inbo undm arke t ingagent s.com
und-marketing-agents-blo g/bid/263689/21-calamito us-business-blo g-
mistakes-to-avoid?source=Blo g_Email_[21 Calamitous Busine]
21 Calamitous Business Blog Mistakes to Avoid
Po sted by Jasmine Henry on Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 07:05 AM
21 Calamitous Business Blog Mistakes to Avoid
Posted by Jasmine Henry on Fri, Feb 01, 2013 @ 07:05 AM
Is Your Only Subscriber Your Mom?
Who doesn’t have a blog these days? It seems that every small- and
medium-sized business I encounter has started blogging f or business.
Recent data indicates that 91% of B2B marketers will be creating
custom content in 2013, but how many of these companies are simply
trying to achieve quality over quantity? There’s a lot of wrong ways to
approach blogging, and I’ll be the f irst to admit that I’ve learned a f ew
of them myself the hard way. Be ye not so f oolish:
1. Waiting to Get Started
Don’t sit back and watch your competitors soar to the top of Google
and score the business of all of your prospects. T here’s always going
to great reasons to put of f getting started creating custom content,
but the statistics reveal you can’t af f ord to make excuses any longer.
2. Writing Without an Audience
Any Freshman English Composition prof essor who’s worth his or her salt will tell you that writing is
worthless without an audience. Who are your buyer personas, and what problem in their lif e is so
pressing they’ve come looking f or your product or service solutions? Def ine your ideal customer and use
your blog as a platf orm f or answering their questions.
3. Not Def ining Brand Personality
I can’t tell you how to brand your company, but I can tell you that content that’s not written in a distinct
voice can be pretty boring. You can have multiple voices speaking on your blog, depending on the size of
your content team, but be sure they’re consistent with how you want your company to be def ined.
4. Making It All About You
People don’t want to hear about how sparkly-f un your team members are, unless you’re trying to sell

your content calendar turn into a broken record. Mix up tutorials with lists and editorials with newsjacking
or guest posts.
12. Not Editing or Writing Well
No one likes a grammar snob, but no one likes bad grammar, either. Trust us, if you’re not editing your
blog content and no one is pointing out your typos, you’ve probably driven away f rustrated readers.
13. Not Using Image Sources
Adding images improves the chances your content will gain traction on Facebook and Pinterest. While
we’re not qualif ied to of f er any small business blogger legal advice, we’re f irm believers that stealing is a
no-no. Properly credited visual content f rom f reedigitalphotos.net is your blog’s new best f riend.
14. Not Using Sources
When in doubt, cite or quote someone better known and more of an expert than yourself . It’s just good
journalism.
15. Not Actively Pitching Guest Posts
Guest posting is a powerf ul way f or even the shyest bloggers to build alliances and positive SEO. Write
really powerf ul content and of f er it up to your peers. If it’s not good enough to publish on your own blog,
don’t try and get it posted elsewhere. Set an attainable goal, which might be one post a week or two a
month, and add it to your content calendar.
16. Writing Only Snacks or Feasts
The meals and snacks methodology of alternating longer pieces of blog content with shorter pieces is
only ef f ective if you use both. If your content is less than 600 words on a regular basis, you could be
losing your opportunity to reap the positive SEO benef its of blogging. If you’re exceeding 1200 words
day af ter day, it might be time to f ill your content calendar with some shorter bites.
17. Deleting Hurtf ul Comments
It hurts your readers’ f eelings when you delete their blog comments. There are always going to be trolls,
hurtf ul comments, and people who probably dropped in just to point out a typo. Blogging is a remarkable
tool f or developing a thick skin. Take their f eedback as an opportunity to grow.
18. Not Accepting Guest Posts
When you start of f ering guest posts to other bloggers, something magical is bound to happen: You
might be of f ered f ree content in return! There are always going to be posts that aren’t a great f it f or
your business blog, which is f ine. Have standards in place f or what’s acceptable, be conf ident enough to