Getting Back Your Blog Spark
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Maybe it happened overnight. Perhaps it was over a period of weeks or months. But eventually you had an idea, that “blog spark” that made it all come together and before you knew it — you had your blog up and you were writing about things you enjoyed.Then one day, the blog spark fizzled out. Maybe it was one or several reasons that caused it to happen. It happened to me.
For me I think I had spread myself too thin — way too thin. I own about nine blogs that I had every intention of writing for on a regular basis. Not every day, mind you, but on a fairly regular schedule. In addition to that, I was guest blogging here and there for about four other outlets.For one blog in particular I was writing like crazy everyday in an attempt to seduce the search engines to send traffic my way just in time for Christmas (it was a toy blog). In retrospect, trying to do that while trying to keep this blog alive and a few others that were very important to me (during the holiday season no less), I just pooped out.
Enter 2008. I started things off with a shiny new theme for MAMD. Spent some time researching new affiliate programs. Spent A LOT of time in Entrecard. But writing posts? Heh…I had better luck getting struck by lightning.
So what have I decided to do to get back my blog spark?
Well, if you’ve suffered from this, too, perhaps what I’ve found out about myself will help you.
1. Stop and ask yourself, “Self, are you being realistic?”
Most of us don’t want to admit defeat. We challenge ourselves to see how far we can go. And what do we do when we get there or find that we can go no further? Well, we challenge ourselves again, of course.
Experimenting is good for a variety of reasons, but don’t let it be your core purpose. We all need a place to call home where we can unwind and recharge.
Instead, be sensitive to your growing pains and learn when you may need to keep things at a normal pace before deciding to make another jump. Not only is this good for blogging, but it goes well for life in general.
2. Don’t be a pack rat.
We pick up “this” and “that” as a matter of routine. Before we know it we have a pile of stuff. If only we had let go of things as we added others, we might have been able to make that pile manageable.
In my case, I was chasing after any and all opportunities to grow my MAMD brand — my flagship blog. I chose to simultaneously create new niche blogs and nurture them. Taken individually, the price was small. But together, the price was large and draining. No time for me and my family. No creativity to draw from. Fatigue would set in, but I’d still refuse to slow down.
I’m going to change all that.
I’ll still keep my niche blogs and I’ll still guest post, but at a much more reasonable rate. It’s about knowing your limitations and about being your blog, not the other way around.
3. For the love of Pete – make a schedule and stick to it!
I’ve written about tools to help you stay organized on this blog and others. But it seems I haven’t been following my advice. Planning on what to write about, then scheduling it to post later can be so gratifying. For me, it conjures memories of being back in school again and having my homework done so I could watch TV or go outside to play.
So getting things written here in advance will, of course, free up time for me to write elsewhere, and so on. Common sense, right? Right, but oh so easy to forget.
I’d be interested in learning what you have done to either get your blog spark back or keep it from fizzling out. Care to share?
Leave a Comment
March 4, 2008 at 7:01 am
Excellent points Mark. I think we all go through it at one time or another. Since I have basically been online for almost 20 years I have seen the trends in myself come and go. But, 2 keys to keeping yourself moving in the right direction are:
1.) Schedule : I have a routine, yes it changes every now and then, but I stick to my routine and my schedule. I worked hard at learning not to get sidetracked to far off my target.
2.) Walk away : Every now and then, walk away. For the last 4 days my brother has been in town and we have been just playing guitars, talking, cruising around town etc. Typically my wife makes sure I walk away from the screen and go for a hike, or drive around town. A lot of time, this “down time” actually brings new posts and ideas to my cluttered brain, lol.
David Cooley’s last blog post..Alternate Background Color of Blog Posts
March 4, 2008 at 10:16 am
I have to agree. Of course, I’ll never be able to stick to a schedule, I’ve tried and failed miserably.
I’m kind of going through this whole thing right now. I’m really getting bloggers burnout. I went through and spruced up a couple of my other blogs. And I’m working on building good old fashioned HTML webpages to go along with one of them. I still have a soft spot for the old school webpages. LOL
My biggest problem is that I can’t say no. If someone needs my help, I’m there. I end up doing so much for so many other people, that I lose track of my own thing. But I’ve always been like that.
Great post Mark. I needed this.
Christine Senter’s last blog post..Party Time at Feed Flare
March 4, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I had the same problem. Life and work was getting in the way of my blogging. I genuinely want to be able to travel freely throughout the world and not worry about how to get a job so working online is my only option.
So I made the sacrifice now and quit my job to blog. I need my life, it’s important.
This led to me being able to organize and hopefully soon get a bunch of posts pre-written and self publishing so I can grow some niche blogs and other projects.
I now have a schedule on my blog and today the topic was Animals, like it will hopefully be every Tuesday for a while.
Do you manage to make a nice wad of cash from your niche blogs? Is it mainly from Adsense or do you have more luck with affiliate marketing?
Forest Parks’s last blog post..Animals of the Forest: The Giant Gippsland Earthworm
March 4, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Great article!
I find personally that a schedule is useless for me. If I give myself a time to write it could take me two hours to write one article. What I do is wait for those bursts of creative energy to come, when it does happen I can write articles very quickly. It’s basically the method of madness, but hey it works for me, lol.
If I get stuck I just take a day or two off, if blogging gets boring it’s no fun. Better to walk away and come back when you’re in the mood.
Christy’s last blog post..The Face Of Johann Sebastian Bach
March 4, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Mark,
Well said! I know all about spreading myself to thin and it typically results in burnout. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in getting subscribers or increasing income that we forget about why we started.
I start a lot of projects, but only keep the ones that work, and I’ve been spending more time focusing on my online ventures that don’t require daily or regular maintenance (such as domain flipping, niche sites, etc.)
They don’t require regular posting, so once they are done, they won’t require any more time. As for blogging, I have trouble maintaining 3, so I focus on the profitable two and post on the third when I have time.
Great post!
Kyle Eslick’s last blog post..Examining LLLL.com Domains
March 4, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I think a lot of us bloggers have a lot of problems with the whole knowing our limits thing. Personally, I know that before I took on this new job that I was stretching myself to the limit already with bushmackel.com and damackdaddy.com and with it, well, sacrifices have to be made. I’m hoping though that maybe I can stick with updating damackdaddy.com every week. I think just once will be ok, and even that will be a lot for it. Great post!
Bush Mackel’s last blog post..Fixing Up – Learn Stuff Online (Part 1)
March 4, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Those who can admit defeat and move forward and learn from it will last longer that the rest of us. I find blogging to be extremely time consuming and difficult to maintain, especially if you want to write meaningful content. I find comfort knowing that even the good guys like yourself struggle with this as well.
Michelle’s last blog post..It’s Tee Time
March 5, 2008 at 9:09 am
Oh we all do it, Mark! Don’t be too hard on yourself. Atleast you started off with your niche blogs.. I registered 2 domains and all I did was install WordPress and they have been just sitting there. It’s great that you have taken notice and taking charge to change it all is a sign that all is well.
Creating a writing schedule and sticking to it is something I really need to do.
K-IntheHouse’s last blog post..Top Browser Bookmarklets
March 5, 2008 at 9:30 am
A BIG light bulb just went off, and I think I want to clarify something.
I am an artist and musician, one thing I know is you can not schedule creativity. When I speak about scheduling my work, I am NOT talking about writing on a blog, I am talking about everything else. SEO, Design, Looking for topics, keyword research etc….
The actual writing part I do as the “creative spark” hits me. I will make drafts, sometimes just a title and one line, then when I need inspiration, I just look there first.
The one exception is sites like MusicRamble.com, sometimes a post has to be made due to timing, such as Jeff Healey dying this week, in those cases there is no schedule or waiting for creative spark.
So, Yes I schedule my work, NO I don’t schedule my creativity !
David Cooley’s last blog post..Read Your Own Blog !
March 5, 2008 at 12:17 pm
I actually used to teach time management, so you’d think I’d know better, but I’m always trying to take on more projects than can ever be completed.
like someone I know very well.
I’ve got all the portfolios and the planners and the daytimers but what finally worked for me was a big dry erase white board.
I still do my goal setting and my short and long range planning, but scheduling is a waste of time in my book. Among other things, running an Animal Sanctuary always throws emergency projects in my face that mess up my schedule.
Instead of pulling my hair out, I use the white board.
I have a picture of my long term goals on the wall in front of my computer, next to my white board, which I use to list the top one, two or three things I must do each day or die (or have my business die). This gives me the flexibility to get back on task if an emergency occurs. And it is VERY REWARDING to erase tasks as they are completed. It’s very basic but it works if you’re always trying to take on too many projects,
Brennan Kingsland’s last blog post..American Epidemic – Cheating!
March 6, 2008 at 1:15 am
Great discussion everybody! Sorry I’m late to the meeting.
@David
But good idea about walking away at times. I suppose if I did that a little more often rather than coming home, eating dinner and blogging, I might free my mind up and allow it to be creative.
Thanks! Yeah, I like routines and sometimes I over indulge myself causing me to neglect other important things like, oh I don’t know, family.
@Christine
I don’t know how you do it, Miss Christine, with all the writing you do. I’ve toyed with the notion of doing HTML page, too. Of course, it means I have to plan on making time for it.
@Forest
Wow, you actually quit your day job to blog full time? That’s quite a jump and kudos to you for doing so. I’ve often thought of doing something like that when the time is right. Sometimes I wonder if I’d be even more stressed over the fact that it would then be my job and try to crank out stuff that right as I’ve mentioned above that it’s difficult at times even with the little time I have now. As for my niche blogs, no, no wads of cash coming in, but once I give them an overhaul and breathe new life into them, I am hopeful that will one day be the ticket.
@Christy
You’re absolutely right — capitalize on those creative bursts and the words will flow.
Well, hello Miss Christy.
@Kyle
Thanks, buddy! I know what you mean about regular posting doesn’t have to mean everyday posting. That’s one of the reasons I burned out on my niche blogs because I felt guilty not posting at least a couple of posts a day. I need to get them into “coast mode” and then I will have more time to do other writing.
@Bush
And thank you, too. Yep, admitting we have limits in the first place is hard, but I think important if we are looking for a balance and happiness. We’re all works in progress.
@Michelle
Me? A good guy? Aw shucks. LOL
@K
Oh I have some blogs just sitting out there collecting cyber-dust, too. But that’s going to change in the near future. Thanks for the kind words.
@David, part 2
Makes sense to me. Creativity definitely needs a little room to breathe.
@Brennan
But you bring up something I am lacking in for sure, and that’s setting goals. What few I have (for life and blogging) are far reaching. What I think I need are ones that are more short term goals, something to show progress a little more immediately. Hmm, I wonder who you could be talking about when you say someone taking on too many projects. LOL
Good to know that even someone as skilled as yourself finds it a struggle to manage schedules.
March 6, 2008 at 7:57 am
Well, Mark,
It takes one to know one!
Brennan
Brennan Kingsland’s last blog post..American Epidemic – Cheating!
March 6, 2008 at 11:51 pm
This is an excellent article, Mark. I go through the same thing – while I don’t spread myself thin, I go through stages from where I’ll be writing list posts and pillar posts constantly, and then sometimes I’ll stop altogether. While I give out the advice all the time on making a schedule, I don’t even always follow through with it myself. Thanks for the great read and for the inspiration!
Tay – Super Blogging’s last blog post..Super Blogging Sports a New Look!
March 6, 2008 at 11:57 pm
@Tay
Thank you! I have to say that it’s a bit therapeutic to read all these comments knowing that we all go through the same thing on occasion.
March 8, 2008 at 9:29 am
Mark,
Have you somehow been peeking over my shoulder?
Man, you hit the proverbial nail on the head. While I only have 3 sites up, I have/had visions of adding two more. Yeah, right, well, maybe.
When I came to my senses, I, too, said “Okay, let’s get a handle on this” and I proceeded to:
1. Consolidate, 2. Organize, 3. Schedule Time.
The outcome?
Peace.
MorganLighter’s last blog post..The Welfare System in The United States -Part 3
March 8, 2008 at 10:56 am
@MorganLighter
Hehe…thanks for that. Good to know the 1-2-3 plan works. I’m working on it a little each day.
Thanks for commenting and welcome to MeAndMyDrum!
March 20, 2008 at 1:47 am
Mark,
This article is spot on. I know this feeling all too well right now. Three weeks between posts on my main blog, can’t keep up with comments there, not enough time on my second blog to make it spark, 3 or 4 plugins half written, upgrades needed to existing ones, 1000+ unread in my feed reader …. I could go on! Now I’m looking at a book deal, changing countries and starting a new job!
I don’t want to admit defeat in any of these… And I’m not being realistic. And I’m not going to make a schedule because there is no way I’d stick to it.
For me, I’m just going to do what I can, chip away at the things that are most important to me. I know I’ll never finish everything. I know some of my projects will suffer. But as long as my health is okay and my family is happy, then that’s the most important thing and everything else is secondary…
Stephen Cronin’s last blog post..Creating A JavaScript Array Dynamically Via PHP
March 30, 2008 at 6:46 pm
@Stephen
Darnit! My blog stopped notifying me when comments are made. Once I noticed that I did a review of my comments log and found your comment. I hope you now don’t think that I was just ignoring you.
Thanks for the compliment! Eating an elephant one bite at a time is hard to do in a the fast-paced mentality we have come to allow ourselves to follow. Even after writing this post, I have still had trouble getting that blog spark ignited. But I do feel that it’s getting a little easier.
March 30, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Hi Mark – no worries!
I am really behind in answering comments on my own blog and I know the comments are there!
I’ve been wondering at what point do blog owners stop answering every comment – I mean people like Darren Rowse at Problogger just can’t answer every comment, but I bet he did in the beginning. So when does someone decide, “I can’t answer them all”.
Not that I’m having trouble because of the number of comments – my problems are not enough time online and hopefully only temporary..
Stephen Cronin’s last blog post..Creating A JavaScript Array Dynamically Via PHP