Have your reviews lost their edge and you’re left with not much else to say except “It’s a good book’? Do you cringe just at the thought of opening your email because you know there are review requests waiting for you? Perhaps you walk the other way when you see a book on the table. If any of this describes you, you may be experiencing Blogging Burnout. I think it has happened to every blogger who has been blogging for more than 4 – 6 months.
I would venture to guess that for many, they experienced a waning of enthusiasm for their blog around the 4 to 6 month mark. Why? The newness has worn off. You have a steady stream of traffic but it’s leveled off a bit. And you are becoming aware of the limitation of your current blog or the possibilities that your didn’t even know where possible when you started. However, it isn’t just new bloggers who face blogging burnout.
For those who have made blogging almost a second job (without the paycheck), it can occur at any time. Without some strategies in place to deal with it, it can crop up at any time. And burnout can be sneaky – one day you’re fine and the next you are ready to throw in the towel.
I’m going to share some strategies I employed last year when I experienced my first bought of burnout. I would love to hear what works for you, so please leave a comment.
- Change the layout/template of your blog. Sometimes giving yourself a makeover will reboot your excitement for blogging. Also new templates are always coming out, so maybe something more conducive to your style is now available.
- Change up your posting schedule. Often we lose the passion because we have fallen into a rut. By changing your schedule you might even garner new readers. Particularly if you don’t usually post on the weekend.
- Take a break. I think one of the main reasons for burnout is because we don’t take a break. We all live busy lives and sometimes we need extended down time to revitalize ourselves. If your blogging is starting to feel like a full-time job, remember full-time job comes with benefits of sick leave and vacation time as well as 2 days off a week.
While taking a break might be the exact thing you need, I know if can be hard to actually do. You worry about the drop in traffic or losing the readership you have worked so hard to garner. I can assure you, though, that when your blogging fatigue starts impacting your writing you are just as likely to lose that readership.
Taking a break does not mean you have to stop blogging all together, though in severe cases it is recommended. You might just need to take a break from reviews. Participate in a few memes. We all blog because we like the community. Get involved in the community by linking up to a meme and then visiting (and commenting) on participating blogs.
If you are struggling to write up a meme post, but want to continue to provide new content to your blog, offer guest post spots. I don’t usually have trouble finding authors willing to write a post for my blog. You can also do book announcements highlighting recent releases. Lists are also popular posts – top 5 fantasy books, great books for kids, etc. Lists are great because you can recycle content you’ve already written.
If you are able to create content for your blog, but every book you read is just bleh, then you might need to take a break from reading or at least reading books for review. Towards the end of last year all my reviews started sounding a like so I decided to read something that I knew I wouldn’t review (I re-read Harry Potter). I also read online fiction and will admit that fan fiction is a guilty pleasure. It’s predictable and can be read for entertainment value alone. If reading is the source of your burnout, you can find more great solutions at this Book Riot post.
If dre
ad is creeping up on you and your blog is causing stress, don’t let burnout end your blogging career. Stepping away from the blog for a few days or even a week won’t kill your readership. Put up a post that says “Gone Fishing”. Schedule a few older posts to go out on Twitter and enjoy some much needed relaxation. Your blog will be there when you get back.
Comic photo credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com via photo pin cc
Fishing photo credit: Daquella manera via photo pin cc
Related articles
- OH NO…I’m All Blogged OUT! (paythebillsandmore.com)
- Why I Blog (theindieexchange.com)
- Tips for Avoiding Blogger Burnout (onecoolsitebloggingtips.com)
**Please note that guest posts and columns reflect the opinions of the individual author and not The Indie Exchange as a whole. Also note, The Indie Exchange uses affiliate links to offset the costs of hosting etc.**
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Great advice. I agree with the changing up of the template idea. That totally worked for me. Gave new energy.
I also find if you need a little vacation away, a scheduled blog hop is a great activity to participate in. I often participate in a blog hop and then leave the blog hop post at the very top and walk away for the duration of the hop. That way, the post is always at the top, you get the new visitors to your blog still, and you can rest up and enjoy a wee break.
Good ideas.
A hop is a good idea, too. Thanks for stopping by.
Wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't forced to move blogs… I do like changing up the way I review and the 140 character tweet review is making it fun again. :)
While frustrating it can also be a great time to experiment with new ideas like you are doing with your reviews.
Timely. I am so ready to give up on everything. What is a "meme?"
I thought it might be a timely piece of advice as we head into the hectic time known as summer vacation.
Memes are sometimes referred to as blog hops. It is when all the blogs participating write on a certain theme. You can find out more (and some of my favorites) at this post I did on my blog.
Very timely for me as well. I've just hit the 5 month mark so you are dead on for me. My problem is that I really enjoy the blogging and I love the community but I'm not a fan of the self-promotion. I hadn't realized I would have to promote my blog so much to get readership and I really don't enjoy that aspect. I work with this lovely group of bloggers and we support each other which is fabulous. I adore them all! But it just feels like there is always something I should be doing to support the group as well as my own blog.
I love being a part of the group and I don't want to lose that, but how do I maintain that and take on less responsibility? If you have solutions for me please share them.
I say do what you can. The stuff really isn't set up to do everything everyday. Only crazies like me, but if just one thing a week would be fine.
I know what you mean about promoting the blog because this third time around I really don't feel like doing all that again… lol
Start looking at what is working and what's not for promotion. Focus on the ones that bring in the best traffic, reader comments, etc and focus on that.