If I was really to write a long list of the blogging mistakes to avoid in 2022, I would be there for a very long time writing everything down. So we will stick to just ten! Mistakes come with everything. Whether you are starting a new hobby, a new job or starting a new relationship. Life is all about learning and growing from our mistakes and blogging is no exception.
When I first started blogging I made mistake after mistake which meant that I wasn’t able to grow as much as I wanted in the beginning. I tried blogging once before I launched olivialucieblake. I ran a beauty blog and really didn’t do well at growing my audience and bothering to learn about blogging and what comes with it. And those mistakes meant that I abandoned my blog for 4 years until I decided to make my return in 2020. So if there is anybody who knows about blogging mistakes, it’s me.
Even now I still continue to make mistakes, but it doesn’t mean I’m not a good blogger. I honestly welcome these mistakes (as long as they aren’t too detrimental!)
I think it’s important as a blogger that I am open and transparent with you all. Sharing my mistakes might mean that you avoid them on your websites, and thats all I want really. I want you to have as much knowledge about blogging to make sure you’re not silly enough to make the mistakes that I and alot of others made.
TRYING TO BE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE
I remember when I first signed up for my blog. I saw so many amazing bloggers with all these followers and beautiful content and images and I was like wow. I wanted to be just like them. I wanted to be as cool as them and as popular as them. I found myself comparing myself to their content and almost trying to make myself a clone of them.
Obviously this didn’t last long and didn’t work in my favour. The great thing about being a blogger is that no two people are the same. I know many bloggers who are in the same lifestyle blogging niche as me. But we are poles apart in who we are and the type of content that we post. Your individuality is what sets you apart from other bloggers.
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COPYING OTHERS CONTENT
Something I have dealt with before is people stealing content. There is a fine line between being inspired by somebodies work and copying it. If I am being honest here I can understand the appeal to do this. You see another blogger killing it in the blogging world with the content they post. So why not do the same and you will get the same results right?! WRONG. It never works like that. All it does is tarnish your reputation and makes you look awful if you get found out.
I had somebody copy my content almost word for word before and it was such an awful, heart sinking situation. I work so hard coming up with ideas for my blog and have spent so much time and money perfecting the way I do things. It honestly makes you look lazy by copying somebody else. And let’s not forget to mention it’s against the law to do it. It may seem like the easy way but its not.
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FORGETTING TO SET A BLOGGING SCHEDULE
One of the main blogging mistakes to avoid in 2022 is failing to set a blogging schedule. I will say this until I am blue in the face if I have to. A blogging schedule is so important for consistency. It means that your content is always going to go out and be seen by others. It’s important to stick to a schedule especially in the beginning of your blog. I put the growth of my following down to the fact I posted alot.
You don’t have to post everyday, but having a schedule and something to hold you accountable to will mean you stick to it.
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FAILING TO INTERACT WITH OTHER BLOGGERS
Other bloggers are your friends not your competition. Interacting and making friends in the blogging community is something you should strive to do if you haven’t yet. The best thing I ever did was make those solid connections. And actually some of the blogging friends I have made are actually my real life friends now. Which is an amazing feeling and something I didn’t ever expect.
Twitter is a great place to interact and build friendships.
NOT LEARNING ABOUT YOUR AUDIENCE
This is actually something I have learnt to do over the last 6 months or so. When I first started blogging with my beauty blog, I didn’t think about my audience at all. Mainly because I didn’t have one. But regardless if you have a large following or not, there are still people behind the screen who read your content. Failing to understand what they like and don’t like to read is something that can set alot of people back.
Your analytics are there to help you. Figure out who your audience are. What are their ages, where are they located? What posts do better than others? These are the things you need to consider.
STARTING A BLOG FOR THE WRONG REASONS
I have had so many people in the past email me asking for this secret formula on how to grow their blogs. I even had somebody ask me how to make money and be a famous blogger. Starting a blog with the wrong intentions isn’t going to end well. Of course it’s great to have goals and ambitions on how to make money from blogging and grow. But having that as your sole goal will not end well.
When I began blogging I didn’t even think about the money side of it. I did it as a hobby and because I enjoy it. The money and everything else that comes with blogging is a bonus.
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BEING AWARE OF OTHERS BAD INTENTIONS
I remember when I first started opening up my blog to guest posters. I remember being so excited for it and having my first couple of people apply to write for me. I had guest posters almost every week and it really helped lower the burden and work load of writing so many posts a week. It was until somebody tried to do something really awful.
I had somebody submit a guest post to me, and obviously I always checked these before I posted them. This one post just didn’t sit right with me. My intuition sunk in and something told me to check to see if this work had been copied. So I copied and pasted a paragraph from their post into google and sure enough, they had just copied another bloggers work and tried to submit it to me.
If I hadn’t of checked this, I would have been the one that got into trouble. Always be on the look out for the bad eggs in the world.
NOT LEARNING SEO IN THE BEGINNING
Please please please listen to me when I say this. If you are a new blogger, look into SEO immediately and start implementing it now. I didn’t ever think that SEO applied to me when I began blogging. If that is you, yes it does. SEO is something you might not even consider when you first start blogging but it’s something you need to think about down the line. So many of us have had to go back and edit or amend older posts because they are not SEO friendly. And it’s so annoying to have to do that. So please look into SEO as much as you can before starting to post on your blog.
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So there is the list of blogging mistakes to avoid in 2022. What are some blogging mistakes you are looking to avoid this year? Have you been found guilty of some of the mistakes I mentioned?
There are way more blogging mistakes to avoid in 2022, but we will be here all day if I list them all. If this post can help you avoid those silly mistakes then I have done my job well!
These are great tips! I wish someone told me all this when I started my blog! But over the years, I have started implementing many things which I could have done in the starting! Awesome Post!
I wish I could have known too! Thanks for reading!
Really great advice here thank you for sharing. I still class myself as a beginner blogger so lots of on the job learning is still being made for me. Every day is a school day as they say x
I still learn new things everyday!
Really great tips here. Not staying consistent has been my biggest drawback to date!! So I am trying real hard to be consistency this year! And make some blogger friends!! 😊
For sure! I hope it goes well for you! x
Thanks for sharing these awesome tips!! Love the ones about knowing your audience and learning SEO. So important! xo
Thanks Faith 🙂
Most appreciated! I studied hard before I started my blog! I was retiring and researching and learning how to do it was part of the fun for me. It became a project. I love your tips and value them. SEO advice is always welcome. But so are the mistakes. Odd to say, I know. But that’s how I know my blog is truly mine. My flubs, errors, “holy crap, I can’t believe did thats” are like the lines on my face! They show character and growth! Keep up the good work!!
I love that you researched before you started, I wish I did that before I launched my blog. So well done for doing that! I am so glad my advice is helpful!x
Pretty good tips . Especially about guest blogging . I have wanted to try having guest bloggers but really didn’t know how to go about it .
Email some of your favourite bloggers and see if they want to join in!
Alrighty thanks
If you send me an email and you want me, I will be more than happy to guest post
Oh nice thanks for the offer . I sent you my email and info through your contact section . That sounds great !
SEO…i started two months ago and i have already wrtitte 170 posts. If, when i implement the SEO, i will find out that all of them are not SEO friendly, it’s gonna be pretty “funny”!!
It will be alot of work too!
I have already nightmares…. ahaha
Thank you! Some of these I didn’t even consider. I’m no spring chicken, and starting my blog site made my head explode most days. SEO is something that I haven’t looked into, but it’s evident that now is the time (I don’t have too many posts yet). It’s probably going to be something else that makes my head explode, so I’ll be looking into your guide. I have been thinking about guest bloggers to help lighten the load and add different perspectives other than my own. I never even considered plagiarism! As a former professor, I checked for plagiarism, but that was for dreadful assignments that nobody wanted to write. Blogging should be something you enjoy and have a passion for; why do it otherwise.
If you take away anything from this post its that SEO is so important, especially if you only have a couple of posts. I had to go back and amend probably 100+ posts to make them SEO optimised and it was the most annoying and time consuming thing ever.
That sounds absolutely dreadful! This is definitely the motivation that I needed.
Good list of tips! The schedule button is priceless for managing your time especially when you are busy and likely not to have much time to write – better to have something scheduled than writing rubbish in 30 minutes!
I wish I’d learnt SEO earlier, I was aware of it, but avoided it because I thought it would restrict my artistic integrity! 🤦♂️
And yes copying content is the lowest of the low, yes its time consuming but don’t steal someone else’s hardwork. Instant unfollow from me if someone has done this – I’d get there domain taken down if I could!
I love the scheduling tool! I always use it for my posts, its the best thing ever!
Thanks so much for reading!
Great tips! Sometimes it’s difficult to keep to a schedule, especially when life gets busy!
Oh I know it is! But bulk writing and scheduling are your best friends when it comes to this!
Plus giving blogging a higher priority on the to do list!
Such a great list Olivia, I’m so glad you posted this! I agree with everything here, especially the part about learning SEO early and applying it. That’s so important! 🙂
Thank you for reading!
The SEO thing is something I have been wary of but guess its something I should not miss(at any cost). Great tips Olivia. I always learn something new from your articles.
Thanks for reading! SEO is something you should focus on and make a priority for sure!
Part of me wishes I had done more research before I started my blog, so I could have focused more on SEO and keywords. But on the other hand, I put it off for months and months before I actually started, so I’m also really glad I just started it! And I am getting better at going back and updating old posts for better SEO. Thank you for sharing this – it’s helpful to know we all have things to learn!
I wish I had done more research too, it would have saved me alot of time going back and editing my posts!
Love this! Especially the part about doing it for the right reason. The WHY is always so important when choosing what to do.
So true!
Man, that one about the copy and paste stolen post is so sad. I’ve only had 3 or so guest posts on my blog but thankfully I always check too. Cheers for a successful blog year in 2022.
Always listen to your gut too, thats how I knew something was off!
This is great, thanks for sharing!
Danielle | thereluctantblogger.co.uk
Thanks for reading Danielle!
Thank you for the great tips 👍 As a newbie, I’ll take all the help I can get!
Awesome! Always happy to help.
Thank you Olivia! Very insightful stuff here. I’m only days old as a blogger and I have been writing because I love it since 13 years old. At 41 now I chose to blog because I have began writing so many books and never finished one. But I felt like I had so many things in my mind I needed to share. Thank you again!
I am so glad you found this post and welcome to the blogging world. If you ever get stuck please don’t hesitate to send me an email. happy to help!
I really can relate to the mistakes made, experiences and confidence gained to get back out here after being gone for so long! Thanks for this post!
Thanks for reading!
If you don’t know what to do, kind a “copying” others is not that bad. You learn from the experienced ones a lot. At some point, you’ll find your own way, and be real yourself
Copying is bad. Especially when you have it happen to you. You should NEVER steal and copy others content. It’s also against the law.
Thanks that was very helpful
Thanks for reading!
Have u listened to my latest
Wow, as a relatively amateur blogger, this was a really beneficial read!
I’ll def be checking out SEO, thanks!
I am so glad you found this post. Hope it helps!
Thank you. I’m a new blogger. Tomorrow will be my 4th post. I have no idea what SEO is so I will definitely follow the resource and wrap my head around it!
Yes! Dive deep into SEO!
Thank you for the tips – I ‘m not exactly a NEW blogger, but I am an inconsistent one. I definitely need to learn more about SEO and scheduling posts.
I hope it helps!
I didn’t even know what SEO was until I read this article lol. Great advice!
Haha this is exactly why I shared this post!
Good.. Very useful
Thanks!
I definitely need to work on my blogging schedule. I am so horrible about actually planning my stuff out and I don’t know why.
One thing I used to not do was interact with other bloggers. I have since fixed this and I was amazed at the difference it made. Not only in the amount of readers I gained, but also I have someone to turn to when I have questions or concerns about blogging.
I’ve been so bad in the past about trying to create content I think I should create rather than what really interests me because I was trying to be a particular kind of blogger. I told myself when I started blogging again at the first of the year I was going to stay as true to myself in blogging as possible this time and give myself room to grow from there. But things like scheduling, SEO, and engagement I really need to work on. Those were good reminders!
Great pointers and tips Olivia. Very useful information. Thanks for sharing !
These are such great tips for any blogger! I’ve been blogging for years, and I’m always learning!
I still have such a hard time with SEO and DA – but I would agree that learning about it as soon as possible is good.
Add another mistake, announcing 10 mistakes in the title and doing only 8.
Sorry if that came across as rude, this was actually a helpful thing for me.
Thank you! I just got my blog up and running yesterday! Ahhhh! And This post gave me a few things to think about already!
I’m just scrolling through and I appreciate your tips.Thanks!
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yes, i needed to see this today. Thanks for the post
This was such a wonderful and helpful post! My biggest mistake with my first blog was not learning SEO and being stubborn about it because I didn’t understand it. This time around I am so much more open.
Thank you so much useful tips
Great tips! I’m a novice blogger with a couple of posts under my belt. I doubt that I’ve made my posts SEO friendly but I’ll definitely look into it now. Blogging is an exciting new world for me and for starters, I’m trying to put out interesting content. I’m very conscious of not stealing others peoples ideas or work. Thanks for the tips.
Guilty here! me! i just want to say that i enjoyed this because I can oh so relate!
I’ve made all those mistakes on my blogs years ago until they expired because I’ve abandoned them. So yes, I am there with you – someone who knows all the mistakes in blogging. Lol. Didn’t really know exactly what I was doing but I really enjoy blogging though. Have earned some dollars then too.
So now that I made a comeback with a fresh new blog, being thoroughly equipped by learning SEO and all that stuff, with a good blogging routine and plan… I am confident that I will nail this thing this time around.
i will be binge-reading your posts here for more tips.
Definitely looking into SEO. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for this post! It’s covered all of my mistakes from the beginning lol. Maybe wrong platform can be one reason to avoid too.
I began my blog and Blogger just for it’s simple features. Now I know that I made a wrong decision. That’s why I am here.
Love this! It is certainly a minefield out there when it comes to blogging and there are so many mistakes that people make without even knowing!!
Thank you for this. It’s comforting to know that I am not alone in this Journey. I really look forward to that one day that I’d be able to make writing my bread and butter so it’s like hitting 2 birds with 1 stone: earning & having fun!