Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

Eight Things to Avoid in Your First Month Blogging

January 27, 2009 | Blogging, Feature

This is a guest post from Mike, a new blogger at Mike’s Life , a blog he started just over a month ago. His objective is to become a full time blogger and to stave off the bankruptcy he is facing in his off line business. Here he shares with us some of the mistakes he made in his first month of blogging:

I’ve been a blogger for a month, and I have made all of these mistakes, so I thought I’d share them with you in the hope that you might be able to avoid them! The problem new bloggers like me face is that most of us are also in full time work, so that means that time is at a premium. With that in mind, we need to make the most of the time we can devote to blogging:

Spending too much time on Twitter

Twitter is wonderful! Lots of new friends, loads of interesting things to read, and a great deal of useless information being tweeted all over the place. The trouble is, you can really get caught up in it. Don’t! Instead, “reward” yourself for completing a task with five or ten minutes worth of “Twitter time.” To see how it’s done, why not follow me on Twitter? @mikeslifeblog

Spending too much time looking at stats

You will become a statistics junkie, I promise, you will! You’ll be refreshing your stats every time you Tweet a link, and that doesn’t actually accomplish anything. Be patient, and check your stats just once a day, at around the same time. You can still then analyze what went right and what went wrong.

Clicking too many RSS feeds

You’re learning, and learning means research, and research means reading other people’s blogs. So when you first start, you can end up with way too many RSS feeds in your reader, and that means, even if you only scan them, it can take lots of precious time to get through them. So sift out the weak and irrelevant ones, and focus on those which will benefit you the most.

Focusing on trying to earn money

You’ve come into blogging with the dream of being David Risley – you too want a six figure income, and to devote your full day to writing and marketing online. So naturally, you’re going to look to monetize your site from the beginning, and that’s fine. But don’t waste your time sending out marketing emails to your users, even if you have built up a few – if you’re the best copyrighter in the world, you’re not going to get rich selling to a potential audience of 27 people with whom you are still working to build up social credibility.  Instead stick to building your traffic, and your list, by writing great content.

Making too many promises to your readers

“I will post every day on this blog” is the one I made. And I have achieved it in terms of numbers, but it has become a burden. it’s not that I don’t want to post every day – I do, but sometimes it becomes impossible when real life or illness intervenes. Don’t set yourself up for a fall – much better to under promise and over deliver.

Not planning each blogging session

It’s so easy to sit down at the PC, and just dive into some blogging work. You’ll probably get plenty done, but when you have to end your session you’ll often find that you haven’t achieved the things you really needed to do. When time is at a premium, you have to make the most of what you have, and that means planning each session, and tackling the most important jobs first. So invest a few minutes at the start of each session (or better still at the end of the previous one) to write a to do list, then prioritize it and work through each item in order.

Staying up too late / getting up too early

Here’s another one you’ll do frequently! The problem with working until really late, or getting up in the early hours (and I’ve tried both) is that you think you’re effective, but if you read what you’ve written the following day you’ll realize it’s often not up to standard. The other issue you need to consider is your partner and family – you need them onside to be a successful blogger and if you disrupt your whole family life, then you risk losing their support.

Posting too often

This is a common mistake in the early days. You’re bursting with great ideas and just want to unleash them on the world. Believe it or not, posting 5 or 6 times a day can be negative – it can turn off RSS readers, and it sets a precedent that you won’t be able to live with long term. Start with a schedule you can go on with, and stick to it. By all means write the great posts, but post them to the site in accordance with that schedule, and you’ll also benefit from building up a great resource of posts to use when time is short.

That’s my list, what mistakes did you make in your early blogging days?

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  • Wasting time was a big problem for me when I first started looking for a way to make money online. I finally got to the point where I had to NOT open my email until late afternoon if I wanted to be productive that day. That was before Twitter, and I now only send tweets now and then.
  • Mdc
    Hi there,
    I am also fairly new to blogging and have found that I sometimes sit in front of my laptop, either reading other people's blogs or hoping for inspiration to just come to me.

    I am definitely guilty of having too many blogs in my google reader. I need to learn to set daily tasks so that I do achieve something at the end of the day.
  • Michael - you need your wife's support if you're going to be successful. Get her involved as early as you can - maybe guest posts? maybe admin work? maybe research? But also share the stuff you are reading that is motivating you to be a blogger.
    It's really, really important to have family support in the early days, when you're working hard for little return.
    This has given me an idea for a follow up post - keep watching!
  • Thank you for sharing your experience! I just started blogging again and don't know too much about it. I am in a situation where I have to do something because I lost my job before the holidays. It stinks but maybe I can get something good to come out of it such as becoming a successful blogger. However, my wife wants to kill me because she thinks it's a waist of time. I really hope something pans out...
    Thanks,
    Michael
  • I posted about the significant traffic effect this post had on my own blog, so stop by when you have a moment and read the article.
  • Sharron - that is a world class line, and one every blogger should have pinned on the noticeboard:
    "Each failure and mistake is a rung on the ladder to success: unless you tread on the rungs of failure to get there you’ll never reach the pinnacle of success."
    Thanks for sharing it here.
  • Robyn Durst
    I am guilty of #3; having too many RSS feeds. I follow quite a few people, but only really take advice from a few. I just weeded out the weak ones. Thanks for the tip (and for saving me time!)
  • I don't remember each particular mistake I made in my first month; but if you can think of it then I probably made it.

    One of the most important things to remember in the first month is not to give up. this applies afterwards as well; but the first month may often be the hardest, and the one in which you ask yourself "Am i doing the right thing here? Is this really worth it?" the most. Each failure and mistake is a rung on the ladder to success: unless you tread on the rungs of failure to get there you'll never reach the pinnacle of success.

    You won't get much traffic in your first month unless you're really lucky. Instant worldwide fame is as rare as rocking-horse pooh. - But if you're serious about it then stick at it: Remember; no matter who you are, you've got to be in it to win it.

    Good luck.
  • Looks like you've learned a lot in your first month of blogging. Part of the process is trial and error, so even if you make mistakes, it will only help you improve in the long run. Good luck!
  • @Titus - Yes it does! Go visit my blog and read about Henri who owns the hardware store in my village.
    @Techwag - Thank you!
    @Christine - feel all warm inside.
    @Terra - follow me and follow David on Twitter!
  • I notice that almost every blogger I know spends way too much time staring at stats. While it's good to know where traffic is coming from and why, it's also better to focus on genuine relationship building, as the blogging landscape becomes much more social than in previous days.

    Great post! :)
  • Thanks for the positive comments! One of the best things about blogging is that we all help each other do better, so I hope you'll join me in the journey to getting it right, part of which means signing up with David's site, so we can all learn from someone who's already doing it!
  • I have a new blog now. In my previous blog, my mistake was not replying to comments. I was either late to reply or I didn't reply at all.
  • Had to post a comment! Really great to read this guest post. I have been following Mikes blog and the interesting thing about him is the ability to change and adapt. He isn't set in stone, and he moves the topics, formats.... according to advice or what he is learning.

    This isn't meant to be 'patronising' what I'm saying is it takes a very determined and intelligent person to change and adapt to a new field. Many people don't like change and that could be their downfall. He's learning and above all else he's SHARING what he's learnt.

    Keep up the great and inspiring work Mike!
  • Great post! I've found that by focusing on the monetization of my blog, I can learn more about my topic because the people who's ads I'm showing are in fact related to my topic and allow me to learn more about my topic.
  • Really a informative post here for a newbie. Also in my first month (or just past it.. tehe) of blogging. Your article point out some of the difference I want to do for myself working with my blog. This article is both bookmarked and will be tweeted...

    Cheers.. Are
  • Your tips are wonderful, and all ones I did too.

    I'm within my first month of income-based blogging as well and one of the things that spent too much time on was tweaking my theme/site design. I'm a WordPress junkie and love new plugins, but there is a moment where you just need to say enough is enough and leave the site alone. I hope I have found that point (until I start my video series).
  • Read some really great blogging tips here.... but as a "quiet" blogger I'm not sure if it helps bring traffic to my blog... any suggestions?

    Kristine
  • I made no mistakes, it was perfect. :P


    "Making too many promises to your readers" / "potential audience of 27 people"

    Does it really matter what you promise to 27 _potential_ (one time) visitors?
  • Thanks for sharing. I am sure we can learn a lot from some of these common mistakes.

    I have blogging for almost a year now and old habits die hard :). I am still a stats junkie. I still work late and get up early.

    I think in the end the key is to take it slow and steady and remain focused and committed.

    Omar
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