Despite having been blogging for over 2 years, which in actual fact, isn’t that long at all, I still make mistakes. A lot of mistakes. Blogging is a huge thing and there is always, always more to learn.
However, since the days of not having a clue what I was doing and the lack of knowledge of all that blogging has to offer, I have learnt a lot along the way from other blogs, other bloggers and just gaining general experience in the big, wide world of blogging.
When I started blogging, I literally had no idea what I was doing. Like seriously, you’d be shocked at how little I knew so I’d like to share some of the mistakes I made in the first couple of months.
I was extremely naïve about followers
Despite having no idea where followers actually came from, I somehow thought they just found you and that was that. You did minimum work for maximum results and your followers just grew and grew until you had hundreds. WRONG. Oh how so very wrong I was. Followers do not appear out of nowhere. They don’t increase rapidly day after day and you won’t have hundreds over night.
I didn’t use publicise
It took me a good 6 months, maybe even more to understand what publicise was on WordPress (I’m sure Blogger has the same concept but I wouldn’t know) and how to use is. Basically, as most of you more competent people will know, it’s linking up your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other accounts to your WordPress account so it automatically posts your new blog links on these sites when they’re live. And I was confused as to why no-one was finding my blog…
I wasn’t sharing my posts enough
Publicise aside, even manually sharing your links I was oblivious to as well. I didn’t share them nearly enough – if fact, thinking back now, I’m wondering whether I even shared them at all?! I know there’s a fine line between sharing your posts effectively and simply spamming everyone with your link but don’t be afraid to promote yourself a little bit!
I didn’t reach out to other bloggers enough
Partly because I was new and shy and partly was because I didn’t know how. I didn’t use Twitter very much and would sometimes go days without tweeting about anything so it took me a while to find, get to know and become friends with other bloggers through it. Now I have, I couldn’t be happier! If you’re a new blogger, please, please, please don’t be scared to talk to other bloggers!
I didn’t get involved enough
Even when I had met some other bloggers, mostly those that blogged about books at the time, I still didn’t really get in on the action and get involved in enough to make myself known. It wasn’t until I emailed author Janice Horton about becoming an associate book reviewer for the online magazine she helps manage did I realise that it wasn’t so scary and that there are some great opportunities out there!
I didn’t find a healthy balance
It’s taken me this long to establish a blogging routine that I’m happy with. Firstly, I didn’t post enough and then I posted too much and sent myself into a frenzy. Either way, I didn’t find a healthy life:blogging balance for a very long time and it had an extremely negative impact. I was so caught up in having to blog every day and doing what everyone else was doing that I made myself so unhappy I went on a 6 month blogging break!
Thank you so much for this post! I just started blogging less than a week ago and so grateful for this post! I’m a naturally shy person when I don’t know someone. But this has really helped me a lot! 🙂
Hi, Jenny! I love your blog, yours and teenswrite2teens.wordpress.com are probably the two blogs I look at, comment on, and read a lot. You’re a great blogger, and I really liked this post. I know that there are certain websites for photo editing for free, but are there any in particular you could recommend to me?
Thank you!
-Hannah
Hi Hannah, thank you so much what a lovely comment! PicMonkey is the only one I know of (: xx
Oh. Okay! Thank you! 🙂 By the way, your blog is one of the best ones I’ve ever seen on here. Any tips for creating a posting schedule? I know you mentioned you had one in one of your posts…. 😀
Thank you,
-Hannah
I DO ALL OF THESE THINGS!!!!!! Every single point I read, I was thinking ‘that’s me’ ‘Yep that’s me’ ‘definitely me’ haha Thanks for the advice and encouragement girl! This was a great read xx
Hi, thanks for this post. I am a relatively newbie blogger. At the moment I don’t earn any money from my blog and I suspect this will be difficult anyway because I blog anonymously. I am making most of the mistakes that you are making. I don’t think I am blogging enough, I am certainly not sharing enough and I don’t think I am reaching out to other bloggers enough either. How much is enough though? I don’t know what is the ideal. With a full time job to occupy me during the day and my blog for the evenings I spend very little time doing house work! Thank you.
Hi! Thanks for following, I’m glad you found the post helpful. It’s so hard being a new blogger; I was the same. I didn’t know what I was doing or whether what I was doing was right. You’ve gotta go with the flow and find out what works for you. You don’t have to post the same amount as everyone else; I found that out the hard way! I admire you for finding the time to blog with a full-time job too! xx
[…] while ago, I wrote a blog post about mistakes I made when I started blogging. One point I mentioned was that I didn’t share my blog posts and links and when I did, I […]
Your story sounds so familiar! I was like that for over two years. Shy, keeping to myself. To be honest I did try commenting on someone else’s blog once but they never replied… So I stuck to myself! I had no comments and no followers for over two years but I DID has viewers. Not many, but they where there. Since April that’s all changed, I still don’t have many followers and I now share my posts on social networks like you. It took a long time but I’m getting there! Lol.
Thank you for sharing this post 😀 it’s nice to know I’m not the only one lol.
Amy x
Aww you’re welcome but you’re definitely not the only one! I always reply to all my comments for that very reason – I’d hate a new blogger to be trying to put themselves out there and not getting any interaction back. Plus it’s polite! I’m glad things are changing and you’re sharing your posts now! 🙂 xx
Yeah me too 🙂 I know what you mean though, I reply to every post on my blog now just in case 🙂 I think I’ve even managed to help a few people who are new to book blogging too! So that’s a bit of a relief lol x
I made every single one of these mistakes as well. I have been blogging for 2.5 years now and the 1 till 1.5 years I wasn’t really blogging efficiently and made lots of mistakes. I didn’t promote my posts enough and when I did I just put my links out there and hoped the people would come to me. I harldy ever commented or visited other blogs.
I had some luck with my blog as the first day I started it I got a lot of followers as I knew some peeps already from my previous blog where I was a co-blogger, but after that the followers just stopped growing and I never realized there were things like commenting on other blogs you had to do as my co-blogger never did that or didn’t mention it to me. So I was just waiting for the followers to come and they didn’t. I also had a hard time finding the right balance and a schedule that worked for me. Great post!
Lots of these points are so important, especially the promoting yourself and getting involved in the community. There’s a level of need when it comes to promotion and social media, and you need to get yourself out there, seen and heard, or else, where are you expecting your blog to go. The biggest lesson is that we are our own advertising company and we need to do a big job. Make friends, get contacts, promote and market well, and everything else comes together. This is such a good post Jenny, I’ll definitely be linking it in my link-up next month! 🙂
I completely agree with everything you say here! You talk a LOT of sense! 🙂 I completely agree – it’s a hard market but you really do need to get yourself out there, nobody is going to do it for you and the extent you do, with determine how well your blog does to an extent I think. You can’t expect loads of followers if you post your blog link on Twitter once a day and don’t interact with anyone right? There’s also definitely right and wrong ways to go about advertising your own blog – i.e not shoving it down people’s throats! Thank you for your fantastic comment! 🙂 xx
[…] Mistakes I Made When I Started Blogging […]
At the moment I’m struggling with keeping myself involved with other book bloggers – especially on Twitter – but aim trying!
There are a lot of us to keep up with, I admit! It’ll get easier! (:
Phew, finally some tips for me!! This post was really helpful, thank you! It’s good to know I’m not the only out there wondering what I’m doing wrong!!
I’m glad you found it helpful! Don’t worry, none of us really know what we’re doing 😉
Thanks for the post! Found this one really helpful since I’m a newbie. Hope I make it as far as you! Congrats on 900 followers btw x
Thanks for your knowledge on blogging. I just been blogging for two months and this post is really helpful 🙂
I’m really glad you found it helpful! (: xx
That was a great and helpful post!
I have been blogging for about half a year and I’m struggling with the life/blogging balance.
Sometimes I don’t post for weeks, sometimes I post several times a day. Do you think you could make a blog post about how you found your life/blogging balance?
I’m so glad you liked it and found it helpful (: I think that’s something we all struggle with and it takes time to get it right in a way that suits you – because it’s your blog at the end of the day. I’ll try and get some notes together on the topic and see if I can get a blog post together about it! xx
If you can, I would hug you virtually and be thankful for it! 😀
If I don’t and you’d like some advice on the topic, you’re welcome to drop me an email!
Thank you so much! xx
Do you follow me on Twitter? I’m at @jennymarston_xo give me a follow and I’ll message you my email address (:
I just did @lookitsrita
Thanks again! 🙂
Just followed (:
Thanks for sharing all of these, they’re very relevant. It’s difficult to know if what you’re doing for your blog is enough or too much, but you’ve given some great advice. I always expected people to just find my blog, though how I don’t know! It’s clear now just how much work you have to put in.
You’re welcome, I’m glad you liked the post. I agree, but I think it’s your blog so it’s entirely up to you have often you want to post! I was the same, I thought people just found it out of thin air hahaha!
Thanks so much for posting this, it’s full of good advice and lovely of you to share and help fellow bloggers. I’ve only been blogging for a few months but I set up a Facebook page for my blog and linked to Twitter etc and it seems to be generating a little interest. I started out with the intention of just posting book reviews but now I think the time has come to inject a little of me and my thoughts and personality into it. Do you have any advice on the best way to do this without being too in your face? lol
I don’t think doing that is in your face at all anyway. It’s YOUR blog, it should have YOUR thoughts, ideas and personality in it – otherwise all blogs would be the same right? A bit of variety in blog posts is always great, so maybe some other book type posts that aren’t reviews to start off? xx
Great post! I was the same I wasn’t social enough, I was shy and worried that nobody would take me seriously but now I am following and enjoying commenting on some amazing blogs!
Hahahaha and that’s awesome Heather! I was shy too at first, it’s hard not to feel like a new kid in class with no friends haha! xx
Fantastic post. I am still quite new to blogging and found this so helpful. Thank you 🙂
You’re welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful! (: xx
Thanks for posting this up! I’m a new blogger and advice like yours is extremely useful. I’m still trying out some stuff and seeing what works for me, not sure if two reviews a week is doable, but so far I’m OK heh. Hope to keep seeing more of your blogging series 😀
Thank you, I’m so glad you found it useful! 2 reviews a week is totally doable! (: I already have lots of blogging series posts up, hopefully there should be more! xx
Even as a non-newbie blogger (blogging over a year means that I’m no longer a newbie right?) most of this list still rings true for me.
I still find it ridiculously hard to interact with other bloggers on social media 🙁
But this is great advice for anyone 🙂 x
I would consider over a year no longer a “new blogger” (:
Just go for it! We don’t bite (: Share a blog post from someone else that you liked reading? Retweet others, just chat to people! We’re all in the same boat! xx
Thanks Jenny 🙂 trying in small steps, and have set myself goals to aim for xx
I probably still do all of these! I struggle a lot when it comes to sharing, I just have no idea what to do/where to do it/and at what frequency. I hope I’ll figure it out someday, I guide on how to successfully share your posts would be pretty helpful.
It is tricky to get the right balance between sharing enough that it doesn’t become spamming. Twitter is usually a fantastic option. Share blog posts – anything and intervals throughout the day so then it gets broadcasted to people all over the world in different time zones (: I’ll have a think about that post and if I write it, I’ll let you know! xx
I’m a newbie blogger (6 months) and I appreciate this post! After a few months I finally figured out about linking up on Twitter, and that can make such a difference. Good tips here! Thanks.
You’re welcome, I’m glad you found it helpful! Linking to Twitter is awesome, I agree (: xx
Pretty sure I made every single one of those mistakes too! I’m forever making mistakes, but I think that’s all part and parcel of being a blogger – you never grow unless you have something to learn from!
I completely, 100% agree! Always learning something new with blogging is what makes it so exciting! (: xx
Such a helpful post, love getting to learn from veteran bloggers 💘💘
So glad you found it helpful! And WOW! I’ve never been called that before <3 xx
I’m just starting out and I really appreciate this post. It’s really hard to find time to devote to blogging everyday so I normally end up stressing at the end of the week to post things and that’s no fun. HAHA. By the way I love your images on the website, how do you edit them? Do you use a website or a program?
You’re welcome I’m really glad you found it helpful. Don’t stress! You don’t have to blog ever single day, just enjoy it! (: I take the photos myself then edit them online; you can find great free editing websites online without having to pay out loads for photoshop or anything. Have a look around on Google (: xx
As a new blogger this helps so much! I find finding a balance for posting hard and have also never heard of the publicising option
-xxx-
I’m glad it helps! Balancing blog and life is really difficult, I agree! When you write a post, the publicise options should be near the “Publish” blue button – it allows you to connect your Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn to your blog (: xx
Thank you so much!
I love this. As I just started this year, this post is definitely going to help push me in the right directions! Thank you so much and your blog is honestly fantastic! xoxo
I didn’t realise you’d only started this year! It seems longer (: You’re very welcome and thank you SO MUCH! xxx
Oh thank you, that means a lot. 😀
And you’re welcome too!!! xoxo
I’m newbie to this blogging community and I totally agree on this! haha most especially when reaching out to other bloggers like talking on them in twitter. its just that you wanna start a conversation with them but you don’t know how to start it. 🙂
Definitely agree with these! It took ages for me to find a good balance between blogging and life, I always wanted to post more but settling on 3 a week is working very well for me! x
Jasmin Charlotte
Me too! I still struggle a little bit but now I’m more focused on just being happy with blogging and enjoying it. I think 3 times a week is a really nice amount. I used to post every day and drove myself mad! Now I’m aiming for twice a week (: xx
Fantastic post, as ever! I’ve personally learnt a lot from your blogging tips – so, I know this will help a lot of people. Have a lovely day xxx
Thank you so much lovely, that’s really nice to hear! (: you too! xxxx
I can especially relate with the last point of your little list. Establishing a decent blogging routine was something I struggled with a lot and still do sometimes. However, what helped me a lot with this was to start an editorial calendar in which I plan & schedule a few weeks in advance. I also try to write my posts up at least one week ahead and I realised that this is crucial to the quality of my writing. When I’m writing a post knowing it has to go up on that same day, I stress myself too much, don’t proofread properly and take a few crappy photos. If I’m ahead of time, however, I can take more time and do everything more carefully 🙂
xx Carina
I definitely think quality over quantity is important! I’m the same too, I never post a blog post on the day I’ve written it! I’ll usually schedule it for later in the week (: it’s just easier that way! Although I don’t have strict blog schedule anymore but scheduling posts is extremely handy (: xxx
Thank for the post Jenny! It was really helpful for the newbie blogger like us. 🙂
You’re very welcome, I’m glad you found it helpful! (: xx
Your whole blogging series is incredible helpful for newbie like me.
I’m so so so glad, that was the aim! (: xx
Haha I made the exact same mistakes! 😂
Woops (; live and learn! xx
Still struggling a little, but not as bad as I was!
I think we all still struggle sometimes! I know I do! (: xx
Thanks Jenny, that’s a really helpful post. I’ve been blogging for just over a year and only just set up a facebook account!!! Now I just need to make it more known. I think the most important factor you wrote was a life / blog balance.
Great post,
Amanda.
I thought that was you I spotted on Facebook! I’ll give you an add when I’m next on (: I only have a blog ‘fan page’ rather than a blog account – I just use my personal account now which has mostly blog people on it anyway! (: A blog/life balance is so important! xx
Thanks, that would be great. I’m on my summer holidays at the moment. (perks of working in a school), so have lots more time to blog. But I have to limit it during work time. I’m loving the break now though to blog, read and relax. xx
Loving your blog posts at the moment Jenny! Feel like I’m stalking you slightly lo! Hope you don’t mind xxx
Hahaha, of course I don’t mind! I’m really pleased you’re liking it! (: xx
Great post Jenny! It’s really kind of you to share your knowledge and experience. Thank-you!
Thank you (: I’m really glad you found it helpful! xx
As a relatively newbie in blogging, I’m grateful for this post you made. 😀
Aw, you’re very welcome. I’m glad you found it helpful (: xx