5 Solid Steps to Work Through Blogger Burnout

5 Solid Steps to Work Through Blogger Burnout

You dreamed of a blog and you did it. All the hard work, late nights and visions of awesomeness have landed you where you may be now: in the land of blogger burnout. You don’t know what to write about or you have a million ideas but you can’t summon up the motivation to plow on. You are not alone. Blogger burnout has killed some amazing blogs.

I was there too.

For weeks….a month…two months, I thought about opening up a document and writing. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

How did I start again? How can you start again?

 

5 Solid Steps to Work Through Blogger Burnout

5 tips to avoid blogger burnout and work through it! An awesome blog post for beginners who are starting a blog, those who blog for money or for bloggers who are just burning out. These 5 straight to the point ideas and tips will help motivate you and give you inspiration to move forward and get out of that rut!

1. Stop being a realist

Blogging was so much different than I thought it would be. I realized that to truly make $$$ blogging, content needed to be “others focused” and help readers solve a problem, a.k.a: “I can’t just write about anything and everything I want to!” In addition, I needed to write amazing titles that stood out, I needed to keyword properly, learn how to optimize the murky waters of social media and grow, grow, grow my network etc. etc.

It was overwhelming and the reality was…I wasn’t reaching my blog goals. They seemed so far away.

To truly move forward, you may need to do what I did and take a step back. I realized that focusing on “reality” was not going to help me right now. Success does not come to those who speak what is, but those who speak life into what will be. A great example of this is the amazing story of Jim Carrey:

Jim Carrey had been pursuing comedy and acting since the late 70s but was struggling financially and wondered when he would get his break. He took a drive in his old Toyota up to Mulholland Drive in LA. Jim sat in his car, looking at the city below, dreaming about his future, determined to be a star even though he had already spent so much time and effort over the years already. Instead of focusing on being broke (his current situation), Jim Carrey concentrated on his goals. He wrote himself a check for ten million dollars, dated it Thanksgiving 1995 and carried it in his wallet from that day forth. In 1995 Jim had huge box office success in movies like “Ace Ventura, Pet Detective”, “The Mask” and “Dumb and Dumber”. At that point, he was making twenty million per movie. The rest is history.

We can all take a little bit of advice from Jim Carrey’s focus not on his current situation but on his dog-on-a-bone determination to accomplish his goals. Concentrate on the goal and take each day, one day at a time, putting in what needs to be done that day. That’s a little piece of advice that has really helped me over the years from How To Stop Worrying And Start Living by Dale Carnegie, one of the most amazing books I’ve read. Seriously check it out if you find that worry gets in your way.

 

2. Focus on your accomplishments

Dissatisfaction comes when we focus on the gap between where we want to be and where we are now. Instead of honing in on that gap, take out a piece of paper (or open up a document on your computer) and write out positive things you have accomplished. Actually writing these things out, forces us to view the positive and realize that we have come a long way, instead of focusing on the blog’s current scoreboard.

“Whether you think you can or thank you can’t. You’re right.” – Henry Ford.

Implement some positive self talk. Professional athletes are taught positive self talk to help calm their nerves and hone their thoughts towards the goal. Positive self talk will move you forward in any personal or professional success. Take captive the negative thoughts you might have about your ability to blog or the current standing of your blog and forcibly turn those thoughts into a positive voice, even if those positive words aren’t based in reality. The facts don’t count if the goal is big enough.

 

3. Your dream: come back to your why

Why did you begin blogging? Was it to make enough money to quit your job, pay for extra expenses or to make a change? Whatever it was, come back to the real heart of why you started. Just because things are different now with your blog than you thought, does not mean you have to throw in the towel. If you truly desire the reason you started your blog, if that why is big enough – that dream, then you can do this. You can start back up again.

When you do put pen to paper again, be okay with changes in your blog. There was a reason you burnt out in the first place. Maybe taking things a different route this time is the answer.

In my case, to start up again, I accepted the fact that blogging in general and the parameters for a successful monetized blog (the keywording, writing for readers, social media optimization etc.) were very different than I had realized. My why was big enough where I pushed myself to take steps, to get back into “the swing of things” or more like…a different swing.

 

4. Steps to avoid a blog death

Write about something that you really want to write about!

This may be different than your niche but think about how you could work it in. There are some days where you may not be able to force a topic (that you know readers love and numbers skyrocket!) but you just need to write about something else. Do it. Keep the writing going and come back to those awesome topics when you can (or when inspiration strikes).

Change it up

Why did you burn out? This is an important question to answer. I opened up a blank document and wrote out the answer in order to truly understand what happened and to learn from it. Doing the same may help you as well.

Now that you know the reason for your burnout, write out ideas to change things up a little. Here are some ideas:

  • Blog less frequent. It doesn’t have to be permanent but maybe for now, you need to slowly get back into the swing of things. Get a few blog posts ready, analyze how much time each one took and take things slow as you release them.
  • Hire a virtual assistant. Maybe your blog is busting at the seams with page views and or $ and you are just simply burnt out from all the work! Look into blog groups on Facebook and ask for good VA referrals or seek them out online.
  • Turn over a new leaf. Think of yourself as a new/different blogger. Write out all the things you did (that may have burnt you out) and make a new list, moving forward, of what you will focus on. Remember to start small. Don’t expect the world or you may end up quitting all together. Just putting one foot in front of the other is all you may need to do here! What is optimally best for your blog goals may not be (and probably is not) best for you. What I mean is that you aren’t a robot and yes, it would be nice if you could do every social media platform, answer all emails and comments, write a post every other day and maintenance your blog but don’t expect the moon! Maybe you write a post every other week, focus on one or two social media platforms and a newsletter.
  • Take a break. I did. Life can get crazy and overwhelming. Let your readers know you’ll be AFK, “away from keyboard” for awhile but that you will be back, so that they don’t leave you permanently.
  • Have guest bloggers. You can find guest bloggers on Facebook blogging groups in your niche and other websites. Make sure their topics align with yours and that you set parameters for timing, photos etc. A good rule of thumb is to allow up to three links on their blog post and no affiliate links (due to blog permissions etc.).
  • Network with other bloggers and find inspiration. You may have burnt out because you feel like there’s nothing left to write about. Google top bloggers in your niche and outside of your niche. Get excited about the things they are doing!
  • Make more money blogging. Maybe you are ready to throw in the towel because you set out to blog wanting to make money and haven’t met your goals. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, a finance and lifestyle blogger I follow, makes over $100,000 A MONTH and much of it is through affiliate income. Her course: Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing, is PHENOMENAL. Her course is renown by other bloggers! Check it out here.

 

5. Getting back on track

If you have been gone for a time and now have ideas to get started again, don’t be afraid to let your readers know. Maybe this is in a new blog post, social media post or in a newsletter. Keep it professional and positive – something that may be able to help others. When you have some blog posts done and are all ready to start again, let your readers know when they should expect you to be back.

Everyone has a different experience with blogger burnout. If you have any tips or ideas, please share them in the comments below!

Also, if you are a new blogger or an experienced blogger looking to get on track with your niche, content or monetizing, check out:

HOW TO NAME YOUR BLOG AND CHOOSE YOUR NICHE

 

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