How To Still 'Blog' On A Blogging Break
11:30
The title may sound a little controversial, but hey let me explain.
You may or may not have noticed, but over a week ago I decided to go on a week long blogging break. There was many reasons for this. One being that I just didn't have the motivation to blog any more. I was feeling bad about my whole blog and it was just really getting me down. I just wasn't enjoying it as much as I use to despite having the passion for it. I decided a break from blogging was the best option for me. Taking a break from your usual day to day activities can be so beneficial to bringing back your motivation, help you gather new ideas and get your head back into the right mind set.
If you have been or ever debate about whether or not to go on a little break from your blog, I have a few tips and things you can to do on your break that will still benefit you and your blog. These tips are mainly to help you make the most of your break, but still continue to be active and drive your readers to your current content without the whole pressure side of publishing new content.
- Build new content and ideas - If you have been stuck for ideas or have found it hard to write the content you want to produce, a great thing to do during your break from blogging is to build new content and ideas. This is a great way to still be productive whilst on your break. By this I mean, don't sit there and think yourself into a frenzy of what you should be posting. Instead, get out and wait for those ideas to start flowing. Head to other blogs, see what they're doing, see if you can find idea's from their content and build your own posts. Go on Pinterest and other media sites, anything that sparks an interest within you, make a note of it for future reference.
Another suggestion would be to just get out! Get out of the house, go for a walk, go see a friend or spend the day doing something fun. You find your mind can wonder and a new idea might just suddenly pop in your head. It's the same as if you were having a conversation with a friend and the topic of your conversation might form a great blog post idea!
- Chat to others - As mentioned, talking to people can spark up ideas. But it can also boost your self-esteem and confidence. Talking to other bloggers really helps me to remind myself as to why I started this hobby, why I took such an interest in this little part of the internet and how much fun it can really be. Most bloggers are so supportive and will always be willing to listen to you. Also speaking to a friend or family member can really help you find your feet again in the blogging world. They can help you see more positive and clearer.
- Schedule to engage - To keep readers coming to your blog and let your readers know that you're still blogging but on a short break, a good idea would be to put a schedule in place. There's two ways you can do this. If you know that you want to still upload post's on your blog, but not write them or do anything for your blog during your break. Pre-writing and scheduling posts can be a good step to take for you. This way you can still be consistent with your uploads and continue to engage your readers. Also making them aware of what's going on with you and that you're having a break is essential! The other method you could take if you prefer to not upload at all is to continue promoting your most recent posts. Scheduling tweets or posts on other social media platforms can be great to bring in new readers whilst your away. This way you can still create traffic whilst you're away!
- Make a plan - I think having some form of plan in place for when you get back to blogging is essential. You can start this by making a note of all the things you enjoy about blogging and the things that you don't enjoy so much. This can be a great way to refresh your mind of why you enjoy this hobby. But also can help you to see clearer about the things you would like to change. From this, you can then set yourself some goals and put an action plan in place. For example, if you're not happy with your layout and design. Then why not research and teach yourself how to customise your own design. There's hundreds of easy tutorials to follow. Or look into some pre-made templates, that you can buy and install quickly yet easily.
Another example is if you're struggling with your content, then remind yourself of your niche. Think back to what subject areas your blog hits and what you enjoy writing. From this, you can build your ideas and from your ideas you can plan your posts in depth. How do you want the introduction to sound? How are you going to set out your information? How are your photo's going to look? What questions might you ask? etc. Having a plan in place is really beneficial for being productive and staying organised too.
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