The 7 Deadly Sins of Starting a New Blog

InspireMonkey is a creative blog that aims to share with everyone the best resources, latest news, a spark or two of inspiration and updates on what’s happening on the web – from design to technology, or even the humorous and extraordinary.

While the preparation for the launch of this blog has been like a roller coaster ride, there are some things that I wish to share with everyone.

When I started this blog, I encountered the infamous “7 Deadly Sins” and have learnt how these “7 Deadly Sins” can affect me.

Overpowering My 7 Deadly Sins

This article is somehow inspired by the 7 deadly sins that can be committed by a designer. While I wrote this post from the position of a blog owner, this post aims to provide a guide for anyone who wishes to start a blog too.

Gluttony

Image source: vanessa.paxton

Gluttony appears in the form of over-specifying your blog. You start out planning something innovative, while trying to be different from the rest. However the more you plan, the more issues arise and your mind starts to play tricks with you.

The most important thing to remember to avoid committing this sin, is letting your readers tell you the direction you should take. Ask for their comments and feedback, either by email or through your analytics.

The key here is to think about the long term goal and getting a good head start while remembering to gather feedback often for making improvements.

Greed

Image source: dawndh

Similar to Gluttony, Greed takes a different form when starting a blog. It appears in the form of content planning. You may think that you’ve hit the jackpot for every single article you’ve written and immediately anticipate an increase in traffic to your new blog.

By writing extremely long articles and posting them several times in a day, you will not only overload your readers with the influx of information, you could also cause them to be turned off and lose any sense of anticipation in waiting for a new article. Remember that your readers may not be as greedy as you.

The rule of thumb is to constantly regulate interesting articles of high caliber. Show only what you want your readers to read rather than trying to say a million things at once.

Sloth

Image source: Jeezny

You may be feeling all fired up and full of passion when starting your own blog. However, after several weeks of unexciting results, you tend to slow down your pace. From writing three articles a week, you slowly reduce the quota to one a week and soon enough, once every few months. When the feelings of dread appear and you have to push yourself to write, you will know that Sloth has started its invasion.

The bottom line is to prepare early and have several articles in your inventory in advance. If need be, invite guest writers to assist you. Keep the momentum going and it will soon become a great routine.

Lust

Image source: Riimms

When starting a blog, it can be very easy to plan from your point of view, in the absence of others. You could not care about others’ opinions and let your own aspirations and thinking control you instead.

Therefore it’s important to plan with an all-inclusive perspective, rather than letting yourself be affected by your own aspirations and thoughts. You may want to extend an offer to professionals, without bias, who can help you in the creation of your blog objectively.

Pride

Image source: Polly Hanrahan

Your ego is a deadly killer and is similar to Pride. Even though you can write really well, there is still no harm in inviting others to share their experiences and stories with you. Take constructive feedback and criticism seriously from a neutral standpoint.

The solution to this is to seek expert opinion and the perspective of others. Make sure you are comfortable with what you are doing and many people will be more than willing to help, if you are ready to put aside your pride and ask for it.

Envy

Image source: jes525

It’s sometimes hard to avoid scrutinizing the countless beautiful blogs out there and sub-consciously you may tend to copy the designs or imitate the style. Your green monster has overcome you and left you disoriented and you just want the best out of all the pies.

Envy, if not contained properly can easily manifest into jealousy, which is even more deadly. Be inspired by others; appreciate what they do well, but never attempt to replicate it.

Wrath

Image source: dawndh

Control your anger and frustration if things aren’t going your way. If you realize that no one is reading your article or that your daily traffic statistics are low, do not give up. Instead, try to study the success of other blogs and analyze what they have done right or can be improved. Blaming and cursing isn’t going to cure the stagnancy of your blog.

Learn how to channel your anger, disappointment and sadness into positive energy which in turns helps you to attract your desired outcome.

Success Will Come

I believe that there are many people out there that are still planning to start a blog or may own a blog. I wonder if they have committed the same sins when they first started out. No matter what you do, you must have the passion to do it, and success will follow thereafter.

InspireMonkey is a very new blog and I hope that all of you will be kind enough to give us your fullest support! While, many people are leaving the blogging sphere, I have decided to plunge straight into it at this time. Please also feel free to share with us the problem you have faced when starting your own blog.