs for a good payoff.
Not ensuring whether the content is SEO-friendly
Most often, some forgotten concept remains not focussing on any blog’s keywords to make it more users approachable. Search engine optimization (SEO) identifies the keywords for searching and posting a subject matter.
It remains very important that the ‘keywords’ come ideally in your blog’s first four lines for it to be easily identified. An author of any blog has to devise some of the most acceptable ways to incorporate the keywords in the sentences and incorporate those search terms into the post’s title and body.
Also important is the headline that follows a post, ideally, it should not cross 120 characters in the heading. The purpose should come first followed by the tips or tricks that need to be the rest of the heading. An excellent example of it is, let’s say, the title for this blog:
“Mistakes to avoid writing a blog post, here are six things that need to be avoided”.
Not selecting an excellent hosting site
Choosing a bad hosting company is a bad idea. The visibility of your blog depends on what are the hosting sites that have been selected. For a stronger variable in the Google ranking, it is significant to check the number and the authority of sites linked to the posting.
If the website is powerful for your links, the stronger is the influence on Google, and the better is their ranking. The hosting companies play a pivotal role in bringing alive the blog on the internet. Their speed, security, features, track record all add up to getting the blog link promoted.
Always resorting to free websites is a bad idea for sales promotion.
A good host site can start anywhere from $3 to $15 initially. A blog without a good hosting company is as good as redundant as the content remains unreachable to the world.
Mistake of picking domain name difficult to recall
Blogging content that you have in hand needs a good platform, which it has to be discussed. It is always effortless to use websites that are provided free like Wix, Weebly or Squarespace.
Another thing of consequence while generating the domain is to ensure the name must be available on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. Also important is remembering that your domain name is not similar to other available domains.
Not choosing to speak the people’s language
A blog has a purpose, its visibility to others, and generating more and more responses out of the read for more content and ultimately, sales promotion. A blog needs to be outlined in the language of the people. This means a lot.
It should be for an audience that is ‘niche’. It should be in the language of the people who are being addressed. The content should be outlined clearly before it is finally written to retain consistency while reading, hence neatly structured.
The author gains more if it’s written to increase visibility keeping the SEO perspective in mind. In that case, a blog has a general engagement by using terms that impress your customers.
Forgetting to network appropriately
Only writing is not blogging. Be a part of the network much before you even start your blog with all the available players in your industry. To drive traffic to other blogs and also responding to them is an important part of networking appropriately. And the purpose is to improve sales.
A link of the other website where a similar product is available only increases competition and more reach of the product at your end also.
Both negative and positive reactions and comments about your blog help. Always have the resources available to handle negative feedback amicably with the correct use of language.
To conclude
If people are talking, you are no doubt in circulation. When company leaders engage in conversations, it creates an opportunity for more potential growth and exchange of information and ideas with prospective and existing customers.
Author Bio: Koby Mahon is the content writer of this piece. Koby is an avid blogger cum journo with more than two decades of experience in content writing. Currently attached to the assignment help provider, Online Assignment Expert, Linda helps students seek cheap assignment help.