There are plenty of misconceptions about blogging. These misconceptions can be more dangerous than not.
There are lots of bloggers out there who claim they’ve got their blogs running smoothly. They say that they don’t have to worry about anything anymore. And they’re probably telling the truth.
But there’s no such thing as a smooth blog. There are always challenges along the way. The good news is that these challenges aren’t insurmountable. In fact, they’re part of the fun.
You Shouldn’t Ever Exceed 500 Words On a Post
The myth that shorter is better has been debunked. In fact, some studies suggest that longer content gets more shares and comments. A study conducted by BuzzSumo found that the average article shared on Facebook received 2,400 likes, while those that ran 5,000 words or more got 4,500 likes. Another study showed that the number one driver of traffic to blogs is sharing, followed by social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. So it makes sense that the best way to grow your audience is by providing value to them.
In addition to growing your audience, long form content can help improve your search engine rankings. If you’re publishing a lot of short pieces, you’ll want to make sure that each piece is unique and well written. This will keep your site from becoming “spammy,” and will allow Google to see that you are adding value to your reader’s lives.
All Blog Posts Have to be Long
Every avid reader loves a good, long-form blog post. But what about those times when you want to write something quick and easy? Or maybe you are just starting out and don’t know how to make things longer. Here are some tips for making short posts work.
The first thing to remember is that every piece of content needs to have one goal. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to start thinking about what you want to accomplish with each article. For example, do you want to inform readers about a certain subject? Do you want to entertain them? Are you trying to sell them something? Once you’ve got a clear idea, you’ll be able to figure out how best to meet your goals.
Next, think about what makes a good long-form blog post versus a shorter one. A good long-form post will usually include more information. In addition, it will often take more effort to produce. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it just depends on the type of content you’re creating. If you’re writing about a specific product, you might need to spend more time researching it and talking about its features. On the flip side, if you’re writing about a broad topic like “How to Make Money Online,” you probably won’t need much research. Instead, you’ll focus on describing the steps involved and providing examples.
Finally, keep in mind that length doesn’t equal quality. There’s nothing wrong with a short post — if done correctly. While it’s true that most people prefer longer articles, it’s important to remember that everyone reads differently. Some people enjoy reading a lot of text, while others find it hard to read anything over 500 words. So, rather than aiming for a specific word count, aim for quality. If you write well and provide useful information, you’ll attract readers regardless of whether your post is 2,500 words or 50.
Blogging Requires Excellent Writing Skills
Blogging is one of the most popular ways to make money online today. In fact, there are over 2 million blogs out there. And while many people start off thinking that they need to write like Stephen King to become a success, that isn’t true. There are plenty of bloggers making bank every day without being professional writers. So how do they do it? Well, here are some tips to help you too.
1. Write About Topics You Love
You might think that you have to write about things that don’t interest you. But that’s not necessarily true. Writing about things that interest you doesn’t mean that you’ll never make money doing it. For example, I’ve always been fascinated by history. So I wrote about that on my blog. I was passionate about it because I loved learning about the past. But I wasn’t trying to sell anything to anyone. My goal was simply to learn something new. If you want to make money blogging, you don’t have to write about things you don’t care about. You could write about cooking, gardening, travel, fashion, politics, music, etc. Whatever you’re interested in, chances are someone else is too.
2. Find a Niche
If you’re looking to make money blogging, finding a niche is key. Niche marketing is where bloggers separate themselves from others. When you find a topic that interests you, you can easily build authority around it. This helps you attract readers who are searching for information about that particular subject matter. Once you’ve built up enough traffic, you can monetize your site through affiliate programs, advertising, and even selling products directly.
3. Create Original Content
The best way to stand out among hundreds of thousands of other bloggers is to provide unique value to your audience. People aren’t going to read the same thing over and over again. They won’t come back unless you give them something special. To do this, you have to produce quality content. Don’t worry about whether or not it’s perfect. Just keep putting out high-quality content, and eventually you’ll start attracting attention.
You Don’t Have Enough to Say to Fit One Blog Post
Blog posts are like books; you don’t want to read one without knowing what the author is trying to tell you. But many writers struggle because they don’t know how to start. They think they need to come up with some brilliant idea, but often that isn’t true.
The truth is, most of us already have plenty to say about whatever topic we choose. We just haven’t been asked. So why not ask someone else? Asking others to help you find ideas for your next blog post is a great way to generate lots of inspiration. In fact, asking questions is a proven method for generating tons of ideas.
So here’s our tip: When you feel stuck, send out a question to a few friends and family members. Don’t worry about whether they’re experts—just make sure they’re willing to give you honest feedback. Then use their responses to spark off a conversation.
Now let’s look at another common problem: writer’s block. This happens when you simply cannot seem to get anything down on paper. If you’ve tried everything possible, including brainstorming, researching, editing, rewriting, and even procrastinating, you might still be struggling.
Here’s something to try: Write down the three things you love most about your job. Now write down the three things you hate most about your job. What do you notice? How does each set compare? Do you see patterns between the two lists?
If you’re really stumped, consider talking to a friend or colleague. Chances are, they have experienced similar problems. And chances are, they’ll have some advice for you.
You Have to Focus on Just One Niche
We have been writing about blogging in some fashion for over 10 years now. And let us tell you something: There is no “right way” to do it.
There are many different ways to approach starting a blog. Some people want to write about everything. Others prefer to stick to one topic. Still others want to cover multiple topics.
But there is one common misconception that we hear often: You need to focus solely on just one niche. If you’re thinking along those lines, think again.
If you decide to go down the path of focusing on just one niche, make sure you’re doing it because you really want to. Otherwise, you might end up spending too much time working on something that doesn’t interest you.
And if you’re already doing that, you might as well go ahead and add another niche.
You see, you’ll find yourself having more fun and being able to achieve your goals faster if you diversify your efforts on blogs where it makes sense to do this.
Avoid Heavily Competitive Niches
Blogging is one of those things where people assume that because someone else is doing something, it must not work. And since we live in a world where everyone wants to make money online, they think that if another person is making money in a certain niche, that means no one else is making money in that niche.
But what happens when you look at the numbers? If you see that there are lots of high-traffic sites competing for the same keywords, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t enough traffic being generated. In fact, if you’re looking for a profitable blog niche, chances are that there are already established bloggers making money in that space.
If you want to know how many competitors you’ll find in a specific niche, use the Semrush Keyword Magic tool to check out the number of monthly searches for each keyword. This will give you a better idea about whether or not a niche is too saturated.
You Have to Spend a Lot Of Money to Start a Blog
Blogging used to be seen as a luxury item reserved for those who could afford it. But now, anyone can start a blog for free. There are no monthly fees, no hardware costs, no software licenses and no technical expertise required. All you really need is a computer, internet access and a little creativity.
The main thing holding people back from starting a blog is fear: “I’m afraid my writing won’t be good enough,” “I’m worried I’ll make mistakes,” “I’m scared I’ll lose interest.” These fears are completely unfounded. If anything, the opposite is true. A blog gives you a creative outlet where you can write about what you’re passionate about without having to worry about getting paid. And because there are no rules or restrictions, you can experiment freely and try out different styles and genres.
If you do decide to go ahead and purchase things like themes and plugins, you can always change them later on. So even if you choose to use a theme and plugin that isn’t perfect for you, you can easily switch over to another theme or plugin once you find one that works better for you.
You don’t need to buy everything you see on other blogs. In fact, many bloggers use WordPress itself to host their sites. They just add a few extra features such as custom domains and SSL certificates. Some bloggers even manage their entire site themselves using nothing more than a web browser.
So why pay hundreds of dollars for a domain name, hosting, a template and a bunch of plugins when you can simply install WordPress yourself for free?
You Have to Be an Extrovert
So you’ve been on social media platforms and you’ve seen at least a few bloggers who have managed to turn themselves into a successful brand, right? Their feeds are perfectly thought out and they’re always bragging about how great they are. They seem to feel like they just won the lotto.
But what if you’re NOT comfortable with all that? Can you still start a successful blog if you’re a total introvert? The truth is, yes you can! It’s totally possible to be an introvert blogger. Yes, you read that correctly. An introvert blogger. And there are many ways to do it.
You don’t necessarily need to become a social butterfly to start a successful blog. In fact, some people say that you shouldn’t try to be anything else but yourself. However, we live in a world where everyone wants to be something different. Everyone wants to be someone else but no one ever takes the time to really figure out who they want to be.
That’s probably why we see so many blogs starting up every day. People want to be someone else. Someone better. Someone bigger. More famous. More rich. More…you get the picture. But you don’t need all of that to be a blogger. You can be one, as an introvert, extrovert, or anything in between.
Blogging Has No Impact On Actual Business
In today’s digital age, we are inundated with information. And while some of it might be useful, most of it isn’t. In fact, according to Hubspot, only 10% of people actually read blogs. So why do we continue to write them? Because they work.
According to Hubspot, businesses need to publish as much optimized content as possible in order to maximize organic traffic. For large blogs, this may mean 4-5 times a week, which includes new and updated posts. For businesses that blog more, they get much more traffic than those who don’t.
This makes sense because when someone types in a keyword into a search bar, they want to find something specific. They aren’t just looking for anything. However, there are still plenty of people out there who type in keywords without knowing exactly what they are searching for. For example, if you were to type in “how to make money online,” you probably wouldn’t end up on your favorite blog. But if you typed in ‘blogging tips,’ you could very well land on one of your favorite blogs.
So how much difference does blogging make? Well, let’s say you start writing a blog post every week. You publish three posts per month, and each of those gets shared 50 times. Now you’ve got yourself a steady stream of qualified leads coming in. Over the course of six months, that’s 180 leads. Which may not sound like a lot, but if you compare that to the amount of leads generated by your competitors who don’t blog, it’s significant.
If you increase your blogging activities by 5-10 times a month, you can even double your leads. Why? Because when someone searches for a product or service, they usually look for reviews and recommendations. When they come across your site, they know they are getting quality content. As a result, they feel comfortable clicking through to your site.
Blogging Is Only a Hobby
Blogging has undergone several changes over the course of time. Initially, people used blogs to write about their personal lives. However, now, people are writing blogs for different reasons. They use blogs to express themselves, sell products, build brands, and even make money. In fact, according to Forbes, there are approximately 2 billion active bloggers around the world.
The number of bloggers has grown tremendously over the years. And, considering its phenomenal growth and extensive reach, it seems that it is set to surpass other social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Today, blogging has become a powerful tool for marketing.
According to HubSpot, approximately 40% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family. On the other hand, almost 90% of customers trust reviews and ratings posted on online sites. This makes blogging a very effective way of promoting your product.
In addition to this, most companies start out as small startups. So, they tend to look for ways to increase their customer base and grow their revenue. One such strategy is to promote their products through blogs. After all, a blog is a great place to find potential buyers.
But, how do you turn a hobby into a profitable venture? There are many things that you must keep in mind while starting a blog. Here are some tips for getting started:
1. Choose Your Niche Carefully
If you want to earn money from your blog, you must choose a niche carefully. For example, if you decide to write about fashion, you might end up losing money because the market is already saturated. Before choosing your niche, think about what interests you and what you know best. You could try researching popular niches and see what kinds of topics people are talking about.
2. Build an Audience
When you first start a blog, you will have no followers. To get more traffic to your website, you need to build an audience. The easiest way to do so is to create a mailing list. You can also ask your existing readers to subscribe to your email newsletter. If you have a large following, you can also offer them special deals and discounts.
3. Create Content
Once you have built an audience, you should start creating content. Start with short articles. These will help you gain traction quickly. Once you have established yourself, you can move on to longer pieces.
4. Promote Your Site
After publishing your content, you need to promote it. You can do this by sharing it on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. You can also post links to your website on forums related to your niche. Finally, you can advertise your posts on Google Adwords.
5. Monetize Your Blog
You can monetize your blog using affiliate programs. Affiliate programs allow you to link to specific products and services on Amazon, eBay, and other websites.
Whenever someone buys something after visiting your page, you receive a commission.
6. Optimize Your Website
To optimize your website, you need SEO (search engine optimization). SEO helps search engines understand your pages better. It improves your ranking and increases your chances of being found by potential customers.
7. Use Social Media
Social media marketing is another way to promote your site. You can use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube to reach a wider audience.
8. Add Value
Your goal is not only to make money but to add value to your readers. When you provide useful information or share interesting stories, you will be able to attract new visitors.
9. Be Consistent
Consistency is key when building a successful blog. You must publish at least one article every day. If you miss a day, your readers may lose interest.
10. Don’t Give Up
Starting a blog takes time and effort. However, once you have created a good following, you can easily earn money from your blog. Just remember that consistency is key.
Blogging Is Dead
Not really. But there are some things you should know about blogging.
With the advent of video content – especially live streams – many people might think that blogging is dead. They believe that blogs are no longer relevant. After all, everyone now uses social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to connect with customers. And most companies use YouTube videos to promote themselves. So why bother with writing?
The problem with that line of thinking is that social media is considered an extension of your blogging efforts – not a replacement.
That’s why blogging still has plenty of value. In fact, it might even be the best way to market yourself online. Here’s why:
Blogging is not something that only corporations can employ. Anyone can start a blog today. You don’t need to work for a big corporation to do it. You can start one on WordPress.com or self-hosted. There are tons of free themes out there.
A Hubspot study has revealed that businesses who blog generate 67 percent more leads than those that do not blog. This is because blogs provide a lot of information. When someone searches for a product or service, he or she wants to read reviews, see what others say about it, and learn how to choose the right product. If a company does not offer such information, it risks losing potential customers.
So yes, blogging is still alive and kicking, and isn’t going to be dead anytime soon.
Don’t Fall Into the Trap of Blogging Myths
Because if you do, then you can very well fall into mistakes that can cause irreparable harm to your site’s online presence.
From not blogging enough to writing posts that don’t make sense, falling into the trap of these myths is not something you want to do from the start.
But, by becoming aware of these myths, you can stop costly mistakes on your part from happening before they become a problem.
The world of blogging is fun and exciting, and by observing a few best practices, you too can be on the road to blogging success in no time.
When do you plan on starting your new blog?
