Lindsey Hey, hi, hello, my name is Lindsey, + I made a TON of mistakes as a new blogger (especially on Instagram). I’m still fairly new at blogging + still make mistakes all the time, but I’ve learned A LOT over the past 10 months that I’d love to share so that I can help others not be as clueless as me!!
So without further ado, here we go:
12 Mistakes I Made as a New Blogger (Hint: Don’t do these!):
- Thinking it was all about me—instead of all about my audience.
Something I realized recently: no one, + I mean literally no one is searching for Lindsey Bowen. Not one person. They’re searching for answers to their problems, support, encouragement, + entertainment. So simply put, that’s what I need to be sharing if I want to be found by a wider audience. - Using the same hashtag group over and over.
I used to copy + paste the same hashtag group to every single one of my pictures (embarrassing, I know). Little did I know, Instagram hates that + could potentially think of your account as spam. I have spent a long time perfecting my hashtag strategy + I have a nice little library now of hashtags that I always rotate. - Not using the right hashtags.
So even if you switch up your hashtags every time, if you’re using ones that have 22 million posts attached to them, you probably will not be discovered by anyone. You have to be strategic about which hashtags you’re using. - Posting photos in landscape orientation.
I used to wonder why my posts that were horizontal were not getting much engagement, + then I learned that posting landscape photos on Instagram is a big no-no. The reason why is because portrait photos take up much more space in followers’ feeds. Landscape photos can get lost when followers are scrolling. - Posting captions that were super short.
I know you see some people post captions that are short + sweet, but if you want to encourage conversations + get people to stop the scroll, you need to post longer, more meaningful captions. Plus, Instagram favors longer captions. - Saying yes to every collab offer.
This is a big one. I seriously said yes to every. single. request. It was exhausting + time consuming + I didn’t get much out of it. I would even purchase things that I didn’t really want just to do the collab with them. It makes me sick now thinking about it. But ya live + ya learn, right? - Not defining my ideal audience.
When I first started, I wanted to reach everyone. Not realizing that by speaking to everyone, I was speaking to no one. - Pitching to a million and one brands.
I was under the impression at first that more collaborations equaled success. So I literally sent hundreds of really bad pitches out + sure I got some responses, but I was honestly wasting my time for the most part. - Not realizing the value in finding others to support and collaborate with.
I remember saying the words, “I don’t just want a bunch of other bloggers following me. That’s not the point.” Ummmm, well, yeah, it kinda is. Bloggers are going to like, comment, + engage more. They get the industry, + they will shop your links. They will be your biggest cheerleaders + are much more likely to give you a shoutout! - Worrying too much about my follower count.
Have you heard the age old saying, “A watched follower count will never rise?” Ok, maybe that’s not the saying, but seriously, forget about that number. It doesn’t define you or your success. - Posting just to post.
Woo, I remember being like, “Ok, what am I going to post today? I haven’t posted + I HAVE to, so what’s it going to be?!?” SUCH A WRONG MENTALITY. You should be posting purposefully + intentionally + it should never be a spur of the moment thing. - Not posting based off my analytics.
I used to just post whenever I had a free second. Then I looked at my analytics, saw when most of my followers were on Instagram, started posting around that time, + BOOM, started seeing much more success with my posts!
Soooo, tell me I’m not alone in these!?!? Which one of these did you do too?!? Which one of these surprised you?!?! Comment below + let me know! Or message me on Instagram!
xoxo,
LINDSEY
*This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.
PS- At the bottom of this page, I have a list of my favorite blogger resources + tools…check it out!
