Blog blunders are the last thing on your mind when you’re crafting your first blog post. You’ve spent time designing your website or paid a professional to work their magic. It’s ready to welcome hordes of new leads into your waiting arms. The only thing left is to get your blog up for the world to see.
That first post should be easy, right?
The easier it seems to write, the more likely you’ve committed one of the common mistakes listed below. So, let’s talk about what things you need to avoid.
Blog Blunder #1: Making it an extension of your About page
Wait, isn’t your first blog post a great way to tell prospects more about your company?
*Huge Gong Ring*
Pump the brakes immediately if this thought is crossing your mind, even if it’s just a shadow of a thought. Your About page and blog are two different things serving two very different purposes.
Your About page demonstrates to your visitors the benefits they would get by working with you. It shouldn’t:
- List out all the features of your services
- Give your whole company history (just the most exciting highlights)
- Act as a boilerplate way for you to state what you do
Always think, “Why would my visitors keep reading this?” when it comes to any of the pages on your website.
So, give your About page and blog their separate little corners to live in. They can be roommates who share a living space (your site), not a bedroom (your blog).
Blog Blunder #2: Using it as strictly a welcome post
Well, you can’t be too welcoming, right?
Please strike the word “Welcome” from any blog post and potentially any page on your website (Want to know what to replace it with? Check out my first post next month.)
Chances are, if you use your inaugural post as a way to welcome visitors, not very many are going to read it. We have such a tiny window to capture their interest and get them to click, let alone skim your post. You need to ensure it creates value for your site visitors and any readers who stumble upon it.
This means launching your blog with a bang. Find a topic that is a pain point for your ideal audience and help them solve a problem or provide information that is useful to their business. Engage with your readers from that very first post. You don’t need them to warm up to you—enter the orbit of their short attention span as though you’re confident they’d benefit from what you’re blogging about. Be bold.
Use your blog to enrich your readers’ lives and test the waters by discovering whether you need to expand who your ideal customer is.
Blog Blunder #3: Asking for their business every 50 words
You get one chance to make your first impression. If what you’re blogging about is related to a product or service you offer, it’s appropriate to weave a dynamite call to action (CTA) or two into your post. But hitting your readers over the head by sprinkling ten CTA buttons or links throughout a 500-word blog post makes you look like a sleazy used-car salesman from the 70s. You’re better than that. And with Google’s new update, you HAVE to be better than that.
If you’ve already launched your blog and realize your post made the trifecta of all three of these blunders remember you have the power to edit and republish it. Go do it now. Or hire me to!
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