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Is Your Blog Going Up In Flames? Blog Burnout Tips

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blog burnout, tips for bloggers
Run From The Burnout!

So here’s the thing. Blogging sucks the life out of you sometimes. Now, don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m blabbering about.

Researching topics, keywords, reader interest…golly gee Beaver, that’ s a lot of work. 🙂 I like Wally and the Beav. Anyways, my point? This work can burn you out. Snuff you out just like a hot ash on the tip of a Marlboro Light.

The Blog Burnout

Now, here’s the flip side. Always 2 sides to a pancake right? At some point, your hard work and dedication will begin to pay off. I swear to you it will. I am slowly…yes slowly beginning to reap some rewards.

I am now “in the black” for The Friendly Blogger and am beginning to generate some income. I can’t tell my boss to take a long walk off a short pier yet….but me thinks I could one day. 🙂

But I have to be honest with you, this is rough. Maintaining this blog and working the 9-5 is difficult.  I am constantly trying to come up with fresh topics or old ones with a unique spin. I refuse to be “just like everyone else.” I want to write quality, period.

I can’t stay up all hours of the night, even though sometimes I try. If I do that all the time, I lose productivity at the daily grind. So I try to utilize my days off as best I can. I don’t want to sit at the computer all day on my days off either. I want to spend time with my family too.

So, what to do? Attempt as best I can to avoid the blog burnout or at least curb it’s effects. Because the alternative is ugly….caving in to the burnout will cause your hard work to be diminished and your brand will began to dissipate.

How To Avoid Blog Burnout

I don’t have any secrets for this or some top secret remedy. Only what works for me. I will share with you what helps me and you are free to do with the info as you please….even poo poo it if you think it’s crap! (ha ha, poo poo and crap in same sentence!)

  • Take some time off. The key here is not TOO much time. Especially in the beginning of your venture…people will notice you are missing and not updating and socializing. You can easily fade away. You need to keep your name/brand in people’s eyesight, plain and simple. But, do take a few days to yourself and if you must work on the blog, keep it light.
  • Write off topic.  I know some people will think I’m nuts here, but it’s true. Write about something wacky in the world and tie it back to your blog. It’s easy really. Simply say, “man, I needed a topic for my next post and Brittany shaved her head again…had to write about that!” People appreciate levity and it’s needed in EVERY business at some point or another. Another great thing about this….it’s writing from the head and heart..no keyword research, nada.
  • Visit Friends. No, I don’t mean take a banana cream pie to Susie’s for coffee and gossip. I mean, go visit your blog friends. Catch up on their posts, visit their Twitter feed, Facebook, whatever. No doubt you have been working so hard, you are behind on your reading and socializing. So, in essence, you are “working” because you’re letting people know you’re alive. You don’t have to just post post post to be noticed.
  • Invite Guest Posts. I am going to be starting this one soon. But what better way to catch a break then to have others write for you? Be specific about your guidelines and topics and you will have a lot of good stuff to post to your blog. Work smarter, not harder my friends.

Okay, well that’s all the tips I have for you. Seriously, that’s it. Why are you still staring at me?! Go out into the world and take a break!

Let me know your thought and riddle me this Batman:

  • How do you ward off the blog burnout?

 

 

Comments (22)

  • The only way I’ve discovered to avoid burnout and stay on topic is to curl up in fetal position and cry hot tears of shame every night.

    Wait, actually that doesn’t work at all. Scratch that.

    Anyway I haven’t found the answer yet. Another thing that doesn’t help: Video games. Those don’t seem to help a blog out for some reason.

    I think Tristan over at Blogging Bookshelf recommended keeping a file of all the praise and accomplishments that make you feel good so in those moments you can always refer back to them.

    If I ever get any praise or accomplish anything I’ll let you know how that works out…

    Reply
  • Well, I do all of the above. 🙂

    The one thing that helps me immensely is using the WP Editorial Calendar plugin. That way, I can jot down ideas and thoughts even without writing a full post, and then come back and flesh them out.

    Building up a team of regular guest posters has really helped me out. They are all very smart people, and it really takes the pressure off a bit. I started doing that last year, and we’ve grown from a team of one (me) to 13 and counting.

    Reply
    • Author

      Shonali:

      Thank you for visiting me and for your feedback! I was not aware of the calendar plug in, so THANK YOU for that!! I appreciate the supprt.

      Lisa

      Reply
  • I read on another blog earlier that the key to an awesome blog is living an awesome life, so to find your inspiration I guess people should try and live an awesome life. Easier said than done though! Hopefully living an awesome life will also stop any burnout from happening. If only!

    Reply
  • Dead on Lisa and you’ve made some awesome points that will help those who are in your situation. If I was still working a full-time job and trying to do this online I don’t know how I would fit it all in. I’m up all hours of the morning as it is working online which is why a lot of people use the excuse of not having any time.

    I honestly believe if you want a better life, you’ll make that time. It’s a sacrifice but in the end it will be well worth it. Telling your boss to kiss your a_s… Well, there’s just no other feeling in the world! 🙂

    Thanks for this and I’ll pass this one on to some of my friends who are dealing with this same issue.

    Adrienne

    Reply
  • Hi Lisa,

    Great post with great points. But I want to say one thing that nobody actually want to spend 9-5 time on blog everyday, but it’s the passion and competition that force to do even late hour work.

    I think there should a weekly off type concept which you can use while working on your blog as you need rest of course no doubt about that. If you’re not feeling fit then you can’t deliver at all.

    Reply
  • Thanks for sharing what works for you and if it works for you, there are bound to be gems in there for the rest of us. Some of my wittiest or most energetic (or at least I feel they are) is when I write off topic. Like you mentioned somehow having it circle back and connect to the main them of your blog helps it even more.

    “Living your business and/or your life” also helps keep ideas fresh. If we’re walking around with our eyes half-closed during the day we’re missing great content opportunities that are uniquely us and that other’s aren’t able to share. But even burnout can affect this…

    Good reminders Lisa; your perseverance is expiring! As we say in China, ” 加油” (Jia You), meaning “keep at it!”.

    Reply
    • Author

      I love the Chinese reference Jacob!!! I love learning new things…hence why I stay up so late!! I appreciate your feedback

      Reply
  • My family is Mom and I have no day job; oh yea it can burn you out. Being somewhat disabled and spending all my time right here, I can vouch…..taking a day off here and there is a true blog saver.

    Reply
  • I feel you. If I have a gap in my blog between post it’s because I haven’t experienced anything personally that I can write about that’s helpful, or I don’t want to regurgitate the same thing everyone else is talking about in the tech world. I don’t like writing just to write, even though I know that goes against the “content is king philosophy”.

    Reply
  • Hi Lisa

    Blogging is very time consuming that’s for sure. Prioritising tasks and working out what’s best for your blog & business takes some time.

    Networking is important but so is generating an income. Especially when the idea is to eventually go full-time with an internet business.

    I’m finding that the more I write for my customers the more sales I am getting. Not just doing posts that other bloggers find interesting. Although some bloggers are regular customers too.

    So I’m finding my way and enjoying the journey. And keeping it real and unique sure helps too 😉

    Patricia Perth Australia

    Reply
    • Author

      Patricia:

      I agree 1000000% with keeping it unique and geared towards your customers. Looks like you got it down my friend!

      Reply

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