I’ve been blogging for over a year now, and along the way, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. With the year coming to an end, I wanted to take the opportunity to share everything I’ve learned — especially if you’re thinking about starting a blog in the upcoming year.

I also see a lot of recurring questions about blogging, so in this article, I’ll do my best to answer them and give you the guidance I wish I had when I first started.

Thinking that you’ll get rich overnight

If your only motivation is to make money, you’re likely to give up before you even start. I wanted to warn you because, in recent years, I’ve seen many creators trying to sell e-books and training courses with misleading titles, making people believe that they will start getting paid quickly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Its going to takes time.

A successful blogger must be honest with you. From what I’ve read from honest bloggers, it took them three years to really start making money. I’m talking about beginner bloggers here.

One of the main reasons new bloggers give up is because they don’t see results within 6 months. ( witch is normal !

Not focussing on writting

Your Blog Posts Make Up 90% of Your Success

Your articles truly represent 90% of your blog’s success. They are the engine that drives traffic, builds trust, and helps your platform grow.

And I want to emphasize this, because many new bloggers spend months perfecting the aesthetic side of their blog (the theme, colors, layout) and forget what really matters: your content.

I made that mistake too. Your design can wait. Your content cannot.

Zero Original — Not Yourself

As a blogger, your authenticity is your biggest strength. Plagiarism is never worth it, and it’s easier than ever for readers to detect when a post is overly generated or copied.

I strongly recommend not relying on AI to write the majority of your blog posts. I once took a course where the instructors encouraged using AI to speed up the writing process. Looking back, it was terrible advice.

Most of the people who complain about having no traffic are the same ones publishing AI-heavy content.

Yes, AI is fast. But detecting AI is fast too.
And when readers realize your posts sound robotic or generic, your credibility drops instantly.

Take the extra time to write your articles yourself — it will always pay off.

The Myspace Era Is Gone

Blogging is no longer about sharing your daily life or posting a stream of personal photos. Readers today want answers. They want guidance. They want value.

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes and write as if you’re speaking to a friend or a group looking for real solutions.

Your blog shouldn’t be a personal diary — that era is long gone.
Write with the intention of helping.

Stay Realistic — Don’t Overdo It

You want to grow your blog, reach more people, and increase your views… but you also need to protect your energy so you don’t burn out before you even get started.

Honestly, my first six months were extremely confusing. I allowed myself to be influenced by every blogging tip I saw, and I tried to follow everything perfectly.

That’s exactly what led me to lose motivation.

I was overwhelmed, trying to learn everything at once. But perfection doesn’t exist, and consuming too much information too quickly only leads to frustration.

The truth is simple:
Be patient. Give yourself time. Grow at your own pace.

Not using SEO

When I started, I was using a SEO extension because it was one of the things I wanted to explore in one of the training courses I purchased, but I didn’t use it fully. I thought it was too complicated, but in fact, it’s not that difficult. SEO stands for SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION. Search engines include Google, Bing, and Pinterest.

It’s difficult to apply something you don’t fully understand, but when done right, you’re more likely to get organic traffic, appear on Google pages, and build your authority and credibility. I’m not going to explain everything here, but do your research. You can even install extensions on WordPress, such as YOAST PRO or Rank Math PRO. (free version dont work)

Not leaving room for errors

When you’re passionate about a new project, it’s easy to want to learn everything, getting lost comparing yourself to other bloggers with more experience, and putting a lot of pressure on yourself to not to make mistakes. Well thats impossible.

Honestly, apart from stressing yourself out and putting yourself under enormous pressure that will make you sick, you won’t get where you want to go. I’m telling you, even the biggest bloggers have been there. It’s okay if you make mistakes, if it’s not perfect. That doesn’t mean you have to give up. On the contrary, give yourself the time you need to learn and to walk your own path.

Not wanting help/ Not investing

A year ago, when I decided to start blogging for real, I knew nothing about it. I wanted to learn everything from A to Z, especially since I had already started and given up before. 

I’m a fan of finding free content online, but nowadays, there are many training courses available. It doesn’t hurt to invest in a course taught by a successful blogger. It’s helpful to learn what you need to know so you don’t jump in blindly. For example, you can learn how to use WordPress and how to grow your blog without overdoing it. 

 Do your research first to see if the person selling the training has good reviews. Be wary of titles that sound too good to be true. 

I went to people who were realistic and weren’t afraid to talk about their imperfect journeys and the mistakes they made.  

There are also videos on YouTube that you can watch if you’re interested. However, please don’t fall for training courses that promise overnight success or riches.

Becoming too obsessed

Most bloggers I meet are, like me, passionate about writing. At first, it’s like a honeymoon period: you’re enthusiastic, you want to write and publish. However, I think that anything done to extremes is unhealthy.

I did it too, which is why I’m talking about it now. I’ve also seen people become so absorbed and obsessed with their blog that they pushed themselves to burnout.

You need to have other hobbies, take days off, and go for walks. Don’t overwork yourself. It’s important not to let your passion take over. Passion can become destructive if it’s not managed properly. Adopt a healthy lifestyle: exercise, knit, pursue your other passions to give your brain time to rest.

Having doubts

Another important point I would like to discuss is doubt. Having too many doubts can be very counterproductive. Many bloggers want to please their audience so much that they end up following all the trends, even if it means losing their own voice. Doubt eats away at your vital energy.

I just want to remind you that it’s your blog. Of course, it’s important to answer your readers’ questions and create content to help others, but it’s still your personal space. When you doubt too much about what to write, you risk losing the desire to write.

Sometimes I see bloggers on Reddit asking others what they should post, as if they were handing over their free will and voice to someone else. Doubt and perfectionism often go hand in hand, and if you let them take over, you risk burning out and eventually stopping writing altogether.