When you embark on using blogging to increase traffic, newsletter sign-ups and to get more customers, it often seems as if the more you blog the better. But, there are many reasons why more isn’t always better when it comes to blogging.

* Your Blog Has No Focus – Writing a bunch of 500 word blog posts that have no purpose other than SEO isn’t going to help if they’re not focused and purposeful. You need to find a voice for your business and stick to it with a strict focus.

* You Don’t Understand Your Niche – Understanding the minutia of your niche is important and if you don’t, it will be hard for you to write useful blog posts that speak to your audience.

* Your Post Has No Reason for Being – If you are writing things without any purpose, it’s going to be difficult to get a permanent readership going. You might attract one-time viewers, but if they click around and find no cohesiveness and no call to action, they’ll just read and leave.

* You Don’t Understand Your Audience – It is difficult to write blog posts that speak to your audience if you don’t know why they are. It’s imperative that you spend time studying your audience so that you know the right words to use to express what you need to say.

* Your Writing Is Boring – Putting it all together, if you are mostly concerned with churning out more content rather than quality content, your content might just be super-boring to the point that it puts your readers to sleep. Working on quality content that speaks about your niche in an intelligent way to your audience is more important than having more content.

* You’re Not Including Other Types of Content – Blogging is more than written text today. You need to include a variety of formats of content such as podcasts, videos, text content and more.

* You’re Not Curating Other People’s Content – Other people have important things to add to the discussion of your niche with your audience. If you can find blog posts that say what you want to say that other people wrote better than you can, share it with your own thoughts added to it to round it out.

* You Aren’t Promoting Blog Posts That You Have – Writing or creating a blog post is just the first step. After you publish it, you need to promote it. If you’re not spending time promoting your blog posts, maybe they’re not good enough to bother even publishing.

When starting a blog, it’s far more important to craft a simple plan of action than to just write. Understand your readers, take the time to optimize each blog post, and never skimp on promoting every blog post that you create. Spending all your time writing and not focusing on these other issues won’t give you the business you want, but doing all these things will.

Writing a blog post can be a lot of work what with getting your thoughts down in writing so your reader can benefit. And on top of it all, you’ve got a lot to remember before, during and after your post.

Let’s quickly go over it all so you can know that you’re doing what you need to do.

1. Come up with a good post idea – will it entertain, educate, inform?

2. Write the rough draft. Now read it and take out the unnecessary words. Your readers want it quick and to the point.

3. Now is the time to insert your live links such as affiliate links or internal links.

4. Insert graphics.

5. Make sure it looks good with the graphics, subheaders, colors, etc. Bullets, numbers and bold headings make it easier for the average “reader” to scan your content. While we’d like them to read every fascinating word, we have to settle for scanning, which is better than skipping and leaving.

6. Let it simmer. You will always think of something important to add to it and it’s easier to do this before you hit publish.

7. Polish it one more time and read it OUTLOUD to catch awkward sentences. Even if you’re posting a podcast or video, you will still have a paragraph or two of writing to proofread.

8. Don’t forget to hit the publish button! Take a deep breath and move on.

9. Broadcast it to your list.

10. Tweet it, post a link on FB, and shout it out through any other social media channels you use.

11. Watch for comments on the post and be sure to quickly answer any questions. Some bloggers don’t answer all comments but it’s a good idea to.

12. Take some time to comment on some of the commenters’ blogs. It’s a courtesy plus you might learn something from their post. In addition, your blog gets more exposure.

13. Do some more tweeting. There’s no rule that says you can only tweet once per blog post. You should reword the tweet though. And if someone retweets you, thank them and/or retweet one of their tweets.

14. Watch your stats. Some topics will be real winners with number of views not necessarily number of comments. Do something with the winning topics – write more blog posts, create your own product, link to an affiliate product, offer a free optin report, etc.

15. Be open to more ways to promote it in the future. If it’s a good post, keep a lookout for an opportunity to internally link back to it.

Blogging is not about slapping something up on your site, it requires a little more work than that. Post something you can be proud of, then make sure you promote it so lots of people do see it.

It happens to the best of us, we’re blogging along and we make a huge mistake. Or we try to make changes and screw something up. Maybe we’ve left it alone for too long and want to resurrect it. Any way you look at it, there’s a huge thorny blog problem.

Change can be a good thing, like when you want to go to a paid theme with all the perks or you want to update to the latest WordPress. So you do it and bam!, you broke your blog. Or at least you and your readers can’t see it anymore. I could tell you that you should have backed up your blog before you messed with it, but you know that now. So get some help. The first place I start is with my hosting company. They back up everything on a consistent basis so they can actually bring your blog back up from the last time they saved it. It might be what your blog looked like 3 days ago so anything you’ve posted since then won’t be on it. That may or may not be a problem. Otherwise, get help from your resident techy expert.

Here’s another problem that can happen with change – you want to change your blog’s direction to match your new direction. Maybe your blog has been all about writing content and now you want to teach how to do video. You’ve got to make a choice. If the difference is not too great you can keep posting to your blog and explain to your readers what’s coming up. Some readers will go right along with you and some will protest and drop off. If the difference is pretty massive, then strongly consider starting a new blog on your new passion.

A very common thorny blog problem is when you’ve decided to start blogging again after a long hiatus. There are two schools of thought here. Either start blogging again and totally overlook the fact that it’s been forever since you blogged, or give an explanation about your absence. I think smaller gaps can be ignored, but larger gaps might need an explanation. It’s okay to admit you got beaten by shiny object syndrome or whatever; it makes you human. Word of caution – if you come clean about your lapse, don’t continue to keep lapsing.

Promoting an inferior product(s) or a slimy marketer is a serious problem. It can happen if you don’t do your homework and thoroughly check out the marketer and/or the product. It might also happen if you’re desperate for an income and your back is against the wall. Obviously you’re digging your own grave going this route and you can’t stop it soon enough. I’ve seen marketers come clean, tell their story, and give a heart-felt apology. Does this work? I think it depends on what you do next and if your word is good again.

Promoting products or showing ads when you haven’t previously can be an issue, especially if your blog is long established. Start small, very small with the ads or promotion, and keep the same great content coming. There will always be people who complain that you sold out. As long as you’re still giving valuable information on your blog, ignore them.

As you can see, every thorny blog problem has a solution. It might not be exactly what you wanted, but there’s always a work around. It’s not always possible to predict which direction you’re going to want to take your blog but the changes may be worth the bumpy ride.

A blog post series is just what is sounds like – a series of posts that are connected. There are good reasons why your blog should include some blog post series. They’re not the status quo, same old thing and this makes them more interesting for your audience. If your readers can follow the journey you’re taking them on via the series of posts, then they’re buying into You. They become vested and trust is established. Also, a series of posts means natural internal linking and that’s good for your SEO.

The unofficial ground rules are these posts have to have something tying them together. If not, you can’t really call it a series. In addition, they must cross-reference the other posts in the series, yet they need to be able to stand on their own so a little intro on each post is necessary.

You might be wondering what sort of thing you should write a blog post series on. Check out other blogs you enjoy reading and get some ideas or try these:

* A personal challenge – you set a personal goal to write 2000 words a day for 1 week, lose 5 pounds in 7 days, train for a marathon, or create 1 new product per month. It’s best if these goals tie into the general theme of your blog.

* Affiliate contest – perhaps you have joined an affiliate contest or you’re having one yourself. Periodic updates on how it’s going can be exciting for everyone to read.

* Before and after – readers love these! Your room remodel, weight loss, website redo, landscaping project, even your blog’s About page are examples. Again, these before and afters should be within the theme of your blog. Your IT blog readers don’t want to see how your veggie garden is progressing.

* How To – how to rewrite PLR, put a grill together, organize your garage, learn crossfit exercises. The series can take one How To thing and break it into several posts, or it can be a series of related How To’s.

* Lists – break down a Top 100 into three or four parts so you can be more thorough. Your audience will thank you for not making them read it all in one looooong post. Shorter posts are much easier to digest, plus knowing there’s a Part 2 or Part 3 brings the reader back again and again. You can also do a Top 5 Tips list with each tip as a separate entry.

* Interview series – interview one expert in your niche – written, video, or podcast – per blog post. I prefer to ask each one different questions even though the general topic is the same.

Remember that the posts must have a common element, they need to link to each other, and they have to be written to make sense if the reader has not read the other parts. Doing a blog series is an excellent way to retain and entertain an audience, and it’s also helpful for SEO.

There are at least two reasons why you should never let your old blog posts die. One is that you want internal linking for SEO purposes, but you want it to be natural to make the search engines and your readers happy. The other big reason is that some of your posts are amazing works of art packed full of valuable information that you want everyone to read. The problem is that you push your content down the ladder every time you publish new content.

So how do you give those old posts additional chances to see the light of day? Here are a few ideas:

Reference an old post, with link, to a current post but only if it applies. For example, if you’re blogging about your tomato plants and blight, you can reference that big comprehensive post you did a few months ago on vegetable disease prevention. A new post about affiliate marketing can have a link to an archival post that’s about a different aspect of affiliate marketing.

Where are you now? Talk about, and link to, a post you wrote exactly a year ago and compare it to your current thoughts, knowing what you know now. Experience is a good teacher and your readers can benefit from what you’ve learned over the year since you wrote that first post.

Do a part 2 or part 3, etc. If you explained 3 ways to do something in a post, chances are you have more to share. Instead of making a super-long post that loses people, make it a series. People will click the other parts and read them too. Curiosity makes for good natural linking.

Sometimes you have an awesome old post you want to share with your current readers. You don’t want to let that die – it was well written and the content is very helpful. It’s okay to tell your readers to go read it. Set it up with a nice intro and maybe a graphic first. This is a great idea when you’re not feeling inspired to write a new post. Just don’t do this too often or people will think you’re being lazy.

Lastly, showcase your old blog posts on social media. Do periodic Facebook posts and tweets about them. You might want to say they’re from your Blog Success Archives or something so people don’t feel like they’ve been tricked when they see an old date on the posts.

These are a few ways you can resurrect those great old posts and gain some SEO ground with internal linking. Don’t get carried away, be natural and be creative. Your new readers will appreciate valuable content, even if it isn’t brand new.

Blogging is a natural extension of sharing your passion. It can also produce an income stream if done properly. So what’s the deal? Is it really hard to do? The answer is no, it’s not hard, but the sooner you avoid these mistakes the sooner your blog can become successful.

Probably the biggest mistakes right off the bat is fear. If you have to work up the courage to post something, it’s exhausting and time-consuming and you’re going to avoid it. No posts mean no blog. The saying “feel the fear and do it anyway” applies here. It should get easier as you progress.

Another problem that will kill a blog is that of perfectionism. A perfectionist is never happy and always tweaking. That means posts are far and few between. Nothing is ever perfect and people certainly aren’t. Let you human side show, mistakes and all, and your readers will bond better with you.

Not having a lead magnetic is a mistake. It is so important to build your list as soon as possible that I’d go so far as to say don’t open your blog for business until you have your optin freebie in place.

Not having a call to action in your posts is a problem. What do you want them to do next? This is where you can send them via an affiliate link to a product that will solve their problem, or to your Facebook page, or another post.

Too broad or too narrow a niche are both mistakes. Too narrow means you’ll run out of content and too broad means you’re all over the place and losing people.

Another mistake is not sticking to your niche. Who wants to read about handguns on a photography site? Sounds ridiculous but it happens more than you’d imagine.

It’s a mistake to not have enough quality, actionable content. People don’t want to just read, they want a game plan. They want to be able to think “I could do that, let me try now.” Give them PowerPoints, worksheets, cheatsheets and the like.

Giving up too early or abandoning your blog is wrong. Yes, it can be disheartening when you’re blogging your little fingers off the bone and no one is reading it yet, but don’t stop. Instead, learn how to drive traffic to your blog. Continue to get educated about blogging and stay at it for the long haul.

Being impersonal is another problem bloggers have. Don’t be just another blog. Make yours memorable by adding the missing ingredient, the spice – you.

Blogging can be fun and lucrative and there’s no reason why you can’t get your share. Pay attention to your mistakes and keep focused on your blogging goals.

We are told money from blogging is supposed to go like this… start a blog, get an audience (traffic), build a list, and sell products to your list and your blog audience. Is it that simple? Of course not. It’s a bumpy road with switch backs, dead ends and potholes, and you never arrive at a destination because it’s always a journey.

Instead of stressing about the money, concentrate on making your blog a really good one. Make it a blog with very helpful, even valuable information, where people want to go again and again to see what you have to say. Make it an authority site and you’ll find the money comes in some surprising ways, not just from hard-selling products.

Partner with other marketers on product creation. Having a successful blog you’re passionate about makes you stand out in the crowded blogosphere and you’re going to get requests from others in your field to work together. Get to know them and pick and choose carefully. It could be that you both are experts, or that you have the expertise but they have a huge audience. Bottom line, make sure you can benefit from the partnering.

Selling ad space on your blog. There’s some prime real estate on your blog’s sidebar(s) and you might want to sell ad space there or at the end of a post. Again, pick and choose carefully who you want to represent. The more traffic your blog gets, the more you can charge per ad.

Incidental selling. These are sales you make from blogging about the tools, software, ebooks, etc. that you’re successfully using. Your own case studies are an excellent path for incidental selling. No hard-selling involved, just mention what you use and why you picked that particular thing over another.

Private coaching. “Show me how to do what you do!” will be the recurring theme in emails you receive and in comments on your blog. Consider turning those requests into one-on-one or group coaching. This can be very lucrative.

Speaking engagements. Successful bloggers are in demand as speakers and they get paid for their time at the podium. Not only that, they often get to pitch their own products during their speeches. That makes for two income streams from one event.

There is definitely money to be made from blogging, but it may not be in the way you’ve been told it will come. Relax, have patience, post amazing content again and again, grow your audience, and be open to other income-producing opportunities that come your way.