7 Tips To Beat the Blogging Blahs

Darren Rowse of ProBlogger recently released a poll he took of his readers to find out how long they had been blogging.

Something struck me about the results. Look at this:

Less than 3 months: 20.1%
3-6 months: 12%
6-9 months: 7.5%

Do you think this means that after 3 months, bloggers that have been reading ProBlogger don’t feel the need to read ProBlogger any more? No, I don’t think that’s it.

It means that after 3 months, a lot of people have already abandoned their blogs! And after 6 months, there are less than half as many people blogging!

I read another study somewhere (I would link to it, but I don’t remember where I read it), that new blogs are constantly being created, but the number of active blogs is staying the same. People are starting blogs and abandoning blogs at the same rate.

So what does this mean for you? If you are a new blogger, you need to think about how you are going to make sure your blog does not become one of the “abandoned” ones.

It is not easy to get past the inevitable “blogging blahs”, but here are some tips that might help:

1. 50% Of Success Is Just Showing Up.

Just “show up” at your blog, and blog! You don’t have to post every single day. Just pick a schedule (maybe 3 times a week, or whatever works for you) and commit to it. Your posts don’t always have to be earth-shattering. I’ll tell you a secret: some of my “best posts” that have been linked to around the blogosphere and praised highly have been written when I thought I did not have much to say. I just started writing, and somehow the post flowed out. Those posts must have been something that people needed to hear.

2. Keep Some Posts In Reserve.

During the times when you are “all fired up” about blogging, create some extra posts that you don’t publish. Save them for the times when your inspiration has run dry.

3. Keep A List Of Ideas.

Carry a small notebook, or just jot down ideas on scraps of paper or something – it doesn’t matter how you do it, but keep track of those ideas that come to you when you are doing other things. Often your best ideas come when you are not sitting by your computer ready to blog. This way, you can refer to your list when you need an idea.

4. Ask Your Readers What Questions They Have.

I have done this on this blog, and it has worked well. I still have some reader questions in reserve (don’t worry, I will get to yours eventually ). Besides giving me ideas for posts, the questions help you to realize that you have readers who are waiting for you to give them something of value. You are not just posting in a vacuum. You actually have people eager to read what you write. This helps a lot with motivation.

5. Become Active in the Blogging World.

By becoming active, I mean, participate! This can take the form of leaving comments on others’ blogs, linking to blogs you like, joining social sites such as Stumbleupon or Sphinn, and just making friends with other bloggers. This is another way to help you realize that you are not blogging alone and that others are waiting to hear what you have to say next.

6. Write Down Your Goals.

What are your goals for your blog? Why are you blogging? Write down your goals on a sheet of paper and post them near your computer. Hopefully, remembering why you started blogging will help you to keep going when things get difficult. Also, you can think about whether you have gotten any closer to your goals, and decide to do some activities that will bring you closer.

For example, if one of your goals is to make money from your blog, then look at your earnings and see how you’re doing. Decide to do one thing that will increase your earnings, such as adding another affiliate product or creating a fantastic post that everyone will link to and send you traffic. This might help you get over that hump of non-inspiration.

7. Keep Learning.

One thing that keeps me fired up is to keep learning new things. I do this in various ways – by reading other blogs, buying information products occasionally to learn new skills, experimenting with new approaches, etc. The more you learn, the more you will have to share with your readers.

Remember to do some of these things while blogging still comes easy to you. Then you will have some reserves to draw on when the going gets tough.

- Pat Doyle