Disclaimer: I think this post “5 Mistakes That Will Destroy Your Blog” accidentally got reposted. I usually update older posts on Sundays and this happens occasionally. I’m not trying to be annoying. So sorry if this ends up on your Reader after like two years lol!
Blogging Mistakes
Blogging is such a fun way to express yourself and interact with other like-minded people. A lot of people really enjoy a lot of aspects of blogging but the one thing most people I have interacted with enjoy is the social part of blogging. The WordPress community is a truly unique place on the internet because for the most part people are super friendly, enthusiastic, supportive and helpful. But it can also be easy to make mistakes that will destroy your blog when it comes to WordPress.
After blogging for a while a lot of bloggers (my phone just tried to autocorrect the word bloggers to voyagers?? 🤔) realise that growing your blog is actually pretty difficult. Having a larger platform is great because you get to interact with even more people. There are a lot more benefits of having a larger platform too especially if you would like to blog professionally or make money on your blog at any point.
I have a lot of posts you can check out about how to grow your blog. But today I decided to do something a little different. I decided to write about mistakes that will destroy your blog. Or at least really slow down your growth. I’m not trying to tell you what to blog about. Because blogging is obviously a very personal thing and you should blog about whatever you feel that you want to blog about. However, if you want to grow your blog or increase your growth I would recommend avoiding these mistakes that will destroy your blog:
Buying Followers, Likes And Comments
There are so many issues that come along with buying followers, likes and comments. In fact, when it comes to mistakes that will destroy your blog, this is the biggest one. Since we don’t have forever I will keep it short and highlight some of the main issues that are associated with buying bot likes, follows and comments.
The first issue is that everyone’s going to know. It’s often extremely obvious when people buy likes, comments and followers. Bot followers usually have no profile picture, no real posts etc. The comments are often really basic or generic. Like “nice post” or “great post” without any real reference to the post itself. The likes are often disproportionate compared to the comments and followers which is a big tell-tale for fake likes.
If you ever want to make a profit from your posts you will likely be interested in sponsored posts however the first thing sponsors do is check how many of your followers are real which is extremely easy to do. Most people have some fake followers because bots just follow sites randomly sometimes (you’ll notice some bot followers in your following too) but if the largest majority of your following is fake obviously sponsors are not going to be interested in working with you because what’s the point? You won’t direct any traffic to them since none of your traffic is real.
Another issue is again concerning making a profit from your blog because I’m assuming that if you’re buying followers it’s because you want to make money off your site. A lot of times people will sell services or products on their blog which is a great (maybe the best) way to make money online but if all your followers are fake who are you going to sell to? If you build a genuine following it may take longer but it’s worth so much more than a fake following.
Buying followers, likes and comments can be pretty expensive. Especially buying followers, however, from stuff I’ve read these followers don’t last very long because WP has been cracking down on bot accounts (they’re not doing a good job with it but they’re trying) so your followers are going to decrease as time goes buy and you will have to continue buying followers every few weeks to maintain your following. Instead, spend some money advertising on other blogs or through Google or Bing. You’ll gain genuine followers for a much cheaper amount.
The last and probably the most important reason is because if you’re buying all these things you’re probably missing the point of blogging. In my opinion at least, blogging is largely about putting your work out there and interacting with other bloggers and honestly it’s the best part of blogging. WordPress is really unique because unlike most platforms on the internet people are super supportive and kind here. People genuinely want to connect with one another and I feel like the majority of people actually use their platform how it was supposed to be used- to express oneself. If you ever want to buy followers just take some time to interact with people here instead. It will help you connect with others and grow your blog.
Spam Comments
Literally everyone I have talked to on WP hates spam comments. And in my opinion these kind of comments are one of the worst parts of WP. I don’t mean spam comments like the obviously spam ones that try to sell you viagra or something (although if you’re the person who keeps leaving spam comments trying to sell me viagra please stop 😂). I mean the comments that say nothing about your post. But tell you to visit their blog.
Why would anyone follow your blog when you can’t take a few minutes to read theirs? Most people would automatically check out your blog if you left a genuine comment on their blog. However, when you leave comments like this people are just going to get irritated and probably block you or at least avoid your blog.
Not Using Features Correctly
WP offers a lot of really great features. But a lot of people don’t do a lot or any research on how to use them to their advantage. Features like tags, categories, featured images etc are there for a reason. And they can be vital in growing your blog. Using these features incorrectly can actually slow down your blogs growth.
For example, if you use more than 15 tags your posts will be taken off the tags section in the Reader. And this will decrease your traffic and consequently your following. Using incorrect hashtags can also do the same. Using really specific tags is great for SEO but not so much for the WP community. I mean when was the last time you searched something on WP that was super specific like “post about how to grow your blog and use the tags feature on WP.” Most people will search something like “how to grow your blog” or even shorter like “grow WordPress.” Using specific tags is fine. But don’t forget to add some broader tags too like “food” if you’re writing about food.
Clickbait
Clickbait is okay if you do it once in a while and your title does relate to your post to an extent. But if you constantly use clickbait-y titles that have nothing to do with your post people are probably going to get irritated. And end up not following you or unfollowing you. What you want is loyal readers and followers because that’s what will help you grow long term.
Spreading Hate
Most people have heard this at least a few times in their life- if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all. I think most people are fine receiving feedback because it helps you improve your writing or your posts. And it helps you understand your readers better. However, if you are going to use your platform to leave hateful comments that attack the blogger you are not going to be very popular on WP. Because like I said we’re like a family here. If you’re going to leave feedback make sure you’re not attacking someone and leave it in a positive manner.
If you’re just going to leave a hateful comment think about the fact that there are thousands of other blogs out there. No one is forcing you to follow a blog you don’t like or read posts you don’t want to. If you hate something that much just read other blogs you agree with or connect with more. Don’t waste your energy ruining someone else’s day. You don’t personally know this person. You don’t know what they are currently going through. And frankly it’s their blog and they can do whatever they want on their own blog.
Thoughts
I hope you found this post on “5 Mistakes That Will Destroy Your Blog” helpful and informative. I wanted to do something different and share a different type of advice post.
What are some blogging mistakes you wish you had known about sooner? Have you missed my blogging advice posts? Do you think I should do more blogging advice posts- I feel like I haven’t done any in forever? Did you find this post helpful? What is some blogging advice you wish someone had given you?
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Lol buying likes? Wow I thought that was only on YouTube and istagram. I mean, my blog is growing slowly but I can’t imagine buying freaking likes!
Yup I have seen some people doing that and I always find it weird because they’ll have like a thousand likes but like a couple of followers and no comments. You would much rather grow organically!
Very helpful! Thanks. I particularly like to read other blogs to give support to other bloggers too. Do unto others as u want to be done unto you
Thanks and I agree blogging is all about supporting one another imo!
I really needed this, you’re the best! Thank you!
This topic will really helpful for me .Thank you
Glad it helped!
So glad I didn’t disagree with any of these. Although I did prepare myself to.
I’m glad you didn’t disagree too 🙂
I recently started blogging again after a hiatus due to covid. I received a lot of new followers, and I was happy
But now I’m reading this post and wonder? Now I will go through and check to make sure they’re not bots. Thanks.
Antalya web tasarim ve sosyal medya reklam sistemlerinde oldukca garantili firmalardan birisidir.
Really helpful post thank you! Will definitely check out some of your other advice pages and will make sure I don’t use more than 15 tags too!
lazer epilasyon yorumlari en iyi lazer epilasyon firması
These are definitely good to keep in mind!
Web sitenizin, işletmenizin kurumsal SEO kimliğini oluşturuyoruz.
I admit, at 72, I’m behind the curve with technology in general, but I keep trying to improve. It was months before I knew I could reply to someone’s blog. How embarrassing is that?
There are definitely aspects of WordPress I wish were more user friendly, but then … I worry that these things are available and I’m simply not seeing them.
Maybe I should let my dachshund run my blog. She definitely younger, and possibly smarter. 😉
Whoops, well if it makes you feel better I’ve made tons of silly mistakes like that and I started this blog at 18 haha. It takes a lot of mistakes before you figure things out and that’s okay. WP could definitely be more user friendly but I doubt that’s going to happen any time soon.
Haha well I’m sure she’s very smart- I always think pets are smarter than we think 😂
Just curious, but how many years have you been blogging for? Really enjoying your posts so far!
It’s actually been a long time- it will be 7 years this year. Thank you!
I’m just starting out so it’s hard to answer all your questions, however, I would definitely read your blogging tips!
Thanks so much, I have an entire section full of blogging tips. Feel free to check it out!
Best wishes to you. Keep thriving
Yes I hate clearing out all those hundreds of spam comments weekly too.
Yeah, it’s very annoying.
I agree, I unfollow anyone when I see them doing some of those things. It isn’t how I choose to fill my time or my life, listening or watching those things!
Agreed, I feel the same way!
😎😎
This is the first time I have seen your post on this subject. Very informative information. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful week.
Yeah, it’s quite old so you may not have seen it. Glad it was informative. Thanks and have a wonderful week too.
I have learned a lot from you by reading your blog posts since I first came across your blog. When I first started blogging, I didn’t know anything except how to write. Reading your posts has taught me a lot about what to do and what not to do. I am glad you post information that we all can learn from.
I’m really happy to hear that my posts have been helpful. I know that blogging can be tricky and share advice posts to help other bloggers.
Oh she has tons of blogs on this topic. I really love her helpful blogs.
Her blogs haas helped me a lot. I have learned so much from her.
Oh me too….
I can write a seperate blog about things that I’ve learned from her.
Blogging wasn’t possible without her.
Yup. Agreed.
Thanks.
Always insightful.
Thanks so much.
Thank you for sharing. I think I really suffer from not using features correctly and not willing to do some research on them. LOL. I tried to do it, but I just don’t have the motivation to do it. I know this is no good and I need to really do something, but my brain doesn’t listen to me. LOL. You know research is boring and I am still for the inspiration to push me forward….
Lol, that’s the problem. Research is vital but so not fun. And same with the features.
Thank you so much for your advice (Tips). Actually I am new to blogging but your ideas are really helpful.🤗
Thanks so much, so glad it’s helpful. 🤗
Thanks for sharing such a helpful post. I didn’t even know that buying likes was “a thing”!
Have a great week 🙂
Thanks so much, yeah it’s not as popular on WordPress but it does still exist and some people do buy likes and follows. Quite odd/sad but it is what it is I guess.
Have a great week too 🙂
Always enjoy Your advice posts, thank You!
Happy to share them!
Hi, please keep doing it
I don’t mind it.
Do it daily
I received notification on Monday, because I know you don’t publish on Monday (your Sundays), so it’s a treat for me.
These are some solid point PG
I agree with it.
No need to add anything further to it.
This blog is long, oh I love it😁
Thanks and it’s really up to WordPress lol 😂
You please keep doing it.
Do with 10 blogs of yours daily.
No 20.
I will read them all 🤩
Yes, but everyone else may unfollow me 😂
Nah they won’t.
It’s better to have few communicative followers than many unresponsive ones.
I know that you like it when people read and show appreciation towards your work.
Trust me, it’s a great thing. Plus, it’s giving new readers an opportunity to read your previous work.
You tell me how am I supposed to read something for 2019?
Instead you can recommend these blogs here and there. 🙂
True, it’s nice for new readers to get to read older posts.
Yeah!!
I always get ecstatic to read your old blogs.
It shows a different Pooja.
You are so capable with your writing, one can never get bored
Thanks!
Very helpful tips Pooja. Yes, I don’t understand why people would want a lot of fake followers. To me, it’s nice having sincere interaction with actual people. And I have to say thank you to you because I’m sure that some of the followers I do have on my blog bounced over from you, so thank you. As for your blog posts with advice, they are good and helpful but I enjoy hearing about your day and how you are doing sometimes too.
Thanks so much. Yes, I agree. I find blogging is most fun when you interact with others. I find it fun to share personal experiences sometimes too so glad you enjoy those posts too.
Thank you for the tips. I had no idea about using too many tags. It seems like I need to do some more research.
Yes, I learnt that the hard way after using too many tags a few times. And 15 tags is the maximum if you aren’t using categories. It’s one less tag for each category. So if you’re using two categories the maximum number of tags would be 13.
Ok, I think I’ve been doing that wrong. Thank you. I usually make up a new category for my posts.
Keep a small list of categories you use frequently. That works best.
Ok, thank you
I will do that. Thank you.
I will definitely take your advice.
Thanks for this post! I found your discussion of tags very helpful.
Glad it was helpful!