Ten Lethal Blogging Practices That You Must Avoid!
Blogging is a very common practice in the online arena; rather call it a fashion, its justifiably in vogue these days. Some people create personal blogs and regularly post there. A significant number of blogs are run to support different commercial and non-commercial websites. Blogs are also used in propaganda campaigns. When properly monetized, blog in itself is a money-making tool. Amateur bloggers sometimes do not have much idea of how to run a blog successfully and do not follow a proper way of running a blog. There are a number of practices that rather than making a blog successful end up bringing loss to the bloggers. Here are the ten failed practices all bloggers must avoid to become successful in blogging:
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1. Not Having a Plan
Having a plan is crucial to all important institutes in life. Many blogs fail because the blogger doesn’t have a plan to follow. Blogging may not be a business but if you want your blog to be successful you have to follow a plan. Set a plan for your blog before you take it online. Be consistent in writing your posts and following the right pattern. If you do not plan before you blog, your blog is definitely going to fail.
2. Unimpressive Writing
A blogger who doesn’t know how to impress visitors may not attract versatile readers. An unimpressive piece of writing is a waste of time. Would you visit a blog again if you don’t like the bloggers writing style? Create your own style of writing and stick to it. Don’t bore your readers with your writing, rather make them applaud.
3. Grammatical Mistakes
The most acknowledged flaw in any website or blog is the presence of grammatical errors. If you fail to avoid grammatical mistakes as a blogger you are not only showing your troubles with the language but also professionalism. One common reason behind grammatical errors is the lack of proofreading. It is better to stay safe by having your post proof read by someone else before being published.
4. Comment Moderation
It is fine if you want to avoid abuse comments on your blog. But blocking comments that include links will just deprive you of valuable back links which would otherwise have helped your search engine rankings.
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5. Copied Content
There is nothing as harmful as copied content practice. Not only will it leave the readers with a bad taste but also the concerned party can sue you for the copyright infringements. If you find some useful contents that you can’t keep your hands off from, then don’t forget to give a reference.
6. Messy Backgrounds
Jumbled or fancy background(s) will distract the reader from the real information s/he is looking for. Secondly, it will also render the text unreadable. Simple is better, no need to use those fancy backgrounds unless your blog demands so.
7. No References
This is the age of information. It takes lots of hard work to get readers but a single mistake in representing the facts will just turn them off. If you don’t put it right they will simply Google it and with the blink of an eye bounce off to some other website. When you have properly researched for a blog post, don’t forget add references.
8. Ad Clutter
It’s OK if you have monetized a blog but it is disastrous to just assemble ads on your blog and not give any substantial information. Average internet user can easily differentiate between a genuine information link and disguised ads. Search engines won’t digest such a blog either.
9. Using Sales Language
A blog can be a successful supporting tool for a website that advertises your products or services for sale. You can give your selling proposition on the website and there is no question of repeating the same on the blog. Never give your blog the look of a sales person by being as blunt as, “We offer you up to 80% discount on all XYZ products!” etc. The visitor will lose the interest and you the trust.
10. Fake Information
You may be tempted to type inauthentic content by the unavailability of information on a certain subject or just for saving time, but it will surely hurt the integrity if the blog has an informed audience following. Don’t just assume that you won’t get caught, just imagine what will happen if you have some clever audience coming from the search engines?
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If we follow all these steps carefully we may save our blog from a lot of trouble. Increasing traffic to your blog and getting more readers is an art that can be successfully pursued by bloggers who know how to be consistent, and unique in what they share.
Jason, you should follow your first recommendation yourself. This post is rife with grammatical errors. Maybe you should expand the recommendation to having your piece read by someone with strong English skills.