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Ten Mistakes Bloggers Make
Artist-Bloggers and Their Advice to Other Artists
Happy New Year! To celebrate the New Year, this month’s Market Insider is a double-edition. We’ll be concluding our three-part series on artist blogs by exploring a few common mistakes that bloggers experience. We’ll also hear from a few artist-bloggers that will hopefully give you some inspiration for your own.
Let’s dive right in!
Ten Mistakes Bloggers Make
- Blogging about too many subjects.
The top blogs all center on a single topic. Many new bloggers are blogging about a very wide range of subjects, including music, their pet dog, movies, computer games, favorite sports teams, etc. It’s easier to build a steady readership by delivering consistent content on a single topic rather than a number of seemingly unconnected posts about multiple topics.
- Posting on an inconsistent basis.
It’s extremely important to update your blog on a regular and consistent basis. Posting like crazy for a while and then not posting for a week is a sure way to lose you readers, and to burn yourself out. It’s better to pace yourself. Force yourself to post something at least once per week. If you like it, and you can make time for it, you can start posting more.
- Expecting to have a successful blog within three months.
It takes time, a lot of time, to build a successful blog. It’s common for new bloggers to give up writing only after a few months. If you continue to update it regularly and work to promote it, the blog will do well. It’s sometimes a long, uphill march, but it’s worth it. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can get to the top quickly; Rome wasn’t built in a day.
- Repeating what other bloggers are saying.
If you have something to say about a subject, then you should write about it on your blog. However, many new bloggers do nothing but just echo and repeat what other bloggers in their genre have said. It’s good to give your opinion on a subject but if you only post about topics which began on other blogs, then your own blog is never going to be read. When inundated with other things you need to do for your business, it might be tempting to simply link to other blog postings with a short synopsis, but this will ultimately hamper the success of your blog.
- Not including a basic About the Author page.
- Not including a clear way to contact them.
Not including either of these items is like taking out an ad but not including a content method. If someone finds your blog, you want to be sure they know who you are (what gives you the authority to say what you’re saying) and how to get in touch with you (as in to place an order).
- Not proofreading their posts.
With the ease of publishing that blogging systems offer, it’s sometimes too easy to post something online that has a number of typos. Just like in anything else you might produce (writing, art or otherwise), mistakes make your work look unprofessional.
- Rushing a post.
Think through what you want to say before publishing it. A rushed post with not enough information or unsubstantiated claims is likely to turn off readers and ultimately deflate your traffic.
- Not replying to comments.
A blog is a two-way communication tool, but many bloggers forget that. When readers comment in your blog, answer them. That dialogue will help you build a community of readers.
- Not giving a full RSS feed.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) allows readers to become subscribers to your blog. Once a reader subscribes, he/she can get updated content through an RSS reader (also called a feed reader) without having to visit your site. Yes, this seems counter-intuitive, as you want people to visit your blog. But offering an RSS feed will help you maintain the number of readers, and will help you quantify the most loyal portion of your audience. (See last month’s Market Insider for more information about RSS.)
Artist-Bloggers and Their Advice to Other Artists
Luann Udell (http://luannudell.wordpress.com/)
I've learned…how important it is to blog regularly, and how to create a distinctive voice for your writing. I've also learned how important it is to be able to easily search and organize blog content.
Vessels & Wares, by Janette Zeis (http://vesselsandwares.blogspot.com/)
Blogging provides a glimpse into my life and craft, which allows people to have a connection with my work. It can be used as a marketing tool, but mainly it allows me a venue to show-off new ideas, inspiration and my process. And I think customers/family/friends/other artists enjoying seeing the studio and person behind the final product.
art furniture design, by Todd Fillingham (http://fillingham.wordpress.com/)
It was a surprising how blogging has focused a lot of my thoughts about what I do and where I am at currently in my career. The opportunity to interact with other artists worldwide in a format that applies a linear constraint to how you present your work has actually allowed me to arrive at some interesting insights.
Blogging is open ended story telling and I'm never quite sure where I'm going with it. I like that.
Studio Jeweler, by Natasha Wozniak (www.studiojeweler.blogspot.com/)
I have been noticing that I am developing a feedback cycle between the blog and my work. The more I contemplate what issues are concerning me and that I want to write about, the more I feel inspired to move forward in my work. If my audience is attentive, I feel motivated to make new work to share with them. I also feel compelled to delve deeply into my own feelings about why I do what I do. At this time of change in the craft business, I think that it is important to understand the motivations behind my work and how this might carry me forward as the whole craft infrastructure changes over the coming years.
Got a blog? Let us know about it!
Post a link to your blog in the comments section of this post about blogs at Wholesale Matters.
OPPORTUNITIES KNOCKING
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.
--E.B. White, American essayist, author, humorist, poet and literary stylist. |
