Blogging Tips

Blogging Mistakes I’ve Made so You Don’t Have to

by Olivia

When it comes to blogging I have made my fair share of blogging mistakes, but honestly I think we all have. Sometimes I don’t even know if I’d call them mistakes. Because I learnt something from each of them. Let’s rebrand mistakes as ‘lessons learnt’. It sounds alot better.

I’ve posted alot of content this year, and along the way have had many lessons learnt moments. And for todays blog I’ll be going through some of them. I want to do this so that you can learn from the blogging mistakes that I’ve made. And so you can make sure you don’t make the same mistakes I did. Its so easy to fall into bad habits, and it’s easy to make mistakes without even realising.

I’m no way trying to say I’m a ‘professional’ at this, because I’m not. I am constantly learning lessons on my blogging journey and I probably won’t stop learning lessons either. I hope you can learn from what I share today.

TRYING TO TAKE ALL MY OWN PHOTOS

When I logged back into WordPress in July 2020 I was amazed at the amazing images I saw other bloggers using. I thought to myself how on earth do these people find the time to take all of these amazing photos?! So naturally I tried for a few weeks to take all of my feature photos myself, and worried and stressed over trying to get them done. I even nearly talked myself into purchasing a professional camera to make them look as good as possible. I came to realise that the images I saw were in fact stock images. And at the time I didn’t see anyone talking about stock images, and even now I find its not something that many bloggers talk about.

So my advice to you is don’t worry about taking all of your own photos. There are so many generous photographers out there who choose to share their work with us for free. Utilise the resources that are there for you. Work smarter not harder.

NOT INTERACTING WITH OTHER BLOGGERS

When I first started my blogging journey in 2015 I didn’t interact with any other bloggers at all. I remember having this weird assumption that people would come to me if they liked my stuff. I don’t know why a flip didn’t switch in my brain to consider that maybe I’d need to get myself out there to be noticed.

And sure enough, as soon as I did thats when my following started to grow. Remember that you need a good community of people around you in order to grow and become successful. Majority of the most successful people in the world have a good group around them.

So my advice for you is to interact with others as much as you can. Ensure that its genuine interaction though, and you’re not just doing it so they notice you. Be sincere with your support.

POSTING INCONSISTENTLY

Something you have read from me before is the key to blogging success is consistency. Whether its posting on your actual blog or being active on social media. You need to show yourself to be seen. One lesson I learnt back when I first started was that I wasn’t consistent in my posting schedule. I was going months between posting, which works for some. But for me, posting on a more regular basis is what has helped me to grow my site.

So my advice to you is to make sure you create yourself a blogging schedule. One that works for you, but has some level of consistency in there. This will benefit you and your site. The more you put content out there, the better chance you have of being noticed.

FORGETTING TO PROOF READ

On several occasions I have failed to proof read my content before posting. Do you ever get so excited when writing something that you just can’t wait and want to post it right away? That happens to me so often and then what happens next is that I post my content with incorrect words and broken or missing links. And it’s all just a big mess. Not only is it a big mess, it looks unprofessional too. If you want to be taken seriously as a blogger its important that your content is as good as it can be. Your writing is a representation of you and who you are.

So my advice to you is to make sure that you proof read your content several times if you have to. Make sure there are no mistakes. Even get others to check it if you have to!

What blogging mistakes have you made in the past? How did you learn from those blogging mistakes?

Olivia x
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192 thoughts on “Blogging Mistakes I’ve Made so You Don’t Have to”

  1. I always have trouble keeping up with my schedule when publishing a post and I’m guilty of it. I wanted blogging to be something that I loved doing even in my worst or best, and so I stopped pressuring myself too much and just started writing whenever I feel comfortable with it. Blogging inconsistently can really affect the blog’s SEO so I make sure to post at most once a week if I can. Haha thanks for these tips, Olivia! xx

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    1. It can be really hard to keep up with a schedule sometimes, and sometimes life gets in the way. Don’t beat yourself up about it! You’re doing as best as you can right now! xx

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  3. Totally agree and feel a litlle embarrassed to admit that I still make these mistakes.
    I always proof read but I’m usually so excited to post that I miss seeing really huge mistakes. 🙈
    I was obsessed with taking/using my own photos too before realising that it was IMPOSSIBLE to do especially if you’re posting 2-3 times a week.
    Another mistake that I’m doing is not putting in enough effort to promote my blog – but I get so lazy after posting! And I plan to work on that in 2021. 🙈

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  4. I completely agree with this. As well as feeling like I had to post all my own photos, I felt like I couldn’t use any old photos I had taken as people would notice they were from a few days ago. So weird the beliefs we convince ourselves with.
    I still struggle with keeping a schedule but I’m getting there

    What I Have Wrote 

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  7. Not interacting with other bloggers. As a newbie blogger I didn’t want to come off as too strong or too quick but when I read one of your older posts on blogging tips, I immediately followed you and other bloggers.

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    1. Its so important I feel to be interactive and supportive of others. Otherwise how can we expect people to be that way for us? Its a lesson we all need to learn I think!

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  8. Great post and tips! 😄

    I’ve only recently started using stock images – I always told myself I’d never use anyone else’s images and I’d always try to take my own but honestly it’s not always possible. So using stock images with a mix of my own has been a big help! Especially with posting more over Blogmas.

    It’s great to interact and support other bloggers too. It makes blogging more enjoyable 😄❤️

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    1. It’s so hard to keep up with finding your own images. Why not use the resources that are available to us?! Makes more sense if you ask me! But I was the exact same!

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  10. I have quite a few of them. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve learned from blogging when I first got started is comparing my blog to others. I felt like my blog should look like “THIS” or sound like “THAT.” Overtime, it got to be discouraging.

    It was important for me to find my own style (colors, visual aesthetics, etc…) and voice when writing and keeping my blog. Colors are cool but CONTENT is what matters.

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    1. You’re so right. I felt the same too. I didn’t originally try to find my own style, instead I thought I had to be like everyone else. Which we of course now know thats not true. You are you, and they are them! Its important you find your own style and brand with your blog!

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  11. When I first started blogging, I didn’t know anything about “featured images” so I just slapped a picture at the beginning of my post. When I discovered featured images, I had to go back and rework all my posts. Same with SEO. I didn’t know anything about it and had to go back and updated my old posts.

    But, that’s one of the things I love about blogging. I’m learning all the time. I just completed a Graphic Design course and the instructor commented on how professional my work looks. I did my assignments on Canva and I learned all that from blogging. Who says blogging isn’t real life? LOL

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    1. I had to do the exact same with SEO too. I wish I had known about it before I started posting, it would have saved alot of time for me!
      Thats one thing I love too. Its a constant learning process, and I hope it continues to be that way!

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  12. I also have the same assumption back then! I rarely even respond to my readers’ comments on my Wattpad (and that has hurt the progress of my book so I didn’t repeat that mistake here in my blogging). I’m also having trouble finding good, free photos. Currently, I’m making use of Pinterest and adding the image source as a caption. Is that enough?

    By the way, what’s a missing or broken link? I keep seeing it in my ahrefs report. Very helpful post, Olivia! Thanks a lot.

    http://www.lifebeginsattwenty.com

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    1. I wouldn’t suggesting using Pinterest images as they are more than likely copyrighted and you don’t want to get in trouble. Unsplash, Kaboom pics and pixels are the sites I use for all of my stock images. And they are completely free to use.

      A broken link is a link that you’ve included on a post but it doesn’t work or it doesn’t go anywhere. Missing link is just as it says, you haven’t included links where you should have.

      🙂

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  13. I have made all of these mistakes and then some, but my most consistent mistake is, hilariously, an inconsistent schedule. Thanks for talking about stock images! I went through the same thing, and I so wish more of us were talking about stock images and where to find them. Thanks for sharing!! 😊

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    1. Hey Olivia, I need a little advice from you !!! Hope you don’t mind 😊😊😊
      After reading some articles about blogging, I came to know the importance of having a social media account for the growth of the blog !!! And most of the followers of my blog are inactive , so there is significant reduction in my views count !!! So lately I have been tempted to make a instragram account for the growth of my blog !!!! But as you mentioned above one has to be really active on their account but due to some personal stuff , I will not be able to be really active on insta… So I am really getting confused between should I or not.???
      I feel you can help me with this. Thank you

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      1. It’s totally your choice. I don’t think there would be much benefit if you arent able to be active. With any social media account its important to be active and interact with followers. I’d say if you cant post at least once every couple days then I wouldn’t recommend. As you probably wont see there results!

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  20. I’m definitely guilty of trying to take all my own photos but it’s pretty much impossible! Totally agree with the other points too, thanks for sharing! X

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  21. I have been so on and off with my posting and I even though you are supposed to post only when you wish to ( as it is your blog and your choice) I was feeling some kind of guilt. As if I really wasn’t posting enough. Recently, I am have been on track and I can say I interacted a lot more with other bloggers and things are going so well right now, I am pleased with my blogging style currently.

    These tips are EVERYTHING. It’s not long ago that I discovered about stock pictures and editing photos (like Canva, which I am in love with) and I just got to say, it is worth it. But, sometimes taking your own pictures is good too. You get to practice and well, it is much more personal.

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  22. Not proofreading well enough is my biggest problem. With numb fingers, I hit the wrong keys all the time. It’s amazing what I intend to type and what gets typed sometimes. I post every day. In the past 10 years, I have only missed a few posts because of issues with WordPress or Zenfolio (I was on another platform for a few years), and when my computer died and I was waiting for a new computer. I take all my own photos. I do use photos taken by close friends and family from time to time. But my blog is a “photoblog” so I post my photos. I use other people’s music when I make bloody awful parodies, but I also write my own music, as well. I started adding parodies and original music over the past three years. I didn’t interact a lot with other bloggers in the early days, but these days I think I’m pretty good about interacting with other bloggers.

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  23. I have to thank you with all my heart for directing to towards “stock pictures” I didn’t even know it existed. I always thought all the bloggers took their own pictures —it was all a mess. For a while my blog was filled with building pictures😂

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  24. This seems familiar LoL. At a time, I wanted all photos to be mine but then, I discovered pexels and how to give image credits. It’s great to learn from how much you’ve grown through these experiences Lucie.

    Cheers!

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  28. Wow this really helps me especially the second point. I am new to blogging and I never seen the importance of interacting with other bloggers. I’ve been stalking your writing since last night since your blog is the first one that caught my attention. Looking forward to more posts from you! I learn a lot 🙂

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  30. Mine would be posting inconsistently. And proofreading takes so much time! But Sometimes, it’s just laziness on my part. Gosh, I need to start doing better. Thank you for sharing these tips.

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  31. All of these are mistakes I have made, minus the being active in the community here, I try to everytime I come on here, but I could always improve too! Thank you for this 😃🙌🏻

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  32. I think I am making a lot of mistakes like posting inconsistently. But honestly half of the time I don’t get it what to post and sometimes I get stuck with my studies. I am trying really hard and I hope I can solve this problem. Thank you for sharing these tips. 😇💕

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  38. Thank you so much for this Olivia. I’m a beginner and this is really helpful. It’s hard to be consistent at times, but what motivates me is the desire to be heard. I have drafted out a new schedule just for me to be more consistent. I really appreciate this post, thank you.

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  39. I relate heavily with the pictures side of things i tried to take my own and worried so much about it and realised it’s not as important as I thought. Interacting with others definitely contributed to my growth and not only just that but from writers/bloggers like yourself and others I’ve learnt a lot through yours and their posts too.

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  41. I am guilty of the proof reading mistake. I have realized that if I write one day, and edit the next, I tend to be more thorough than if I write and edit the same article in the same day!

    I have also found that 2Xs per week seems to be my sweet spot so far for a blogging schedule

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  43. Yeah i had to take a unexpected break in November, and have many pending posts. But organising a schedule and scheduling posts is key. And proof reading. Right now i don’t have time sensitive posts to be done for brands, so i can gradually readjust . But yes organisation is key. I need to get a few planners in the new year. 2021 will be better than this year 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

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  46. Great post! I started using stock photos a few months ago after using my own photos for years. Editing is very important in looking polished but my perfectionistic tendencies used to keep me from posting. So I made an agreement with myself that I will post even if not perfect because getting the post out was more important than getting it perfect. I edit as much as I can before I post, but inevitably I find some small thing that needs tweaking the next day or two when I review it with fresh eyes & I fix it.

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  47. totally agree with this! it’s embarrassing to think that i’m still doing these mistakes. 😭 fear of unknown is another thing to fix too.. i post lyrics on this blog but i also wanted to write related contents like review etc. but i always doubt myself if it’ll reach target audience and that it probably not good enough. i hope 2021 can be a new chapter for me to actually believe in myself and worry less about this..

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    1. Don’t ever think you’re not good enough. Who sets the bar for bloggers? Nobody. You are as good as you tell yourself you are! Don’t be so harsh on yourself!

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  49. I recently started blogging and i find it very difficult to be consistent. Plus i find it very difficult to write about something that people would want to read about.

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