13 Amateur Blogging Mistakes To Avoid & How To Fix Them [Ep. 93]
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By Jessie Festa. This episode on beginner blogger mistakes contains affiliate links to trusted partners!
There are many amateur blogging mistakes to avoid. And, in reality, if you’re a newbie blogger, you’re probably making some of them.
But, don’t panic, as in this episode of The Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast, we’ll be going over 13 common blogging mistakes—with solutions!
By the end of this episode, you’ll understand:
- The biggest mistakes bloggers make that can hurt growth & profitability
- Steps to take to get set up legally
- Tips for creating content that increases blog traffic
- Important advice for blog monetization
- How to avoid getting overwhelmed as a blogger
- And more!
In short, if you’re looking to avoid common beginner blogging mistakes and set yourself up for success, you won’t want to miss this!
Amateur Blogging Mistakes To Avoid [Podcast Episode Audio]
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Free Travel Blogger Resource Library
To help you really avoid common blogging mistakes and jumpstart your success, I’ve added 55+ blogging resources like printables, video tutorials, and workbooks into a FREE resource library for travel bloggers.
A few that can really help you avoid common amateur blogging mistakes include a Travel Blog Business Planning Workbook and a Content Creation & Promotion Trello Board, just to name a few.
These resources are meant to help you grow your traffic, community, and income faster and with less overwhelm!
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Essential Legal Templates Bundle from Liz Stapleton. These templates will help you set up the legal side of your blog so that your blog and business are protected. You can also purchase individual legal page templates if you don’t want to bundle.
Teachable makes it easy to sell digital products like courses, memberships, coaching, and digital downloads and to set up sales funnels.
ConvertKit helps you grow, nurture, and monetize your email list. They also have features that make it easy to sell digital products and set up profitable sales funnels.
Mediavine is the full service digital advertising agency I’ve used on my own website to monetize my content with display ads since 2018.
Amateur Blogging Mistakes To Avoid [Guide]
I’m often asked if I could go back in time to when I first started my travel blog, what would I do differently?
My answer: a lot!
The truth is, blogging can be confusing. As bloggers, we wear so many hats.
We’re tasked with mastering blog branding, Search Engine Optimization, blog writing, social media, video creation, email marketing, and more—so it is quite reasonable that as new bloggers navigate all of these new endeavors they’ll make mistakes.
This is why I wanted to dedicate an entire episode to going over some of the common beginner blogging mistakes—and how to avoid them.
🎉 Also, don’t forget to grab access to my FREE Travel Blogger Resource Library. Snag access to 55+ resources all meant to help you grow your blog’s traffic, community, and income!
Amateur blogging mistake #1: Thinking that simply writing leads to income
When I first started blogging, I would write and write and write, waiting for my blog to actually make money.
I assumed that once I published a certain amount of posts, the dollars would just start rolling in.
But, that isn’t the case. The truth is, you need a profit plan for your blog if you want to monetize.
What I mean is, instead of waiting for your blog posts to make you money, you need to implement revenue streams and use your content to build them.
Maybe that means launching a digital product or selling travel itineraries and publishing posts that attract potential customers.
It could also mean implementing an affiliate marketing strategy that involves having every fourth post in your content plan be optimized for affiliate sales.
The point is, you should have revenue streams that you’re intentionally working to grow.
Amateur blogging mistake #2: Aiming for quantity over quality
Speaking of writing endlessly, in the early days of Jessie on a Journey, I was just trying to get as many blog posts as possible published.
Instead of aiming to create quality content, I was simply trying to write blog posts faster.
What a huge waste of time! Not only did this poor-quality content not rank in search results, but it also didn’t entice people to stick around, click my affiliate links, join my email list, or follow me on social media.
A much wiser strategy is to create less content that is in-depth, answers people’s questions, and offers immense value—which will, in turn, help you build an audience and crush your blogging goals.
Amateur blogging mistake #3: Not treating your blog like a business
This is one of the biggest blog mistakes newbie creators make. If you want to turn your blog into a profitable business, you need to treat it like a business—which means you should create a travel blog business plan.
This doesn’t have to be some stuffy business plan that is tedious to make. Have fun with it; channel your inner Elle Woods and have it be pink with pretty fonts, make a mind map, or have it be mainly image-based.
The goal is that you create something you’ll actually use.
For instance, I’ve tried to use digital planners, but I never end up looking at them. Instead, I’ve found that having my goals, projects, and tasks mapped out on paper with a pen is much more effective.
If you’ve never created a business plan, no worries, I’ve got a simple template you can follow in my free travel blogger resource library.
Now, the first thing to do when creating your business plan is to have a mission statement, which brings me to…
Amateur blogging mistake #4: Not having a clear mission
Having a clear blog brand and mission makes everything you do much easier.
You can use the simple template “I help [group of people] do [how you help]”.
From there, it becomes clear exactly what blog posts to write, what to post on social media, what products to create, and what brands and affiliates to work with.
It also helps keep all of your content and creations cohesive so people know exactly what to expect from you.
Bonus: It’s great for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as the more you write about a specific topic the easier it is to rank in search results for it, since Google will see you as an expert.
Amateur blogging mistake #5: Disregarding SEO
This is one of the biggest travel blogging mistakes that many creators make for too long, which leads to them needing to go back and make big edits to all of their content.
In the early days of my blog, I wrote so many blog posts without doing any SEO optimization at all.
This really slowed down my traffic growth. You work hard on your content, so to really make it worth your while, make sure you’re optimizing your website and blog posts to rank in search results—meaning they’ll continue to get seen long after you share them on social media.
I go over Search Engine Optimization in-depth in my Travel Blog Prosperity membership as there are several SEO-related courses inside.
If you’d like to check them out, just email me at jessie (at) jessieonajourney (dot) com and I’ll create a promo code for you—as long as you’re a new member—to snag a discounted trial month.
Now, one SEO tip I’ll share now is to optimize each of your blog posts for one main keyword you can rank for—and then also include supporting keywords.
To find these keywords, you’ll need to use a keyword research tool. I personally use Keysearch. Use code “jessieonajourney30” for 30% off!
Amateur blogging mistake #6: Not building backlinks
When you first start your blog, it’ll be tough to rank in search results. This is because it takes time for Google to know, like, and trust your site.
One thing that can speed up this process is building backlinks—both internal backlinks and external backlinks.
Internal backlinking is when you interlink your own posts, while building external backlinks refers to other sites linking to yours.
When it comes to internal backlinks, always be working to link your new content to your old content and vice versa.
I also recommend creating a hub page for each of your main topics that is linked in your main menu, and linking relevant content to and from these.
For instance, my solo female travel hub page links to and from my Jordan solo travel guide and my Portugal solo travel guide.
This helps you create an SEO-friendly site structure while also helping you get your blog post links closer to the homepage.
When it comes to getting external backlinks, you can use strategies like:
- guest posting on high-authority sites in your niche
- taking part in collaborative posts
Basically, you’ll work to grow your blog through collaboration! You can typically find these opportunities in niche Facebook groups, like Link Building + Guest Posts + Collabs (Travel Bloggers).
Keep in mind, it’s not just newbie bloggers who should be working to build backlinks. Make this an ongoing part of your blogging business plan.
Amateur blogging mistake #7: Having walls of text in your blog posts
The way people read books is very different from the way they read blog posts. While having large paragraphs and text-heavy pages is the norm for your paperback, it’s not for your website.
Instead, aim to create scannable content that:
- Features short paragraphs that are about 1-3 sentences each
- Has sub-headings that break up blog post sections
- Keeps accessibility guidelines in mind with colors, fonts, and spacing. For instance, at the time of recording, it’s recommended to have at least a 16px font size and 1.5 line height—though double check these as the recommendations can change. Here is an online web accessibility checker tool.
- You can also use media like photos, infographics, and video clips to help bring content to life.
Now if everything we’ve gone over so far feels a bit overwhelming then you’ll love this next one…
Amateur blogging mistake #8: Trying to be everywhere
There is a lot to learn when it comes to blogging, so don’t try to master everything at once.
I know it’s tempting to try to show up on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest—all while scrambling to actually blog; however, you won’t truly be able to do them justice when spreading yourself so thin.
A better approach is to grab your handle across all platforms so that nobody else can take it, but then choose one platform at a time to really master.
By doing this, you can really dive into the platform’s features and best practices, create a content plan, and then test and tweak your posts.
Not only will this help you see success on your platform of choice, it’ll also help you actually enjoy social media!
Amateur blogging mistake #9: Neglecting your email list
This blogging mistake goes for both growing and nurturing your email list.
In all honesty, if I could go back and do one thing differently along my blogging journey, I would have started an email list from day one—which would have also helped me monetize my blog from day one.
Unfortunately, it took me years to understand the value of an email list, meaning I missed out on years of potential list-building.
Nevertheless, today my email list is the most powerful asset in my blogging business. I make 99.9% of my product sales through my email list. It’s also one of the best places to promote affiliate links and make affiliate sales.
Plus, I love that with email I don’t need to battle changing algorithms or figure out how to create a catchy vertical video. I can just be myself in a text-based email and see great results.
It’s also worth mentioning that you actually own your email list—which is not the case for your social media channels.
If Instagram or Facebook deactivates your account or if you get hacked, you can potentially lose all those followers.
This is why social media should be used as a tool for growth, not as the place you run your entire business, which is one of the most common mistakes in blogging.
Amateur blogging mistake #10: Pitching brands without knowing what you offer
Working with brands is a popular way to monetize a travel blog.
But, here’s the thing:
While numbers aren’t everything, you need to have something you can bring to the table that the brand can’t bring themselves in order for a mutually-beneficial blogger-brand collaboration to take place.
This might be a defined audience that the brand wants to get in front, a high engagement rate on Instagram, professional photography and videography skills, or something else.
The thing is, you should be able to confidently tell a brand why they’d benefit from partnering with you before you start pitching brands, at least in my opinion.
This is important for not only sending a confident pitch and landing a campaign, but also getting results so that you get asked to work together again.
Amateur blogging mistake #11: Falling for spammy sponsored post schemes
Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten an unsolicited email that started with “Dear Webmaster” or that included the awkward “I loved your post on [POST TOPIC]”—except they forgot to actually name or link the post.
Avoid collaborating with these people—as well as anyone who asks you to do anything that goes against Google’s terms.
This means sponsored posts should be marked as sponsored, sponsored links should include a sponsored tag, and you should avoid working with shady companies that you wouldn’t want your blog to be associated with.
It may be tempting to do a quick cash grab; but, remember that your blog is your business. It’s vital to think about the long-term health of your site.
Amateur blogging mistake #12: Not having a promo plan
Just like you spend a lot of time writing your blog posts, you’ll want to spend a lot of time promoting them.
While optimizing your posts for SEO is a great first step for getting your blog posts seen, it shouldn’t be the only thing you do.
My recommendation:
Create a blog post promotion checklist that you consistently refer to—or you can grab the Content Creation & Promotion Trello Board in my free Travel Blogger Resource Library.
A few items I personally include in my blog post promotion checklist are:
- Sharing content across social media
- Creating Pinterest pins
- Linking new blog posts to and from relevant previously published blog posts
- Reaching out to brands and bloggers mentioned in the post to let them know—and asking them to share (I’ve got a template for this in my free resource library, too!)
Feel free to grab additional ideas in the Trello board, though also get creative with your promotions. If an idea comes into your head, try it.
And this brings us to the final blogging mistake on this list…
Amateur blogging mistake #13: Forgetting to set up your legal pages
There are many legal precautions to consider when starting a blog – which is another topic I go over in-depth in my Travel Blog Prosperity membership.
Right now, though, I want to make sure that, at the very least, you have your important legal pages set up on your blog and linked in your footer.
These include your:
- Privacy Policy page, which shares the different ways in which you’re collecting visitor data
- Website Terms of Use page, which are essentially the rules visitors must abide by when visiting your website
- Disclaimer page, which limits your liability if something goes wrong—such as if someone gets food poisoning at a restaurant you recommend
Also make sure your website is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-compliant—including having a way for visitors to accept or reject cookies, which you can set up with a free or inexpensive plugin.
You can also refer to this past episode on how to set up your blog legally.
Final thoughts on mistakes bloggers make
Alright, now I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope you feel inspired and empowered to avoid some of the common mistakes bloggers make.
Don’t forget to grab access to the free travel blogging resource library. There are a ton of resources in there on growing your community and increasing your blogging profits.
And of course, make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes sharing these bite-sized strategies for bloggers who want to turn their blogs into profitable full-time businesses.
Happy blogging!
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Avoid Blogging Mistakes For Beginners With These Helpful Past Episodes:
- Tips For Growing Your Blog Without SEO
- How To Do A Content Audit For More Traffic & Income
- 9 Opt-In Freebie Ideas To Grow Your Email List
- How One Woman Quit Her Job To Blog Full-Time
- 12 Quick Wins For More Blog Traffic & Income
- How To Successfully Pivot Your Blog Brand
➡️ Click here for the full Profitable Travel Blogger Podcast episode list!