There seems to be a lot of information out there with helpful blogging tips on what you need to be doing on your blog, heck I even have many posts on that subject.
But what about the things you should not do on your blog?
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If you’re a new blogger, you are probably curious about the do and don’ts of blogging. I realize there is a ton of information of out there and sometimes it’s hard to make heads or tails of any of it.
There always seems to be a difference of opinion on subject matter, that’s why there is so much different advice out there. If you’re confused about things you’re reading my advice is to make sure you read the About page of whose blog your reading. Then ask yourself if you think they are a reliable source.
The goal of my blog is to provide the best advice possible for you. Not only from a blogging perspective (blogger since 2014) but from a business perspective (business owner since 2002) as well.
With that being said, let’s go over the six things I believe you should not do on your blog.
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1. Don’t Make Your Blog Look Like An Episode Of Hoarders
I can’t stress this enough! There is nothing worse than landing on a person’s blog page and there is so much chaos going on you don’t know where to look first.
It reminds me of trying to shop at Hobby Lobby. There is so much stuff in that store I get dizzy when I walk in the door.
Remember less is more! You want it to look clean and simple.
If you have a million things going on the reader might get information overload and exit off your page immediately, which will result in a high bounce back rate. No one wants that, you want to keep readers engaged on your blog as long as possible.
2. Don’t Make Your Blog Look Like It’s One Big Advertisement
Buy now! Buy now! You don’t want to miss out! Hey, look over here, I have this great deal!
Personally, if I am looking for information on the internet and I end up on a website that looks like an infomercial I question its authenticity. To me, it doesn’t seem genuine and it has scam written all over it.
I understand that if you are trying to make money from your blog you do that with ads, affiliate links, products, and services. But I feel there is a right way and a wrong way to handle this.
I want sincere advice, not someone who promotes whatever just to make money. Honesty is one thing I strive for, I personally test everything I recommend. I do not want to be fooled into buying something and neither should you.
3. Don’t Use Pop-Ups
I can’t even begin to explain how annoying these things are. Why are you asking me to sign up for your newsletter as soon as I land on your blog?
I know there are many bloggers who still use these and probably may even have luck with them, but I believe for the most part most readers hate them.
When I’m reading a blog and I see a pop-up, I don’t even read what they say anymore, I just immediately click on the X.
Sometimes you can’t even find the X on a pop-up (I’ve had it happen to me on several occasions). What do you think your readers will do in that situation? They are going to hit the back button and move on to the next website.
4. Don’t Make Your Text Hard To Read
Many of us stare at computer screens all day long for our jobs. The last thing that someone wants to do when they are leisurely searching the internet is to end up on a website that is going to cause more eye strain.
Not only that (I hate to admit this), but as we get older we start to go through the loss of near focus ability. You must realize that you will have readers of all age groups. So, you need to cater to everyone.
My suggestion is to not use crazy fonts and colors. Also, you might want to consider increasing your font size.
5. Don’t Plagiarize Other Bloggers
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. When it comes to blogging this is quite the opposite.
One of the key elements of successful blogging is consistent ORIGINAL content.
As a blogger, I spend a lot of time on each of my blog posts to make sure it’s unique from everyone else. There is a ton of hard work and time that goes into this and the last thing we want is someone taking credit for our efforts.
6. Don’t Steal Copyrighted Photos
Do NOT, I repeat do NOT steal other peoples photos! This is just as bad as plagiarizing another blogger’s content.
If you do this you run the risk of having these photos removed from your website, having to compensate who you stole said photos from, or you even run the risk of a lawsuit against you.
Violating copyright law is a crime and you will be held responsible whether you did it knowingly or not.
Just assume every photo you view on the internet is copyrighted unless you are specifically on a website that offers royalty free images. Better yet, purchase your blog images or take your own photos so you know you’re safe. I highly recommend Styled Stock Society or Haute Stock for gorgeous feminine stock photos or Shutterstock has a huge library of images for all different types of categories.
Final Thoughts
I hope these six tips on the things you should not do on your blog were helpful. Are there any other blog no-no’s that are not listed above that you can think of? Let me know what they are in the comments below!
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