81% of Bloggers Never Make More Than $100!!!
Infograph source: Blogging.org
If you have a blog right now and are currently part of that 81% or you are thinking about starting a blog, then you need to read this all the way through. Below you will find what those common blogging mistakes are and how to avoid them.
Common Blogging Mistake # 1
You’re not spending enough time on your headline – The Father of Advertising said,
“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline you have spent 80 cents out of your dollar.”
-David Ogilvy
How to avoid it: Ideally, you should be spending at least 30-60 minutes on writing your headline. That time includes researching the right key words to use, and then niching down on those keywords for less competition, as well as writing the headline itself. The more you do it, the more it will become second nature.
Here are Just 4 Templates of Eye Catching Headlines:
1. The “How to” headline ex. How to Write an Eye Catching Headline
2. The “List or Numbers” headline ex. 7 Steps to Writing an Eye Catching Headline
3. The “Secret” headline ex. The Secret to Writing an Eye Catching Headline
4. The “Combo” headline ex How to Write an Eye Catching Headline in 7 Easy Steps or
The Secrets of an Eye Catching Headline and How to Write Them
Common Blogging Mistake # 2
Your taking too long to get to the point – Did you know that the average human has the attention span of only 8.25 sec whereas the average goldfish is 9. lol, Yes, you can laugh, I did too. My point is this. If you don’t get your readers attention quickly, then they are hitting the back button and scrolling down to the next website on their google search list.
How to avoid it: Don’t waste your or your readers time on 2-3 paragraphs of intro.(I have been guilty of this when I first started out myself) It’s not the quantity of words on the page but quality. If in the first 15-20 seconds you haven’t introduced the problem, then you need to go back and re-write it.
Keep in mind that everyone, especially your readers, are in a hurry. They have other sites to look at before making a purchase….but if you provide quick, reliable, and valuable information, they will come back.
Common Blogging Mistake # 3
You’re not using enough numbers – According to eye tracking data and studies, numerals often stop the wandering eye and attract fixation, even when they are embedded within a mass of words that users otherwise ignore.
Why? Because numbers represent facts. They represent hard information than flowery verbiage. Your readers are in a hurry and don’t have time to go through all the fluff.
How to avoid it: Instead of writing out numbers like thirty five, write 35. Bold numbers when necessary. Remember this is not your high school grammar class. Use numbers even at the start of sentences or bullet points, use them as bullet points.
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Common Blogging Mistake # 4
You’re paragraphs are hard on the eyes – Not every specific point you make in your post has to be explained in a full repot. When you have long paragraphs with no spacing or breaks, regardless of how good the content is, readers glance at it and click the back button.
Why? Because people want change now, they want some type of valuable information quickly. Your long paragraphs make it appear that it will take too long to get the information they are looking for.
How to avoid it:
- Remember that many ideas are easier to consume
- and understand when they are summarized or condensed
- Break up your paragraphs more often
- Only allow 2-3 sentences max and then have a break
- Using bullet points can solve this
- They stand out and say hey, I’m important
- They draw the readers eyes to focus on them
- They make it easier for the reader to get the info they are looking for
Common Blogging Mistake # 5
Not enough images or videos – A picture truly is worth a thousand words. The Cone of Learning states that we only retain about 10% of what we read but 30% of what we see and 50% of what we see and hear. You don’t want all words, but you don’t want all images/videos either.
How to avoid it: Mix it up. Every couple of paragraphs be sure to insert a relevant image to the nearby text. Instead of trying to explain a certain emotion find an image that expresses what you want the reader to feel.
Adding a video for every post doesn’t always make sense but do add one every couple to “mix it up.” Remember, everyone learns a little different so having a little bit of everything will allow you to reach more readers.
Common Blogging Mistake # 6
So Now What!? – You can have the best content in the world but if there is no call to action you are not going to see the results you want. Your readers need a little push. They actually want a little nudge in the right direction. It is why they are reading your post in the first place, to make a decision.
How to avoid it: You need to have a great conclusion filled with enthusiasm, knowledge, and direction. You need a call to action. Answer for the reader the question, “So now what?” and they will follow.
In Conclusion
So there you have it. If you have been making some or all of the mistakes above, then stop right now and turn it around. It takes more than just not making mistakes to create a great, valuable, money-making blog, it takes knowing what “to do” as well.
If you are just getting started or you have been doing this for awhile but are tired of being in the 81% club, then you need to check out my post on How to Write a Product Review. This will give you a template for success.
If you have any other questions about blogging or have any tips on how to avoid other blogging mistakes, please comment below, it is greatly appreciated.
Jason
Owner
BestOnlineMarketingSystem.org
Abraham says
Great information here about how make money while blogging. I am going to bookmark this and heed your advice. Thanks.
Jason says
You are very welcome, I am glad you liked it Abraham. Please do bookmark my site and come back, I put out new posts every couple of days.
If you liked this post you should check out my post “How to Succeed in Affiliate Marketing,” you will definitely like this one as well.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to comment here or you can contact me through my personal email: jason@bestonlinemarketingsystem.org.
Brian says
I’ve recently started writing a blog and I can tell you that this is great advice. Each one of your “common mistakes” I’ve made at least once but you definitely get better with each post. Wish I would have run across your site when I started. Good refresher for me, keep up the good work my friend.
Jason says
Brian, I was the same way. Everyone of my mistakes I wrote about above, I have done my self before. Every where I learned about blogging said just blog, which is true, you need to write/blog so that you can improve. Michael Jordan didn’t just show up one day in the NBA and said hey let me play basketball. No, he played and practice over and over again.
So the same is with anything in life, practice makes perfect. But, also having some direction, some guidance along the way helps as well. I know you said you have been blogging for a bit now but I still encourage you to take a look at my post “How to Write a Product Review.” It really has some great tips in there.
When I first started on this online journey, again I was told just to blog. Well it wasn’t until a year later that I stumbled upon a training program, a university if you will, called Wealthy Affiliate. It really provided the coaching and guidance I needed to take my business to another level. I truly consider WA to be the best internet marketing course out there, especially for beginners and novice alike! If you are not familiar with it, you should check it out yourself.
Thanks for commenting and best of luck to you Brian!
William says
Very informative post I need to go back and look at my blog now. Great information. The Wealthy Affiliate program is awesome as well. Great to have a community that shares information like you do.
Jason says
I am glad you found value in my post. You can also check out my post on “How to Write a Product Review” which goes into depth on this area of blogging and affiliate marketing.
Also, I can’t agree with you more about the community at within Wealthy Affiliate, and to think that people can be a part of it with a free starter membership, no credit card required, is huge! Wealthy Affiliate is my #1 recommendation, especially for beginners. For my full Wealthy Affiliate review you can click here.
Best of luck to you!
James says
Jason I would have to agree with everything you write hear I have been messing with online business as affiliate and ecommerce either one you have to close the sale so to speak.
The only problem I see with Wealthy Affiliate sites is the comment where you have to give your email. Every time I go to leave a comment I pass because of that. Also Norton wants to block the sites because of to much personal information required.
Jason says
Absolutely James. There is a reason why people are coming to your site. They want to be guided into buying or not buying something. By leaving them hanging, your traffic will most likely hit the back button and click on another review, because they don’t feel solid with a decision yet. And that “other” review will surely tell them what to buy.
As far as giving your email on comments, just because it is asked of, doesn’t mean you have to put it in. You can leave comments with out putting in that information. In regards to Norton, I have never had my site blocked because of this nor have I been blocked when I have gone to other sites where this info is required for leaving comments.
In my opinion, I don’t really think leaving an email is that personal….I mean heck, you could just put in a fake email address and that would suffice, if you were on a site that required it for comments.
I think to each his own, when it comes to what people feel is like personal info to them or not.
Thanks for commenting James and best of luck to you.
Lucinda Freestone says
Very well researched and informative article Jason. I have read many blogs by people who don’t seem to get to the point and I lose interest very quickly.
Thank you for sharing this.
Regards
Lucinda
Jason says
You are very welcome Lucinda. If you enjoyed this post, I recommend you read to other one other post of mine pertaining to blogging as well. It is “How to Write a Product Review.” I have gotten lots of comments with great feedback on this post and even though you may already be writing product reviews yourself, every person who has read it, has told me that they did at least learn one thing that they will be adding to their reviews going forward. I hope this will be the case for you as well.
Thx for commenting and happy reading, cheers!