8 Blog Tips To Revive a Dying Blog
Buzz it
Sometimes sickness, holidays, or writer’s block can put our blog on hiatus, and even an experienced blogger like myself can get off his game plan.
I just went through this after my illness and it’s taken me all this time to get back into the swing of things. So I thought I would make a list of some of the struggles that I’m going through and how I’m managing to overcome them.
(Coincidentally, whilst writing this post [I started it last month] Darren Rowse has also begun a series called rediscovering your blogging groove where he recommends bloggers to use others for their inspiration. Funny, but I always suspected that Darren has been “bouncing off” me ;-).
So without further adieu here are some of the struggles that I’ve had to overcome, and some that I’m still struggling with:
1. I’ve struggled with low energy levels and mood swings, so my work volume and passion for blogging has not been up to its usual level. This is where discipline and work ethic are supposed to kick in, but when you have health struggles like I have I soon realized that it was time I started to take better care of myself.
Last year I was diagnosed a Type 2 Diabetic and have to admit that I have been haphazard in following my treatment. For my own sake I’m going to have to face reality and accept the fact that I can no longer get away with blogging all-nighters and lack of rest, eating poorly and only just exercising my fingers on the keyboard.
So this is what I’m doing to fix it. If you spend long hours at your computer like I do, set up alarms to remind you to take regular breaks, stretch and exercise, take your medication, eat properly and get to sleep at a decent hour (admittedly I’m still working on that one :). 2. While I was sick this year my last working computer had also died on me, so I had to salvage bits and pieces from three non-working computers just to make one that worked.That was the easy part, because then I had to reinstall Windows and all of my software again. Having been a computer nut for over 20 years now I’m admittedly a little fussy when it comes to my setup, and it takes a long time to tweak it just the way I like. What a pain.
3. I’m still mulling over my next computer system, so in the mean time I’ve had to adjust to working with a computer that is slower than what I’m used to. Consequently I can’t use the same blogging setup that I prefer because my current computer is considerably underpowered.
4. For example, I’ve had to chuck using Windows Live Writer as my blog editor of choice because it is a resource hog and slows down my computer to a crawl. I’ve gone back to using good ole w.Bloggar again.
I’ve also been experimenting with alternatives like Blogger’s built-in editor which admittedly isn’t half bad (except for minor annoyances such as bullets and blockquotes which need a lot of finessing).
5. Coming up with original and compelling content has also been a struggle. You see, unlike some colleagues who like to use information from the internet, I try to write original content (and provide even more fodder for my colleagues ;-).
Subsequently, I’ve had to resort to using tricks to get my creative juices flowing, like what I discussed in my post “Overcome Writer’s Block and Increase Your Blog Traffic by Leaps and Bounds“.
6. I’ve also been reviewing my archives. I’m always reading my older stuff and making the occasional re-write to make it better. But more importantly I’m rediscovering older posts like “10 Reasons Why I Don’t Like Your blog” that are chock full of goodies I glossed over, and can be easily fleshed out into a post of its own. I’m also working on version 2 (the sequel) because it has by far been my most popular post.
7. Think of your archive comments as your personal Rolodex: I’m renewing old acquaintances again. After my illness and withdrawal from blogging I lost some regular readers, so I’ve been spending a lot of time visiting other blogs and leaving comments to let them know that I’m back again. All I have to do is click on the links that they left behind and follow up from where we last left off.
8. I’m also going through my MyBlogLog and Twitter friends and visitors (or other social networking sites) and visiting their blogs. Heck, if they were thoughtful enough to visit the Bloke or add me as a contact then it’s the least I can do, and besides… it also does wonders for the return traffic.
So what’s the moral of this story? The bottom line is blogging isn’t all that different from the real world and relationships are the lifeblood of blogs.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg for me, so I thought it would be interesting to ask you a question or two:
1. Have you ever gotten off your game plan and what did you do to get back on track?
2. What struggles are you going through as a blogger and how you are coping?
3. What blog tip can you give to the rest of us?
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Blogging is such a creative process, especially when generating original content like you do, and life can derail that process so easily. As a musician, I completely understand how personal complications can really screw up the creative juices. I’m always checking in on Google Reader, hoping for a new post from the Bloke, and I’m always happy to see a new one appear, if that’s any consolation.
I can only seem to generate about one truly original piece of content (usually written off line, just me and my laptop) per week, with most of my other posting being link-type posts, photos, or video. I really appreciate the thought and work you put into these posts here, and I know the creative drain that this kind of posting can take on a person.
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Jason, you are too kind. I really appreciate your comments and your cheque is in the mail.
Cheers!
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As a writer, I live in fear that one day I’ll wake up and realize I’ve written everything I have to say. In preparation for this day I have created a list of topics that I can turn to. I add to this list when my creativity gives me too many ideas. I take from it when my energy is too low to come up with coherent thoughts. The list is comforting.
As a blogger, I’m struggling to write blogs that are not only interesting to me, but also coherent and readable for my readers. Also sometimes I have trouble remembering my goal with writing. Forgetting what the purpose is. A loss of perspective.
To cope and regain perspective, I’ll read blogs like this yours. You’re awesome.
I find the stevepavlina.com blogs and podcasts helpful as well.
There are so many great resources out on the web. It seems like every time I feel like I’m going through a problem alone and against insurmountable odds a quick google search, reveals that not only am I not alone, but others have paved the way to my success.
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Wow. Another amazing comment.
I too have resorted to making lists and drafts of blog posts that I have stashed away for a rainy day. This post is one of them (and it is in fact also raining outside :).
Normally after waking up in the morning and reading my newsfeeds, something will inspire me write. But lately inspiration has been at a premium, so the list really came in handy.
This post was in fact born out of frustration that I wasn’t feeling all that inspired, so I decided to document my efforts to get out of the rut that I found myself.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comments Liz and Jason.
Cheers, and happy blogging!
…BB
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Hello Bloke, It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to read your blog. For your first question, I have yet to really stray away from my game plan. There will be a day or two when I don’t post anything on my blog and those are the hard days as my conscious really bugs me. I have been trying to make blogging a second job but it begins to become difficult when I have to do personal things on my days off from my full time job.
The struggles I am having right now, is not having enough time in the day to blog. Recently, I have spent a lot of time messing with the design of my blog but I feel that once that is completed, I can finally begin to concentrate on my content and building a community. Another struggle I am having is writing up original content. It takes quite a bit of time to not only write up the piece, but then I have to edit it at least 3 times as I Review it, then I have to spend some time formatting the text in the WordPress text editor, then I have to review it one more time to make sure images and links are all correct. For on of my big articles this could take anywhere between 1-3 hours. But let me say this, my original content and the articles that take up a lot of time have been the most rewarding.
What advice can you give to the rest of us?
Think outside of the box.
Try to write your own original content whenever possible and on days where you have writers block, or when your feeling a bit lazy, post a video, joke, comic, into your blog or simply look towards your RSS Feeds for inspiration or for a pick-me-up.
If you notice someone has linked to an article on your page or to your actual site, take some time to head on over to there blog and comment on the article, expressing some sort of thanks for the link love.
Try not to be a recluse. Blogging is a community thing and the more you get involved, the better the outcome.
If you come across a blog with an article than inspires you to write something, do yourself a favor and link to that article within your post. Chances are, that blog that inspired you will show a trackback link to your blog.
If you can, write articles ahead of time. That is, always have a few articles in your backlog that are written that you can publish on those rainy days where you don’t feel like writing at all.
I could sit here all day and think of a ton of tips but I think I have given enough. I am 2 month old blogger and I have to say, this blogosphere thing is pretty darn cool.
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This just keeps getting better! Fantastic comment jeffro2pt0 (or should I say post
and amazing insight from such a new blogger.
Finding the time to blog is one of the biggest obstacles, and working full time can certainly be a major hindrance to that. Add to that family obligations and one has to figure out how to stretch the space/time continuum beyond 24 hours.
Spending time fiddling with the template design can also take away from writing. If you are at all like me, messing with the template never ends
so always remember, it’s the content that is most important.
Well done and thanks so much for all the great advice.
…BB
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Always good quality info from this site!
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