I have to admit that my blog browsing lately has gone down, because when life gets in the way and you need to add extra activities to your life, reading blog posts takes a bit of a second row of the important things that need to be done.
However, as I’m still crawling my way to fewer blogs, the other day I’ve decided to gather information on some of the things that I’m seeing bloggers do, or rather NOT do in this case, on their blog posts.
So, here is my list of some of the blog post blunders that you should be avoiding on your posts. If you do you will be making your readers more welcome, and better helping them with your content.
1 – Misleading the Reader with the Headline
While it’s very important to learn how to create catchy headlines that work, which by the way I discuss in my free eBook available here on this page, it’s as important that you do not mislead the reader with them either.
If you know how to create catchy headlines, then your job is to deliver on the promises, or find another headline that defines your post better.
How many times do I read a terrific headline to be disappointed when I’m done reading the post! I tell you, some of those terrific headline posts have left me hanging. Not a good thing to do.
If I click on a post thinking, wow, I’m certainly going to learn something here, and by the time I’m done with the post I find out that I haven’t learn anything, that’s a sign that the headline was not delivering on its promises.
If you keep doing this, overtime, people won’t trust you anymore. This is a big deal.
2- Irrelevant Introduction
It seems that some bloggers have not grasp the meaning of “introduction.” Your introduction is your very first paragraph and it needs to introduce your topic, and make the reader want to read the second, third, and so on paragraph.
An irrelevant introduction could be as bad as a bad headline, so be mindful of this and think of the best way to introduce your post. I often rewrite my introduction once my post is complete to make sure I introduce my topic properly enough.
3- Not Linking to Older Posts
Another mistake I do run into more than I should is when the blogger mentions a specific point they’re making, which at times I actually know they have discussed previously on their blog, but they do not even link to that post at all. At times, I’ve even seen them mentioning the post literally with no hyperlink whatsoever.
What does this mean?
I have to say that I scratch my head when I see this. When you fail to link to older posts of yours you are not helping your blog, the reader or even Google (and other search engines) in anyway.
When you do, however, here is what happens.
- You encourage your readers to stay longer on your blog
- You’re helping emphasis your point with more proofs to it
- You’re linking to same type keywords which is good for ranking
- You’re helping Google spiders to serve your blog well
- You actually increase traffic to your older blog posts of yours
I can’t think of any good reason why you would mention another post or topic of yours without linking to it. If you’re doing this, stop now!
4 – Never Linking To Other Blogs
It’s the same thing when you discuss other blog topics or other bloggers on your post. You can always add the “nofollow” attribute if you don’t want to link to them (in some case it’s actually recommended that you use the rel= “no follow” html link), but try to link to other blogs once in a while.
I’ve even seen bloggers thanking other bloggers without linking to them or their blogs in anyway. Maybe they don’t know how it’s done, but by just Googling the term “how to create a link in blog post” would lead you to tons of useful articles and/or videos on how it’s done. It’ very easy to do.
Learn it and do it. It’s very important that you understand how it done if you want to be called a blogger.
Note: Do not add the “nofollow” attribute when you link to your own blog.
5 – Not Enough or Too Much Space
While this seems to have improved a little bit, as more and more people seem to now understand that bulky paragraphs are a turn off for the reader, some bloggers that are less in touch with the “blogging world,” still don’t know the difference.
Few months ago I picked up a business card on the news board of my community and the person had a blog, so I checked her out. Her paragraphs were so bulky that I thought I’d let her know, and I did contact her about it.
First, her response was a bit of someone who didn’t want to be told of something she’d done wrong, but the next time I checked her blog she had shorten her paragraphs. Well, it seems she’d realized how much better it was, if you ask me.
On the other hand, I also find posts that seem to have too much space between paragraphs. It’s seem that the blogger skipped a line from one paragraph to the next. While this is not as inconvenient as the bulky paragraphs, it makes the post look a bit weird and the reader may feel that you’ve done this by mistake. You almost have to scroll down to get to the next paragraph which doesn’t make it the best reader friendly platform.
If you can avoid the double space between paragraphs, please, do by all mean. Your blog post will be more reader friendly.
6 – No Subheadings
Recently I found myself screening a blog post for subheadings that weren’t there.
As a blogger, you need to realize that subheadings are great for scanning your post.
I not talking about those who would read only the subheadings, here. I’m talking about people who like to read the subheadings as an appetizer, as a mouthwatering tool, for what they’re about to read.
Good subheading can actually greatly encourage the reader to read your whole post, and thus reduce your bounce rate, as readers will stay on your post longer.
No subheading can make a potential reader just leave right away, if they don’t feel like guessing.
Help your blog post and add relevant and interesting subheadings.
7 – Totally Irrelevant Images
I can think of at least two very successful bloggers that don’t give a bird’s feather about their images. One doesn’t bother to include an image – ever, and the other puts the most irrelevant very similar images on all their post.
While this may be working for them, because they are very successful bloggers, and frankly I think that at this point they don’t really care if we like it or not this way, it doesn’t mean that you and I should be doing the same thing.
Remember, that being a popular blogger doesn’t mean that everything you do is right!
A relevant image can really increase your click through rate, and give a quick visual glance of your topic to the reader. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
You can also see this as a gift to your readers. No image or a whatever image is borderline rude to me. Only bloggers who have become borderline arrogant can get away with this, if you ask me.
8- Anonymous Blogger
This is one that annoys me to no end. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve contacted a blogger letting them know that they had neither a picture nor a name on their post to let me know who the heck wrote it.
This is very unprofessional and somehow shows little respect for the reader. You mean you’re giving some advice, but you don’t want the reader know who you are? Doesn’t make sense, does it?
Please, make sure that your name is very clear for all to see on each of your post. Do not post anonymously like a ghost blogger. People don’t like to comment on blogs written by a ghost.
Conclusion
If you’re still making any of those blog post blunders, I hope you can see why you shouldn’t. After all, making sure you don’t will only help you, your blog, your readers and even the search engines.
So beware and be fair to your readers who are coming to read your blog post.
Picture: ©SylvianeNuccio.com
Hey Sylviane,
Great write dear friend! For me, not linking old post is a superb error. You need to link both external and internal post just to make sure that you are getting the best SEO score (from SEO point of view).
In terms of boosting readership, sharing old topics and linkng them could easily drive up the traffic.
Can’t help but noding my head on those tips!
Excellent!
Reginald invites you to read..Lesson 3: How To Find Profitable Niche Ideas For Blogging
Hi Reginald, and I’m glad you found this post today.
Of course, a guy like you knows how much linking to older posts is important, and yes it’s good for SEO too 🙂
Thanks for your expert feedback on that.
Hi Sylviane,
All the mistakes you have described are worthy to know about.
I agree with your points. Specially when focus on the introduction part. I have noticed many blog posts in which we go to read related to the heading but in the starting we usually find something irrelevant which is not even connected to the post.
Though many of the mistakes are done be me too still I am trying to get rid of them. I hope I will learn soon.
Thanks to you for sharing this post.
Have a great weekend. 🙂
~Ravi
Ravi Chahar invites you to read..Add Disqus To Your Website In Just Two Minutes
Hi Ravi,
I’m glad you found my post and welcome 🙂
I realize that a lot of new bloggers are coming here more and more, and that’s nice to see. I hope you’ll come back here and learn more about blogging and writing as a new blogger.
Not only here, but also by visiting other good blogs you will learn a lot. I learned a lot that way, myself.
Thank you for coming by.
Hi Sylviane,
While I don’t think that not linking to other blogs is a blunder, I fully agree with all the others you mentioned.
Misleading headlines is the number one blunder to me. Every time when my time is wasted due to such a headline, I make sure I remember the name of the blogger 😉
Adrian Jock invites you to read..Twitter’s New Mute Feature: Useful or Useless?
Hi Adrian,
Don’t we all hate that, right? We read a super duper extraordinaire 🙂 headline, and the post is not even close to what that headline was letting us believe. As you illustrate here with your reaction to such blog posts, those bloggers don’t do a good job for people wanting to come back to their blog again.
Thank you for your input.
H Sylviane,
Its really good to be here again after a bit gap,
These points or Blunders you call is really worth noting.
Yes, no one should do for their good.
These Alerts are informative and I think one should note
it and write it on their wall near their computer so that they
can get a good reminder all the time when they sit near their
PC or Keyboard 🙂
I am going to paste it on my wall 🙂
Thanks again for reminding about these Himalayan Blunders!
Let me call it 🙂
Keep informed
Best
~ Philip
Philip Varghese Ariel invites you to read..CityHour: Yet Another App Rocks!! Exclusively For The Moving Busy Business People
Hi Philip and nice to see you here again 🙂
I’m glad you appreciated the post and like to keep those reminder in front of you at all time 🙂
Have a great week ahead!
Hello Madam Sylviane, this is a really great article.
These blunders you have exposed are perfectly true. I was going through a blog and the introduction was a bad one, he was not able to capture what he was trying to pass across.
The first point about using misleading the reader with the headline is too damn rampant and should be stopped. Two other things that i love so much is linking to posts on the blog and to other blogs. I really do that and it has been helping.
Thanks for sharing. Do have a nice time
Miracle Ayodele invites you to read..Easy Ways to Start a Solid Relationship with a Blogger
Hi Miracle,
I’m so glad that you like the my points here as you’ve seen yourself that they are quite common out there.
Let’s hope that those bloggers learn from their mistakes and get better as time goes on. We all make mistakes as beginners, but the point is to learn from them and improve as we go on.
Thank you for coming 🙂
Wow! Seriously, I thought this was going to be another “blogging mistakes” post like what we find everywhere but I got my eyes rolling Sylviane.
Most of the points you mentioned are not found on similar posts on other blogs. This is being unique.
There are a lot of things we do not knowing we are kicking ourselves. It’s terrible to publish 2, 3 and even 4 blog posts without ever linking out to another blogger’s post. Some bloggers will comment on your posts and tell you how your articles are most wonderful on earth, yet they never link to you. Are just being selfish, ignorant or stupid?
If we are in a community to help each other, we should link out freely. You suggest using the nofollow tag. That’s ok if you fear Matt’s anger.
Talking about linking to old post, I have developed a strategy that I hold to so firmly. I do descriptive linking and that works so powerfully. From my GA stats, my bounce rate has dropped so drastically to 23% (down from over 60%).
Beautiful points and I hope many of us bloggers read this post
Enstine Muki invites you to read..Dirty Hidden Trick Guaranteed To Double Your Income! See Method #3
Hi Enstine,
It means a lot to me that you like this post and saying it’s really unique is fantastic:) Well, I do try, anyways, and those are points that I’ve noticed over and over again when I’m blog browsing and reading. Some of those really annoy me, but at times I think they don’t know any better. However, I believe that by simply taking a look at famous blogs, they should get a clue. That’s how I learned.
Thank you for coming and have a wonderful week!
Hi Sylvia,
I totally agree with you on all of these 8 points.
Most annoying of them all I find when people mention some interesting resources and don’t link to them, so that you need to go and google it. Even worse, although it at least saves the time googling, is when the plain URL is cited in brackets.
Cheers,
Torsten
Torsten Müller invites you to read..9 Hot Strategies To Drive Free Traffic To Your Website
Hi Torsten, and welcome here.
Oh, your last name sounds German 🙂 As a matter of fact IS German. Are you from Germany?
I know what you mean. I’ve seen that too. There is a source mention, but no link to it, while we can all make sure that we do not follow that link if we don’t want to, if we mention something, for the most part, I believe that we should want to link to it.
Thank you for bring that point.
Hi again Sylviane,
yes, indeed. My last name is so typical German that I can’t deny it. 😉
Have a great week,
Torsten
Torsten Müller invites you to read..9 Hot Strategies To Drive Free Traffic To Your Website
Hi Sylviane,
I consider myself a greenhorn at blogging since my new blog only has two posts, but I do totally agree with you on all of these mistakes bloggers make.
I’m pretty good at breaking my text up into paragraphs, but I always wonder if I should single or double space in between.
One big turnoff to me as a reader is writers that don’t proofread their posts and leave in miss-spellings and grammatical errors that make it hard to understand what they’re trying to say.
Thanks for the tips, Sylviane. – Steve
Steven Stuart invites you to read..Encourage Traffic With Blog Hopping!
Hi Steve,
I think that a double space between paragraph is OK. It’s what I have, and what most blog have too. What looks strange to me is blog that seem to have more like 3-5 spaces. It looks like a huge space between paragraphs.
Yes, I didn’t even go there on this post. bad spelling is always a turn off, especially it is excessive. But that could be a whole post of it own 🙂
Thanks for coming and have a great week ahead!
Spot on! Two things that bother me very much are misleading titles and no-named authors (or “admins”) writing the posts.
It is very surprising to see that popular news sites and informational blogs do this. They promise something wonderful in the title and when I read the post, nothing ever close is actually delivered in the post.
Thanks so much for bringing up these points.
Jane invites you to read..Being Desperate And Frustrated Doesn’t Make You Money [Find Out What Does]
Hi jane,
Yes, I can’t stand it when I see no name or admin. It’s actually quite common, and you wonder if those people have ever heard of branding 🙂
There are plenty of headlines that don’t deliver on the promises they’re making, even so called “reputable” sites.
Thank you for coming by and for your input.
Hi Sylviane,
I am guilty of not linking to other blogs lately – ever since the Google penalty I’ve been over cautious. I’ll have to change that and use the no follow link. I do not those posts where you cannot find the author’s name. I also do not like misleading headlines. I usually won’t share those kinds of posts unless I share with a different description and the post has to be fantastic. Thanks for sharing these with us Sylviane and have a great day ahead.
Lisa invites you to read..How Blogging Helped Me Write a Tribute to Mom
Hi Lisa,
Yes, I understand that in your case you are nervous of linking to other blogs, but from what I’ve learned you should be fine if you add the nofollow attribute.
Yes, don’t we all hate those misleading headlines?
Thank you for coming by.
Hi, that\’s great post, Blogging Blunders can cost you a lot of effort and time you put in to write and promote a blog.While a well written and well structured post can move you forward very quickly.
Hi Piyush,
Yes, indeed.
Thank you for bringing this up.
Hi Sylviane,
Great write here. I enjoyed going through your article. To be frank, I’m used to scan a post (especially the sub-headings) without reading the total post, but interestingly your post made me read from top to bottom. Such is the importance of the content here. Thank you for the effort 🙂
I do agree with your points, and I strongly feel that the following are more important than rest of the topics :
1. Headlines – unrelated headings annoys and will lead to failure of the blog !
2. Sub headings – An article without sub headings is like a women with bald head !
3. Not linking to old post – is the biggest way of loosing our own readers !
4. Totally irrelevant images – I too experienced many articles holding NOT RELATED images. That looks really strange
Thank you again for your time.
Bhanu Chander invites you to read..LinkedIn SMM – A complete guide for everyone
Hi Bhanu,
Well, I’m honored if you read the complete post then 🙂 Thanks bunches.
Ahaha a blog post without sub headings is like a bald woman! Wow, that’s pretty bad, indeed, then. But jokes apart it’s really not good for the post. People love sub headings.
I’ll rather take the no image at all rather than the no relevant image. You’re right, that’s pretty strange.
Thanks so much for coming and for your feedback.
Anonymous bloggers are more pain in an a$$. Often newbies forget to add internal link or feel shy to give away link back to other blogs. Well, thanks for providing 8 blunders that no one should repeat
Jay Patel invites you to read..Download SBI PO Exam 2014 Admit Card
Hi Jay,
I’m so glad you enjoyed that post and welcome here 🙂
Hi Sylviane,
Well, you have taught me a thing or two I need to do on my blog and I thank you. I don’t link to my other posts! Hmm…I just put that down on a post it and it is on my desk. That is mistake number one.
Spacing..I need to work on that one too. With my new theme, I’m still struggling with font sizing and spacing. Sometimes it looks clumpy.
As for pictures? I think I’m OK there. I do my own and do try to make it relevant to the post. Critique me any time … I sure would appreciate it. You have a good eye for these things and when we meet later this week, please keep in mind that I welcome constructive criticism. It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks 🙂
-Donna
donna merrill invites you to read..Entrepreneurs Have Holidays Too
Hi Donna,
No you’re great with your pictures. As a matter of fact, I’ve learned from you to use less and less pictures that I do not own entirely 🙂 and I’m writing a post on how to make your cool own pictures for blog posts. What you told me about those pictures never being safe scared me a little 🙂 But I sure took the advice to heart.
Yes, I’ve noticed that you are not linking to your older posts, but any of those tech bloggers guys would tell you that you should. This is 100% good for you, your readers, your blog and even search engines.
I also noticed that you seem to have too much space between your paragraphs. The way you supposed to do it is by just spacing one extra time than if you would want to go to the next line, so that should Enter X 2. I hope this help 🙂
I’m glad if this post was helpful some 🙂
Oh, I had almost forgotten. I’ll see ya on Thursday 🙂
Hi Sylviane,
That’s one great post and I am glad to read about those blunders especially after being away from blogging for a while. It’s good to be reminded of them.
I am sure guilty of not linking to other old posts and I lose the opportunity of having my readers stay longer on my blog. I have to pay attention to these blunders when I write my posts from now on.
Thanks for a great and educative post as always Sylviane!!
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Neamat Tawadrous invites you to read..10 Characteristics That Make A Great Leader!
Wow, Neamat, it’s so nice to see you back. We’ve missed you here 🙂
Does that mean that you’re back on blogging? That’s great if you are.
Yes, do not forget to link to other blogs every time you find an opportunity by linking specific keywords that match the topic. That’s a pretty cool feature of blogging that we should all use.
Nice seeing you back 🙂
Excellent point Slyviane!
You really hit this one out of the park. Even though I would never formally complain, although I might simply decide not to return or return rarely, if ever to any blogger that routinely does the annoying and costly eight mistakes that you point out!
As I was reading your list, I have to admit how what your sharing definitely annoys me!LOL Especially your first four tips!
BTW: Mistake number # three, with your five excellent sub points, are a whole additional blog post and or “how to” video in and of themselves!
You really did an excellent job of pointing out so excellent potential traffic killers Sylviane!
Thanks so much for sharing your expertise!
Mark invites you to read..Planting Acorns: How It’s A Lot Like Successfully Growing Your Business!Part Two
Hi Mark,
I’m so glad you enjoyed this read. That’s true, the benefits of linking to other posts of our blog can be a topic for a post of its own. Thanks for the idea 🙂
Yes, those point are kind of annoying when we run into them as we visit blogs, that’s why there’re worth a post.
Thanks for coming.
Oh my gosh, Sylviane, these hit the nail right on the head. The last one is the kicker. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to blog with no credit whatsoever. Anonymous! I don’t like reading those simply because you have no idea if someone is credible or who they are or why you should care.
No subheadings drives me nuts, too. The worst is when you have a post that says “5 steps…” and you think there should be 5 headings somewhere, right? Nope. Just big block of text and you have to figure out where the five things are supposed to be.
I’ll add one, too: too much formatting! Sometimes people put headlines and underlines and red fonts and big fonts and small fonts and italics and boxes and borders and there is text everywhere all different sizes, shapes and colors. I find it SO distracting to read anything but plain old text.
I think the world still needs a really good “how to blog” course. Sounds like something you should write 🙂
Carol Lynn invites you to read..On Disruption: Read This Marketing Article & You’ll Be Sayin “Sweet Baby Jesus!”
Hi Carol,
Always nice to see you here.
I know what you mean by too much formatting, I’ve seen blog posts like that where they had like 4 different colors in the text of their post. Yes, it sure is distracting. It seems that they want the reader to pay more attention to some specific sentences, but if it’s over done, it’s really does the opposite.
Not long ago I read a blog post where the bio box had the name “Admin” I contacted the blogger and told him that I while the post was good, I refused to comment because of his admin thing 🙂 That’s crazy.
Thank you for your input and for coming and see you around.
Hi Sylviane,
You just made my day by reminding me of some of the basic principles of writing a good post. The blunders on not “Not Linking to Older Posts” and “Never Linking To Other Blogs”, I have often made from time to time.
I have often ignored the application of “no follow” attribute but I guess I have been wrong. Its now time to change and make the necessary corrections.
By the way, this line under the blunder of using “irrelevant” image is thought provoking and there is nothing truer than that “Remember, that being a popular blogger doesn’t mean that everything you do is right!”
Thanks for sharing this piece and I guess its time we truly go ahead and do away with those blunders which we often ignore!
I have left this comment in kingged.com – the content syndication and social marketing platform for Internet marketers, where this post was shared.
Sunday – kingged.com contributor
Hi Sunday,
Thank you for your great comment and I ‘m glad you seem to have appreciated my content here. Those are points that we should really take into account and try to avoid.
Thank you for coming.
Really Great Article! This silly mistakes can destroy your blog immediately. Blogging is the game of the trust. If you mislead your readers with fake headlines, the reader will not come to your site anymore. You\’ll lose your readers if any.Linking to other blogs if they have more relevant information than you, sends trust signals to readers. They start to recognize as a helping bloggers. Also, not formatting your blog posts properly makes your content difficult to read. You should format it appropriately with Subheadings, Bullet Points, numbers, Highlighting important points, ETC.Thanks for such a great article Sylviane .Well, i found this post on http://www.kingged.com and kingged it
Swaraj Nandedkar invites you to read..5 Smart Ways to Promote Your Blog Post
Hi Swaraj,
I’m so glad you’ve found me on Kingged. I always would like to spend more time there, but time is what’s missing in my life right now, but I’ll check you out there.
So happy you enjoyed this blog post and thanks for coming.
Hi Sylviane,
It’s a good reminder, indeed! 🙂
I’ve made some of these blunders some time ago, such as anonymous bloggers and do not connect with other blogs. However, I tried as soon as possible aware of these blunders.
This is a great post, Sylviane.
Thanks for sharing this with us and have a nice day.
Nanda
Nanda Rahmanius invites you to read..5 Tips to Write Good Blog Posts
Hi Nanda,
You’re not the only one, all new bloggers have made mistakes, and that includes me, but as we learn from others we can eliminates them as you do yourself 🙂
Thanks for your visit and comment.
Hey Sylviane,
Although I agree with pretty much everything you have on your list I do have an issue with the introduction. I don’t write my blog posts like I use to write my articles. I make them more personal so my first paragraph is not going to be an introduction to what you’re about to read. That one I have to disagree with you about because I think it depends on the blogger and their writing style.
Now misleading people with headlines I definitely cannot stand and I visited a blog just a few minute ago and the guys had an author bio box and still listed him only as Admin. No name anywhere on the About Page so I left and will not be returning to that one. I can’t believe people actually do that.
Someone asked me yesterday on Twitter why people put irrelevant images in their posts and was it just to get pinned on Pinterest? I told him I had no idea because the blogs I’ve visited do have relevant images so I’ve yet to run across one that doesn’t. Unless he’s meaning those annoying darn adsense ads that are huge and at the top of their posts that look like someone’s leg is about to explode. That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen and I’m about ready to stop visiting any blog that has those darn ads. They are just annoying as all get out to me.
Great share Sylviane and I do as I said agree with most all of what you mentioned. LOL!!!
Hope to talk to you tomorrow.
~Adrienne
Adrienne Smith invites you to read..Should You Blog On A Holiday
Hi Adrienne,
It’s very understandable that at times we don’t necessarily introduce the topic in the very first lines of the post, especially if we have visitors that know us so well, such as you do. At times we start our post like a letter, but for the most part I can tell what you’re going to talk about pretty quickly.
I do not understand why people would post totally irrelevant pictures. I think that some of them may want to look “different” my any mean possible, but this is not one good way to be different if you ask me.
Thank you for being here and see you tomorrow.
hi mate. thanks for this correction. i mostly fall into same mistakes at my time of startup; not linking my post to other post/blog, using images thats doesn’t speak much about my post. but since i’ve notice the adv and disadvantages, i began to make these correct. thanks for the post. have a nice day
emmanuel ekainu invites you to read..A-Z Guide to Unlock 3G Internet Modem.
Hi Emmanuel,
I’m glad you’ve learned from your mistakes and are making improvement for a better blog.
Thanks for coming.
Thanks for sharing this blogging tips Sylviane.
I for one am guilty of forgetting to include a link to older posts. I can imagine the opportunities I’m missing there. I mean, I don’t forget all the time but I should be in the habit of doing that by now.
I have actually thought about writing a post anonymously. There are some topics I’m not comfortable having my family read but would like to share my thoughts and feelings about. But after reading your advice, I’ll have to think about that and figure out how another way.
I hope you’re having a great day. Thanks again for sharing this with us. Definitely passing this along.
Corina Ramos invites you to read..Let’s Talk Bums and Cottonelle Fresh Care Flushable Cleansing Cloths
Hi Corina,
Sorry for the late reply here, still trying t catch up on everything.
If you want to write about topics anonymously, I suggest that you get a pen name and post your article on places like EzineArticles, for example. I’ve done that many times in the past.
I know what you mean, I have had the same feeling at times. Wanting to write about something, but not wanting people know who wrote it 🙂 So I get that.
Hi Sylviane,
I totally agree with all that you’ve written, and this is exactly what happens with most blogs I visit too 🙂
You see the headlines really don’t match with the post, or else the images are out of context, and by the time you see this much, you pretty much lose interest in reading further, yet you carry on if it’s a reciprocation visit you make.
I agree about the internal and external linking, which has to be done very carefully, but should be done. Even your Commentluv link for that matter, should be a combination of nofollow and dofollow, as Google prefers that, instead of having all of them as nofollow as some bloggers do because of the recent Google update.
I think if you take care, you can certainly avoid such blunders on your blog.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice weekend 🙂
Harleena Singh invites you to read..How The Writing Process Helps To Improve Your Content
Hi Harleena,
Sorry for such late reply here, but didn’t forget about you 🙂
I think you’re right about commentluv, I also dofollow some people and nofollow others, especially if I don’t know them or not sure about their blogs, and how long they’ll be around.
there are too many people who just come an go, you know? So we need to watch for that.
Thank you for this great point.
As I said on Twitter, for the most part I agree with these, but have some problems with #2 and #6.
Who’s to say what an irrelevant introduction is? I think it all depends on the type of blogging one does as to whether or not something is relevant. If you’re writing about serious stuff or teaching someone how to do something, some introductions might be irrelevant. However, if you’re starting with a story, telling a story, or just being entertaining, there’s no such thing as an irrelevant introduction; at least that’s my opinion on it.
As for #6, once again I think it depends on what someone is talking about and what their writing style is. I’ve been blogging for almost 10 years now and it’s rare that I have subheadings. If I have a list post then I may highlight either the first line or the numbers, but that’s it. I’m not comfortable writing subheadings because it’s not something I ever learned when I was in school, and I’ve never had to do with most business writing over the years. In a way, subheadings are, for me, chapter titles, and I’ve only used them when I’ve written very long pieces where one had to detail the problem, the history, the apparent solution and then, hopefully, the positive outcome, although sometimes it was a negative outcome. But as it pertains to blogging… never.
Anyway, those are my takes. I’d have to say that my biggest gripe is your #1 item, misleading titles. That’s just wrong across the board, and I’m really irked when a headline captures my interest and then the article isn’t about it.
Mitch Mitchell invites you to read..What Passes For Good Information Might Not Be
Hi Mitch,
Thank you for your critic 🙂 Of course, introduction is more important if you are blogging for business. It has been times where my own introductions went a bit to the side, and that’s OK too (at times), while I wouldn’t that that ALL the times.
As for the the subheadings, I certainly didn’t learn to do that in school either, but I think that it really helps for blogs. I understand that you may not be comfortable with it, but as they say, it’s good sometimes to get out of our “comfort zone.” It’s my opinion that it’s harder to read a piece with no subheads (I know it is for me). The brain captures things visually first, so I’m trying to help people’s brain that way.
Thanks for your input and have a great day. Sorry for the late reply 🙂
The misleading headlines, and ones that don\’t deliver on their promise really hack me off. Follow that up with being anonymous and you won’t see me for dust! The anonymous thing really bugs me, because no matter how good the advice is I won’t take it if there isn\’t a person attached to it.Another minor annoyance to add to your list is when people have a guest blogger and the only time you know it\’s a guest blogger is when you reach the bottom of the page and it says this is a guest post from xxx. Set them up a user account, it takes 2 minutes! Introduce the post to your audience that takes another 2 minutes and then it reads much better.
Sarah Arrow invites you to read..THE WordPress Theme for Authors?
Hi Sarah,
I so agree with you on all that.
Indeed, who wants to get advice from Mr. “anonymous” it really doesn’t make any sense, I don’t understand how people don’t get that.
I agree with you on guest blogging too. When I have a guest blogger I usually register them as such and I ALWAYS introduce them at the beginning.
How many times I’ve read a whole post thinking it was the owner of the blog, to find out that it wasn’t at the end. That’s not giving justice to the guest in this case.
Thank you for your excellent feedback.
Hey Sylviane,
I had to take a look back at myself as I was reading this! I can definitely understand the frustration when you have an image that doesn’t relate to the post. This can be very discouraging and disappointing to your readers when your main image says one thing but you’re reading something else in your blog.
The one point that really strucked me was not linking to old post. Yes, i have came across a couple of blogs that will make a point or use some type of jargon, but they don’t link to a relative old post to explain more in detail. That frustrates me and I know it frustrates other readers.
This is why lately with my recent blog post, I will mention a point or type of jargon and link it back to one of my old posts so that the reader can get more detail about it. I know they appreciate this when they reader any blog!
Thanks for sharing Sylviane!
sherman smith invites you to read..How Important Is Keyword Density To Your Blog?
Hi Sherman,
I’m glad you caught on with this post. I know when you read a blog post like that you have to stop and thing, OK, am I doing this or not?
Thanks for coming.
Hi Sylviane,
I completely agree with these, most especially the Misleading Headlines. While I understand the need to have impact at first sight, most of the time it can just be annoying. Sometimes, you see a headline that says one thing, and then you read it but it says another thing. Also, the words “Mind-blowing, Horrifying, Impossible, etc” have been misused/abused a lot. I get the whole “viral” thing, but a cat doing somersaults is just interesting at most.
I have to confess that I haven’t been linking to my past posts or to other blogs recently. Bad blogger behavior, I know. I just chalk it up to being a bit too busy at the moment remembering my other posts:P
Thanks for another great post! Have a great weekend.
All the best,
Micah
Micah Medina invites you to read..Creating Headlines that Draw a Hungry Audience
Hi Micah,
I so agree with you on that, and I’m so glad you gave these specific examples. Those superlatives have, indeed, been used and re-used too much, and the more pompous they are the more likely they will be misleading and thus the article (blog post) disappointing. So, let’s always keep this in mind as we spot those super duper fabulous headlines 🙂
Thanks for bringing this up.
I used to post irrelevant images earlier and also no sub-headings, now I have changed this. Also I link to other bloggers whenever I feel so but with no follow attribute, anyway at this time it won\’t help them with a do follow one.Linking old articles is something I have started, but I need to do this in a a more better way.I totally agree, if there are mis-leading titles, then it is way more worse for a blogger. Thanks for the tips.
Rohan Bhardwaj invites you to read..A Poem of Mobile Phones
Ciao Sylviane,
What a great title! Any time there are blunders to avoid, I’m there reading to learn what they are so I can avoid making them! Always something new to learn… so thanks for sharing this much-needed article. 🙂
I come across blogs with titles that mislead the reader as well, and I just shake my head and wonder how in the world they could even imagine keeping the reader’s attention with false promises.
You are right – the catchy headline is important but following through with answering the question and providing the content that solves the problem is essential in order to maintain credibility for any length of time.
There definitely is a learning curve when creating introductions as in the beginning it’s hard to creatively tie in thoughts to explain what’s coming in a concise relevant manner. I am much better than I used to be, and have evolved into a better writer but sometimes just share my thoughts without much thought for intro.
I did not always link to older posts but have done so for quite some time. As I update old blog posts with current information, I incorporate a link to a relevant blog post on my site as well.I’ve enjoyed linking to other reputable marketers and have actually increased this practice lately.
I love sharing info about honest marketers with integrity and pointing people in the direction of high quality content that may help them.Yeah, spacing issues can be a real downer when landing on a blog.
Sometimes I have to scroll and scroll and SCROLL in order to keep reading because there’s so much white space between paragraphs. I’m thinking to myself, “Don’t they ever test and preview their content?” I test my blog post in three different browsers before I hit the publish button. LOL I want the experience of landing on my site to consume my content a pleasurable one.
I do prefer subheadings also as I think it adds a lot of interest and readability to the post, which results in an improved bounce rate, and overall enjoyability consuming the article. However, not seeing subheadings doesn’t prevent me from reading an article from someone that I really like and trust.
Irrelevant images do confuse the mind, and it doesn’t seem worth their effort to include them, does it?
Anonymous bloggers must NOT be interested in building relationships, and obviously don’t have the understanding that people need to know them, like them and trust them in order to open their wallets and spend money on their services and products.
Just plain lack of common sense. Thank you so much for this wonderful and thought-provoking article, containing great value – I will share it right now!
Have a blessed weekend. 🙂
– Carol Amato
Carol Amato invites you to read..10 Things to Love About Having an Online Business