As the blogging community grows, only few bloggers are understanding the correct way to run a successful blog.

More and more people are entering the blogging world, but not all of them are going about it the correct way.

If you are new to the blogging world, chances are you’ve made a few mistakes. Here are thirteen mistakes bloggers are still making and how to avoid them:

1. Not Specifying an Audience

It is difficult to run a blog that appeals to everyone. If a blogger is not specifying the audience that their posts are targeting, it will likely lead to a lot of confusion for the reader.

Stop writing about everything. So many brands create content and try to cover everything, instead of focusing on the core niche that they can position themselves as an expert around. No one cares about your special recipe… Find your niche, and then go even more niche.” Joe Pulizzi

2. Not Connecting with Their Audience

Even if an audience is identified, a common mistake among bloggers is being unable to connect with readers.

When readers visit a blog, they want conversational posts that are well researched and interesting to read. If the blogger is simply listing facts without any real life experience or emotion, the reader will leave pretty quickly.

3. Inconsistency

To have return visitors on a blog, the readers need to know what to expect.

If they consistently visit the page and find that their isn’t any new material or the material is different than what they had read previously, they most likely will stop returning.

It is important to consistently deliver strong content that fits the niche and appeals to the audience.

4. Focusing on Quantity Instead of Quality

Blog readers are looking for interesting content, even if it comes in only a few posts.

When it comes to creating blog posts, quality is always better than quantity.

Even if the blog is growing, it is better to consistently deliver great content than to give half-hearted posts every day.

Focus on doing the research and spending a little extra time on every blog post.

5. Poor Writing

A blog should not be operated by someone who isn’t a great writer.

If your blog is full of grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, it disrupts the flow of each post and makes it difficult to read.

Hire a professional to create your blog posts, take a writing class, or consider skipping blogging all together.

6. Writing About You

A blog is not a diary and unless you are sharing an interesting yet helpful story to your readers, don’t create posts about yourself.

A blog can be a personal outlet to share your opinion and advice, but it should not read like a compilation of what you did that week.

Find a nice balance between showing your personality but making your posts about the reader.

7. Not Creating Engaging Headlines

If you don’t already have a strong following, the headline is probably the most important part of the entire blog.

Without an interesting and attention grabbing headline, readers are less likely to click on or share your post. A strong headline alludes to the information within the post without giving away all of the details.

8. Not Responding to Comments

If readers are engaging with your posts, it’s important to return the engagements.

Responding to comments on your blog posts show that you care about your reader’s opinions and you’re not just posting content for promotion.

Those serious about blogging view it as a community. If you want to continue seeing high levels of engagement, you must engage in posts yourself.

9. Not Promoting Your Posts

There are very few blogs that readers return to on their own.

In most cases, your audience will need to be pushed to your blog in some way.

This could be through social media posts, sending emails to your list, or having other bloggers share your content. All of these forms of promotions will see more and more bloggers visiting your page.

When promoting your blogs, you need to be careful to not over promote. If you are using your social media platforms to let your followers know you have a new post out, they don’t need to be reminded of the new content every hour.

Find a balance between enough promotion and over promotion.

10. Not Building Relationships

As already mentioned, the blogging world is a community. Within that community, the bloggers who find the most success do so because of their relationships.

As with any other business endeavor, networking is crucial. If you fail to introduce yourself and create relationships with other bloggers in your niche, you will find it difficult to grow your audience.

Blogging should not be treated as competition.

Just because there are other successful blogs in your industry does not mean you can’t share the same audience. Look at other bloggers as allies, all hoping to create a successful blog.

11. Not Utilizing Guest Posts

Guest posting is a great way to begin creating relationships with other bloggers and develop a following.

Reach out to bloggers in your niche for the opportunity to swap guest posts. Doing so will ultimately push their followers in your direction.

12. Not Committing

It takes a while to see the positive effects of a strong blog.

Because you probably won’t find your posts going viral after just a few days, it is important to stay committed to your page.

Creating an editorial calendar and sticking to it is a great way to stay committed, even if you feel as if your work is going no where.

13. Trying to Be Everything to Everyone

The truth is, not everyone is going to read your blog. It is impossible to remain interesting to everyone out there and you will burn yourself out trying to create posts in too many industries.

Instead, stick to a niche that is important to you and that you have authority to speak on.

It takes trial and error to develop a great blog, but understanding these thirteen most common mistakes will have you one step closer to finding blogging success.

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