Even though I have only been blogging for a few months, there has been a few times when I have experienced a lack of motivation to either think of new ideas, write or put posts together. It might be because I'm having a busy day, I'm feeling down and suffering with low mood or I just simply may not feel up to it on that particular day. Fellow bloggers may be able to relate to this struggle!
Remembering:
Look For Inspiration:
Enjoy Blogging:
Therefore, I have decided to put together a kind of guide to making sure you stay motivated when you are blogging or a blogger. These are some of the things that I find useful in times of no motivation and I believe help me to get my blogging head back on. I hope that you can also benefit from them.
Stay Organised:
Stay Organised:
The first tip I would recommend is staying organised! Even if you aren't the most organised person and struggle to maintain a clear path way, there are a number of different things you can do to keep organised. For example, a great thing to do is set yourself a schedule. This can be done by picking certain days and times to upload new posts to your blog. If you find you have enough time to blog every other day or a few times a week, then set that as your schedule and let your readers know just when exactly you're going to be updating each week. This way it will also help to keep your readers in the know of when to expect new content from you. Or if you're someone who can only upload once or twice a week, then pick your days and times, then you will have a clear idea of when you need to upload that week.
Another tip I would suggest is planning your posts. Obviously, you don't have to go into full detail but making sure you know what it is that you're going to be writing about, what pictures you might be taking and how you're going to set out your content is great for staying organised. Therefore, you will have a clear idea of what it is exactly you're doing for this weeks post(s) and won't have to worry about certain parts of your next post(s).
Also if you find it hard to stay organised, then setting yourself some attainable goals might be the solution to you. Setting goals helps to keep you motivated because you will have a certain path to follow to achieve that goal. Examples of goals you could set yourself to keep motivated when blogging could be, taking pictures of the new product that you're going to be reviewing in your new post or writing at least three paragraphs a day to bring together your blog post for that week. Whatever goal, whether it is big or small, can be helpful to keeping motivation high and making it easier for you to enjoy your hobby the best possible way.
Remembering:
Whether you're a popular blogger or just starting out in the community, using feedback you have received on your blog can be a hugely motivating! Reading back old comments you have recieved on posts may inspire you to write a similar themed post or can boost you back into blogging by hearing the positive things people have to say about your blog or just by being reminded that people have took the time out to comment on the content you've written might be enough to get your motivation back! Or maybe you don't have many comments to look back on since you're just starting out, (this isn't a bad thing, sometimes things take time and as long as you're enjoying writing then there isn't no rush) looking at your views and seeing that people do actually read your blog can be just as much of a boost as if you were getting hundreds of comments! You also might look back on those who have shared your posts or blog with others. It also suggests they take the time to share what they have found interesting to other people and want others to also experience it too! There is also those who may keep their blog anonymous to the outside world, but maybe tell those who you are close to like your family and friends. They can share their own feedback and opinions on your blog which will help you to feel motivated to get writing more and working hard at your hobby!
Also another great tip is to reflect back on why you even began blogging in the first place. Why did you decide to create a blog and what impact did you want it to have on other people. This can help you to gain that motivation back and make you remember why you started it all in the first place. Also if you have been doing it for a long time, go back and see just how far you have come. See how much you have grown as a person, how you've gained loyal readers or how much your content/layout has improved since the early days. By doing this, you'll remember just why you wanted to create a blog and how much fun you have had with doing so. Therefore, this will push you to continue on!
Look For Inspiration:
Maybe you're finding it hard to come up with new ideas for posts or you're struggling to put words down. A great way to overcome this and keep you're enthusiasm to blog high is to look for inspiration. You can do this by reading other people's blogs, looking on websites such as Pinterest and Tumblr, going out for a walk, shopping, into town for a coffee, meeting up with a friend or even just sitting down with a book to read. Sometimes you find that your mind wonders when doing something else, a new post idea or phrase to put into your post may pop into your head. In order for you not to forget this, write it down on your phone or in a notebook so when you get home and go back to blogging, you can easily look it up and get back to your writing.
Enjoy Blogging:
I believe this is one of the most important things when it comes to blogging! Making sure you're enjoying it and are doing it because you want to is essential. Blog for you. There's nothing worse than just 'feeling' like you have to blog for the sake of it or just to please other people. Of course creating interesting and exciting content is essential to bringing in readers and keeping them there, but if you're really not enjoying the whole process, then what is the point of doing something you're not loving?
Having said this, if you're feeling bad about your blog, maybe you feel like it's not going where you want it to go or you're not pleased with what you're creating, then it is absolutely fine to stop and take a break. There is no problem with doing that. A break can be great for you to find your feet again, not have to feel pressured to write or stand out in the blogesphere and it might even make you miss the whole 'blogging' thing. If you don't feel like writing for a week or more, then don't force yourself to.
Do not worry about wanting to take a break from it all or wanting to start over. There is nothing wrong with trying again or taking some time away from it. It can be healthy and good to refresh again at a later date. After all blogging can be a great hobby and there's nothing wrong with going away for a little while. Also don't worry about what others may think if you do this or worry that readers will go away, if they really are loyal readers, then they will stay and be excited for new content. Blogging might come across as being serious and hard work, but even then it is still fun and something to be enjoyed by the blogger and the readers.
Accept Failure:
This next tip can be used for when you have decided to take a break with blogging or you feel like your blog is failing. This obviously can be for a number of reasons and it's completely fine to feel like this once in a while. We all have days when we feel bad about ourselves and the things we do. However, if you do feel like your blog is failing or you're unsure of whether to give up completely, my advice is don't. If it is honestly something you're enjoying and you like having it as a hobby, then accept the failure you're going through. It will help you to set yourself some goals of where you want to be and make you work harder, as a result increasing your motivation immediately.
When you are new to blogging (just like myself), I have learnt that not letting your failures or lack of success get to you is so important. Don't give up on the first hurdle. The blogging community is so popular and if you're only blogging to become popular, successful and earn money, then you are in it for the wrong reasons. It should be about enjoying the whole experience, the writing part, taking photos, exploring other blogs, communicating with other bloggers and welcoming any opportunities however big or small! My advice is to learn from your mistakes and the things you haven't been as achievable as you would have like to be. Re-write your posts, re-promote your posts to fellow bloggers or readers, learn new tips and tricks of getting your blog out there and improving your blog as a whole. If you really want your blog to work and impact readers, then don't give up on the first hurdle. Use your goals and failures to motivate you to get to where you want to be!
Within time, however long it may be, if you want something and are willing to work hard for it, then it will happen.
I really hope this post has helped any bloggers out there or maybe someone who is struggling to gain any form of motivation back in a hobby, job, school, college, university or just in life in general. These are just some of the things that I find useful and I thought I would share them with you.
Thanks so much for reading,
Thanks so much for reading,