The Top 10 Blogging Mistakes I Made in My First Year
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Lots of people ask about what it takes to write on a successful blog - I think one of the keys to it is to make your mistakes early on and learn from them fast.
Perfectionism will only hold you back - I’ve found that as long as I just move forward with frequent and quick course corrections, I’ve been just fine. 
But I’m also a fan of letting my mistakes be known so that others can learn from what I did wrong. So here are the top ten mistakes I made in my first year of blogging.
1 - I chose the easy blogging platform instead of the right blogging platform
When I first started blog setup, NucleusCMS was the only pre-installed blogging platform my hosting company provided. My research indicated I should really go with WordPress, but I was too intimidated by the installation process.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that I should have done what I knew to be right from the start. I had to rebuild everything and lost time and a few inbound links in the process. And by the way, almost all hosting companies offer pre-installation of WordPress now - and if they don’t, the setup isn’t really THAT bad.
2 - I stopped commenting on others’ sites
Though it’s time consuming, I found out the hard way that you can’t stop contributing to the conversation elsewhere. It’s part of the blogging game - and critical to your success to comment on others’ blogs.
3 - I stopped linking out thinking I was Steve Pavlina
I noticed how Steve Pavlina NEVER linked to anyone else’s blog. I figured I could get away with that too.
Boy, was I wrong.
Frankly, I don’t know why it works for him - but I also realized that even if I COULD get it to work on this blog, I didn’t want to. I enjoy passing around the link love - and I know you enjoy receiving it. 
4 - I did too much self-promotion
Right after I received my coaching certifications, I turned away from direct monetization and instead promoted the heck out of my services. I lost readers faster than you can type ’shut the heck up already’.
It didn’t take long to figure out I was on the wrong track -but I think some people forgot about me along the way. In the end, I’ve found a way to balance both self-promotion and direct advertising monetization. But it was really on a trial and error basis.
5 - I blogged 7 days a week
When I first started, I hadn’t found my rhythm - nor did I have any experience to let me know that business blogs take a break on the weekends. I also hadn’t figured out how to future post - so I felt obligated to write 7 days a week.
I rarely write on the weekends now - and if I do - they are future posted. If I’m going to write about work-life balance, I’d better practice what I preach, eh?
6 - I used number based permalinks instead of post title URLs
Thankfully I fixed this one fast - and went from URLs such as /p?123 to /i-love-to-blog. It took a while to fix the broken links throughout my site, but the SEO payoff has made it all worth it.
7 - I ran my contest way too long
When I ran my big birthday contest in April, I hadn’t run a contest before. One week would have been fine - two weeks, probably perfect. After 4 weeks, I was so sick of it I wished I could have ended it early. It felt like it fell into the ‘too much self promotion’ category. I was obliged to keep going, even though I could tell you were getting just as sick of it as I was.
8 - I didn’t promote my feed
Sure, I had the link there for people to subscribe - but I didn’t take subscription promotion seriously until 6-7 months into the game. I think my numbers would be a lot higher today if I had done some more actual promotion of subscribing to the eMoms feed. (Go ahead, you know you want to…)
9 - I waited too long to learn about SEO
Of course, when this site spent the first six months in the dreaded sandbox, SEO wasn’t really a high priority. I figured anything I would do wouldn’t help.
But once I emerged from the sandbox, I was woefully unprepared and unenlightened. I kept putting it off, until my site redesign opened my eyes to the cost of my oversight.
I felt like a moron for not paying attention sooner.
10 - I slammed a future good friend
Back in January I took Aaron Wall to task for a mention of mommy bloggers I wasn’t particularly happy about. In retrospect, I wish I had emailed him first rather than calling him out publicly - especially because little did I know I was going to meet him in person only a few short weeks later. (Although, in my own defense, the other guy Shuzak deserved a way bigger thrashing than the one he got in the comments here).
After the initial awkwardness went away, I found that Aaron is a really brilliant - and a really nice - person. And he was extremely helpful in getting Shoestring Smarts up and running. So it was my turn to eat a little crow and say “Sorry friend - my bad”. 
~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you a glutton for punishment? Then you might also want to check out Daniel’s group writing project with 48 bloggers sharing their own messy stories of failure.
Sparkplugging Founder Wendy Piersall is dang passionate about helping people start & grow a business while maintaining life balance (somehow). 
Dawud Miracle has one focus: to help you get it. The it? How your website, and blog, can change the way you do business. You can find out more at 
Teresa Morrow manages online book publicity and event promotion for authors, speakers and writers with her company 
Very nice summary of your lessons learned in blogging! Thankfully I have been able to avoid some of these mistakes in my beginning months because I have been reading and following the advice of other top bloggers like yourself.
Reading through this list though, I have seen a few lessons that I still have not learned and will need to evaluate my current approach.
Thanks for sharing your lessons Wendy!
Great breakdown on the things that matter most right off the hop!
You really have to pay attention and break it all down 1 by 1.
Steve
Very nice observations! If all bloggers did this they would be 10 times more successful, but it’s a serious education process and all about finding your rhythm as you mentioned.. I still haven’t really found mine, but am gleaning jewels like this article for the future.
Nice post. Your link to mention of mommy bloggers has got an extra http so does not work.
Thanks Deano - fixed!
Very timely as usual! This kind of post from you is why I’m glad I subscribed to your feed and as a fave on Technorati. As an absolute beginner I’m already well into some of the mistakes you point out here (SEO is going to take a while for me to figure out!)but at least I did manage to already move from Blogger to WP. Most importantly I’m just now getting comfortable with the idea of posting comments like this…so here it goes!!
I really find it hard to believe that you’ve only been at this a year! Inspiring to say the least! I know that I need to go back over the e-course I got from you so that when i write my top ten mistake list I don’t have to put that on it! I signed up for your e-course before I even knew what blogging really was - kinda as a way to see if I could understand the lesson and see if it interested me. Now I have a little over a months experience and I looked at my notes from your e-mailed course and NOW I can put more of that into practice! There is a strength in knowing/acknowledging weakness!
Steve Pavlina’s blog fascinates me also. I was analyzing his blog the other week and trying to figure out why he makes so much off of Adsense. I came to the conclusion that it is a combination of unique content, not posting too much, and his huge rectangle ad smack in your face.
I’m not much of an ad clicker myself, but I found myself clicking on the large rectangle ad when he didn’t have a new post. Normally, I read his blog by feed, but I stopped using the feed when I was analyzing his blog because I figured a good portion of his regulars don’t use feeds. If he posted more regularly, I would guess that he would get fewer clicks on his ads — they would read the new post instead of clicking on the ad to leave the site.
Personally, I could never put a large rectangle ad smack in people’s face. But if you have quality content I guess you can get away with it. Along with not linking out to others.
Yes indeed - perfectionism holds you back! (so does comparing yourself to anyone!) I actually have to lighten up on myself for my down times in commenting and linking out because of my schedule. Sometimes it’s amazing just to post anything at all! So, if I offered anything to the discussion here, it would be that you might go through prolific times (commenting, linking, blogging) and then - well - you might go on tour for a few weeks and get a little lost! Define how YOU show up as a successful blogger.
@ Sue - yeah, too true. I quite frankly think that if Steve Pavlina started his blog today - or even a year ago - he’d be a ton less successful. But I will say from experience that AdSense in his niche enjoys a MUCH better CTR than in other niches.
@ Christine - THANKS for the added clarification - you are SO right that sometimes, you can’t do everything and that blog activity can wax and wane!
One day, when I’m successful with my blog and pulling in full time income like you are from your blog, I’m going to publish a list of mistakes. Unfortunately, I don’t know what those are yet…
But thanks for sharing your list!
Thanks for sharing your mistakes Wendy, learning from others mistakes is much quicker and easier than your own
The other list is great too.
It’s refreshing to see that no matter who, everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and usually it isn’t the end of the world. I made a very stupid mistake a few weeks ago that I am paying for badly. Stress,tears and sleepless nights, it keeps me sane to know that I’m not the only one, and there should be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Did you start out with your own domain name?
LOL - no Deano - I figured I needed to stop focusing on that one as a mistake and instead work to turn it into a strength… more on THAT ONE to come…
I am coming up on my 1-year mark (in a few weeks) and I have made at least 4 of the same mistakes and at least 4 more not listed here.
Every mistake is an opportunity to learn - so I am glad I have had the opportunity to make some of them.
Thanks for sharing these, Wendy. Everyday I wonder what I could be doing differently and all advice is very much appreciated!
Thanks for sharing your tips Wendy, very useful advise and an excellent post.
I poured hours on end learning about SEO for my website, so I was fortunate enough not to make a couple of those mistakes when I started my blog.
I spent a lot of time reading about blogs and platforms before I started the blog as well, simply due to the fact that I was very nervous about doing it, and wanted to know all I could. So I was fortunate enough not to make the mistake that so many others have by using the wrong platform and then having to move everything later.
I wish I knew how to set times for your posts though, I’ve never been able to figure that one out. I post 7 days a week, so when I’m pressed for time it would be nice to have it set to post automatically, and maybe even have a life
If you’re on WordPress, I would really appreciate your info on the process if you wouldn’t mind sharing.
Fully agree with what you have written especially the right blooging platform. I use an advanced version of WordPress and can’t imagine using less. Some of your other points I haven’t really considered but will from now on. I’m glad that you pointed them out.
Thanks for the post.
So your posts are pre-recorded and not live??!!
#5,7 and 8: Where can I buy the t-shirts? I am still not good enough at that. Thanks for reminding me, Wendy
I have to focus on that.
Oh and there are two http:// in the last link to Daniel’s Group Writing Project
Wendy…Great post… I want to watch out for # 4 (Self Promotion). I just gave you some link love on our Friday, “Who Said That?”
Commenting is so important and underrated I think - and it’s often tough to mix it in when you are trying to write, read and probably work on other things as well. But I totally agree that when I comment more, traffic usually improves.
I did quite a bit of research before starting my blog so only made a *couple* of those mistakes.
I do really regret my permalink structure which is blog/index.php/year/month/postname/. My newer blogs are simply /postname/ which I think works much better.
It looks like you’re doing very well anyway, so I guess the important thing is recognise and learn from your mistakes.
Thanks for sharing! I’m new to blogging and this information is extremely helpful. I will subscribe! Please check out our blog at http://www.babblesoft.com/blog and feel free to call me out on any of my mistakes.
A friend, Connie Reece, told me about your site and she said you were an amazing speaker at a recent conference.
This is an EXCELLENT post Wendy! I enjoyed every word of it and appreciate your willingness to be so transparent so that others may succeed.
thx for the tips on blogging mistakes
going to look into a few of them right now.. well Monday.. I don’t like to write on weekends either
Wendy this is an excellent post! Many thanks for sharing. I’ve just up and running for a few months, and so your post like this is extremely useful.
6 - I used number based permalinks instead of post title URLs
I just realize this is important for SEO
good points …
noted ‘em …
thanks for sharing …
Yeah, I agreed with you. Sometimes comment can make a lot of traffic.
#6 - why is the style of links so important?
Many thanks for these tips!
Zia
http://www.ziarezvi.com
As a new blogger, I am looking for every bit of advice I can get. Keep up the great work, and I just subscribed!
nicole
Great post. I’ve actually saved the link to my desktop so I can continue to refer back.
Thanks!
This is a good list. I had never thought about future posting…it’s a great idea. I think I will give it a whirl and take my weekends off. And I appreciate your comment and commenting! Sometimes I don’t get around to all the blogs I like to visit because I’m too busy building my own blog. I need to work on that! Thanks for sharing this with us!
Great ideas! I’ve learned a lot so far too, but I have quite a way to go. My biggest intimidation is getting my site to look better. I really want to break out of the blogger template I seem to be stuck in.
Hi Wendy,
A friend of mine who is designing a website for me suggested I check out your site. It’s very informative. My partner and I are are both stay-at-home moms, producing a children’s video/dvd for the first time, and we are looking at ways to market it on the Internet.
Thanks,
Mary Kate
Very nice post. Some good things for those just starting out to focus on.
Yeah I have also made some of those mistakes before as well and again like you have also fixed them up.
Found that only posting on weekdays is best advice I ever took on as it keeps you fresh.
Wendy, thanks for sharing your mistakes! I agree, none of us wants to tell our mistakes, but the sharing of them seems to have the opposite effect other then what we fear. People feel more connected to us. Honesty resonates.
I just gave a talk on how to get started blogging and I listed your website as one of my recommended sites.
Hi. While I didn’t make most of these mistakes, I made a whole different set of my own - like modifying my wordpress theme so I could have those highlighted boxes like Problogger.net and having my traffic and adsense earnings tank just as they were picking up! Thanks for your “Wordpress theme holding you back” post on problogger. Followed Sarah’s recommendations on her blog and changed my theme. Traffic has more than doubled. Thanks again for your help.
thanks for this post. i’m totally new to blogging and i can see i have my work cut out for me!
Great list Wendy but I have a challenge with item 6 on my main blog. Because I use FrontPage Server Extentions on the domain related to/attached to that blog it interferes with named permalinks and I’ve never found a workaround - although I frequent support forums for Wordpress and other places. I would love to know how I could fix that? The blog is well established and over 2 years old and it would mean migrating the numbered permalinks to named permalinks (but I’ve seen a plugin for this) if only I could find a fix that would allow both to work fine on the same server.
11. I still use graphical smileys though.
Kathie - I do believe that once established with numbered permalinks, it’s pretty darn near impossible to switch over to anything else - especially after you have been blogging for so long the other way.
Lorelle might have touched on it in her blog at Lorelle on WordPress - she knows way more about these technicalities than I do, anyway.
Thanks Wendy, I’ll go pay Lorelle a visit!
Can you help me?
at most I had about 280 new visitors to my site. I don’t understand how or why people visit sites. most of all, I don’t understand how to get 1000’s of visitors in a very short time. I average from 50-100 new users a day, but thats for my 4 blogs and 1 website combined.
I see you read a lot of the same blogs I read: Steve Pavlina, Problogger, and Lorelle. They are are great inspirations to us newbies.
I started two blogs simultaneously, and have my work cut out for me. I’ve been learning the hard way, made some of the same mistakes as you, and a few others, like getting into blogging before I had done all of my homework, and banging my head against the wall because I didn’t understand some of the blogging “language”.
I, too, use WordPress and have from the beginning. I love the ability to post date, and use that when the creative juices are flowing. If I’m not feeling creative, I use that time to do product reviews or showcase advertisers (on my second blog).
Thanks for sharing. Your site will be added to my favs.
Interesting blog you have here. You have done well to create such a successful blog in a niche I would have thought would not have much of a web audience.
I have seen you round quote a few times now so you are certainly not slacking on your comment posting.
Yes! I totally agree with the Work-Life Balance part in this list.
Before I switched hosts, I had literally spent hours on my blog posting random posts and stuffs that only I myself would like to see - random videos.
Not long later I was totally burnt out. And had caused a major lag in my front page.
Well, look at the difference now in my newly re-setup blog (i lost all my old stuffs though), and check the times I actually do post. Huge difference.
More manageable for myself too.
I’ve just started my baby development blog and while reading your post isn’t entirely relevant for mine, thanks for the tips !
Chloe Edwards’s last blog post..Why is Social and Emotional development so important?
thanks for this as i was considering starting my own blog
Come on! Pavlina is not linking to other bloggers?
Then why is he getting all this link love?
I remember in my first posts I linked to him thinking he’ll link back.
What a myth! lol