With blogging being so trendy these days, you may feel tempted to enter the blogosphere to fit in. While this may be a very effective choice for you, you may be going about it the wrong way. You may think that you’re helping yourself, but you could actually be hurting yourself. Nobody wants to invest in an excess of time and energy into something that’s headed straight off of a cliff, and that could be the direction you’re taking your blog to.
If you’re very intent on blogging, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and manage it effectively or else it’s useless to you and the audience you have created it for. Take a look at these three very big no-nos. Address some of these common mistakes, and make sure you’re not caught red-handed.
1 – Are You Talking TO Your Readers, or AT Them?
You may think a blog is a great way to get your message out there, and it most definitely is. Readers will turn to your blog for information, in some cases.
If you’re only blogging to send information out into cyberspace, you’re doomed for failure. If your end of the blog seems distant and indifferent, you’re not going to be able to hold on to your readers for very long (provided you ever obtain any). The right way to handle this involves a lot more commitment on your part.
If the purpose of your blog is only to inform viewers, your audiences are not going to care unless you’re willing to interact with them and answer their questions and address their concerns. If your audience wanted to read a text book, they’d read a text book. They’re turning to a blog because they want the social door to be open for a two-way interaction. If that door is closed, your blog will be soon enough.
When someone reads a blog, they expect to have a certain sort of basic relationship with the writer. If you’re just firing off posts, you might as well be a robot in the eyes of those people.
2 – Is Your Platform Really Appropriate?
If you’re starting a blog to be a valued authority on something, whether the blog is based around your general opinions or your expertise on a specific subject, you need to have proper credentials.
If you don’t, you’ll come across as very obnoxious and arrogant. Most people will determine your posts to be very self-important. If you’re the one who decided that your knowledge is important, it probably isn’t as important as you think it is. The internet will be quick to call you out on this.
Make a name for yourself in the area you intend to blog in before you begin blogging there. You don’t become credible through a blog; you should be credible before a blog. Use a blog to promote your business in a realistic way, not to hype it up. People will know the difference, and they will have no qualms about informing you that they do. It can damage your personal image as well as the image of your business or organization irreparably. Don’t overreach your skill set.
3 – Is This A Competition?
If you started a blog with one of its main intentions being to compete with a similar blog, it isn’t going to work for you. There are some major adjustments you need to make in order for your blog to have any chance at thriving.
If your competitor’s blog has been active for an extended period of time and has gathered a substantial amount of followers, it is apparent that they have cemented their position and reputation. If you create a similar blog, your intentions will become clear to everyone. No one is inclined to accept an imitation if they’re already happy with the original.
Instead of competing, focus on contrasting. Focus on what makes your blog different from the other person’s blog. Use unique and new concepts that will engage your viewers, instead of making them feel like you want them to choose a side.
Pay a lot of attention to the aspects that make your blog different from similar blogs. Look at the feedback left by readers of other similar blogs, and see what they like and don’t like about them. Plan your blog posts with their opinions in mind.
No one will read your blog if they can’t find a reason to feel as though they’re benefiting from your content. If they feel like they’re getting the same content somewhere else, they’re going to stick to the source they were previously using.
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Author Bio:
Written by Andrew Scherer. You can find more of his work at a provider of SEO in Orlando