11 Things You’re Doing That Hurt Your Blog

Let’s face it, sometimes you need to check in with a friend and make sure you’re doing this blogging thing right. And I mean with the kind of friend who will tell you you’re wearing your shirt backwards and inside out. I’m that kind of friend.

So let’s get started and make sure you’re not doing ANY of these 11 things that could hurt your blog. Don’t despair, if you are doing some of these, the solutions are all here at your fingertips. You can literally discover the keys to success as you read on. And by the way, #4 and #11 are epic!

Let’s Go!

1. Using the wrong blogging platform. Not starting your blog on wordpress.org can hold you back financially because you need to be self-hosted to monetize your blog. Self-hosting is important when it comes to making money blogging and using this link can help you set up self-hosting with Bluehost for as little as $3.95 per month. Plus, with a 1 year sign up, I’ll throw in your domain for free! That’s a whole year of blogging for less than one starbucks drink per month! Don’t worry if you already started your blog on wordpress.com you can switch it over but you can’t monetize it until you do.
2. Not starting your email list today. Seriously, you should not even think about anything else until you’ve started your GDPR compliant email opt in. Subscribers are your gold! I’ve heard lots of amazing things about Convertkit and mailer lite but since I started my blog on a budget and put most of that budget towards investing in my classes I went with the free version of Mail Chimp for this and so far, so good! I researched and created a 3 part opt in email series and set it on automation so every new subscriber will get the same warm welcome no matter when they sign up. As bloggers we’re subject to algorithm and lots of other changes to our marketplace but the thing we do have direct access and control is our list of engaged subscribers! Start yours today! And while we’re on the topic you never get what you won’t ask for. So…please check out that grey bar above, enter your email and click on that pink button so you can stay up to date with all my updates, flash sales and subscriber only resources and tips!
3. Not writing consistently or not posting often enough. Pinterest, Google and readers all like consistency. Also, the more you post the more you will have pins to promote those posts and the more traffic will follow! Pro Tip: I tend to write in batches so I can bank posts and pins so when I get busy I can always still be publishing on a consistent basis.
4. This is a big one. Ready? Ok.. Stop trying to know it all yourself. Instead, learn from those who make the kind of money you want to be making blogging. Don’t waste months trying to teach yourself the tested, proven and winning strategies the pro bloggers already know and use. I’ve taken three of the best blogging classes out there: Making Sense Of Affiliate Marketing,Pinterest Traffic Avalanche and Pinteresting Strategies. Each of these courses were written by bloggers earning well over six figures who know their stuff and I can vouch for the value of those courses. They’ve definitely put me on the path to blogging success. In fact one of the most common regrets I’ve read in blogger income reports was not taking courses sooner which can cost you time and delay your ability to make money blogging because you could be learning how to monetize and drive traffic today!

   

5. Not setting up your affiliate marketing so you can monetize your blog. Every post needs to have a reason to exist and if you’re spending time and energy blogging but not monetizing your posts with affiliate links then you’re leaving serious money on the table. Michelle of Making Sense of Cents makes $50,000 per month with affiliate marketing alone and she gives away all her secrets in her course so you can monetizeyour blog too!
6. Not driving traffic from Pinterest. Writing all day and not getting those pageviews or conversions? Pinterest is one of the most magical ways to drive *free* traffic to your blog. The two courses I took were Pinterest Traffic Avalanche taught by Lauren and Alex and Pinteresting Strategies written by Carly Campbell. They are both written by incredibly successful bloggers but have very different approaches to driving traffic. I took both courses so I could learn automated pinning using Tailwind (which I can’t live without!) as well as manual pinning and I currently use a combination of the two.
7. Not learning how to make the most pin worthy pins can really hurt your blog. Lauren of Pinterest Traffic Avalanche does an amazing job teaching how to make the most click-worthy pins! Her tips seriously upped my pin making game!
8. Not using the right plugins can also hurt your blog. Yoast (for SEO), Jetpack (for blog analytics), Social Warfare (for easy social sharing) are all plugins you need to research and set up today! Too many plugins can slow your blog down but those are a few that you shouldn’t be living without. Not sure how to get started with plugins? Then read Why Your Blog Is Going To Fail Without These Five Essential Plugins.
9. Wasting your time doing things you’re not good at slows you down and can really bum you out. Delegate, swap, hire some inexpensive freelance help. I’ve got you covered on this too, click here to read my post about How To Monetize Your Blog Faster where I go into ways to move your blog forward efficiently.
10. Expecting blogging to be a get rich quick thing – that is only going to discourage you and could also hurt your blog. Some blog for fun (like me.) Others blog to supplement their income (also like me!) Expecting your blog to turn a profit the first month or right away is probably the worst thing you can do for your morale and self confidence. It may also cause you to give up before success comes. Expect it to take a couple of months before you start to see any money coming in at all. And expect it to take at least a year before you see any real money coming in.  My goal was to make at least $100 in the first three months and I’ve almost made it! (I’ll be posting my first income report soon so look for that!) Once you see that money come in you’ll have proven to yourself that everything else is possible and that you can build from there. You can read my first ever income report here which will give you some good perspective.

    

11. And this one is probably one of the most overlooked ideas for new bloggers. Not getting feedback from other bloggers! Join Facebook groups (you get into private groups by taking the classes I mentioned above.) Whatever you do – find your community and get to know one another. Ask to exchange feedback on your blog. You never know what another set of eyes might see that you’ve somehow missed! If you want more ideas on how to get a feedback from your blogging peers read my post How Come Blogging Works For Everyone But Me?! Here to learn how to get the feedback that could take your blog to the next level!

How are you going to put these tips and suggestions to work to make your blog skyrocket? As always I love sharing everything that’s worked for me to help you reach your blogging and income goals as well. You can also find my full list of resources here!