How to Keep Blogging…
June 18, 2008
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I think the hardest thing for a blogger is the moment that the initial newness and excitement wears off. You are faced with what is perhaps one of the hardest realizations: and that is, “I have to keep this going”.
As I have completed my first 100 blog posts on the Ignite blog, it is apparent that I’ve had ups and downs in blogging. There were some weeks where I would be on a roll and write a blog post daily, and yet other weeks when I breathed a sigh of relief that Jim or another Igniter posted something.
Surely, having a large of amount of client work has been one culprit to these inconsistencies, but quite often these were due to the difficulties of blogging itself. Many times I had come to a place where I thought, “I can’t think of anything to write about”, and felt the pain of scraping to find something else to write.
Last week, I finally read a blog post that put this feeling into writing, and if you are a blogger I highly suggest reading it. It was an article entitled, “Leaning into the Blogging Dip“, written by Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger, and was partly a review of Seth Godins book “The Dip“, combined with his own experiences as a blogger and his commitments to overcoming his struggles. In short, this article put a finger on exactly what I have felt as a blogger - while giving perhaps the best advice I’ve heard in how to deal with it.
His advice? You’ve got to lean into it. Don’t try to convince yourself you need a “blogging vacation”, or that you need to wait until you are “inspired”. Instead, he has shared the following promises he is going to use to push through his “blogging dips”:
- I need to write when I don’t think I’ve got anything new to say
- I’ve got to write when I’ve got too much to say.
- I’ve got to write when I learn something new so I can share it with my readers.
- I’ve got to write when I find something “old” that’s valuable and convince my readers that it’s worth examining.
- I’ve got to write when I feel confident and relaxed.
- I’ve got to write when every word that comes out seems like crap.
- And I’ve got to write during all of the times in between.
After reading these, I’ve decided to commit to this same philosophy, and will probably pick up a copy of Seth’s book to get even more inspired.
So here’s to 100 more posts, and pushing through the dips along the way!
Comments
4 Responses to “How to Keep Blogging…”
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Good for you, Lisa!
I still remember back in the day, when you were a blogging newbie. BUT NO MORE! You’re one of the big time players now. and BIG TIME PLAYERS MAKE BIG TIME PLAYS! (you may quote me on that.)
Congrats on hitting 100 blog posts. You’ve done it with insight and perspective. Kudos - keep climbing.
Good post, Lisa. Writer’s block applies to the blogosphere as well, and one has to keep hammering away, even if there isn’t much to feel inspired about.
Every time you feel new ideas coming out from you like crazy… blog it!
Keep some posts in the drafts and publish them during the time when you don’t have any ideas and desire to blog.
Too often we feel it has to be Shakespeare with every word and we find ourselves trying too hard. When you sit back you see there’s much to say even with everyday interaction with clients, colleagues and what we learn along the way which can make for interesting contributions to the conversation.
I’m nowhere near 100 posts but will keep this sage advice close at hand!