How To Make Blogging Fun Again
Do you dread writing blog posts? Is putting one word after another akin to slogging through quicksand? Why? What has happened to make you lose the joy in imparting your words to the masses and to your loyal readers?
- Is it because no one is commenting?
- Do you no longer have a passion for the topics about which you’re writing?
- Is it because you just don’t know what to write about?
- Do you have fear of “the blank page” that could lead to dread when it comes to blogging?
- Do you have too much to do and blogging just isn’t your jam?
Here are reasons blogging may have lost its joy:
- You don’t have a strategy for your content
- You don’t understand the purpose of, and for, your blog
- You are too tired to write posts
- You are too hard on yourself, thinking, “I’m not good enough” or “I can’t blog as well as Betty Blogger does.”
- You haven’t taken the time to work on an editorial calendar
Looking for how to make blogging fun again? Here are my quick tips (because I know you have a blog post to write, so let’s just get to it):
Re-evaluate your niche
Have you outgrown your original blog niche? Have you evolved in your writing and the topics you covered? Ease your readers into any changes you might want to make. Search out new readers for your new niche. Do you have enough information and blog topic ideas to make a switch to a new niche? If so, make 2017 the jumping in point for making a switch. Getting your passion back will show in your writing and in your enthusiasm for writing.
Set realistic goals
Did you set a goal to blog seven days a week and are finding you simply can’t keep up? If so, blog less frequently. Give yourself the grace to know you’re at your limit and that taking a step back isn’t failure; it’s regrouping before you move forward.
Organize your writing
Hoping I won’t get pelted with rotten tomatoes here, but if you have an editorial calendar in place, your writing will be much easier. Sit down now, today, this very second, and work on an editorial calendar. Download a free 2017 Editorial Calendar Template. When you have an editorial calendar, you take away the stress of “what am I going to write about today?”
Learn something new
If you toil away at home, alone, as many influencers do, you lose touch with what is new and exciting in the world of blogging, pets and technology. Attend a local networking event. Sign up for a webinar. Go to the library or bookstore or your e-reader and pick up a book that will teach you something new and exciting.
Network on social media
How many friends do you have on social media? Do you interact with them regularly? Make time to connect with your connections and build deeper relationships. Participate in blog boost groups; these are ideal for meeting new bloggers, finding new blog posts to read and learning new information.
Simplify blog post writing
Use a blogging framework (a phrase that Chris Brogan advocates) to make your blog post writing simpler. Here is an example of a blogging framework/template:
- Write from one of the topics on your editorial calendar
- Write a headline that your readers would Google
- Add an image
- In the first paragraph, let the reader know what’s to come if they read the post
- Add a subhead that expands upon the main point
- Talk about your main point
- Add more subheads. This makes it easier for a reader to skim and digest your content
- Have a call to action. What do you want the reader to do next? Do you want them to comment? Share a story? Subscribe to your newsletter? Don’t leave them hanging, ask them to take action before they leave
Download the 2017 editorial calendar, take some time to fill in the pages. Let me know how you plan to get the joy back into your blogging!
Robbi Hess is an award-winning author, full-time writer, newspaper columnist, writing coach and time-management guru. She works with bloggers and solopreneurs and blogs at All Words Matter.
