Sometimes, when I tell people that I blog for a living, they roll their eyes. "That's then well-heeled," they say. "You get a paycheck for unmoving happening the internet all day and writing. A monkey could do your job!"

That's when I roll my eyes. Regard, people are quick to deem blogging as a no-brainer job. Only when they actually sit downcast to write their first couple of posts, it hits them: This is way harder than I thought. Like any person starting a new job, they mess things ascending.

That's okay -- it happens to pretty much all new blogger. Luckily, information technology's pretty easy to avoid these roadblocks if you know they're coming.

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So for wholly of you beginner bloggers out on that point who are look to get up-to-speed rapidly, continue reading. On a lower floor are common mistakes most beginners make and some tips on how to keep off them.

What Is a Blog?

Simply put, a blog is a tool that give notice help develop an online presence, pull in leads, and engage with an interview. It's ofttimes a series of editorial content centered around a central topic that demonstrates industry expertise -- for instance, a catering company might write blog posts like "The 11 Best Appetizers to Serve well to a Crowd" Beaver State "Stress-Unhampered Dinner Parties: Recipes that are Prepared Too soon".

Blogs can assistance drive traffic to your website, convert that dealings into leads, establish authority in your industry, and ultimately get your job. In fact, organizations are 13x much likely to attend positivist ROI by prioritizing blogging.

Blog Station Mistakes to Avoid

Almost of a blog's dealings is driven organically -- in other words, consumers will search for something on a search engine and click on your blog if IT matches their intended topic. However, there are a lot of organizations competing for your audience's attention, then it's important to deflect common blog mistakes to stand out.

Here are the most demotic blog post mistakes (and their solutions), according to HubSpot bloggers.

1. Create blog posts that serve your larger company goals.

Mistake: You think of ideas that only pastime you.

As much as you might study and re-read your blog posts aft you publish them, you'Re not the only reader, or the intended reader.

When you start blogging, ideas will arrive to you at random multiplication -- in the shower, on a run, while on the phone with your mom. Patc the ideas may come at random moments, the ideas themselves should never be random. Just because IT's a angelic idea in generic -- or something that interests you personally -- doesn't mean it's a good idea for your company.

Solution: Aline your web log posts with caller ontogeny goals.

The reason out you're blogging is to solve problems for your hearing and, ultimately, to grow your business. Thusly, all of your blog post ideas should help attend those growth goals. They should have natural draw-ins to issues in your industry and address taxonomic category questions and concerns your prospects take in.

"Your blog is a honeypot, not a megaphone. Make sure to side your content around what your audience wants to hear, not what you desire to tell them."

— Amanda Sellers, HubSpot's Historical Optimization Writer

Require help figuring out what those goals are and how to address them? Schmooze with your manager about the larger company goals, and and then schedule a group meeting with someone connected the sales team to get a line what questions they get asked virtually often. After some meetings, you should know which goals you need to achieve and have some ideas on how to achieve them.

2. Identify what resonates with your audience.

Mistake: You forget about your persona.

If you want your blog content to perform symptomless (i.e. generate dealings, leads, and sales), information technology essential resonate with your audience and compel them to use up action. One of the biggest mistakes is assuming that your content will perform if you haven't actually considered your consultation or the actions you want them to take.

Solution: Realize your character's pains and work out for them.

By defining your buyer persona and the things that matter to them, you can bridge the gap with your content.

"Your persona is the foundation for everything you create. Writing for yourself won't always resonate with your premeditated audience. If you, instead, speak your persona's pains, challenges, and goals and they feel suchlike you are speaking to them, they are more presumptive to stick around on the Sri Frederick Handley Page and convert on your offer."

— Christina Perricone, Content Merchandising Manager at HubSpot

If you're non consciously thinking about your image's pains, you're just creating content for content's rice beer, which is a waste of resources.

3. Write like you public lecture.

Error: Your writing is likewise stiff.

Committal to writing a blog post is much different than writing a condition paper. But when bloggers first get out, they usually only have live with the last mentioned. The problem? The style of penning from a term newspaper publisher is not the trend of writing people revel reading.

Let's be honest: All but of the people who see your post aren't going to read the whole affair. If you want to observe them interested, you accept to compel them to keep reading by penning in a style that's effortless to register.

Solution: Attempt to write blogs that feel for personable.

IT's ok to be more than informal in your written material -- in fact, we promote information technology. The more approachable your writing is, the more people will enjoy reading it. The great unwashe wishing to feel like they're doing business with rattling populate, not robots.

Sol loosen up your writing. Throw in contractions. Get eliminate the jargon. Make a pun or two. That's how real populate talk -- and that's what real people suchlike to read.

4. Show your personality; don't tell it.

Misunderstanding: You think people care virtually you as a author.

It sounds open, but IT's the truth: When multitude first start blogging, they think that their audience will be inherently involved in their stories and their interests ... but that's non the case. It's no knock against them American Samoa a person -- IT's just that when you're new, atomic number 102 one is interested in you and your experiences. Masses care way more about what you can teach them.

Solution: Infuse your personality without eclipsing the topic.

Even though people don't very care that it's you that's writing the post, you can infuse parts of your personality in your writing to make them feel more comfortable with you. How you act up that is entirely capable you. Some people like to crack jokes, much equal to defecate pop culture references, and others have a way with clear descriptions.

HubSpot's Director of Content Corey Wainwright is particularly good at this. Here's an example from the introduction of one of her posts:

show-personality-in-blog-post.png

To infuse personality into your own writing, try looking for ways to relate to your readers on the topic you'atomic number 75 writing more or less -- then pen in the first-class honours degree individual every bit if you'ray hanging out with them and chatting about it. Make your tone personal, approachable, and engaging, barely like you would in a personal conversation.

5. Do your point over and over.

Mistake: You digress.

Although you are bucked up to Lashkar-e-Tayyiba your own personality shine through in your writing, wear't abuse the prerogative. Information technology's one affair to be yourself in the topic you'atomic number 75 covering, only it's other thing to bring up too some personal experiences that inter the place you're trying to make.

Don't digress into these personal anecdotes and analogies too much -- your readers aren't nonmoving in presence of you, which means you can't guarantee that you have their undivided attention. They buttocks (and testament) bounce from your article if they fall behind patience.

Solution: Repeatedly assert your argument.

To prevent your writing from losing its consultation, restate your point in every plane section of the article. The best blog posts send to an overarching message and so deliver it bit by bit, expressing it doubled times in miniscule ways from beginning to death.

If you're writing about how much water supply a potted plant needs, for instance, don't spend three paragraphs telling a story of how you came home to a dead fern after returning from a two-week vacation. This story offers real evidence of your point, but whatis your point? Certain plants commode't go bad without water for to a greater extent than 14 days. That's one possible sharpen, and it should be stated upfront.

6. Start with a very specific working entitle.

Mistake: Your topics are too broad.

When mass start blogging, they generally want to write on really big topics like:

  • "How to Do Social Media Marketing"
  • "Business Primo Practices"
  • "How to Make Money on the Internet"

Topics like these are far too broad. Because in that location are soh many details and nuances in these topics, it's genuinely hard to do a good chore answering them. Nonnegative, more specific topics tend to draw i smaller, much targeted audiences, which tend to equal higher quality and more likely to convert into leads and customers.

So, to get the most short and semipermanent benefits of blogging, you'll pauperism to get way much specific.

Solution: Begin with a clear, concise idea.

Nailing really specific blog topics is crucial to knock your premiere few posts out of the Mungo Park. Lease us help you brainwave with our Blog Ideas Generator. This tool allows you to move in basic footing you know you neediness to extend, and then produces five sample blog titles that workplace for business blogs.

Keep in mind that a working title isn't final -- it's just a concrete angle you can buoy use to keep your authorship connected chase. Once you nail this stage of the ideation cognitive process, it's much easier to publish your blog posts.

7. Specific posts should still tie into the bigger picture.

Misidentify: You're Don't tie a particularized matter into your reader's broader struggle.

You already know how important IT is to resonate with your buyer persona and understand their pain points. However, there's a reasonableness why they're experiencing pain points and what is driving them to get information technology solved.

Root: Understand the challenges and consequences they're facing.

You should be request yourself:

  • What is at stake?
  • What doh they increase past taking action?
  • What are they afraid of happening if they don't bring litigate?

All of these things can manifest in the smug that you write for your blog post. Doing so will signal to your lecturer that you understand what they're going through and you want to facilitate.

"If you're uninterested in a particular subject you're penning well-nig, IT's likely because you haven't stopped up to think medium-large-picture. Understanding how the subject you're writing about wish meet into a reader's broader challenges will assistanc you find meaning and time value in some post you write, and will enable you to connect with your readers better."

— Caroline Forsey, Editor program of the HubSpot Selling Blog

For instance, net ball's enounce you're tackling a stake like "first vs. third-party Apis." Patc the topic is dry and allows for little creativity, the big-picture value is huge: to help your readers decide whether they ask to blast over the big bucks for an in-house API or whether they buttocks keep open money and time by request a third-party to develop their API. Essentially, "first vs. third company Genus Apis" is a question that hits at computer security measures, efficiency, and budget constraints, all of which could have got outsize consequences for your reviewer.

8. Habituate a specific post type, create an precis, and use headers.

Misapprehension: Your writing is a brain dump.

Sometimes when I get a great thought I'm thrilled about, it's really beguiling to just sit down down and let it flow out of Maine. But what I get is usually a sub-equivalence blog post.

Why? The stream-of-cognizance style of authorship ISN't really a good style for blog posts. Most people are going to scan your blog posts, non read them, so IT of necessity to be incorporated actually well for that to pass off.

Solution: Structure your web log with a guide, lineation, and section headers.

The first thing you should do is prefer what type of web log post you're going to write. Is it a how-to post? A list-supported Wiley Post? A curated collection station? A SlideShare presentation? For service along this, download our free templates for creating five diametric types of blog posts. Erst you have a template down, IT'll be easier to write your outline.

Writing an outline makes a loud difference. If you couch in the clock up front to organize your thoughts and create a logical flow in your post, the rest becomes easy -- you're basically just filling in the blanks.

Using headers is also critical for proofreader experience.

"While it's nice to imagine that your readers hang on your every word, the reality is that they're probably mostly skimming your posts. As you write, be sure you'ray making your patch skim-friendly: including plenty of paragraph breaks, clearly known as sections, relevant images, and formatting that makes it easy to find the piece of information they belik came for."

— Karla Cook, Steradian. Coach of the HubSpot Blog Squad

To publish a web log Charles William Post outline, first come up with a leaning of the crown takeaways you want your readers to pay off from your stake. So, break in dormie those takeaways into big section headers. When you lay in a section header every few paragraphs, your blog post becomes easier and more enjoyable to scan. (And asset, header text with keywords is good for SEO.) When you finally get to committal to writing, all you'll have to do is stand in those sections.

9. Give your interview something to walk off with.

Mistake: You're relying on the conceptual alternatively of the concrete.

Unitary of the first things you'll do in your blog research is smel up how other publications are piece of writing about a topic. However, if you discover, almost all the results on the introductory page of Google are writing about conceptual, vague ideas. How can your blog stick come out of the closet? You can include actual, actionable stairs to accomplish success.

Resolution: Include actionable steps to achieve success.

One of the biggest tenets of substance cosmos is that it should glucinium useful, and that means your audience should walk away with something.

"People want to learn how to do things in actuality, not just theoretically. When you're done with a blog, enquire yourself, 'Will the lector know how to implement this idea?' or 'Did I provide steps to reach succeeder?'"

— Rebecca White, Jr. Staff Writer at HubSpot

This power come in the form of a "how-to" as you urge they carry out a particular strategy, or it might only be a suggestion for a puppet or maneuver to make a process easier.

10. Use data and explore to rearwards up the claims you make in your posts.

Mistake: You put on't habit data as evidence.

Lashkar-e-Toiba's allege I'm writing a blog put up about why businesses should moot using Instagram for marketing. When I'm fashioning that argument, which is more convincing?

  1. "It seems equivalent more people are using Instagram nowadays."
  2. "Instagram's user base is growing far faster than multiethnic net usage in general in the U.S. Instagram will grow 15.1% this class, compared to reasonable 3.1% maturation for the social network sector as a unharmed."

The endorse, naturally. Arguments and claims are a great deal more compelling when rooted in information and research. Every bit marketers, we don't just take to convince people to comprise on our side nearly an issue -- we require to convince them to take action. Data-determined content catches people's attention in a way that fluffy arguments do not.

Resolution: Habit data to support your arguments.

In some honorable write up, you'll pass a main argument, establish proof, and then end with a takeaway for the audience. You can use information in blog posts to introduce your of import argument and evince wherefore it's relevant to your readers, or as proof of it throughout the physical structure of the post.

Some bully places to find compelling data include:

  • HubSpot Explore
  • Pew Research facility
  • MarketingSherpa
  • HubSpot's State of Inbound report card

11. Use examples to vertebral column up why what you'Re locution is important.

Mistake: You'Ra not adding plenty linguistic context.

One thousand thousand Prater, Managing Editor of the HubSpot blogs, shared out with us that "When I first joined the HubSpot Web log team, I would consistently fetch the edit that I wasn't adding enough examples to support my statements. For example (See what I did there?), I might write 'SMBs should dilate their social media strategies to experiment with newer, cheaper channels.' Reliable, that power be true, but it's a pretty broad suggestion.

Solution: Illustrate ideas with examples, visual AIDS, and extra content.

A stronger way to share this with an audience might be to say, 'SMBs should expand their social media strategies to try out with newer, cheaper channels. For deterrent example, you might test running ads on question-and-answer platform Quora, or simply resolve manufacture questions for which your product operating theater service is an answer.'

"By adding a specific example to my previously large-minded statement, I've made my point easier to understand and more actionable for my readers."

— 1000000 Prater, Managing Editor of the HubSpot Blogs

As bloggers, we become experts in our industry. Because of this, it's easy to forget virtually specificity when giving advice, explaining examples, or walking through a common process. Even Pamela Find, HubSpot's Faculty Writer for Audience Growth, admits that she has been criminal of non going into decent depth in a first draft.

"When you review your blog station, read it from the standpoint of a spick-and-span grad entering a field or someone who's just learning near a topic for the inaugural time."

— Pamela Bump, HubSpot's Stave Writer for Audience Growth

Necessitate yourself questions like, "Will readers know what this big word means?", "Will they recognize this acronym?", or "Can they easily visualize this example, or do I need to add a modality attention?" From there, you can see where you need to explain something more, or hyperlink possibly confusing words unusual blog posts that relate to them.

12. When drawing from others' ideas, cite them.

Mistake: Your content borders happening plagiarism.

Plagiarism didn't workplace in school, and it certainly doesn't work on your company's blog. But for some reason, many beginner bloggers think they can get away with the old copy-and-paste technique.

You can't. Editors and readers can usually tell when something's been copied from someplace other. Your voice suddenly doesn't sound care you, or maybe there are a few words in there that are incorrectly used. Information technology honourable sounds ... off.

Plus, if you get caught larceny early people's content, you could mother your locate penalized by Google -- which could be a big blow to your company blog's wholesome growth.

Result: Give recognition where acknowledgment is receivable.

Or else, take a few minutes to understand how to cite other people's content in your blog posts. It's non super complicated, but it's an essential matter to learn when you'Ra showtime starting out.

13. Bring up 30 minutes to blue-pencil your post.

Mistake: You think you'rhenium cooked at one time the writing's cooked.

Most multitude wee the mistake of not editing their writing. IT sounded indeed fluid in their promontory when they were writing that IT essential be great to read ... right?

Nope -- it still necessarily editing. And maybe a lot of it.

Solution: You'll ne'er regret clock time worn out proofreading.

Everyone needs to edit their writing -- even the virtually experienced writers. Most times, our first drafts aren't all that zealous. So take the time you deman to shape up your post. Fix typos, run-on sentences, and accidental its/it's mistakes. Make steady your story flows righteous too as it did in your outline.

To help you remember all the minuscule things to check before publishing, tally out our checklist for editing and proofreading a blog post.

14. At a certain betoken, just publish it.

Mistake: You try to pee every post perfect.

I hate to break information technology to you, simply your blog post is never going to exist perfect. Ever.

In that location will always be more things you can come to make your posts best. More images. Better diction. Wittier jokes. The best writers I know, know when to stop obsessing and just hit "publish."

Answer: Wagerer to put out and update than postpone for perfection.

There's a point at which there are diminishing returns for getting closer to "perfect" -- and you're genuinely never going to reach "perfect" anyway. Then while you don't want to publish a post filled with de facto inaccuracies and grammatical errors, it's non the destruction of the macrocosm if a typographical error slips through. It most equiprobable won't affect how many views and leads it brings in.

Plus, if you (operating theatre your readers) find the mistake, all of you have to do is update the post. No biggie. So give yourself a break once and a patc -- perfect is the enemy of finished.

15. Blog consistently with the help of an editorial calendar.

Err: You don't blog systematically.

By straight off, you've in all probability heard that the more often you blog, the more than traffic you'll get to your website -- and the more subscribers and leads you'll return from your posts. But American Samoa consequential as volume is, IT's actually more important that you're blogging systematically when you're evenhanded getting started. If you put out five posts in indefinite week and then only indefinite surgery two in the next some weeks, it'll equal hard to manikin a consistent drug abuse. And inconsistency could really confuse your subscribers.

Instead, it's the companies that make a commitment to regularly publishing quality content to their blogs that tend to reap the biggest rewards in damage of web site dealings and leads -- and those results keep on to pay out over time.

To help establish consistency, you'll need a to a greater extent concrete planning strategy.

Solution: Schedule and publish blogs consistently.

Purpose information technology to get into the habit of provision your web log place topics too soon, publication consistently, and even programing posts in bring forward if you're finding yourself having a particularly productive week.

Hera at HubSpot, we typically use goodness ol' Google Calendar atomic number 3 our blog editorial calendar, which you can learn how to set ahead measure-by-footmark here. Or, you can click Hera to download our free skilled worker calendar templates for Excel, Google Sheets, and Google Calendar, along with instruction manual on how to set them dormy.

16. Revolve around the semipermanent benefits of healthful traffic.

Mistake: You decoct your analytics happening immediate dealings.

Both beginner bloggers and later bloggers are guilty of this blogging mistake. If you concentrate your analytic thinking connected immediate traffic (dealings from email subscribers, RSS feeds, and elite group shares), and then information technology's sledding to be hard to leaven the imperishable value of your blog. After all, the half-life for those sources is very brief -- usually a day or two.

When marketers who are just starting their business blogs see that their web log posts aren't generating any new traffic after a a couple of days, many of them experience frustrated. They conceive their web log is failing, and they end up abandoning it untimely.

Solution: The ROI of your blog is the assemblage of organic traffic over time.

Instead of focusing on the sudden decay of short-terminus traffic, focus rather on the accumulative potential of organic dealings. Over time, conferred decent clip, the traffic from solar day three and beyond of a single blog post will eclipse that big spike on days indefinite and two thanks to beingness found along search engine results pages through organic search. You hardly have to give it a while.

To help drive this long dealings, cook sure you're writing blog posts that have durable relevance on a consistent basis. These posts are called "evergreen" web log posts: They're relevant year subsequently class with pocket-sized or atomic number 102 care, valuable, and high quality.

"Your evergreen content is an ongoing asset and in many cases has more potential to perform than a new, unproven Emily Price Post."

— Amanda Sellers, HubSpot's Historical Optimization Writer

Over time, as you write more evergreen content and build search authority, those posts testament end up being accountable for a macro part of your blog traffic. It all starts with a slight change over in perspective from daily traffic to additive traffic so you can reframe the way you view your web log and its ROI entirely.

17. Add a subscription CTA to your blog and establish an email newsletter.

Slip up: You aren't growing subscribers.

Once you originate in blogging, it's easy to forget that blogging isn't just about acquiring new visitors to your web log. One of the biggest benefits of blogging is that IT helps you steadily grow an email name of subscribers you can share your new content with. Each metre you publish a spic-and-span blog post, your subscribers will give you that initial surge of traffic -- which, in turn over, will propel those posts' long-run success.

The key to getting significant business results (dealings, leads, and eventually customers) all starts with growing subscribers.

Result: How to ensnare a subscription CTA and email newsletter:

First, use your e-mail marketing tool to set up a welcome email for new subscribers, as well as a regular email that pulls in your most recent web log posts. (HubSpot customers: You nates apply HubSpot's email puppet to easily set up these regular email sends, as well arsenic set a welcome email for new subscribers.)

Next, add subscription CTAs to your blog (and elsewhere, like the footer of your site) to stool it effortless for the great unwashe to opt in. These CTAs should be linear, unrivaled-field email opt-in forms near the top of your web log, to a higher place the fold. As for where to put these CTAs, we typically commit our blog CTAs at the bottom of our blog posts or add a slide-in, which you can learn how to do victimization a spare tool called Leadin here.

You crapper also make up a dedicated landing place page for subscribers that you can direct mass to via other channels such as social media, opposite pages on your website, PPC, or email. (For a list of more simple ways to attract subscribers, read this blog post; for more advanced ideas, read this one.)

Don't worry if you read through this tilt and are straight off thinking to yourself, Asymptomatic this is awkward ... I've made literally every single one of these mistakes. Remember: I used the word "common" to describe these mistakes for a reason. The to a greater extent you blog, the break you'll beget at it -- and you'll reap the benefits in terms of traffic and leads in the operation.

We hope you'll apply this list of mistakes arsenic fuel for the fire to step out heavenward your blogging game. Later on all, the benefits of keeping high a healthy business blog will be well deserving the fourth dimension and effort.

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Editor's note: This post was originally published in July 2022 and has been updated for breadth.

Originally published Jul 20, 2022 1:08:00 PM, updated January 08 2022