It’s been awhile since I did one of my 7 deadly sins post, so I’m bringing it back now to talk about the seven deadly blogging sins. This is a follow-up post to the Seven Deadly Twitter Sins, Seven Deadly Facebook Sins, Seven Deadly Linkedin Sins, Seven Deadly Email Sins and Seven Deadly Foursquare Sins.
7. Posting Infrequent, Unfocused Content
If you are a casual blogger, it’s quite alright to post once a month or once every two to three months. But, if you are serious about growing your readership, it’s best to blog weekly if not more. Also, don’t just blog willy-nilly. Find a niche to write about and stick to topics in that general range.
6. Grammar and Spelling Matter
Just like any written work, good grammar matters. Spell check is your friend. If your blog posts consistently have misspelled words, run-on sentences and basic punctuation errors, people won’t take your posts seriously. Having good grammar isn’t the secret to building success, but it can go a long way in proving that the blogger is intelligent and knows how to write a coherent post.
5. The “I-Will-Review-Anything” For A Freebie
With the exception of book reviews, I’m not a huge fan of product reviews on blogs. This is in large part due to how poorly used they are. This is especially true back in the 2006-2008 era, but it’s still far too prevalent today. It’s fairly easy to spot the free product reviewers since the posts are usually on a wide range of topics and usually involve very vague descriptions since they have no flippin’ clue what the product even does.
4. Treating Your Blog As A “Get-Rich-Quick Scheme”
I sure hope you enjoy Ramen Noodles and Easy Mac, because you will be eating it for a long, long time. Blogging is hard work and can be very time-consuming. Not to mention, the vast majority of bloggers do not make a dime from their blogs.
3. Advertisement Overload
I understand why some people place ads on their blogs. But, there’s a point where the content to ad ratio gets skewed. For instance, if I see 20 giant banner ads (extra points: if any are flashing or for “online Viagra”) and then one tiny blog post, then you have lost the point of having a blog. Blogs are about creating content. They are not an ad farm.
2. Cluttered, Hard-To-Navigate Site Design
It’s 2011. There’s no reason to have a cluttered website design, that is reminiscent of the Y2K era. I shouldn’t have to go on a scavenger hunt to find your latest blog post. At the very least, develop an archive system and search function.
If you are feeling more ambitious, use a free template from WordPress. Or, if you have a few extra bucks, have someone design a custom website design for you.
1. The Comment Section Trainwreck
This can involve two things: a.) not responding to comments at all b.) being overly defensive to your commenters. Both of these can wreck havoc on your blog. The fact that people are reading your blog and commenting is a privilege not a right. Please treat these people with the respect and attention they deserve.
For an example of the worst possible thing to do in the comment section, check out this blog post fiasco here.
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