Reason #1: Not committing to the process

Oh, there are so many mistakes business start-ups make. If I had to choose just one, it would be not devoting enough energy to the process.

A lot of people blog, thinking that it will have an instant impact on their business, their search engine visibility and inbound traffic will skyrocket, and they’ll be sleeping on a bed of $100 bills. However, unlike pay-per-click advertising, constructing a blog that builds your business takes time and effort.
YOU planely need to write two to three posts per week for six months to get the results you’re hoping for… or even more than this amount if you’re in a competitive industry.
This means more than just writing, however; you also need to write keyword-rich posts with persuasive, compelling titles that will be read, linked to and shared on social media sites.
Rich Brooks, president of Flyte New Media and author of The 11 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Bloggers Make (free report, email registration required).

Reason #2: Focusing on quantity instead of quality

I think a lot of bloggers focus on quantity versus quality and I think this is the biggest mistake. There is this theory that states that you need to blog a few times a week to make your blog always seem fresh; both from the perspective of human consumption and also from a search engine perspective. The advantage is a gain in quantity—perhaps also a gain in page. A good, in-depth blog post takes time to research, write and edit. Unless you’re a larger company with a team of professional writers, there’s not enough time in the day to do this well; thus there are a lot of blogs with underperforming material.
Dag Holmboe, CEO of Klurig Analytics.

Reason #3: Writing for yourself, not your audience

Although it might be cathartic to opine on your latest thoughts of the moment, if it isn’t of value to your audience, your audience won’t read it. Readers are selfish. They want information they can use. Find a way to provide it.
Jim Lodico, copywriter and marketing consultant.

Reason #4: Making it all about you

Are you that interesting? A celebrity perhaps? If the answer is no, stop writing about yourself and write about something that your readers will find useful, interesting or entertaining. Sure, put your own personality into your content or add a post or two about something that has happened to you and is noteworthy, but write about interesting stuff.
Linda Coles of Blue Banana.

Hone Your Craft

Reason #5: Bad writing

A blogger’s objective is the same as any other writer: to find (and keep) readers. The more readers, the better. Having said this, there is one sure-fire way to turn off regular and potential readers: bad writing. With the ease and accessibility of creating a blog nowadays, the importance of good writing in getting published has all but disappeared—online, at least. I cringe in disgust when I find typos in a $30 hardcover book from the bookstore, or a newspaper or journal article. Yet it’s not uncommon to find formatting, spelling and grammatical errors littered throughout blog posts and articles published online.
Not only do these mistakes make a post difficult and unpleasant to read, they make the point harder to get across, and ultimately leave the reader with a less-than-professional opinion of the blogger. Of course, good writing is more than grammatically correct sentences that have been spell-checked.
Good writing is concise, has a point to it and is accessible (in other words, easy to read and understand). But I would argue that half of the battle to gain readers comes down to simple, lazy mistakes that are easily fixed. Use spell-check; take time to research ideas, facts and concepts you’re not sure about; and most importantly, read over your work before posting. This can make a huge difference.
Corina Mackay, an entertainment-based social media manager and writer.

Reason #6: Failing to engage readers with a compelling headline

The biggest mistake bloggers make is failing to engage readers with a compelling title and an opening statement or question that supports it. Think of the title as the label of a package, one that will only be opened if the label clearly or cleverly describes what’s inside.

Once the package is opened, the first few lines have to hook the reader again by delivering on the promise of the label. When both the title and opening work together, the remaining content is willingly consumed.
Jeff Korhan, professional speaker, consultant and columnist on new media and small business marketing.

Reason #7: Going it alone

What do I mean by that? I think bloggers have the ability to be great storytellers, but sometimes they cut themselves short. They think they have to generate the whole story themselves and fail to use blogging as a way of reporting.
Bloggers need to ask questions and go after a story. Bloggers should follow their instincts and interests. They should feel like they can reach out to other bloggers and people who have commented on posts. Contact companies directly. Ask an author if he or she can do a Q & A. Go behind the scenes, dig deeper.
Simply stated, bloggers will write better pieces and generate more interest when they look for the special angle and break free as writers, reporters and researchers. Bloggers needn’t go it alone. Instead, they should ask themselves what they hope to achieve in a post and go after the material. Like what you’re doing here, Cindy!
Debbie Hemley, social media consultant and blogger.

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Mistake #12: Adding to the noise

Because social media has what seems like an insatiable thirst for content, it can feel like there’s a black hole consuming as fast as we can create. Don’t fall into the trap where you feel like you’ve got to create content for the sake of creating content. Publishing material indiscriminately that lacks substance adds to the noise and diminishes your credibility.
So how can you keep the quality up while also keeping up a steady flow of material? Take one well-thought-out topic and break it into smaller parts. Not only will this approach give you both quality and quantity, it can be used to stimulate a conversation with your readers.
Start by telling your audience what you’re planning to do; for example, let your readers know this is the “first of a three-part series that will explore…” This simple technique will let your audience know there’s more to come and help to create demand for your next piece. Next, make sure to invite readers to comment or share their thoughts by asking questions or including a survey/poll at the end of your post. Then in your subsequent pieces, show your audience you were listening to what they had to say by referencing or incorporating some of the feedback/input they provided.
Richard Spiegel, founder and CEO of Crowd Together.

Build Your Blog Community

Reason #9: Only talking about your company, products and services

I see that companies talk a lot about themselves—their products or their services—on their blogs and I don’t think that’s the best way to go about it. If potential customers are seeing your blog for the first time, they don’t care about you yet. They care about their problems and how your product or service can solve them. Informative content such as tips/tricks or how-to posts are much more effective. Whether you’re a furniture company giving home decorating tips, or a B2B marketing analytics software company giving marketing tips, informative content puts the customer first and build trust before the sale. That’s how you build relationships and create a community that will advocate for you.
Additionally, this is how you can rank for the right keywords and phrases that your target audience searches for on Google.
Janet Aronica, director of marketing and community for oneforty and author of a social media blog.

Reason #10: Not engaging with your readers

The single biggest mistake bloggers make is not engaging with their readers in the comments section. Creating exceptional content is one thing that certainly can get lots of viral visibility. But I feel that acknowledging and responding to your readers as they comment helps build stronger relationships and more “social equity.” People remember you when you take time to reply.
Granted, this may not always be possible or scalable for larger blogs. But even a few replies to comments indicate to all readers that you do read your comments.
Mari Smith, social media speaker and trainer and coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour a Day.