When you begin your blogging journey, you will probably feel extremely overwhelmed and somewhat intimidated. In fact, you might start by hitting a blank! Well, I did, anyway! BUT don’t let this scare you away! Instead, take a deep breathe, blogging is all about trial and error after all. Jump right into it and you will soon find out what works for you and what doesn’t. It’s a learning curve where even experienced bloggers learn something new every day.

To steer you towards the right path however and to give a little “heads up”, I have put together a list of five things you should avoid when you first start blogging. These were my mistakes, which I learnt from, of course!

Five things you should avoid when you first start blogging:

1. Avoid comparing yourself to other bloggers.

You don’t want to be other bloggers, you want to be uniquely you! So what if they have more followers than you do, or their posts make you a little jealous at the fact that you did not write them yourself. The more you compare yourself to others, the more inferior you might start to feel, which is extremely demotivating! Instead, continue on your own journey, take pride in your work and reflect on your own success.

2. Avoid writing to simply please your audience.

If you do this it might possibly backfire on you. Your audience wants the raw deal, they want to read about things that are out of their bubbles, they don’t just want to be pleased, they want to be lead out of their comfort zones. So, be real!

3. Avoid perfection.

Perfection is boring! Not only is it boring to write perfectly, it’s a boring read too! Write outside the lines, write like you think. Your readers want to know what’s happening in your mind, again, the real deal!

4. Don’t focus on numbers, focus on content.

Content is key. I’ll say that gain, content is key! If your followers are few at the beginning, don’t let that deter you, this does not mean that your blog is not worth following, not at all! Keep on doing what you are doing, focus on your content and its quality, and they’ll come, they’ll come!

5. Avoid flaking at criticism.

If you are a blogger, you ARE going to be criticized, and you might not like what others have to say. You need to wear your big adult pants when this happens, who knows, someone’s advice might just be what you need to take your blogging to the next level, so embrace criticism with open arms.

There is nothing more relieving than putting your thoughts on paper, but when you share these thoughts with the world, you enter I dimension that exposes you. This is both thrilling and intimidating. Ready to take on the challenge?