10 mistakes entrepreneurs make while blogging
Running a startup isn’t easy. It’s tough work and requires long hours of commitment. What’s tougher is getting word about your startup out, bringing it to the notice of the masses, engaging with them and improving your products and services on their recommendation. With the invention of blogs, now anyone can be a writer. It has also become easier than ever to promote your products.
However, mistakes are bound to happen. It is human to make mistakes, but as your blog is a public platform, it is better to keep errors at a minimum to avoid embarassment and readership drops. Here are some of the common mistakes made by entrepreneurs while blogging:
Spelling and grammatical errors
It is very easy to check your content for spellings and grammar mistakes. Even a simple spelling mistake could change the meaning of words to something else altogether. Plus, people tend to judge writers a lot on their style, content and grammar. Only a well-written, error-free post can keep your readers engaged.
The Great Wall of China text
Sometimes, people get excited and forget when to put a brake on their writing. While it’s good to be expressive and write in more words than less, remember that your blog post is for your audience and not yourself. While reading on digital platforms, concentration levels are low and attention spans are the least. There are fewer takers for long-form writing today. So learn to filter, make your content crisp and engaging, and do not be repetitive.
Overselling
Yes, you have started a business and wish to promote it. But do not over-promote it. Everyone loves reading, but they hate being stuffed with ads. It is okay to sell your business once in a while, but do not make it a daily practice, lest it makes your loyal customers run away.
Selecting the wrong template
When you build a website or blog, make sure the template reflects your startup’s spirit. You don’t want to end up with a flowery template for a beard trimmer company. Stick to colours that do not take the reader’s attention off the text.
Failing to understand the demographic
Assess your customers and those at whom you are targeting your blog. Since you run a business and your information will be related to it, it is important to understand your audience. Learn what age group they belong to, what they believe in and what works best with them. It is important that you connect with your audience. Otherwise, the whole exercise of blogging goes waste.
Stealing or plagiarising
While we may love someone else’s text, we cannot forget that they have put their heart and soul into writing it. Stealing or plagiarising is a crime, and once caught, you might be blacklisted from a few sites. Hence, if you really want to share someone else’s text, ask for permission and give due credit. Most people don’t mind sharing their content as long as it’s distributed under their name.
Not paying attention to comments
A lot of times, the comments section goes unread. There are blogs out there crying out for some attention. So, if you get comments from your loyal customers and readers, make it a point to reply. This will help increase your goodwill. Be courteous, and keep in touch with your readers regularly. Replying to comments shows that you care about your readers and you take them seriously.
Forgetting the SEO grind
So, what is the worst thing that can happen to your blog in cyberspace? Appearing on page two of a Google search! At a time when people do not even browse through the first few results, the second page is a far, far cry. Hence, it is essential to use appropriate SEO techniques to increase visibility. Writing for a print publication is very different from writing for an online publication. Certain keywords that are searched frequently need to be embedded in your post, so that it gets driven to the top of the search results.
Forgetting that you have a blog
Making a blog is easy, but maintaining one takes time and effort. Do not neglect your blog. People get addicted to blogs and keep visiting them for new information. If you fail to update it and upload interesting data on a regular basis, you might end up losing loyal readers. Hence, make an effort – stay up half an hour more if required, but take care of your blog because no one else will.
Using clickbait headlines
This is probably the most irritating of the lot. People write headlines that end on a suspense note so readers are pushed to click and read the blog. For example, “He ate four tonnes of meat. You won’t believe what happened next.” People might initially click out of curiosity, but clickbait gets to you eventually and readers start avoiding such blogs. Hence, keep the flavour fresh to stand out from the herd.
If the above points are kept in mind, you will be able to produce engaging content and keep your readers glued to your blog. Remember that blogs are important tools in this era of digital marketing. It is the easiest way to create a loyal audience base and convert them into buyers. So keep your content updates interesting and relevant.
Stop using very in your copies. Essential itself means very important. There can always be a substitute for a very phrase. Very good-looking is beautiful. Very scary is terrifying. Very hard is tough.
