By Amber Osborne, {grow] Contributing Columnist
When I started blogging many years ago, I looked up to other amazing bloggers out there who generated massive amounts of content.
I would get emails from them daily with their beautifully written, descriptive and well-thought-out blog posts. Some even had custom, high quality images or infographics every day. Very fancy stuff … and a bit intimidating for a first time blogger!
At that time I thought success meant blogging multiple times a week, everyday if I could. At first, this wasn’t too hard, I had plenty to talk about, stories to tell. Then it just became a chore. I hit a wall, the ideas stopped and all the romance of being a professional blogger evaporated.
And then it got worse
I have to admit, there was a time I even used to loathe writing blog posts.
If I’m not inspired, or have a topic that I can build a good story around, it ends up in the draft graveyard.
Writing this type of high-pressure content for me is tough, especially if I have a deadline. I tend to be easily distracted and most decent sized blog posts probably take me all day to write. The “I have to wash my hair” excuse has become “I have to write a blog post.”
Trying to keep up the daily blogging wasn’t natural any more. I was becoming mediocre, the terminal illness of blogging.
Digging out
I know there are many of you out there who feel the same way, so I thought I would offer some tips on how I rekindled that blogging love.
Whenever I hit a creative wall, I would get out of the office or off of the couch and go experience life. Coming back from a conference, travel or just people watching gave me some great ideas. I don’t know about any of you, but listening to music on a plane is probably one of the most inspirational times that ideas just come flooding in. I wish a long time ago I started an idea journal, now I’m starting to do this more.
Now, you don’t need to spend a ton of money on travel to get content inspiration … Having a conversation with someone over coffee usually inspired a few more ideas for posts. Sometimes, I would further my conversation with the person by offering them to give me some quotes or even write a post or two to post on my blog.
Another thing that re-energized me was the challenge of guest blogging. This forces you to up your game!
The story of how I ended up as a regular writer on Mark’s blog began when I simply left a comment on one of his posts mentioning that I missed blogging. He then contacted me to see if I wanted to guest post. Since then, I find myself looking forward to writing a post for all of you each month. Mark expects the best content and I love that challenge. But most of all, I look forward to the greatly interactive and welcoming community on {grow}.
There’s nothing more motivational than having people respond to your writing and the {grow} community has been amazing. It makes me happy to know that I can possibly help someone with a problem or maybe that I wrote something that was a small catalyst to change in a life. If your own blog is sagging, you might find sustaining energy in another community.
Guest post tips
Going back to the challenge of guest blogging, it usually takes more than just a comment to find your perfect guest blogger. Back in the day, I would email or tweet a bunch of people I thought were nifty … and many times it worked out well. Another advantage to this is the ability to find a new audience for your own blog through another blogger’s community.
What I have realized is that I don’t need to write every day, every week or even every month to be happy, to generate great content. I think I am at a much more mature place in my content creating life.
Every blog post that I write now, is because I’ve actually WANTED to write — that passion is there again. Looking back I can definitely tell the difference between the content I felt I needed to churn out and content that is birthed from true passion and inspiration.
When that inspiration hits, I make sure I spend the time to just do it while the inspiration is still alive. If I wait two or three days, the fire is gone.
Now that I have re-kindled my love for blogging again maybe one of these days I’ll get to writing that book. But that is another story, for another day.
What are some of your tips to keep the romance with your blog alive?
Amber Osborne a.k.a @MissDestructo is the CMO at Meshfire, a social media management platform out of Seattle, WA. She’s worked previously in online marketing with clients ranging from bands to brands. Check out her adventures at MissDestructo.com.
Illustration courtesy of Flickr CC and Certified Su
