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As a blogger, I’ve done (and still do) silly things and have learned hard lessons from those embarrassing experiences.

Throughout my career, I’ve written hundreds of posts for dozens of publications covering a variety of different verticals (fashion, home & garden, entrepreneurship, technology, marketing, careers, you name it!). Now I would like to share a few valuable tips I’ve learned that may help you become a better blogger.

…and while I can list a whole bunch of things TO DO, you’ve probably already heard most of the advice I could offer. This post aims to point out bad blogging habits you might not even be aware of.

Blogger Do Not’s

1. Aggressive sales promotion. Your content should be about your reader, not your brand.
2. Anonymous authors. Readers want to know who you are, so publish under your byline and add a headshot while you’re at it.
3. Consistently short posts. Need I say more?
4. Creating content you hate. Write about things you (and your readers) care about. They’ll appreciate your authenticity and passion.
5. Editing permalinks. You lose link juice on 301 redirects (if you remember to do them).
6. Featuring shady advertisers. Though adult sites may offer you a royal sum, your blog’s reputation is worth far more.
7. Going text only. Images make a real difference.
8. Ignoring comments. Don’t be that guy (or gal) who initiates, then abandons the conversation.
9. Ignoring your readers’ needs. Produce content your readers ask for and they will love you for it.
10. Keyword stuffing. Trust me, Google is smarter than you.
11. No tagging. When visitors search your blog, they should discover at least a handful of posts that are well worth reading about the topic they are researching.
12. Obnoxiously long articles. Readers hate when you pad a post with fluff. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
13. Press release after press release. Give your readers a bit more substance.
14. Post ‘uncategorized’. Label your content with a category (or two) that helps visitors better understand what it is they are reading.
15. Poor recommendations. Whenever appropriate, link to other things on your site your readers actually care about (and then watch your engagement numbers grow).
16. Publishing shoddy guest posts. Be selective about the authors you work with.
17. Stealing content (without proper attribution). No one likes a thief.
18. The frankenpost. It’s easy to copy and paste parts of other posts to create a full article, but that’s a lazy tactic that gets you nowhere. Craft original stories, always.
19. The monologue. Speak to your readers, not yourself.
20. Unnecessary outrage. A public rant does not serve anyone well.
21. Writing off-topic. Don’t betray your readers who have high expectations.

What are some things you wished bloggers simply stopped doing?

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