Amateur bloggers make a ton of mistakes. That’s normal, as we all know that everything good in life takes hard work.

Starting a blog is one of the best things you can do. It can be insanely profitable in the long run, as well as quite cheap to start.

Basically, all you need is a reliable web hosting service like Bluehost. Other than that, you just need to be creative and consistent.

BUT don’t forget that there are a couple of mistakes you need to avoid. If you want a successful blog, you need to keep in mind that it’s better to set everything up properly from the start.(1)

Otherwise, it can be quite annoying to go back and fix the stuff that you messed up. You want your blog to get traffic as soon as possible, so that you can monetize it and enjoy that passive income that comes with it.

If you’re here to find out what the most common mistakes for amateur bloggers are, you’re in the right place! By the end of this article, you will know how to avoid the most common mistakes made by new bloggers.

MOST COMMON MISTAKES AMATEUR BLOGGERS MAKE

We did out research and we found some mistakes that we didn’t even think of. There are so many amateur bloggers that are wondering why they are not getting traffic, and yet they make some very basic mistakes.

Sometimes, good content doesn’t just rank on the first page of Google. Unfortunately, your blog will not just grow out of a sudden.(2)

Without further ado, let’s jump right into the mistakes:

NOT LINKING TO OTHER SITES

The first thing that we noticed is that amateur bloggers are afraid to link to other websites.

Blogging is a 2 way street. If you are not linking to others, you can’t expect others to link to you.

I know what you’re thinking: “Why would I link to my competition? Doesn’t that hurt my rankings?”

NO! Linking to other websites is highly recommended.

Make sure you only link to relevant articles from your niche in order to build trust with Google and other bloggers.(3)

You will be surprised on how well your blog starts performing in the search engines once you start linking to relevant content.

IGNORING LIST BUILDING

Email marketing is one of the most powerful ways to make money online. Because you can capture leads that you can promote your content in the future to.

Also, you can promote products and make money. If you don’t capture leads from your blog, then at least make sure you build an email list through other methods.

Having an email list also helps building trust with your audience. Also, in the case you get a penalty from Google, you will still be able to make money from your list.(4)

If you’ve been watching any “make money online” YouTube videos, you’ve surely heard the phrase “the money is in the list”.

Try collecting leads from the beginning, as you will have an easier time getting traffic in the future. You should try GetResponse, as it’s probably the best email marketing software out there.

IGNORING SOCIAL MEDIA

New bloggers think that writing good content is enough to get traffic to their website. That’s completely wrong, as having a presence on social media can really improve your rankings.

In the past couple of years, social media has become a part of everyone’s life. This is great, as you can fully take advantage of the power of Facebook and other platforms.

You should build your brand on social media so that your audience will trust you even more. Also, having a strong social presence can improve your rankings on Google.

Think about it: all the successful blogs have a good social media presence. They always share their new blog post on all the platforms they can think of, so that they build more authority in their niche.(5)

Google notices that you have presence on your social media accounts, and therefore rewards you with better rankings. Share all your blog posts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter, and you will be surprised on how fast your blog will grow.

NO PASSION FOR YOUR NICHE

We all want to make money from our blog. Every new blogger dreams about making passive income and travelling the world.

And let’s be honest: who doesn’t want freedom? Being able to always be on vacation is everyone’s dream. BUT if you created your blog only for money, you will have a hard time reaching the financial freedom that you want.

Bloggers that are passionate about their niche have an easier time growing, because they are the most consistent. If you don’t at least like what you’re doing, then you will find excuses not to do it.

In the beginning, your main objective should be to enjoy what you’re doing and write good content. It doesn’t need to be something that nobody ever saw before, but do your best to answer your reader’s questions.(6)

Also, choosing a niche just because you know it’s profitable is a mistake. How many articles can you write about something you are not passionate about? 10? 50?

Blogging is a long game and you should treat it as such.

BUILDING BACKLINKS

OK. Everyone and their dog will tell you that you need to build backlinks to your blog in order to rank.

While that can be true sometimes, Google has become much smarter in the past couple of years. Meaning that they know what we are doing in terms of building backlinks.

Nowadays, it can really hurt your blog if you don’t know what you’re doing when doing your off page SEO. To be honest, I’ve build multiple blogs without even thinking about backlinks and they still performed really good.(7)

My advice is to not focus on backlinks, and in stead try to write good content and share your stuff on social media. You will be much better off in the long run.

SPAMMING YOUR BLOG WITH TOO MANY ADS

Ads are a great way to monetize your blog. It’s only fair to be financially rewarded for your efforts.

But what do you think when you go on someone’s blog and it’s full of pop-ups and banners? If you’re like most people, you get really annoyed.

There are some people (usually new bloggers) that put an ad in every free space there is. They soon realize that the time their readers spend on their blog significantly decreases.(8)

Don’t make the mistake of spamming your audience with 1 million ads. They don’t like it

GIVING UP TOO SOON

This is probably the most common mistake on this list. So many new bloggers get discouraged when they don’t see results right away.

We live in an instant gratification world and nobody has patience anymore. Understand that starting any business (including a blog) takes time.

Usually, it takes about 6 months for a new blog to get off the ground. 6 months and a lot of hard work.

Just stop and ask yourself: is it worth it? Will it be worth it to quit your job and blog full time? I think yes.

In my case, it was definitely worth it. A couple of years ago, when I created my first successful blog, I quit my 9 to 5 when my blogging income surpassed my job income.

And let me tell you: it was amazing. Now I know that I will never go back to a 9 to 5 anymore. Nothing compares with being your own boss and creating your own schedule.

There are days when I wake up and I can just play on my computer or go to the gym without worrying about my income. I am in Thailand now and I go to the beach every day.

Don’t give up too son. In the end, it will all be worth it.(9)

HAVING BAD WEB HOSTING

This is a mistake that I personally made in the beginning of my blogging journey. Unfortunately, so many new bloggers are making it too.(10)

You might not think that having a reliable web hosting service is important. But it is. Because you want your blog to be up and running 24/7 and not suddenly crash.

Also, your website speed is very important in terms of ranking. If you have a slow website, nobody will have the patience for it to load and Google will penalize you for this.

I suggest going with Bluehost, as it’s very cheap, fast and the customer service is amazing. You can thank me later.

NOT WILLING TO INVEST

If you want to make money with your blog, you can’t really do it for free. In the beginning, I said it’s relatively cheap to start a blog.(11)

That’s true. You can start a blog with just web hosting. Bluehost even gives you a free domain name, so you don’t need to worry about that.

Once you start seeing results, you should invest in quality tools in order to grow even more.

For example, SEMrush is a great tool that can help you a lot. I use it for a couple of years for all my blogs and it really does help.

Don’t be afraid to invest money in your business. You probably spend that money on useless stuff anyway.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In my opinion, these are the most common mistakes the amateur bloggers make. Hopefully you now know how to avoid them and the importance of setting everything up properly from the start.

Try modeling your blog after more stablished websites in your niche. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel in order to be successful.

If you avoid these mistakes, you will be surprised on how fast your income will grow. Think about the life you will be able to have when you will have the freedom you desire.(12)

Just remember that the most important thing is to not get discouraged and give up. It takes some effort in the beginning, but in a couple of years or even months, your life can completely change.