Beginning to blog is a is something millions of people do. They wrote about their niche, interests and activities. I like to write a variety of things mostly human interest topics like this. For me it keeps things fresh and is not just so regular. Just this week I wrote about financial matters, memories growing up and now about starting a blog. I like most people went into it thinking it was simple. Get a site, name it, start posting and watch the money roll in. Well I paid for the site, designed it myself and the following is coming along. However, I have made no $ so far blogging,. I do it to enjoy writing and telling stories that inspire and motivate people. Whatever your why is for blogging is up to you. What you want from it is up to you. So with that in mind I wrote some thoughts down about the common mistakes people make when starting a blog. I have made most if not all of these myself.

1- Do not assume it is easy to begin, maintain and grow your following. There are literally millions of blogs, blogs sites, bloggers and it is a thriving industry. But it takes patience, time and energy to start, keep going and grow.

2- Do not assume what you are writing is what others want to hear. You may love puppy dogs and write about your puppy dogs daily. But if people are not following it will become frustrating. So write a variety of things and see what hits with people. My best hits are generally human interest stories, motivational topics and life stories.

3- You must eventually find a product to sell to generate income. Blogging itself generally pays nothing. Find ways to monetize your site once you get the hits coming in.

4- Be careful about spending lots of money on ads, ad services and other ways to promote the site. If you are not producing income to cover the cost then you are just wasting time, money and energy you could pour into something else.

5- You get writers block or just start copying and pasting stuff from the internet. This is a common mistake that writers face when they are tired after a long day at work at their real job.

6- Not using your own social media as a means to develop a following. This is a way I actually grew my following but I also have to know that at some point not every contact on my social media accounts want to read everything I post everyday.

7- New bloggers do not have a plan in place for short term, mid term and long term goals. Set goals, track the results and adjust as needed to stay motivated.

Blogging like any other opportunity requires time, energy, commitment and money. To make it grow and expand you must put the work in. Whether you make money or not, tell your story and live your best life.

Coach B!