The Top 5 Deadly Blogging Mistakes You Might Be Making (and How to Fix Them)

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You’ve worked  hard to build your blog and everything seemed alright and good to go.

Looking back, you could remember vividly all the sleepless nights you suffered before you were able to even figure out what niche to choose.

Right now, things look fine from the outside and people are beginning to visit your blog. “Wow”, you think, “What a dream come true!”

But then, it all looks like you’ve been attacked by the devil himself. Everything you’ve worked for is beginning to fall apart.

Your blog has gone stale. No more visitors, no more social shares, no more clients and worst of  all… your blog got hacked.

Now you’re wondering why all these things are happening to you at the same time. Have you offended someone? Do you have bad luck?  These and more questions are manifesting in your mind, yet, you’ve not been able to come up with an answer.

Sound familiar?

There is a popular saying… “It takes ages to build a house but one mistake can bring it down in a blink of an eye.”

That is the same way blogging is. It does not matter the amount of time you put into it – there are certain mistakes you will make and they will bring your blog to its knees.

I know you wouldn’t want that to happen, right?

If these things resonated with you then, I have good news.

In today’s post, I will unveil to you 5 of the most common blogging mistakes that most people make.

You need to avoid these killer blogging mistakes if you don’t want to lose everything you’ve worked hard to build.

Avoid These Killer Blogging Mistakes and Save Your Blog from Suffering

There are many mistakes bloggers make. Some are common. Some are easy to fix.

Some are deadly and can wreck your blog and your blogging efforts.

The good news is that most can be avoided!

In addition to the 21 Dangerous Blogging Mistakes most bloggers make, and the 4 Common Blogging Mistakes That Prevent You From Growing Your Business, there are 5 blog killers that you need to be aware of and fix if you want your blog and your blogging efforts to be successful. (And these are in addition to The 8 Biggest Blogging Mistakes New Bloggers Make!)

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First year blogging image

How to Survive Your First Year Blogging

First year blogging image

There are millions who have started blogging, and there are still many reasons to continue to blog.  The sad reality is that only a small percentage of bloggers succeed.

Why do they succeed? Because they don’t quit. No joke. Too many bloggers quit too soon, and they quit during the first year.

Bloggers quit because they don’t:

  • Believe anyone cares and they give up too soon.
  • Understand what it really takes to become a successful blogger.
  • Make money right off the bat and get discouraged.
  • Want to write and create quality content on a regular basis.
  • Have a support group.
  • Strategically network within their niche.
  • Guest post on more established blogs.

Can you see yourself as a professional blogger?

The first 12-months of your blogging career is the most important. What you do in the first year can set you apart from those who fail. In essence, you are building the foundation that will either help your succeed or fail.

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10 Effective Strategies to Becoming a Successful Blogger

10 Effective Strategies to becoming a successful blogger

Everyone wants to blog and learn how to make money online through blogging.

When I first started blogging, I was a “nobody.”

Now that I’ve been “discovered,” others are seeking out my expert opinion.

(I’ve participated in numerous round-ups already!)

I’m being interviewed.

I’m participating in podcasts.

I’m gaining new clients each month. (Want to be one? See what I can do for you!)

I’m loving it, too. 🙂

You Can be Successful, too

To help you understand some of the things I’ve done in order to become the successful blogger I am, I have a guest blogger that has summed up the strategies I’ve followed quite nicely.

His name is Ben, and he wrote the rest of this post.

Please read it, share it, and comment on it.

We’ll talk in the comments.

For now, here are ten strategies that have helped me become successful, which you can use.

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Characters with Disabilities: Does YOUR story have any?

Think fast! Name five well-known fictional characters with disabilities. You cannot include Professor X.

You have one minute. Okay. Go.

Tick. Tick. Tick….

 

Time’s up!

 

How did you do? Don’t worry, if you couldn’t get five in under a minute. There aren’t very many to begin with.

Here’s a new question:  Of the ones you named, how many of them rely on one of these clichés for the character development?

  • The tragic figure
  • The angry whiner
  • The overprotective or absentee “caregiver”
  • The former badass
  • “My disability is a superpower,” “My disability is why I have this job,” or “My superpower makes my disability better.”
  • The desperate search for a cure

The problem with all of these scenarios is that they present disability as something that is always, unquestionably a tragedy.

The message is that any person with a disability must either fight against it, become a powerless victim, or become evil because of it. These stories aren’t written to represent the experiences of people with disabilities; they are written to explore the fears of able-bodied authors who have trouble conceiving a disability as anything more than a horror that lurks in the back of their minds.

There are people who view their disability as a tragedy — especially if they acquired a disability later in life. Most people with disabilities don’t think like that, and fiction writers are doing this community of diverse individuals a huge disservice by perpetuating stereotypes that play off of cultural fears about what it means to live with a disability.

There is a deeply rooted cultural bias that says any person whose body or mind functions differently from current norms is “special” or “less capable.” Sometimes that means a person is marginalized because of a disability. Other times it means the person is idealized as an “inspirational figure.”

It can be hard for able-bodied writers to get beyond the stereotypes, but writing is richer and stories are better when authors abandon cliches and purpose to write with authenticity about characters with diverse experiences and backgrounds.

The best example I have of a compelling character who breaks disability stereotypes is Geordi Laforge from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Geordi is blind, and sometimes his blindness or the way his VISOR functions are relevant storylines of TNG, but Geordi’s story-purpose is to be an engineer. His job is to make sure that the Enterprise runs properly, and he chose to go into engineering because he was interested in the field. He didn’t choose engineering because it was an avenue open to a blind guy where other areas were closed or because he wanted to “break in” to a field where blind people weren’t normally allowed. He’s a talented engineer and capable scientist, but he’s not the only person on board the Enterprise who can do his job.

For me, every story is different, but those are the principles that I try to follow when I write characters with disabilities. I think I might start calling them the Geordi Principles.

  • Disability should be relevant, but not a defining characteristic.
  • Disability can be a challenge, but it should not be “the problem” that moves your story.
  • Disability can also be an asset, but it should not be idealized or the “solution” to the problem.
  • Characters with disabilities can and should be able to work at the same jobs other characters can do. There is no need to create “unique” positions that ONLY the “special” person can do, unless you’re writing a monomyth type hero who just happens to have a disability. The disability shouldn’t be a superpower or the reason your character is fit for his/her job.
  • Please, avoid the overprotective and absentee family members who can’t cope appropriately with a character’s health issues or desire for independence. This is insulting both to people with disabilities and the families who view them as capable individuals who should be treated with respect and dignity.

Redefining Disability artwork (c) Rose B. Fischer.

Back in February, I got into a discussion about disability in the media and how there just doesn’t seem to BE a whole lot. I’d like to change that, so I’m creating an interactive blog project. If you’re a writer or story creator interested in authentic representation for people with disabilities, please check out Redefining Disability. We’ll be taking a more in-depth look at the points in this post, hosting discussions on a variety of issues related to creating characters with disabilities, and providing feedback for authors who have story content to share.

I would like to thank Lorraine for hosting me here on Wording Well and helping spread the word about this project. I hope you’ll check it out and join in the conversation.

 


rose b fisher picture

 

 

Rose B. Fischer is an experienced blogger and author of speculative fiction who is currently developing an interactive project to promote awareness and media representation for people with disabilities. She also reviews books!

Buckets And Other Lists: A Guest Post from Award-Winning Memoirist, Elaine Pereira

Please welcome memoir writer Elaine Pereira! She has written today’s post. Currently, I am reading her book, I Will Never Forget. Soon, I will have an interview with Elaine for you – along with my review. For now, get to know Elaine and learn about her struggles — and her achievements!

Buckets And Other Lists: Writing A Book Was NEVER On My Horizon

I’m one of those annoyingly organized people: a multi-tasking extraordinaire who makes lists for practically everything.  When my mental To-Do list tops three items, I grab paper and a pen and scribble away.

Yeah, I know, all of you techno wizards are rolling your eyes:  paper and pen!  How archaic!  I’m trying to convert to using the Note section of my iPhone exclusively, but it’s a work in progress.  In the meantime, there are far more stashes of pencils, pens, markers and an occasional lipstick tube when I’m desperate and just remembered something important than there are iPhones. Read More