Because of how easy it is to get into the market, two new blogs are made every single second. In one day, 172,800 blogs were made. Now, how many of those do you think are going to make it to the top? How many are going to make as much money as Jon does on his blog?
Probably very few. And the reason for that is because so many of them are going to make some really typical beginner mistakes right from the beginning. So, they'll give up and won't make any money, let alone an amount even close to Jon.
To better your chances in getting to a point where you are making a little money on your blog, you need to make sure that you don't make these typical blogging mistakes.
Five Mistakes to Avoid
1. Get a Domain and Paid Hosting
There's no denying that it's easy to get started online. And, with sites like WordPress.com, Tumblr, and Blogger, it is very seducing to get a free account. Why pay the $10 (or less with a coupon code) for a domain and then the $5.00 a month for hosting? Why not just get the free hosting?
There are two real reasons. The first is control. I have complete control over what my site looks like, where my ads go and what kind of content I publish when I have my own domain and hosting. However, on sites like WordPress.com and Blogger, you have to follow their rules. Why give up that power?
The second reason is simple branding. It's easier to tell someone www.domain.com than www.blogger.com/domain. It's easier to remember the former and therefore, easier to spread it on from person to person.
I hope you understand the importance of having your own domain and hosting. It's a small investment, but in the long run, it will definitely pay off.
2. Don't Get a Custom Made Logo
Do you know why big companies (and really all companies) hire someone to make a custom logo? Do you know why Jonathan has that diamond with the JV in it?
It's because they are hoping to build a brand. Remember in the last point how I said it's easier to brand www.domain.com than anything else? Well, a logo adds to the brand. When we think of Google, one of the first thoughts that might cross our minds is the logo. What about Nike? I think of their logo too. Wal-Mart? Target? The logos really do come to mind.
That's effective branding. An effective logo is one in which a visitor sees it and immediately knows that they are reading something important. So, if I see the diamond with a JV, I know it's by Jonathan Volk and therefore, I know it can be taken seriously.
While it's a slightly bigger investment, having a custom logo shows new readers that you are:
- A serious person who actually takes their blog seriously.
- Not some random spammer who doesn't know what they're talking about.
- A brand.
By showing you're a brand, people will begin to follow you a lot more than they'll follow the random blog with the words as their logo.
3. Use a Run of the Mill Design
I really should just group one and two together, but we'll keep them separate for now. CNN, NY Times, NY Post, Washington Post, LA Times and Wall Street Journal are all what? News sites. And, they all provide the same news, for the most part. And yet, if you visit each of their sites, are they identical?
They have created a unique look to their site. If two sites look the same, the bigger one gets the credit. So, if you were to copy your blog design exactly from J. Volk's, people will remember his over yours because he is bigger.
Therefore, get your own design. I don't mean that you need to hire a designer and get a completely custom one. That's ridiculous and expensive. However, there are a lot of premium designs out there that could really be useful on your site. Personally, I'm a fan of StudioPress. You can get a premium design (that you can then customize) on your site for under $100. Again...It's an investment, but in the long run, it pays off.
The alternative is to use a free design. If you are going to use a free design, do yourself a favor and only download from WordPress' gallery. They have reached a certain level of quality and therefore, are not going to have glitches in them.
For the most part, though, I advocate spending a bit of money, getting a premium theme that is designed for security, seo, and everything else.
4. Throw Adsense Up to Make Money
When I think of Adsense, I think of missed opportunities. There once was a time when Adsense made a lot of money for people. And people still do make a lot of money. And, there are times where it's appropriate. However, Google now gives less money to their publishers.
I can remember when John Chow had his big 300x250 ad block floated left in his blog posts. He did pretty well with that ad and made a nice chunk of change. But, he realized that we all have realized--I would say--that Adsense can be beat out by a private advertisement.
And that's the real truth about it. Selling private advertising has become a much more economical way of earning on your blog. You'll make more if you sell private advertising than you will with Adsense.
Okay, okay, I know. It's hard to sell private advertising. Then focus on what matters most at the start of your blog: the content. When you're bringing in more traffic, people will try to advertise with you. There are entire divisions of companies that go out looking for places to advertise. If you're big enough, they'll find you.
Does that mean you shouldn't use Adsense at all? Of course not. If you can justify the ad placement and it is making you money, then do it. If Adsense is really earning for you in your particular niche, go for it. But, keep your eye on the much higher quality private ad sale.
5. Don't Start Building Your List from the Beginning
Aweber is king. It is probably the best newsletter software out there. You want to begin building your list from the beginning for a few different reasons.
- It's another way of bringing people back to your site. If you send out an e-mail every two weeks with the blog posts you've written in that time frame, people are likely to come check it out. So, you start creating return visitors.
- When you do--if you do--create a product that you are going to sell, having that list of people subscribed to your newsletter will be a great base to start selling to.
- Any product that you want to sell will have a lot of success on your newsletter. These are people are trust you enough with their e-mail. They'll probably trust you with some money too.
Now, I say Aweber is king specifically because I advocate for signing up with Aweber. It is, by far, the best on the market. And while it is $19 a month for your first 500 subscribers, that's an investment that you want to make. If you're doing good work, you should be able to make that back from those 500 subscribers.
People, though, argue that they shouldn't build their list until they have traffic coming in already. John Chow thought that too. He didn't make his list until much later. Can you imagine how much money he'd be making each month if he had made his list from the beginning?
Make your list. It's a well worth investment.
Have You Done Any of These?
What sort of mistakes have you made? Did you fall into these and notice that they really were valid mistakes. I've made the mistake of relying too much on Adsense and have missed out on a lot of potential profits. Don't make these mistakes. They're easy to prevent.
Jacob is the owner of Blog Revolter. He's all about revolting against the norm of blogging. Check him out on Twitter or Facebook.
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