Getting Back Into Blogging

I have accepted that my blogging always comes in waves. I’m currently happily surfing one of my blog-heavy moments, and have drawn a few lessons out of it about what works for me. I will share them below in case you’re interested – and also as a reminder for my future self.

• Find blogs that inspire you. Coming back after a long hiatus I often find that my favourite blogs are gone, the ones I follow sometimes don’t interest me anymore and mostly I simply feel ‘out of touch’. Make a little round of the blogs you follow – what is everyone up to? What are their latest posts? Maybe leave a comment here or there to show them that you’re back. But also: have a browse around for new people to follow. Broaden your horizon! The chance that you already know all the great blogs out there is very very slim :). Reading other blogs might give you some fresh ideas and inspire you to pick up your own blog again.
• Stop caring about numbers. Even though I’m sure most of us post because we love writing and blogging, it can still be very demotivating to see that not many people read your posts. Don’t worry, this will pick up later. Or maybe it won’t, but that can be ok too. Every reader is one, and ultimately it’s not what you’re here for anyway.

• Stop apologising. I see a lot of bloggers (myself included) apologise to their readers when they have been gone for a while. Don’t worry! We all have busy lives, and sometimes you just have to focus on other things for a while. (Even if you have sat around doing nothing, that might have been what you needed at the time.) Also, I feel that when we write blog post we create a persona in our heads of ‘our reader’ who we address. If we start apologising and feeling guilty towards this persona, it makes them into a much scarier person than your actual readers (probably) are. This makes the writing process only more of a hurdle and harder to enjoy. (NB: Simply acknowledging that you have been absent is something else of course.)

• Trim your social media accounts. Alright, so this tip may not be for everyone, but personally I’m starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by the Facebook page AND Twitter account AND Instagram AND Tumblr this blog has. Seriously, how does everyone do it? They all cost so much time and energy that it just distracts me from actual writing. I’ll have a little ponder on which I will keep and try to remain focused on my blog.
• Talk to people. Whether it is fellow bloggers, family or friends, they might encourage you to set some time aside for blogging, help you think of new posts or just generally hold your hand throughout the difficult process of diving back in.

And then there is, of course, the most obvious one: JUST DO IT!

(Leave a comment below about your experiences please; I’m not done learning. 😉 )