Prevent Blogging Burnout – Six Questions to Keep You Fresh

If you’ve been blogging for a while, you know that sometimes it’s a lot of fun, and sometimes it’s just, well, plain hard work. 

Some days ideas flow like water.

Some days your mind is as dry as a desert thirsting for inspiration.

It’s normal to hit a wall every now and then – but if you find that you have more dry days than not – you might want to take a look at what you should be doing differently.

• What are you writing about? 

If you’re not excited about the topic – chances are your readers won’t be excited either.  Either find a way to make the topic more interesting to you – or pick a different topic. 

• How frequently are you writing?

If you’re writing every day, perhaps you are draining yourself and should cut back, or ask guest writers to post.

If you’re only writing occasionally, perhaps you should write more often to keep yourself engaged in the process.

• What other blogs or articles are you reading?

You need outside stimulation in order to continually come up with new ideas.   Read related articles, books,  blogs, and forums.  Set up a Google Alert on relevant Keywords and keep an eye on what others are saying about your topic. 

• How many people are you meeting?

Believe it or not, blogging is a social activity.  You can meet a lot of people through their comments on your blog, your comments on theirs and from participating in forums.  Make a conscious effort to reach out to others who have similar interests as you. These connections will stimulate your creativity.

• What are your customers saying?

Part of the fun in blogging is that it helps you develop a closer relationship with your customers.  What are they writing on your blog? How are they responding to your polls? What are they saying about the articles you write? Make a point to refer customers to your blog and get their response to your ideas and format.

• What kind of variety do you have?

Blogging doesn’t just have to be about you writing posts. It can be audio recordings of your presentations, videos of you speaking, radio talk show interviews, recordings of your favorite music, funny youtube videos and captioned pictures of your cat. 

Every couple of months, or whenever you start feeling a bit stale, ask yourself these questions.  Look for a way to mix things up so you don’t get bored. Don’t be afraid to make a change – even if everything is working well for you. 

Remember: The best time to make a change is before you need to.

How do you get your inspiration back when you feel a little burned out on blogging?  Have you ever shaken things up?