by Esther Adeniyion November 9, 2015February 11, 2019Leave a Comment on How to avoid blogging burnout
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‘But you are a pretty good writer’
This is the best compliment a writer can ever get from a first time reader. You should experience it firsthand if you don’t believe me and so, dear Fola, if you are reading this, I want you to know that that sentence was magic in itself and my blog entry this day is proof enough that I pulled through my blogging burnout. Thank you.
Just before I hit ‘publish’ on my last post, I checked my stats and since I thought to myself that Google would have already computed my finalized earnings for the month, I went on ahead to check that too. I did check, hissed and hit ‘publish’, signed out of blogger (first time in two years) and decided to take an indefinite break from blogging. You can judge me all you want but, here, listen:
It isn’t fair. I have to write, edit and publish articles all by myself. And promote too! Seriously? I know that you are thinking, ‘it’s your passion and nobody is forcing you’. Yeah yeah, but I probably wouldn’t have been burned out if I had an automatic traffic driver. I still wish somewhere deep down that there was some app like that. Of what use is it to write quality articles and have no one to read?
My Google Adsense earnings (after 3 years of blogging) is $8.37. That program is overrated abeg. This is for those who are asking me to invest in their businesses (from my blog earnings!). I hope this is proof enough that I earn little bits and invest big bits on this blog? One particular idi*t said that I wanted to use him to make money. Why? I asked him to check out an article of mine as regards our discussion. I honestly thought that the article was perfect enough to buttress our discussion and he thought his own single click was the traffic I ever needed. Damn!
My Facebook page promotion was a total waste. I was spending money promoting my page with little results. Yes, I earned more page fans but the saying that engagement is important was what I found true after noticing a dwindling post reach. I still have to work hard to keep my fans? On Facebook? For my Blog? Argggggrrrrrrhhh, that is definitely too much work.
Okies, enough of the whining and complaining, let’s see how we can avoid this in future. I am putting this out here in case you are thinking of going down the lane I went for a whole week. I must admit that that was not my first or even second but I want this to be my last and I don’t want you to experience it at all. If you have however ever experienced a burnout or are experiencing it as we speak, I want it to be your last because I am assuming that after reading from my experience and lessons, there will be a turnaround for you.
Blog your passion
Well, this for other bloggers because I blog my passion. One factor that makes you overwhelmed in any field you are in is- not doing what you like doing. If blogging or writing is not your thing, don’t force it, you will burnout. If blogging is your thing, stay in a niche you know you can never ever get stuck. Of course, the writer’s block might surface once in a while but it will not be an issue you will have to deal with every now and then.
Reduce the pressure
I mounted on myself too much of pressure, too much than I could handle. Here’s how to relieve yourself of the pressure:
-Create a Schedule
You may have to not blog daily. Unless you are a full time blogger, chances are that blogging daily may be heavy. Creating a schedule, setting blog frequency and adjusting things to suit your job or schooling or parenting or whatever will help you blog consistently. You may have to re-schedue over and over but it’s okay. God knows how many times I have done that in here and to say the truth, my loyal readers understand me perfectly. Don’t be tempted to blog out of schedule because you have an influx of articles and ideas turning in, you could write them, save them and push them to the backup articles folder. Consistency is important. I have a folder in my blog articles folder titled 911! Oh yeah, you should too. This is for the block days.
–Take a break
This isn’t that indefinite break, it is a plan- a plan to recharge the batteries and refuel the tank. Getting away from the blog hustle can help you find more inspiration. For one, you miss your blog and you are coming back with a new strategy. Even though my break was indefinite and as a result of a burn out, I am coming back with a new strategy. One, I am sticking with my most recent blogging schedule. Two, I am drastically reducing my usage of local languages. My Google analytics revealed a big lot to me; for crying out loud, I have visitors from Russia even.
–Ask for help
What about asking someone to guest write on your blog? You could even get a co-writer who has the same passion as you have about your niche. If you do not like blog partnerships, you can stay with a guest writer. I, personally, do not like partnering with people on the blog because of the disadvantages, they far outweigh the advantages. I could make a post of this someday.
–Walk in purpose
Thinking about why you started your blog will help you refocus and reduce the weight of trying to do more than you are supposed to be doing. I didn’t start blogging because I needed to be rich; I started because I wanted to express and inform people at the same time. I wanted to share my journey through life with people outside my home. So…
Stop obsessing over stats
I couldn’t wait to get to this point. For starters, this is kill- joy. I will advise that you check in once a week. People with lots of traffic rarely obsess over stats. A drop is horror but they don’t obsess. If you are not expecting what you see every time you check it has a way of taking something away from you. You remember Bonny in Vampire diaries? Laughing…Okay was that the perfect example? Whatever, you get the point.
Never ever, ever ever, ever compare
Don’t do it! Never give in to the temptation to compare yourself with other bloggers. They did something to get to that height they are in too. It wasn’t magic; they worked hard. You must believe that every successful blogger worked hard; there is no luck in this, maybe some grace but no luck. Instead of comparing yourself, take a moment to reevaluate, work hard and find peace within yourself. Try to remind yourself of your purpose for blogging and why you stuck with it all this while. And all that thinking you are not good enough is a lie. If you weren’t you would not be blogging in the first place, trust me.
So, this is where I sign off. Blog your passion, reduce the pressure, stop obsessing over stats, never compare and avoid that blogging burnout. Have a fabulous week ahead of you. Love you.
P.S- Please share this article if you find it worth it. Thank you.
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