I bet most bloggers are like me: we start our
blogs with great enthusiasm, write posts regularly for a while, then less regularly as the time passes until the posts dwindle to none. I’ve had this happen
with two blogs already, and this one hasn’t exactly been lively either. I do have explanations – or excuses –
for my absence, but it mainly comes down to prioritising. I had
more important writing projects and decided not to write blog posts.
If you’ve stopped blogging because it’s
not your priority anymore, there’s no need to feel bad. Many choose that
option. Although, I actually feel vaguely guilty about my two dead blogs, but
not so much that I’d revive them. This blog, however, still has hope. So, it’s
time to rethink my priorities and find time for blogging again. You can revive your
blog too. Here are four options for doing that:
1 Pick up where you left
If your blog has a theme or a topic,
continue writing posts about that. You once had a reason for wanting to write
about that topic. Find the reason again, find your passion. Go through your old posts or similar
blogs and see if you still have something to say. If you do, then great: just
start writing like you never stopped.
My blog is about writing and publishing my
own books. I’ve written about things I’ve learned in order to help other
writers. While I still have much to learn, I haven’t come across such personal
revelations lately that I would’ve wanted to write about them. They might still
be ahead of me, however, so I won’t rule out the possibility of writing about
writing.
2 Collaborate
Maybe – or most likely – there are other
people writing blogs about the same topic as you. Seek them out and invite them
to write on your blog. This has many advantages. You can keep a steady posting
schedule without having to write so much yourself. You’ll have new insights
into your topic and new openings to conversation. And you’ll likely get new
readers too, when the guest blogger’s readers stop by your blog.
There are many bloggers writing about
writing and successful collaborations among them too, so I know it works. I
haven’t invited anyone to my blog yet, or visited someone else’s, but it’s a
good option to keep an eye on for me as well.
3 Mix it up
Maybe you still have things to say about
your old theme, but you have new interests too. Why not write about both? You
may argue that your audience is there for your original topic only, but if you
haven’t posted on your blog in ages, they’ve probably left you anyway. This is
your chance to lure in new readers. Who knows, they might take interest in your
original theme too. And your old readers might be equally interested in what
new you have to say.
I’ve toyed with the idea of writing about
reading as well. Book reviews and musings about the books I’ve read. I used to
have a reading blog, though not with reviews. Maybe I could combine the two.
4 Make a fresh start
Maybe the reason you’ve stopped writing
blog posts is that you’ve completely run out of things to say about your
original topic. But you still have the need to write and want a forum for other
topics in your mind. So why not change the theme of your blog? Make a fresh
start with a new, fresh topic. Or multiple topics, if you so like. Make an
event of it, make sure people know you’re back and that you have something new
to say.
The third option is tempting, but I don’t have
an entire new topic in my mind I would want to write about. So I think I’ll go
with the third option. I’ll mix it up. And I’ll try not to stress about writing
schedules. If I have something to write about, I will.
Alongside with reviving my blog, I’ve
written a new series – partly the reason I stopped blogging. It’s in a new
genre for me, a funny detective story, and I’m very excited about it. It’s about a
Brooklyn waitress extraordinaire who becomes a private detective after losing
her job. What could possibly go wrong? The first book is called Tracy Hayes,
Apprentice PI and you can read the first chapters on Wattpad. Leave a comment
too. I’d love to hear what you think about it.
