We live in a world full of cheap information. At the push of a button we can get our eyes on far more ideas, blog posts, and news stories than we could ever possibly consume.


And with information everywhere, it is imperative that you treat your readers’ time with respect when they give it to you.
Especially if you want to build trust with your audience so they give you more of their time in the future.
Nowadays, words can seem cheap. It doesn’t really cost anything to publish more blog posts, send more emails, share our life with even more social media updates.

But the idea that pixels don’t cost much is flawed.


Occupying more pixels means taking up more time from potential readers. If you’re not adding value with those pixels, you could be wasting the time of your readers .

And time is an irreplaceable resource. Time is precious. We all know it.

Blogging Mistake #1: You love complexity

It’s often thought that complexity is a sign of academic achievement, intelligence, or sophistication.
But the opposite is actually true.


A sophisticated blogger uses metaphors to illustrate abstract ideas.


Next time you write, see how you can simplify your message . There’s no need to dumb down your ideas. Just help your readers process your post and be inspired by you in less reading time.

Blogging Mistake #2: You’re self-indulgent


The harsh truth is this: Your readers aren’t interested in you, your life, or your stories.

As a blogger and content marketer it’s your job to help your readers, to guide them, and inspire them. Talking about your experiences is fine — it can add color and personality to your posts — but only if it helps your readers become healthier, happier, or more productive.

When you want to write a story about your life, ask yourself this:
What’s in it for my readers ?

How can my experience help them?

Blogging Mistake #3: You think you need to publish daily


Are you clogging up people’s inboxes with your announcement of yet another post?

Or are your readers excited to see another email of yours arrive?
When you publish blog posts without adding any value to conversations, you end up wasting space. You waste precious pixels.

Don’t waste people’s time with an endless stream of blog posts. Only write when you have something to say. Your audience would rather read one post that inspires them than 20 crappy posts with recycled content.



Blogging Mistake #4: You write purely for SEO


Writing exclusively for Google will bore the boots off your readers. If you’re only writing for robots, then you might be wasting human time. Your readers aren’t interested in regurgitated keywords that exist for crawling robots.

Don’t allow Google to turn you into a keyword-processing machine. Don’t allow Google to kill your creativity.
Always write for your audience first, then optimize for search engines later.


Blogging Mistake #5: You focus on word count


Does this sound familiar …
You’re staring at your computer monitor. At the bottom left hand corner you see you’ve written 537 words. You wonder what else you can write.


The idea that more content is always better has been heavily promoted by some, but this is wrong. The task of a writer is not to write more “text”. The task of a writer is to communicate a message in the length it takes to fully communicate that message.

Got your message across in 537 words? Well done. Now, try to do it in less than 400.


Blogging Mistake #6: You don’t write in plain English

Jargon, gobbledygook, and bombast slow your readers down.
Jargon requires your readers to stop and think about the meaning of your words. Gobbledygook takes up their time without adding meaning.

Bombastic sentences slow them down because they’re full of unnecessary words.

When you cut excess words from your sentences, you’re doing your readers a favor. When you replace long words with simpler words, you’re delighting your readers.

Make your posts as easy to read as possible. Write as if you’re writing for a 12-year old. Show your readers you value their time by writing in plain English.




Blogging Mistake #8: You don’t know who you’re writing for


The idea that you’re writing for hundreds (or thousands) of readers may sound great, but it can kill your writing voice … fast .
When you don’t know who your audience is, your blog posts become generic. They end up speaking to no one and just taking up space.
Instead of addressing a crowd, write as if you’re having a conversation with your favorite reader. If you’re not sure who that is, make up an
imaginary friend:



Blogging Mistake #9: You edit your posts in less than five minutes

Are you a super-writer who writes almost impeccable posts in one go?
Most of us can’t even edit in one go. Consider at least four rounds of editing:
Review the flow of the post. Can you remove any paragraphs without impacting your story or argument? Does each paragraph naturally follow the paragraph before it?
Take out the funny asides that aren’t funny or aren’t relevant.
Polish each sentence. Cut overly long sentences in two; replace difficult words with simple ones; and enjoy the post.


#HAPPY BLOGGING#



Courtesy of: Smatt Geeks Media