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Blogging.
It can be fun but also highly frustrating at the same time.
You read a post (or two) that shared how easy it was to blog. Those people also showed you these amazing income reports that told you how much money there were making.
They made it all seem so easy, didn’t they?
The reality is that most bloggers do not see much income for the first 6 – 9 months of their blog.

Struggling to know what to focus on with your blog?
What to focus on, and the mistakes to avoid making, to turn your blog from a hobby into a business.
Yep. It’s the truth.
Sure, some may earn $500 – $1,000 a month during their first few months after launching, but they are the exception, not the reality.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make money because you can.
The answer doesn’t lie in a fancy course, and it can’t be found by throwing spaghetti against a wall and hoping something sticks. Perhaps you’ve tried your luck with:
- affiliate marketing
- ad networks
- selling products
- sales funnels
- email marketing
I’ve done that too. And, while sometimes I was lucky, I failed more often than I succeeded. I learned that it was not only a matter of learning but rather doing that made the difference.
I’m going to cut to the chase for you right here, right now. I am not going to sugar-coat or say anything to make you feel better.
The reality is that if you want to make money on your site, you have to be willing to listen and implement strategies right now.
Not in a week. Not in a month.
Now.
You’ve already spent enough time spinning your wheels without moving forward. It is time to stop asking yourself the question, “why isn’t my blog making any money.” Now, s the time to take action and make changes so you can start seeing the income you desire.
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1. You don’t know your audience
You started your blog because you had something to share. But, did you think about the person you were writing the blog for?
If not, then you have overlooked the most critical factor in making an income from your blog.
You forgot about your reader.
The reality is that you need a niche. And, by niche, I don’t mean only the topic. Instead, you need to think about who it is that you want to help.
- Who is your avatar?
- What are her needs?
- What problems or issues does he have?
- What are you going to solve?
When you build your content around your person, you will do much better.
This is the reason why lifestyle blogs tend not to work. The content is a bit too broad and does not work for one person.
The woman who needs help with fashion may not have any interest in travel or finance. When you write about too many topics, you end up helping no one, rather than everyone.
How to fix it:
Take the time to get to know your avatar. Work on your niche and ensure you know exactly who it is you want to help and how.
You can’t write for just anyone. You need to know your person and stop worrying that you won’t attract the right readers or turn people away.
Read more: How to Narrow Down Your Blogging Niche

2. Your blog doesn’t have a purpose
You might know the person you want to help, but do you know your “why?”
Think about the idea that inspired you to start your blog. What was the passion that made you want to sit down and start creating your site?
I’m not talking about making money here (although that is nice).
What I mean is, why are you blogging? Is it to entertain? To educate? To inspire?
If you don’t know the purpose or the why behind your blog, you will be blogging without intent. That leads to more frustration and a lack of understanding and focus for both you and your reader.
How to fix it:
Go back to the beginning and write down your why statement. Think about your reason for blogging. That will ensure everything you do ensures you stay on the path to why you decided to blog in the first place.
3. You aren’t putting in the work
I said it before, and I’ll repeat it: Blogging is not easy.
All those articles and stories about how you can make easy money blogging are not even close. They make it sound like all you need to do is make a site and start writing, and the money will flow like wine.
Yeah, right.
The reality is that you will need to be willing to learn how to implement all the moving parts of a blog. Some might be accessible for free, and others may require an investment, such as a course or book.
But, no matter whether you pay or not to learn, you must be willing to do the work.
How to fix it:
Go back through every course or book you have purchased and re-read or listen to the content. Don’t skip around.
If you pay for a course, finish and apply everything the instructor teaches you. Stop wasting money on buying courses and books if you aren’t willing to do what they teach.
4. You keep making the same mistakes without learning from them
We all make mistakes. I can’t even begin to tell you how many I’ve made over the past decade.
What successful bloggers do is take those mistakes and learn from them. You need to do that too.
If you notice that you are not getting clicks on your affiliate links in a post, why not change them? Try different colors for your links, buttons or add images.
How to fix it:
Don’t get frustrated when things do not work the way you hoped. Instead, write down what went wrong and then try something new. When you track your mistakes, you can learn from them, stop making them, and instead focus on what works.
5. You don’t stand out
You’ve started a blog in a competitive niche. You write content, but no one seems interested enough to read, let alone click and buy.
Maybe it isn’t the content. Perhaps it is because you aren’t doing enough to make it stand out.
Let’s face it; there are only a certain number of ways you can budget or get out of debt. But yet, there are thousands of bloggers who find fantastic success.
That’s because they are themselves! They are unique in the way they share their content or write their posts. They aren’t trying to be like everyone else.
How to fix it:
Stop reading blog posts. Seriously.
When you read others’ content, it is easy to try to be like them when you need to be yourself. Focus instead on what your person wants and needs from you in a way you teach and talk – not someone else.
Make sure you are true to who you are and aren’t trying to bend yourself to fit inside what you think is a perfect mold.
6. You listen to too many people
A quick Google search will show you hundreds of thousands of people who want to help you on your blogging journey. If you try to follow 5 or even 10 of them, you think that means you’ll get more knowledge.
Nope.
It usually means you will end up confused and frustrated.
There are a lot of ideas online, and because one person says to do it differently than another doesn’t necessarily mean they are wrong. They have different ideas.
However, if you follow them and receive conflicting advice, you won’t be sure what to do, which can freeze you right in your shoes.
How to fix it:
Find no more than 3 people to listen to when it comes to learning how to blog. That way, you have fewer people trying to all compete to be heard and get strong advice that will guide you along your journey.
Sure, they may all differ slightly, but there is usually a simple solution that you can make work for your site.
7. You don’t have an email list
There’s a saying many bloggers use. It is, “The power is in the list.”
We say that because it’s true.
Let’s face it, Pinterest can be extremely challenging to get to work for you. And, one update on Google and you could lose a mountain of traffic. Both could negatively affect your income.
However, if you have an email list, you have direct contact with your subscribers. You own the list, and algorithms can’t change who sees your content.
How to fix this:
Start using something free such as Mailerite or ConvertKit to get started. Create an awesome freebie that will get your reader to want to sign up every time.
The truth is signing up for “blog post alerts, tips, or tricks” will not cut it.
If you aren’t sure what to do, it would be wise to invest in a course about building an email list or what to send to your list (when you aren’t sure what to say).

8. You have yet to learn the importance of SEO
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is how your articles come up when readers run a Google search.
Your goal is to get to the top of the first page so you can get traffic, which will, in turn, increase your income.
But, if you aren’t using SEO or aren’t sure you need to, you are leaving money on the table. And, waiting until you have been blogging for a year or more is never a good idea. You need to learn proper SEO as soon as you can to write articles to get Google to take notice and rank them.
How to fix this:
Get busy reading! An expert such as Niel Patel or Brian Dean has many resources on learning and applying SEO tactics.
There are several incredible tools you can use to learn about SEO, some of which are:
Easy On-Page SEO
Free SEO Course
Free Stupid Simple SEO Masterclass
Long-Tail SEO
9. You don’t want to sell
I hate to break it to you, but if you don’t want to sell, then blogging might not be for you. I hear bloggers say that they feel sleazy asking for money for products or trying to convince people to buy.
The truth is that you have to be willing to sell and ask people to buy.
How to fix this:
You don’t have to come across like a used car salesman. Not at all.
You can do this by using affiliate marketing links within your content or sending powerful profitable emails to your list. As long as what you share is helpful and doesn’t sound like a giant advertisement, you can get conversions.
If you aren’t willing to do that, then perhaps blogging for profit isn’t for you.
10. Not willing to invest in your blog
I’ll be honest. Free is awesome. After all, why pay for something if you don’t have to?
I get it. I do.
You aren’t making money on your blog and so have nothing to spend right now. But, you need to not only ensure your site is set up properly but that you know what to do to generate an income.
That means you might need to get the proper theme so your site has the look you need. There are free versions that can get the job done but buying a quality theme has more features and customizability options.
Themes such as Kadence (which is what I use) or Astra are excellent options but the free version will only allow you to do so much.
You also need to learn how to blog. After all, blogging is more than setting up a site, typing some words, and hitting publish. Your goal is to make money and that means you need to ensure you know what you are doing.
Investing in courses to learn how to do affiliate marketing to increase your income, create and sell printables on your blog, or even a book on how to master email marketing are wise investments that can help. Once you apply the principles taught, you will be on the path to not only paying for the cost of the course or book but also increasing your overall profits.
Free only takes you so far. You have to be willing to spend money if your goal is to turn your blog into a thriving business.
How to fix this:
Upgrade your theme to one that allows you to get the look and feel you desire. Buy that book or the course you need to learn more on the topic where you struggle:
Tools for the newie blogger
Tools for the amateur blogger
Tools for the expert blogger
11. Trying to starts ads too soon
Ads are one way bloggers make money. You sign up with a partner and add code to your site. Then, as you get visitors you get paid when those ads display.
Sound as if it is the perfect way to make money blogging.
Not really.
The truth is that new bloggers should not place ads on their sites.
Why is that?
The networks that new bloggers can use have code that will slow sites and pay rather insulting rates.
And, since rates are based on traffic, you aren’t yet getting any. That means you use heavy ad code on a site that will not make much anyhow.
If you happen to use Adsense, it may take months before you even see a penny of your earnings. They require bloggers to earn $100 before they issue payment, which can take months and months of traffic to achieve.
How to fix this:
Skip the ads and start with affiliate marketing to earn from the traffic you receive. It won’t slow your site and has a better chance of converting traffic into dollars.
12. Not treating your blog like a business
Think about the small shop owner in the community where you live. How do you think that person makes money?
They don’t show up when they want to. They don’t look for all the free stuff they can get. They aren’t setting up shop and hoping for the best. They aren’t ignoring their income and expenses.
Not at all.
That is because they are a business and treat it as such. Bloggers tend not to do this.
You need to look at your blog as a profitable business (even if it is not quite yet). When you can do that, you have the proper focus and direction that is needed.
How to fix this:
Start by creating a business plan. Using something like a Blogging Business Planner can help you do just that. You will have access to your plan, tracking, monitoring, and every aspect you need to monitor to run a successful blog.
You also must track your income and expenses. Whether you decide to use Quickbooks or Wave or grab the Blogger’s Profit Tracker system, it doesn’t matter. The point is you need to track every penny you earn and spend.

13. You don’t have a clear monetization strategy
You have put some ads on your site. You place affiliate links in your posts. You are sending emails with links in them. Now, you are ready to add products.
Not so fast.
It is smart and exciting that you want to make money but you need a plan. You can’t jump in throw every monetization tactic on your site. It doesn’t work that way.
You need a plan to ensure you know how you plan to make money and a clear vision of what you need to do to make that happen.
How to fix this:
Understand all the ways bloggers make money. Then, decide to start with 2 (maybe 3) ideas.
Read all you can on them to ensure you not only know what you are doing but how to ensure you can find success. Monitor your results to see if you need to pivot to try something different, or when you find success, what to replicate (if possible).
14. You aren’t promoting the right products or programs
Most new bloggers started because they wanted to make money. You probably did too.
With that being the goal, it means you should link to all the high-paying programs you can find, such as blog hosting, as that is where the money happens.
Right?
Wrong.
The truth is that when you promote the products your readers don’t want, you won’t make money.
Are they coming to you for fashion or blogging tips? If fashion, why would you talk about how to blog and include a link to hosting?
Instead, use other links to the products your people want. If you can get more clicks on those items that solve the problem, you will earn much more.
How to fix this:
Review both the content and affiliate links on your site. If any are not what your niche wants, then ditch them. Stop promoting links only because you think you will make money.
It’s anything but.
15. You don’t have a content plan (and don’t blog consistently)
The truth is blogging is 10% set up and 90% content. Setting up a site is easy, but the day-to-day part of blogging? That’s where the real work comes in.
And that means you need content to write about on your site. Not just any content, but what works for your reader.
For example, if you blog about getting out of debt, are your readers interested in making a fun craft with your kids? Probably not.
However, if your post was about crafts to create with products around the house (i.e. they are free), it would.
It is essential that everything you write works for your person. It needs to be 100% on-topic and provide value.
That doesn’t mean you should kick out 5 short on-topic posts a week either. Not at all.
Blogging is about quality – not quantity.
If that means you can only write 3 posts a month, so be it! You will do much better by writing those longer, more helpful posts than you will with short, crappy articles that aren’t helpful at all.
Developing a content strategy is the key to blogging success (and income).
How to fix this:
Create a content plan so you know what to write about all year long. And, ensure you write those posts weeks before the event. That gives the content time for SEO to kick in, so it comes up in search when your readers need it most.
16. You aren’t setting realistic goals
Hitting the publish button on your posts does not mean the money will roll in. It doesn’t work that way.
And, if you started blogging thinking that was the case, you are in for quite a shock.
The average blogger makes little no money until they have been blogging for six or more months. Yeah. Kind of a bummer, isn’t it.
But that doesn’t mean it is not worth it because it is!
Part of earning on your blog is to set both short and long-term goals. And not just set them but track them.
How to fix this:
Use a whiteboard, Google Doc, or a Blogging Planner to write down your goals. It is best to break them into short and long-term objectives.
Examples of short-term goals include:
- Get 50 new subsribers in the next six weeks
- Earn $100 by the end of the month
- Get 5,000 pageviews this month
They are actions you want to achieve within a relatively short time frame, whereas long-term goals will take more time to achieve. Ideas include:
- Create a digital product and launch it in three months
- Earn five-figures by the end of the year
- Scale back to working 20 hours a week within 18 months
Put those goals in writing, my friend, and keep them where you see them.
17. You aren’t trying new ideas
The definition of insanity is often described as doing the same thing repeatedly, hoping for a different result.
If you are doing the same things without finding success, you will not notice changes happening.
The truth is that what works for one blogger may not work for someone else. That fashion blogger kills it on Instagram and makes bank, but you don’t hear anything but crickets whenever you try to post there.
That doesn’t mean it is not a good place to promote content and make money — it just doesn’t work for you.
Or, you might see someone talk about using TikTok and don’t think it will work for you. How do you know until you try it?
Maybe it is the types of products or the links that don’t work. It could be the placement in your content. Heck – it could even be what you write about that doesn’t work!
Stop doing the same things hoping that it will eventually work.
How to fix this:
Look at the top posts on your site to see which are getting you the most traffic. Are you getting people to join your list or click the links? If not, why? What is the reason why you aren’t finding success?
Be willing to use a different color for your links or to try putting them in different locations. Maybe you need to step out of your comfort zone and try a new social media platform. You neer know what will suddenly work for you.
Whether you find yourself doing one, five, or ten of these things doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are aware and can take steps to make changes starting today!!