There are days when I get a few hundred views, and everyone of those means as much to me as the two views I could get the day after. But I won't lie, those days, where only a couple of people have looked at my blog do get me down - is the time and effort I put into writing posts, taking pictures, planning and everything else worth it? Well, after not a lot of consideration it definitely is! The days I see my views rising at a pretty rapid pace are the days I always feel more motivated. So I thought I'd sit down (on what I can tell you is a low view day) and write my top six pieces of advice for staying motivated to blog!
ONE: Be organised and write lists. Cliché and obvious I know, but it really is my top piece of advice. I have a little book (a really cute one actually which makes me want to write in it even more!) that I plan all my posts in, the dates, and everything I need to do to get them ready. Ticking things off really spurs me on. It also makes me realise how quickly the days are going my, and how long I have to write the posts.
TWO: Read your readers comments. Whether it be on your blog posts, your tweets, or your emails, what my readers say to me really spurs me on. I love waking up and seeing a comment from someone in America, or going to bed having received a tweet from someone in Barcelona. It puts me in a good mood - much the same as the one I'm in when I see loads of people reading my posts. If it's a quite day on the interaction front, go back and read what people have said before, they might be old comments, but they should still mean as much, and they'll still have the same 'cheer you up' effect.
THREE: Read other people's blogs. Discovering new blogs is a real pleasure. I'm always following people on Bloglovin' and scrolling through twitter. Leave them a comment or give them a tweet, and they might discover your blog that they didn't know existed. But don't make it all about self promotion, if a comment brightens your day it'll probably brighten theirs too. You might leave their page with new posts ideas and a sudden urge to get all those ideas turned into blog posts.
FOUR: Do things in bulk. When you're feeling in that blogging mood, get planning, writing and picturing. I tend to take product photos in batches with enough pictures to last me for around three to five product posts. If the lightings good, and you're in the mood to sit and click away, do it for hours and on the rainy days where your pictures aren't great you'll have something to fall back on and be able to turn out a new blog post. And on the writing front - don't be afraid to draft. I have so many posts on the go, some may be a line long and others may be near complete, that I've just started to write when I've been in the mood - they'll be published at some point!
FIVE: Get a routine. I post three times a week, and since I started that routine in January it's one I've managed to keep to. I know when my posts go up but more importantly, my readers do. Posting regularly, on the same days each week, make me more likely to be prepared, so I'm less likely to miss posting for long periods of time when I'm just not feeling it and my readers are less likely to miss out.
SIX: Find inspiration. Whatever your blog is about there will always be inspiration outside of your blogging hub. Every now and then, I close my laptop, leave my bedroom, and pick up my car keys. I then drive to Boots and spend far to much money and regret the decision instantly, but all of a sudden I leave with three new lipsticks and a whole heap of blogpost ideas. Sometimes inspiration comes when you least expect it. Carry a notebook, and scribble thoughts - that post I wrote for advice on a train journey, yep, that came on a train journey!
That's it for today, hope you've enjoyed it. I am definitely no expert at blogging, but these are just little things I do to keep me going that I thought would be good to share! See you next time!
Loving the cute little notebook! ;) x
ReplyDeleteThanks :) x
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