3 Marketing Mistakes You Are Making With Your Blog
There are a LOT of marketing mistakes I have made with my blog over the years.
When you are first getting started with blogging it can be very overwhelming to figure out how and where you should be spending your time.
Not to mention you are being overrun with all kinds of people telling you to do different marketing strategies.
When you jump from strategy to strategy you are actually hurting the growth of your blog.
I am not telling you to completely change what you are doing or scrap your marketing tactics, but I encourage you to change how you think about it.
Today I am sharing 3 marketing mistakes that are holding you back from growing your blog.
Blogging Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
Marketing Mistake #1: Giving up too soon
I know it is easier said than done, but too many bloggers give up on themselves or their marketing strategies too soon.
I was one of them and it caused my growth to be much slower.
I would have an idea (or was influenced by someone else) to try a new marketing tactic and when I didn’t get quick results I would move on to the next thing.
For example, in my 9 years of running an online business. I have started and stopped my YouTube channel multiple times. This happened because I would start it and then something else would come along and pull my attention away from it.
I never focused and took the time to do the tasks necessary to make it successful. I would just hope to get a lot of views and when it didn’t happen I would move onto another strategy to grow my audience.
Obviously, marketing changes pretty quickly, but you can’t always move onto the next best thing.
In order for your blog to grow, it takes time and you can’t just give up when it doesn’t work. You need to look at the data and implement changes that will have a positive impact.
What happens is we add so much to our plate that we don’t have enough time to dedicate to any of the strategies so we end up moving on to trying something else.
It’s hard not doing it all when a new app or a new social media platform pops up every other month, but to grow your blog and your impact you can’t give up on yourself or your marketing strategy so easily.
I’ve honestly done this over and over again.
Another example is doing webinars. I would create a new training for my audience and sell a few online courses from it and then move onto the next way of selling my course instead of focusing on small changes to make the webinar better and continue to sell from it.
I know it can be frustrating when you don’t get the results you had planned for, but I want to encourage you to not give up too soon.
Stay focused on a marketing strategy to grow your blog and take the time to look at your data to update that strategy and make it better instead of moving onto something else.
*If you like this, you’ll also like: Blogging Goals You Should Be Setting
Marketing Mistake #2: Not being consistent
I know how hard it can be to show up consistently online especially when you are just getting started, but honestly, this is one of the BIGGEST mistakes people make.
You need to show up even when your audience isn’t showing up for you.
Your blog won’t grow and make sales when you aren’t showing up and putting yourself out there on a regular basis.
It doesn’t matter what platform you choose - Instagram, YouTube, Facebook - you have to come up with a schedule where you can give your audience the opportunity to get to know you and learn from you.
It doesn’t always have to be a teaching moment or some amazing content that you put out, but you do need to build a relationship with your audience for them to turn into customers or clients.
Think of it as a friendship. Most people aren’t instant BFF’s with someone new they first meet. It takes time. You need to talk with them and hangout.
The same goes for your audience. They aren’t going to immediately find you online and trust you instantly. You can’t just show up one time a week and expect to have massive growth from it.
I have found that the best way to do this is to schedule it into my calendar. If I don’t put it on there then I will forget. For me, I will make a weekly plan for the posts that will go out and a general idea of the content I want to share.
This helps me to stay consistent and show up multiple times a week. Pick a platform where your audience hangs out that you can consistently show-up on. Keep in mind it will take time to see results, so don’t give up on it too soon!
Marketing Mistakes #3: Not knowing what your audience needs
This is also similar to the friendship example above. You need to LISTEN to your audience and know what they are struggling with so you can help them overcome a problem they are experiencing.
All of the content you put out needs to be focused on your audience and how it can help them. But, you won’t know what they need unless you ASK.
Oftentimes, people come into the blogging world with their own agenda in mind and they never listen to their audience. They ‘think’ they know what they want.
Trust me when I say, if you do this you are just setting yourself up for failure.
Understanding your audience’s interests, desires, goals, day-to-day life, struggles, dreams, problems, etc. will exponentially help you to grow your blog.
Knowing this information will allow you to speak directly to your ideal customer or client.
When I first started blogging I wanted to help everyone. I didn’t speak to an ideal customer or audience. I just grouped everyone together and then wondered why no one was signing up for my email list or buying my courses.
Knowing what your audience needs and understanding how you can specifically help them is what will set you apart online.
You can also check out my post on what to do when you feel stuck.
The three things you need to keep in mind with your marketing:
#1 - Don’t give up too soon
#2 - Be consistent
#3 - Understand your audience
Comment below and share any marketing mistakes for bloggers to avoid!