The brand new year is just around the corner, and if you are planning to start your blog in 2019, then please read this post first. What I'm going to discuss with you today are 11 common blogging mistakes you should avoid in 2019 if you want to become a Rockstar and successful blogger.
Let's get straight to it!
This is the first blogging mistake to commit.
It is very common for new bloggers to make this mistake, especially when there's an abundance of cheap hosting.
Some new bloggers are reluctant to invest in their blogs for some reason or another. Many of them choose a cheaper hosting solution to save money, but this can actually be costly later down the line.
Cheap hosting can often increase vulnerability for attacks and hacks, not to mention the potential for a slow running blog.
Probably the most overlooked danger is that cheap, unsecured, and unreliable web hosting can impact blog growth.
Now that's something no blogger wants.
A fast loading blog will be the pinnacle in 2019. So, with that said, pay special attention to your Web hosting.
Choose a hosting provider that is reliable, fast, secure and one that you can depend on for the long term.
Read how Magnet4Blogging has benefited from a fast, secure and reliable hosting service with SiteGround for almost 4 years, in his incredibly honest and transparent review.
Choosing the wrong niche to blog is as equally dangerous as choosing the wrong hosting platform.
For instance, if you choose a niche which is far removed from your passion, or has no revenue scope, your interest in blogging will soon perish.
Do plenty of research in your niche and make sure it is aligned with your interests and, of course, it has a long-term demand in the market.
For example, the topic of "making money online" will always remain an evergreen topic in the blogging world. Choose a topic like that if that is truly your passion.
But, also be aware that you have to provide some kind of proof or backup to validate what you preach about in a niche like this.
Anyhow, if you need help with finding a niche for your blog, check out this comprehensive guide.
No one likes a slow blog. In fact, internet users patience seem to be getting thinner and thinner these days, which is why a fast loading blog is critical in 2019.
Almost half of all website users expect a website to load in less than 2 seconds. So, make sure you optimize your WordPress blog.
Remember:
Website loading speed and performance will depend on the quality of web hosting, cache plugin, WordPress theme in use, and plugins.
You can use tools like Gtmetrix or Pingdom to measure the speed of your blog (load time), performance grade, and the number of requests.
Here are some additional tips to Speedup your blog.
Planning your blogging strategy for success is critical. Don’t just throw out another blog into the blogosphere and hope for great things to happen.
A Blogger is responsible for a lot of things, other than creating content, as we've previously discussed in this post.
Create a plan of action for your blog, and further plan every other area of your blogging strategy, from content creation to social media, to guest blogging, to blog development.
Check the Ultimate Pro Blogger Planner workbook to help you reach your blogging goals faster in 2019.
Do you see yourself as the lone blogger?
If you do, then you could be in serious trouble in 2019.
To become a successful blogger, you simply can't work alone or hide behind your blog like a lot of bloggers seem to love doing.
You have to network. You need to socialize and build meaningful and lasting relationships with your readers and other bloggers.
You cannot promote your content alone as a blogger either, you need your readers and community to help you do that too. That is how you will increase traffic and exposure to your blog.
Check out this post for tips on how to increase blog readership and engagement using Social Media.
No blog can survive or grow without an audience. Building backlinks from other credible and authoritative blogs to improve rankings is one way to grow your blog community and authority.
To be an authority or master in your niche, you also must interact with other bloggers and influencers on a frequent basis.
Use tools like NinjaOutreach to search, find and connect with influencers.
Try submitting a guest post to an authoritative blog, like Magnet4Blogging, launch a webinar, start a Facebook group even.
Check How Ankit Singla is using his Facebook group to successfully build a larger audience around his blog.
You can also do some Facebook live Chats, enroll in Blogging courses to help you reach a wider audience and create authority.
If you know some bloggers personally, it is not a bad idea to ask them to share your content on their social media profiles, or to their email list.
Gone are those days when it was OK to feel shy and stay away from the camera, or from the microphone even.
Bloggers today have to step out of their comfort zone to be seen and heard.
So, don't be afraid to speak on webinars, conferences, YouTube videos, or even podcasts.
If being shy is really holding you back and preventing you from exploring these diverse content avenues, then you will struggle to succeed with blogging.
At present, to remain competitive, you have to participate in meetings, create networking events, create Youtube videos and more.
Putting yourself in front of your audience is important, so do check out this post to find how to overcome camera shyness so that you can harness the power of video.
Email marketing is something every blogger should start from day one.
If you have not yet started, you will not be able to compete against bloggers that have built their massive lists.
Create your email marketing strategy carefully, and set goals for how many subscribers and leads you would like to achieve in the next 6 months to a year.
You need two important things to build an email list;
An email marketing software like Aweber, MailChimp, Getresponse, etc. And an Optin form builder like Optinmoster or Thrive Leads.
Check how Fabrizio has opt-in form CTA's displayed on the homepage, about page, and various other posts and pages on his website to collect leads.
Technology has changed the way consumers engage with content online, so just creating text-based content simply will not do anymore.
This is a time to diversify and create content with a mix of text, images, video, and infographics.
Create at least 2 to 3 images for each of your blog posts. Make sure the images can be shared on different platforms. For example - You have to create different image sizes for Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook.
Check out this power-infographic for social media image size guide for 2019!
Infographics are also now very popular and can help you to make your content viral. My personal favorite is Canva and Venngage for images and Infographics.
Here is a great article to find how to create Infographics for your blog.
Social media plays a critical role in becoming a successful blogger. Your search engine rankings can also improve if Google can see that you have a strong social presence.
To improve your presence on social media, target 2 or 3 social network sites where you believe your target audience will be and go all out to dominate those platforms.
For example for the "blogging" niche, Facebook is a better platform to use than Instagram. Whereas for a "food blogger" or "lifestyle blogger", then Instagram is a better option.
Youtube, on the other hand, is good for video blogs, travel blogs, or review blogs.
Whatever your niche is, make sure you have a good presence on the right social platform and continue to promote its growth.
SEO will always be a critical ingredient in growing your blog traffic.
If your blog or content is not SEO optimized, you are going to struggle to boost your blog traffic.
Make sure you use some reliable plugin like Yoast SEO or SEOPressor to optimize your post for search engine visibility.
You can also use tools like KWfinder or LongTailPro to find long tail keywords you can rank for. You can include those long tail keywords in your blog posts to get better page rankings.
Additionally, you can make use of tools like SEMrush and Buzzsumo to find backlinks of your competitor's blogs and then try to replicate it for yourself.
2019 will not be an easy year for bloggers and especially new bloggers coming on the scene.
There are a lot of changes coming up with even more competition than ever before. You need to clearly plan and execute your strategy well and wisely.
Creating authority around your blog is of paramount importance.
You also need to be active on social media and be seen to promote other content too.
Interact with your audience regularly. Help them to create more traffic for you.
Also, create an alternate source of income like selling ebooks and courses around your niche. Remember that people love to read offline content.
Social media scheduling is also important as you need to schedule content for users with different time zones. This will also help to free up some of your time to focus on growing your blog in other ways.
Planning your content, social media, and marketing with CoSchedule Marketing Calendar
Also, attend different webinars, conferences, or Facebook live events to connect with new bloggers.
SEO is also important for your blog, ignore it and it can cost you dearly. If you have some money, try investing in tools like SEMRush, Buzzsumo, LongTailPro, or SEO Powersuite to find keywords and backlinks of your competitors.
That's it, I think I've said enough. I hope you've enjoyed reading this post, if you did, please comment and share it with your followers on social media. I would love to hear your thoughts and views.
The best of luck.
Ravi is a motivated and driven blogger who writes about WordPress, SEO, Blogging, and teaches everything that you need to be a Master Blogger at Ravisinghblog.in. He is a Software Engineer by profession, but loves blogging and traveling.
