Five Pet Blogging Blunders You Might Be Making

Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

Take a few moments and take a step back and look at your pet blog with a critical eye and see if any of these five pet blogging blunders might be on your site. Sometimes, it’s difficult to even see if we’re making blogging missteps. If that’s the case, you may want to ask a trusted friend to walk through your site with you.

Remember when we did the Spring Blog Cleaning series? Perhaps you will want to revisit that and do a close-to-year-end review of your site. Here are some common pet blogging blunders we sometimes witness:

1. No compelling headline to be found. If you don’t have a compelling headline, complete with searchable terms, you will not find readers flocking to your pet blog. What makes for a compelling headline? Those that contain words such as: Secrets, Tips, How-to, Mistakes, etc. Look for words that make your blog post easy to find in a Google search. You may want to spend as much time writing your headline as you do your blog post.
2. It’s the “Me” show. Yes, you may be writing your pet blog post based on experiences you’ve had BUT the post should be geared toward the reader. You can certainly pen a post that lets the reader know that yes, it was “you” who had to learn to groom a ferret but you’re offering tips on how the reader can groom his or her ferret. Write your blog post as if you’re talking to a specific person. Once you’re done with your pet blog, ask yourself: Did I teach my reader something? Did I spend the entire post trying to sell something? If you answered, “no” and “yes” you should go back and rework your blog post. Speaking of which…
3. You’re not talking to a niche audience. Instead of writing a headline that reads, “Dog Grooming Tips” you may want to niche it down to a more specific audience such as, “Dog Grooming Tips for Newbie Pet Owners,” or “How To Groom Your Puppy For The First Time,” or “Items All Pet Groomers Need.” Writing to a niche makes you more of a voice of the expert to that niche and also helps you in Google searches.
4. You said what? While I am not advocating that you sit down and write a rigid outline for your blog post you should have a “flow” to it — a beginning a middle and an end. If the subject of the post is chronological, then follow it that way, if it has no timeline to it you still need to remember it has a beginning, middle and an end and that is the way your reader will want to receive and digest the information. Give the reader what he or she wants (and needs!) Make certain your post is logical in format and flow.
5. You’re not offering a take-away or a lesson. Yes, there are times when you simply want to share a story about an event in your, or your pet’s life, but for the most part you will likely be blogging to “teach” your audience something. You want them to walk away saying, “I never knew that!” or “I think I am going to try that,” or “I’m so glad I learned X, Y, and Z from this post. I am going to share it with my audience.”

Are you making any of these pet blogging blunders? Are there other blunders you have made or that you see on others’ posts?

(Photo Shutterstock Hamster on computer)