Small Business Blogging Mistakes That Will Destroy Your Blog

Blogging for your small business is a great way to attract new customers and generate leads and sales online. However, make a mistake and it can cost you dearly. Here are some small business blogging mistakes to avoid at all costs. Excuse the pun.

A lot of small businesses are wising up and starting to blog as part of their marketing strategy. But this doesn't mean everyone is doing it right.

In fact, a lot of small business blogs seem to do more harm than good.

Blogging to attract leads doesn't involve writing long-winded and boring sales copy for every single blog post you put out. In fact, it should involve doing completely the opposite -

Writing timely insightful and educational content that inspires your potential customers to take action.

If you're a small business owner thinking about creating a blog and have no idea where to start, well first and foremost, here are some fatal small business blogging mistakes you should avoid.

Let's dive straight into it.

#1. No plan

You don't have a clear plan for your small business blog. Worse, you underestimate the work and money involved.

You don’t bother to research or take the time to think about your options.

How to fix this -

Creating a blog is easy, any small business can start one with the tools that are available today.

But, creating a successful blog requires effort and, yes, dare I say it, money too.

Your plan should take into consideration a few of the following -

• Clear and concise purpose of your blog.
• Specific niche or topic.
• Description of your ideal reader.
• Traffic generation plan.
• Email marketing plan.
• Content creation plan/strategy.
• Conversion rate optimization plan.
• Blog design/layout plan.

Check out my Ultimate Pro Blog Planner workbook to help you plan the next 12 months of your small business blog!

#2. You lack consistency

You don’t regularly produce and publish quality content for your small business blog.

Your blogging schedule is but a dream on your pinboard.

The tone of your writing also changes with each post, completely confusing your readers at the best of times.

How to fix this -

One of the best cures for inconsistency in blogging is planning ahead.

1. Prepare a month or two’s worth of blog posts, even before you launch your blog. This way, you’ll have plenty of time to write future blog posts.
2. Keep a list of blog post ideas to help fight the dreaded writer’s block effect.
3. Announce your blogging schedule to keep you accountable.
4. Follow through by building a writing habit.

Check out my Ultimate Pro Blog Planner workbook to help you plan, organize, and crush your blogging goals for the next 3, 6, or even 12 months and beyond.

#3. Your blog is full of bad writing.

You churn out blog posts like a madman (or you buy $5 articles, which is not a very good idea in any case) and publish them right away because you feel the need to fill your new blog with content quickly.

And, to top it all off, you don’t edit your posts at all!

The problem?

The quality is thrown right out of the window.

Although not all fast bloggers are bad bloggers, it’s easy to fall into the trap of focusing on quantity instead of quality.

How to fix this -

Before hitting that publish button, be sure to catch and correct any of the following:

• Bad spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Poor formatting.
• Constant use of passive voice.
• Boring 'salesy' headlines.
• Low-resolution, irrelevant, and unaccredited images.
• Lack of a clear call to action.

Use the Hemingway app or Grammarly (my personal favorite) to help you improve your post’s readability.

Also, use sites like Pixabay and Pexels to find interesting images that you can customize to feature on your blog posts.

Take a look at what I do with my blog post featured images.

#4. Your content has no personality.

You don’t draw from your own experiences and share what you've learned from them.

You also ignore humor and don’t tell stories. Be honest. You regurgitate the same old information everyone else posts about, right?

You probably wouldn't want to admit to that though, really?

How to fix this -

• Practice free writing. Write without fear of judgment.
• You can choose to write the way you talk or emulate your favorite blogger’s techniques only while you’re creating your own.
• Once in awhile, share something personal.
• Set aside time to learn about writing by choosing one or two writing blogs to subscribe to. (Suggestions: Jeff Goins and Brian Hutchinson)

#5. You talk too much about you and yours.

You keep going on and on about yourself without providing helpful content to your intended audience.

BIG mistake.

To make this worse, you only share your own posts and talk about your own products and services on social media.

How to fix this -

“In a world full of noise, the way you get people to care about you is to care about them first.”

- Jeff Goins

• Ask your audience what they want.
• Ideally, you should've asked them (or researched) before you even published your first blog post.
• Conduct surveys.
• Use social media to ask questions.
• Use tools like SEMRush to spy on other small business blogs similar to yours and see what works for them. Explore some of their content and give it your own spin. (But no blatant copying!)

#6. You're not engaging your readers.

You don't allow comments or you rarely respond to them when you do get them.

You neglect your social media presence, your links are broken or absent, and you don't bother to add sharing buttons.

You don’t even have a contact page or form!

Yikes, this sounds bad, right?

How to fix this -

Become clear from the very beginning the purpose of your blog. (Again, see mistake #1.)

Remember: Your blog should help you connect with your potential customers, not push them away!

1. Ask questions at the end of your blog posts to promote engagement (add calls to action).
2. Open up for blog comments and reply.
3. Ask and answer questions.
4. Follow people in your area on social media.

#7. You isolate yourself from other small business bloggers.

Here's another common small business blogging mistake; You don’t know any other bloggers in your niche.

You're happy with just minding your own business, not bothering to form connections or build partnerships or relationships with people who could help your blog grow.

How to fix this -

Spend some time and put in some typing effort to -

• Leave thoughtful comments on other blogs.
• Join (and be active in) a blog community.
• Collaborate with other bloggers through sponsoring giveaways or blog contests.
• Guest post on relevant blogs to increase awareness about your blog.

Blogging for your small business requires time and effort.

A small business blog is not just something you set up and turn on to magically boost your sales, it simply doesn't work that way, and never will. You have to be prepared to work hard and smart to get good results.

So, now it's your turn to share some thoughts with me.

Have you committed any of these small business blogging mistakes?

Share your experiences in the comments below as always. If the comment section is closed and you enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with your friends on social media.

Recommended reading

I highly recommend checking out the following post titled "12 Common Blogging Mistakes To Avoid" posted on SearchEnginePeople as it does highlight some of the more common mistakes bloggers make sometimes without even realizing it.