What NOT to do when you start a blog!!!

I see so many blogging tips and tricks posts, but not many blog posts giving advice on what NOT to do. So I thought I'd write my own. Starting out in the blogging world can be a bit scary, especially nowadays because there's just so many and so quickly the market has become so saturated. Don't worry, you'll find your feet and it'll be second nature in no time! The following tips on what NOT to do are just my opinion and I'd love to hear yours too...

Don't Spam -
 I know what it's like to start out in an overpopulated corner of the internet and try to stand out and let people know that you're even there. It takes time and I think it's a good thing that it takes time because you get the chance to really find your blogging voice and build up lots of content. There's no point in shouting about your blog with only a few posts on it, in my opinion. When I find a new blog I want to sit and read it for ages, so have something for your readers to read. If you're twitter page is just filled with links, it can be a huge deterrent in getting people to follow you. If you're posting into every single blogging group on Facebook three times a day, people will get start getting annoyed and for a good reason, no one wants 10 billion notifications all about the same post! There are ways to get your blog out there and to attract readers, but spamming is NOT one of them.

Don't expect samples & invites immediately!
This is something that I've been hearing a lot recently from newbie bloggers. If you're expecting to be invited to lots of events and expecting to be sent lots of products after blogging for a month or two, forget it. It takes time to build relationships with brands and to build up mutual trust. If you are only blogging to get freebies or to go to cool events, don't bother, it's too much work and brands and readers will see straight through it!

Don't spend a ton of money at the start!
Another thing I constantly hear is, I'd love to start blogging but I just don't have the equipment, or I'm saving to get a really good camera, lights, the works. One thing I know for certain is that blogging isn't for everyone. Lots of people stop blogging for various different reasons, so don't spend your hard earned cash on something you don't know you'll stick to. Lots of very big bloggers still take their photos on their phones and edit them on free apps, you don't need to spend a small fortune to have a great blog. Of course, if you're at  a stage where you know you love blogging and you just want to invest to improve the quality of your blog do, but don't rush into it because you see other bloggers with fancy cameras and what not.

Don't copy everyone else!
A simple concept but you'd be surprised how many people fall into the trap of doing the same damn thing as everyone else. Your blog is your space, do what you want on it, write about what you love and create posts that you would want to read yourself. People will generally follow your blog for you, for your personality, your tips, your tricks, YOU. So stay true to yourself and don't worry about what everyone else is doing.

Don't give up!
So many bloggers give up blogging after a short time because they don't see results as quick as they'd like to. Building a successful blog takes time, A LOT of time. But I cannot stress this enough, don't give up. You never know who's reading your blog or when you're blog will suddenly take off. You never know when or if a post will suddenly go viral. SO stick at it, I promise you'll see results eventually but you need to do the groundwork. Blogging is truly one of the best things I've ever done and it can be for you too, just don't give up too soon.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, let me know in the comments!

Erin X

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Labels: blogger , how to start a blog