We all make mistakes when we start blogging.
I know I did.
Today’s Lesson
I didn’t do enough homework and was unprepared for what blogging entailed.
I made small mistakes like typos (and I still do), and big ones like crashing my blogs.
I didn’t know HTML, coding or the blogging language.
I had no idea what SEO (search engine optimization) was, nor did I have time to learn it.
I didn’t know the difference between a plugin and a widget, or a trackback vs a ping. (Thank you John Hoff for the great explanation on pings and trackbacks)
I spent too much time checking my visitor stats when I should have been concentrating on other areas of blogging.
I wasted many precious hours signing up for, placing ads and then checking stats to see how much money I wasn’t making.
Social networks like StumbleUpon and Digg got me addicted, and they too consumed my time.
Although all of the above are important lessons to learn, (and I did), the biggest mistake I made was…….
Not making the time to comment on other blogs sooner than I did.
I had read many times how important it was, but thought it didn’t pertain to me.
When I did consider commenting, I was often intimidated by the other comments, and felt my words might sound stupid.
Instead, I worked quietly behind the scenes, wrote for my imaginary audience, and told myself, “If I build it, they will come”.
I was content……..for awhile.
Then I realized blogging is actually about interacting with others.
I was a one way street.
It wasn’t until I made time to visit other blogs that I got caught up in the thrill of comments.
Not only getting comments, but leaving them as well.
I’m not afraid of admitting my mistakes, and that was a big one.
What about you?
Today’s Assignment
What do you feel your biggest mistake in blogging has been thus far?
Care to share?
Photo Credit: toddneville’s photostream
Barbara, I can relate to you so much. I felt as if I freezed when time to post a comment comes. I then decided that I will comment something meaningful on atleast one of the three articles I read in a row. Without commenting, I can’t move forward and read other articles. Attimes, it took me over an hour to do so. But now, with practice, commenting is coming easily. I find something of value to add to each post, my doubts about my comments are reducing and have found my voice as well you can say 🙂
The biggest mistake that I made was to comment and forget about it. The quest was to write more comments. It should have been to be a part of more conversations. I now make it a point to come back to pages I comment.
Avani-Mehtas last blog post..Find your own sanctuary
Hmmm…
When I blogged for MommyMD.org I made the biggest mistake and wrote just to write. Just to fill the page. Now that I have my own blog ( really own blog) I am writing what I want.
But after reading your post I fear that I too am getting caught up in the stats and not visiting enough. My comments are dwindling and I’m feeling it!
I’m off to meet and greet. Thanks Barbara for reminding us to be connected. And thanks for visiting me and taking the time to comment. I live for those comments and because of that I will be forever loyal-It’s an added bonus that I really like to hear what you have to say! I guess I win all around!
Dr.Casons last blog post..Learning to Scuba Dive! Woo-Hoo!
There’s no one thing in particular that stands out for me as my biggest mistake in blogging.
From the time I learned about blogs and thought I should have one, it took me 7 months to choose a topic. A bit of a slow start, but the upside is that I read ProBlogger for 7 months before starting (hadn’t found BWAB yet). I definitely think this helped me avoid some mistakes that I would have made otherwise.
But of course I still made plenty of mistakes, in particular, technical mistakes in the beginning. Nothing I couldn’t recover from though. Everyone has to make some mistakes in blogging, just like everyone falls the first time they try to walk.
My biggest mistake was not knowing I was supposed to reply back to the comments I had. A few would trickle in and I’d say a mental thank you.
It’s like you said, blogging is about interacting with others. You’re building online relationships and it’s through commenting that you connect with your readers and vice versa.
I started a second blog to organize my collection of quotations. I already had the quotations typed up in MS Word and had assigned each one a number. I was going to try to organize them by subject according to their number so when I started the blog I just numbered my entries.
After about six months of this, I realized that I had really boring titles and it didn’t make it any easier to find the quotations I wanted. So I recently went back and re-titled over a hundred entries. The new titles work so much better. Titles are an important part of blogging that I neglected.
Chase Marchs last blog post..Governed by Laws
Hi Barbara,
I’m only three and a half months in so I don’t know if I KNOW what it is so far, but maybe its staying on free wordpress so long and not jumping when I was warned to by smart people. Also, I was/am ALL about the community and comments and have NO clue about the technical side of it, so now I am having to buckle down and learn the more business side of blogging, and the backroom of what goes on with plug in’s widgets and stuff. *shudder*
There is definitly a balance and I need to find it!
Wendi Kellys last blog post..The Addiction of Conforming
I have made many mistakes and they are the same ones you have mentioned. However, I learned quickly and straightened out most of them. The biggest one for me was blowing up my sidebars and having to scramble to get them back!!! But the one thing that helped me was the support I have gotten and the wonderful people out on the web.
Lindas last blog post..350 Challenge Certificate
My biggest mistake so far may be not posting frequently enough. I had to learn that every post needn’t be a long manifesto. In fact if the number of comments are any indication I often receive more from my briefer posts. Have you noticed any correlation between comments and length of posts?
Tom Volkars last blog post..The Three Most Direct Ways to Earn More Money Now
Thanks for the mention in the article, Barbara. I’m glad you found that article useful.
I’m with Hunter on this one. I can’t really remember of any “mistakes” I made. I’d say I just had things to learn when I first began blogging.
I think I had a small advantage because I already understood the technical side of things. Then I found blogs like yours that taught me the ropes of blogging.
John Hoff – eVentureBizs last blog post..Blind Marketing Is Risky
Hi Barbara: I had the default wordpress theme on my blog for about the first three weeks. Although I did have commentors that looked past that, I can imagine it put some people off. Although content is king, you also need a good design for your blog. Joel Falconer wrote about the balance between copy and design at http://joelfalconer.com/2008/06/01/
Hi Barbera,
Wish you were here to have some coffee! But, we can chat via blog. See, I’m glad you said that because it’s so important.
You don’t just walk into a room and talk. You don’t get up on a podium and have people say “oh wow!” It’s not all about you. And yeah, if you don’t comment on other people’s blogs, you probably won’t get many comments on yours. It’s just the way it works. Why should someone spend all that time on your blog, reading your stuff, when you can’t offer them the same common courtesy? That’s just totally narcissistic.
I don’t know if it’a a mistake, well, for me it was. I started out on Blogger and it was so ugly. I had a hard time with it.
I spent tons of time figuring out WordPress and looking into monetization. Ha! Wrong.
I love templates and widgets! I found a nice Amazon widget that I like. I don’t know any CSS or HTML, Barbera. It looks fairly simple, I don’t think it’s rocket science. How important do you think this is, Barbera? You have been at it far longer than me.
Yes, in the final analysis blogging is all about community.
Unless you want to create one of those sites that is ad ugly to make money and you are just trying to lure people there.
Thanks for these links, Barbera. I’m going to check them out now. E
Ellen Wilsons last blog post..The Magic Forest
Love that picture, by the way.
Ellen Wilsons last blog post..The Magic Forest
Today’s Assignment
1) My biggest mistake is not writing consistently, usually because I’m constantly playing with the software on the back end. I like trying out new software. And I use my own blog as the test subject. Though I’ve broken away from that now that I have my own web server. I’m sticking with what I use now (drupal), and any playing the other stuff in a different area. So one of the reasons I don’t write consistently has gone away… so hopefully my mistake will go away too.
Though I think my mistake is something a lot of other people make. If there isn’t something fresh on a website (blog site or Organization site) there’s little reason for people to come back. They will check a couple times a day… then every few days… then weeks… then never again. If there’s no value they don’t come back. Now that doesn’t mean you have to post an incredible blog post every hour… or even every day. But pick a schedule, and make sure you stick to it. If you can only blog once a week, then that’s your schedule. People will happily come back once a week to see your post.
2) yes. 😉
hyrcans last blog post..Change?
My absolute biggest mistake was beginning to pay attention to so many other blogs that I was afraid to write. It’s true. That paralysis analysis has def. happened to me a couple of times. Thinking that I am not smart enough or write well enough has made me afraid so many times in my life.
It took some soul searching to snap out of it actually – because I realized something. This is part of my dream. Somehow technology has advanced to a point where I am privileged enough to be able to write and share with potentially thousand of people now – at this novice point in my life. So I decided to learn on the go and it has made all the difference.
Its amazing how paying attention to so much and not staying in touch with your Main Point can do to you. I’m so glad I don’t feel that way so much anymore
JEMi | Tips for Life, Love, Yous last blog post..Big Dreams: 10 Critical Keys to Your Success – Part 2
Hi Barbara – I love the pic. It looks like a lot of fun.
It’s hard to choose just one mistake – I’ve made so many. But one of the worst was not getting a decent theme that stood out straight away. Another was trying to blog 7 days a week – it became overwhelming.
This is a wonderful article! I have a blog that pertains to mistakes made by bloggers. The site is called blogOOPS. I haven’t had a chance to get into the worth of commenting on other sites and thus being a “connected” blogger, but it seems that article may arrive quite soon. We all make mistakes blogging because there are SO many tasks to blogging and therefore, time can be wasted away quite easily. Everyone had wonderful comments about blogging mistakes, and I hope to learn from them.
Josephs last blog post..Guest Oops from The Red Stapler Chronicles
I comment on blogs (like now) and enjoy doing it. My question is: is it important to subscribe to subsequent comments? I usually only leave one comment, so figure this feature isn’t necessary for me.
Biggest mistake I’ve made? In the very beginning – it may also be that I didn’t comment enough. I’m still learning the craft.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..7 Mysteries of the Universe
Hi Dr. Cason,
We do sometimes write to fill the page, don’t we? Unfortunately when writing (typing) on a computer, the page never ends.
Getting caught up in stats is SO easy to do. I still check stats fairly regular, but don’t get hung up on the numbers.
You’re welcome. I enjoy visiting your blog and finding out what’s happening in your neck of the woods. 🙂
Hi Avani-Mehta,
Welcome to the BWAB community.
It’s always great for me to see new faces here.
You do bring up a great point. Commenting does take practice. It’s different than speaking in person. It takes thought. And yes, it gives us a voice. I love how that works.
Like you, I like to go back to pages I commented on. To read the writers response as well as to see what others have to say.
Hi Natural,
Oh yeah! I did that too. For me, that came from reading “big” blogs were the author rarely (or never) shows up in the comment section.
I’ve now found answering commenting is as much fun as reading them and leaving them. It’s all about creating a community, isn’t it?
Hi Wendi,
I’ve read that many times too…about staying with free WordPress. I gave that a thought, but while doing the little homework I did, many warned against it, so I bit the bullet and paid for web hosting.
Learning the backroom/behind the scenes stuff has been VERY time consuming for me. I have now learned to take it one thing at a time. That way it’s not quite so overwhelming.
BTW: If you need help, or have questions, please feel free to ask. You can either email me, or leave a question in the comment section. If I don’t know, someone in the BWAB community will have an answer. (There are lots of knowledgeable bloggers here). 🙂
Hi Linda,
Aughhhhh! That’s always a fun (??) one. You click back onto your blog and you get that error message. That taught me to save a copy of the php files before messing with them, or else I will reload (upload) the sidebar file from my hard drive.
Hi Hunter,
You did it the smart way…learning about blogs before jumping in with both feet. Reading Problogger for 7 months had to be a huge benefit as he has great articles in his archives. (Remember his orange theme?)
Hi Chase,
Oh my gosh! That had to be a job…going back to all of your quotes.
You’re right! Blog post titles are SO important. If we don’t catch readers within the first few seconds, they’re gone. Sometimes never to be seen again.
Hi Tom,
A low posting frequency can be a detriment. But it can also work in reverse. Some blogs are posting three (or more) times a DAY. For me, that would be insane.
I think you have to find what works for you and your schedule by making it something you can live with and won’t burn you out.
Re: lengthy posts. Natural just did a post about that. She mentioned how often we “scan” long posts as there are too many words to read. I find that to be true in some cases. However, I do follow bloggers who write lengthy posts and I will read every word as the posts are filled with so much value.
I normally don’t write long posts. If a topic needs to be elaborated on, I will create a series so I don’t overwhelm my readers.
With bloggers trying to follow so many blogs, and wanting to comment, shorter posts give them the opportunity to read, comment and move on. I think it becomes a “time is of the essence” issue.
Hi John,
You’re welcome. I love how you explained the pings and trackbacks so simply. I was finally able to say “Oh yeah, I get it”. Thanks!
You have a HUGH advantage by understanding the technical side of things. Just learning the language can be tough.
Hi Marelisa,
Great point! A great design is VERY important. If your readers can’t navigate around your site, they’re apt not to come back.
Thanks for the link to Joel’s post.
Hi Ellen,
Unfortunately Michigan is a little far to come for a cup of coffee (At times I do miss my home state), so we’ll have an imaginary cup and chat online 🙂
Reciprocating comments is SO important, and that is what builds great communities.
HTML and CSS looked intimidating to me in the beginning, but when I took time to study it (and used w3schools.com to do some sample lessons), it made sense. I would print out the coded pages and then compare them to my blog page. Once I understood the symbols and letters, it started to click. ( I still have lots more to learn)
To answer your question, it is important to learn HTML, but not essential in the beginning.
Hi Hyrcan,
As I mentioned in my reply to Tom, consistency is very important.
What I find works good is to subscribe to blogs in a reader. With Google, updates show automatically. But like you said, if someone is only posting once a month, their blog could easily get lost in the sea of other blogs, especially if their readers are not subscribed to it.
You mentioned playing with the backend stuff. Even with as little as I know, that part can actually be fun. It would be easy to get caught up in that and neglect posting.
Hi JEMi,
Oh yes! That is easy to let happen, especially if you start reading posts written by authors who write for a living. They as SO good, and it’s SO easy to start comparing ourselves to them. Sometimes it’s best to avoid those sites.
I’m glad you don’t feel that way any more too. I love your blog, your writings, and how you share from the heart. Blogosphere and BWAB wouldn’t be the same without you. 🙂 (((hugs)))
There she is, my friend Catherine. 🙂
I remember those days when you were blogging seven days a week. It’s a tough schedule to maintain, and makes it very easy to burn out.
Hi Joseph,
The BWAB community welcomes you!
I just clicked over to your site. What a great idea.
Mistakes in blogging are SO easy to make, but if we can learn from them, we become better individuals. Sharing our mistakes will also help to warn other bloggers of pitfalls they may encounter. I love how that works. 🙂
Hi Bamboo Forest,
Subscribing to subsequent comments is a personal choice. But it can also be time consuming. I think it just depends on if you want to see/hear what others have to say.
Hi Jennifer,
Finding balance can be difficult. That’s something that has taken me time to accomplish, but I feel like I’m getting a little closer. Analyzing how I spend my time (with blogging) was a big eye opener.
LOL Sara,
Are you saying I should bring up this subject in another six months or so?
I’m not sure why you’re saying you don’t have anything to offer on your end, as you’re consistently publishing new articles.
Like you, I love my feed reader. I usually save that for the end of the day. I check to see who all updated and eagerly click on the new entries to see what everyone is writing about. It’s exciting!
Hi Vered,
You’re funny. 😆
Your comment does teach many that blogging shouldn’t be taken TOO seriously (unless you’re a problogger, and then, MAYBE it should be taken a little more seriously).
What you said is also a great reminder that when we run onto new blogs, we need to have compassion for the author (realizing they’re still learning – do we ever stop learning?), and not be judgmental of errors they may be making.
I love how you always make time to comment, just to let bloggers know their hard work is being recognized. You’re a great example for many. 🙂 Thank you!
I think my biggest mistake is spending too much time on everything. I read my posts over and over again to make sure it’s just right. I want to make sure it is good and what I want to say. Some reading is good, but I think I’m overdoing it. Got to find a balance.
Jennifers last blog post..What’s Holding You Back? Part 2…Moving Forward
You know the best part about that question? We’ll all have even bigger and stupider mistakes the next time you ask. 🙂
I love digging into blogs and reading and commenting, so my biggest mistake is concentrating on my feed reader more than my writing. At the end of the day, there’s no point in linking my name in any comments I leave if I don’t have something to offer on my end. It doesn’t seem like there’s ever enough time in the day to do it all!
Saras last blog post..Seven Life-Tested Ways to Make Your Simple Life More Glamorous
I’m sure I made mistakes and still make them, but I don’t really care. 🙂
I am here to have fun, on my blog and on other blogs. Of course I want exposure (fame? 😉 ) and readers and comments – but I just don’t stress too much about it. I write the best that I can, comment as much as I can, and spend limited time on Twitter and on Stumbleupon. Beyond that, I just try not to worry too much about the whole thing and in fact, I now only check my stats once a week, if that.
If I have to come up with a mistake, I guess it was that I allowed highly SLEAZY Adsense ads on my site. Took me a while to realize that I can actually filter them out and that it matters. But even that is more funny to me than anything else.
I agree with Hunter: we all make mistakes. It is so easy to start a blog, that people do tend to just start them and learn as they go. To me, this is just fine.
Thank you for yet another thought-provoking article!
Vereds last blog post..Apparently, Easy-To-Operate Stuff Was Invented, Because Women Are STUPID (Wordless Wednesday)
Hi Chris,
Thank you for sharing the story of your “sinking boats” 🙂
With blogging taking so much of our time, concentrating our efforts on producing great content is a much wiser choice.
I’m looking forward to reading your guest posts. Make sure you supply us with links to them.
My big mistake was that I thought I could manage multiple blogs and put ads on them and make boat loads of money. So I started a bunch of blogs at blogger. It was a disaster.
I took all the blogs down and started Wat da Wat and vowed to just concentrate on Wat da Wat. In the beginning I started signing up to all kinds of blog directory until I read that visiting other blogs will actually be better. So I did and my traffic is consistently increasing because of this.
This summer I’m going to try guest blogging and see where it gets me.
I don’t know that I have made any big mistakes blogging yet but I have made plenty of small ones. I didn’t even know what my URL was when I started. I thought when it asked for my website that it wanted Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker. Within a few days of each other, two kind bloggers corrected my mistake in the comment section of their blogs and told me what I had done. Several times, I have published posts before I intended to because my fingers hit the wrong button on the keyboard.
I have been blessed with blogging friends that I can ask questions of in dealing with the technical side of blogging.
Patricia – Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworkers last blog post..Blame And Resentment Are Toxic Emotions
Hi Patricia,
Those are easy mistakes to make when we are still trying to learn computer/blogging language. Fortunately there are many wonderful, helpful people in blogosphere who will gently lead us in the right direction.
I’ve published posts “early”, because, like you, I hit the wrong button. It’s actually quite easy to do.
Hi Linda Abbit,
Welcome to the BWAB community.
Oh my gosh, I just clicked over to your blog. I love it. You’re writing on a subject near and dear to my heart, and your blog looks beautiful.
I’m so happy you decided to go public with all of us here. You’ll make an excellent addition to this community of fellow bloggers. Please don’t be a stranger. Check out the blogs of the other readers and begin the wonderful journey of connecting with many like minded people.
By the way, this is the shallow end. 🙂
Again, welcome!
Hi Ann,
You’re actually in a good position with that “I know so little that I don’t even know what I don’t know!!” Sometimes it’s better to learn it as it happens. If I start reading too much, it just gets overwhelming and I shutter to think what all is left to learn.
Take it at a pace you feel comfortable with and in time it will all fall in place.
Hi,
My biggest mistake is being afraid to “go public.” Still want to add more content and resources, “fix” my Feedburner email setup, learn how to post photos, connect my feeds to an Aweber list (that can be done, yes?), get analytics set up, etc., etc., etc.
OK, I’m not going to make that mistake any more.
I’m here! I’m open! Welcome! Let my new blogging world begin – she says with terror in her voice 😉
Thanks for the push into the deep end, Barbara!
Cheers,
Linda
I don’t know that I’ve made mistakes exactly, I just know I have lot to learn!
I “got it” about commenting elsewhere right away, but I still don’t get Twitter or the other social networking sites, and I’m still trying to work up the oomph to move to a self-hosted blog . . .
I’ve done one guest post, and I’d like to join a carnival, but I can’t seem to figure that out either.
As for the tech stuff, I know so little that I don’t even know what I don’t know!!
Ann at One Bag Nations last blog post..The Basement Report: It’s Working!
Hi Linda,
You’re welcome. I’m happy to hear we’ll be seeing more of you.
Thanks so much for the warm welcome & compliments, Barbara. I am happy to join this wonderful community.
Ann, I’m with you in terms of not even knowing what I don’t know, especially when it comes to the tech-ie stuff!
Will be reading & writing more soon, both here and on my blog. It IS really exciting to know I’m doing this for REAL now.
Linda Abbits last blog post..When Your Aging Parent is Hospitalized – Part 2
I think it is incredibly hard to strike the balance between researching and actually doing. I have probably spent way too much time researching what recipes would be popular instead of just adding content. On the other hand, I have come across some things, especially with regards to SEO, that I am glad I waited before I took the plunge with certain SEO ideas.
Louises last blog post..Summer Solstice Strawberries with Grilled Shrimp Salad
@Barbara: thank you for the welcome.
@Louise: I agree. Sometimes it feels as if net is a maze. I get lost trying to find out what all I need to do.
I have been reading since last three months about blogging. My list of things to do and learn has grown so much that at times I get paralysed just thinking about what topic to learn or take action on.
Avani-Mehtas last blog post..Increase Focus and Concentration Levels Through Focussed Meditation
Hi Louise,
Welcome to the BWAB community,
Finding that balance can be difficult, and usually isn’t something that happens overnight. The longer we blog, the more we learn and our priorities often change
I checked out your site. The recipes look delicious. I’ll have to come by later and find one to make.
Barbara –
Your points are valid. However, Tina Su is a big success in blogging. She has over 5000 subscribers in just 6 months of blogging. She seldom comments on any blogs. I’ve seen her commenting few times on Zenhabits. She is big on social media. So, my question is (pointer for your next blog topic) Is social media more effective than leaving comments on other blogs? I’d love to know what others think.
Shilpan | successsoul.coms last blog post..How to Rejuvenate a Relationship
Hi Shilpan,
I’ve been on Tina Su’s site, and it’s a great blog on living life simply and finding clarity. She definitely rose to stardom quickly in the blogging world and by looking at her site you do see her articles get Dugg (and probably Stumbled) a lot.
Is using social media or commenting more powerful? I think it depends on what you want to get out of your blog.
I will add this subject to my list for future posts, and we’ll see what others have to say. Thanks for the idea!
The more I learn about SEO, the more I realize the mistakes I’ve made across my blogs.
The single biggest mistake I think I made with my BookShare blog is the domain name (everybody tells me it sucks and it doesn’t reflect what’s inside.)
J.D. Meiers last blog post..Develop Disagreement Rather Than Consensus
Hi J.D.
For anyone who isn’t/wasn’t familiar with SEO probably make/made the same mistakes. There’s a lot to learn about optimizing our sites.
I’m surprised you’re getting that response on the name of your Book Share blog. To me, it identifies what you’re blog is all about…you share what you’ve learned from reading books.
Great Post at first.
the biggest mistake i made was to automate all content entries ( via rss). Now i started a new blog with unique and 100% user generated content.
Hope it works
Regards
Andreas
nfos last blog post..Lastenverteilung mit MySQL und SQLrelay
It would feel wrong to not leave a comment. But I was thinking about that before I got to your number one mistake. I’ve definitely been looking around for blogs of people who share my interests and happening across yours validated that sometimes futile-seeming wandering.
hii barbara..
this is actually the first time me commenting on this blog..I feel urged to do so after reading your post…I agree with you on all counts. Tina’s case is very much an exception.. and probably very much down to her expertise on social media..She might be just starting on blogging but may be a seasoned expert on social media.. having the right social media network and friends can help a lot..
Hello All,
Hmm, my biggest mistake(s)? I’m still busy making them, but I will definitely make an announcement when the book comes out 😀
In all truth, I think I picked the wrong host for a web site, but will see it through for the rest of the year, as that is what the budget allows for now.
Great post; great comments.