by Skellie
Photo by Freeparking.
It was a little painful to read Darren Rowse’s series of posts on letting your blog go. It hit a nerve with me for reasons that are probably self-evident: in the last four months there have only been eight new posts at Skelliewag. In this post I want to explain some of the important lessons I learned by letting my blog go, and how these lessons will help me approach the future.
Reflecting on that time I’ve realized that there are always deeper reasons for letting a blog go than ‘I don’t have the time’. I’ve learned that the way you use your time reveals your true priorities, even if they aren’t the priorities you acknowledge.
This article is, surprisingly, a positive one. It doesn’t benefit anyone for me to make excuses for my own personal situation, but I’m sure some of you are going through a similar phase and struggling to keep your blog regularly updated. Maybe you’ll see yourself in some of the lessons I learned.
1. You should allow your blog to evolve to match the challenges you set yourself.
One of the most important things every blogger should do when preparing to launch their first (or second, or third) blog is to decide on what you want to achieve with it. If you want to make money from AdSense ads about HDTVs then you’re going to be taking a very different path to someone who wants to become a life coach, for example. Your content and approach will need to be radically different.
However, though it’s essential to plot your route into the future, it’s also equally essential that you allow your goals to shift and realign as your blog evolves. After a time I found that trying to raise my subscriber count ad infinitum was not as rewarding as I expected it to be, but I never properly acknowledged this so I could work on finding new markers to aim towards. I was afraid of changing a formula that seemed to be working well, but the formula had become out of step with new priorities. As a result, following a pattern that no longer seemed authentic led to a drop in enthusiasm for blogging.
2. Sometimes you should break rules.
If you dedicate all your time to optimizing your content in a certain way, using all the right formulas and sticking within clearly defined topics, you’re shackling your creativity. This isn’t to suggest you should ignore the best practices for growing a popular blog–far from it–but it’s also important to step outside the rules sometimes, exercise your creativity and be confident that your readers will stick with you.
Write about a topic you’ve never covered before, experiment with a different voice, break conventions, forget about Digg and StumbleUpon for one post (or several) and write the post you would most enjoy writing. Allow yourself to do this regularly and be fearless about it–particularly when you sense that you’ve been letting your blog go. This is a sign that your writing process needs to be re-invigorated.
2. Sometimes you need to find new challenges.
If you do let your blog go, whether it’s for a week or several months, there’s a reason for it. Boredom is a poor reason, as a blog post begins as a blank screen and the possibilities are limitless. If you feel bored, you’re probably needlessly constraining yourself, and you need to approach your content from a completely new angle. If you’ve ever felt sick of a room in your house and re-arranged everything inside it so it feels ‘new’, you need to do the same thing to your blogging routine.
I suspect the most common cause for letting a blog go is feeling like there’s not enough time to blog. Strangely enough, you may simultaneously be finding time to work, watch television, pursue other projects and play the guitar (or your hobby of choice). Each of us has a long list of priorities and not enough time to do everything on that list. Certain things may consistently fall into the nether regions (or ‘no time’) area of that list, like mowing the lawn, doing your taxes, and blogging. What this really means is that blogging has slipped down towards the bottom of that list. Either things that were once below it have moved up, knocking it down, or new things have been added above it, squeezing it out. If you don’t have time, the truth is that blogging is no longer a high priority for you.
The way we prioritize something is determined both by how much we have to gain by doing it and how much we have to lose by not doing it. Sometimes our reasons for giving blogging a lower priority are very good. We may have just taken a new job, had a baby, needed to care for someone who became sick (maybe ourselves) or gone on vacation. Alternately, you may find the rewards of blogging have become less and the rewards of something else have become more, or that you’re experiencing both these things at once. At this point, you need to either: a) increase the rewards of blogging by shifting your goals so that blogging becomes a higher priority or b) accept that you have decided to put blogging on the back-berner for now and that you will accept the consequences. Sometimes it’s not possible to do everything you want at once, and sometimes you need to experience a degree of failure in one area to experience a success in another.
3. Allow yourself to explore new topics and be confident your readers will come along for the ride.
If you write several times a week on your blog and cover a set array of topics, there’ll come a time when you publish a post and are then struck by the feeling that you’ve restated something you’ve said before, only couched in different terms. This is not very inspiring. Interestingly enough, your readers may not remember your past content as well as you do, and more recent readers may need to be introduced to some of your foundational ideas for the first time.
While it’s certainly OK to repeat yourself sometimes, it will also be necessary that you widen your focus slowly and surely as the amount of content on your blog increases.
This isn’t to suggest that I should feel free to start writing about moisturizer (though I have been asked, believe it or not) and that you should feel free to write about rock collecting. Instead, the topics you branch into should be strongly linked to the topics you’re already covering. If you’re tired of writing about just web design, branch into writing about web development as well. If you’re sick of writing about iPhones all the time, start writing about iPods as well. By keeping the topics related but different you can guarantee most of your readers will find the expansion relatively seamless.
4. Don’t set unnecessary boundaries.
When I started Skelliewag I had never heard the term passive income and had not read widely on earning an income through web content. I tended to deride advertising when I mentioned it, and was very proud that Skelliewag.org was ad-free. If I’m honest, this is easier to do when you know you wouldn’t be making money anyway. Fast-forward to 5,000 subscribers and decent traffic and the stance becomes a lot more meaningful. My enjoyment of clean side-bars now requires a sacrifice of between $600 and $1000 a month, and I suspect that throughout Skelliewag’s lifespan I’ve sacrificed more than $5,000 in the name of no banner ads.
In hindsight this strikes me as kind of silly, but I was petrified that if I introduced banner ads there would be some kind of revolt. It took a surprisingly long time to ask the ever-useful question: “How would I feel if someone else did the same thing?” I wouldn’t care. I believe everyone else has a right to be rewarded for hard work, so it’s strange that I wouldn’t apply the same standards to myself. This means that sometime in the future there will be banner ads in the sidebar at Skelliewag (I’ll most likely wait a month or more until traffic returns to normal levels), and that you probably won’t be too bothered by it.
6. Write for yourself.
This sounds trite–and in a way it is–but this is the simplest way to say it. The person/entity you should be pleasing before social media, before other bloggers and even before your readers is yourself. A big chunk of what makes content remarkable is the sense that the blogger loved creating it. Once you lose that, the other stuff becomes less effective. In fact, if you have to choose between enjoying yourself and writing according to proven social media formulas, choose to enjoy yourself. You might be surprised at the results, both for your enjoyment of blogging and the growth your blog experiences.
How does this reflect on the future?
I’ll be branching into a broader range of topics: blogging as a business model, online business, case studies, effective user-interfaces, websites as a business model, more on social media and web trends in addition to all the topics I’ve covered in the past.
The style of content will be more varied. Some posts will be quite short, others will be very long, others will fall somewhere in-between, and the frequency will depend how inspired I am in any given week (though I would love to write at least three articles a week, which I will be surpassing by one post this week).
As you can see, I’ve simplified and broadened the categories list. The archives are now completely up to date and managed by a plug-in (trying to do it myself was doomed to failure, and I’m not quite sure what brought on that bright idea). The blog has a new header and I’ve tweaked a few other aspects of the design. I’ll be treating the blog more like an online business which will hopefully allow me to make more time for creating content and re-investing in new features. Most importantly, I’m excited to jump back into blogging and excited about the months ahead.
If you feel like you are letting your blog go, or if you start to feel that way in future, hopefully this post will be something you can learn from.
Am I going to promise that things have now returned to normal? No, I’m not. I think the content I have written and planned for the coming days and weeks will speak for itself. I hope you’ll be there to listen.
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58 Comments, Comment or Ping
Tzaddi
Welcome back, Skellie! Looking forward to what your new inspiration brings us.
Aug 26th, 2008
CW
Thanks for this!
I’ve found that my blogging has been suffering for the past few months for a number of reasons, and this will help me focus on what it is I hope to get out of my blog.
Oh, and I look forward to your posts in the coming weeks!
Aug 26th, 2008
Kelly@SHE-POWER
Glad to have you back, Skellie. I think it’s great that you have taken a time-out and found a way to get inspired again by this blog and redefine what you want from it in the future. I seriously doubt anyone will be bothered by banner ads here. You’re a top tier blogger and all of them have advertising. You’ve got the traffic and you put the time, energy and creativity in so you should definitely reap some rewards from that.
I also agree that whenever you don’t feel inclined to post on your blog it isn’t just not enough time. We always make time for what is important for us. But sometimes our blog drops down the ranks of importance and there’s nothing wrong with that. It might be a phase to recharge or it might mean we need a new blog or a change of direction or maybe we’ve got all we can out of blogging.
The important thing is don’t beat ourselves up over it. There’s enough to stress about in life without making blogging another draining obligation. It’s supposed to be fun, isn’t it?
Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us.
Kelly
Aug 26th, 2008
Alex Charchar
So it’s safe to say that by letting go for a little while, you’ve come back caring a lot more? Or should I say you’ve come back wanting to get more out of your blog?
Was there any point during your time off that you felt your priorities changing to the point where you were seriously considering not giving Skelliewag any more time, and then you did a 180 and decided to come back to it full hog? Or was it somewhat constant feeling of wanting to get back into it?
Aug 26th, 2008
amypalko
This post has really struck a chord with me, Skellie. I’m in the final throes of finishing my phd thesis and consequently I’ve set the blog to one side and last updated it in July. Ridiculously, I actually feel apprehensive about posting there again; however after reading this post, I’m determined to get something up over this next week. Thank you for being so inspiring (as always!), and I, for one, am most certainly looking forward to future posts here at Skelliewag. Best of luck!
Amy
xx
Aug 26th, 2008
felipon
nice advice, thanks home it works
Aug 26th, 2008
Kym
You are quite right. A “blogging addiction” is really quite unhealthy.
Skellie, you make me a bit ashamed of having ads on my site, since Skelliewag is so ad-lessly successful.
I actually like Skelliewag more than other blogs because you pace yourself out well, Skellie. You give us readers the time to follow up on your entries.
Aug 26th, 2008
Kelley
This is so timely for me. Even though I am not considering letting my blog go, I am at a point where my blog is getting more popular and I am feeling that I have to post something, rather than in the early days when I had to force myself to only post once a day. Things flowed better then. I need to get back there again.
Welcome back!
Aug 26th, 2008
Tammy Lenski
Skellie, it feels like you’ve come back to us, and that’s reason for celebration! Thanks for your honesty, your good self-reflection role modeling, and your roadmap for the future of the blog…I’m looking forward to it.
Aug 26th, 2008
Tess
Great to see this post, Skellie. I’ve visited your site to look up various great posts from the past and have felt sad you didn’t continue because your content is so very good.
Looking forward to the future for you and for us your readers.
And by the way, yes I tried manual archiving for a while and also wondered what on earth you were thinking!!
Aug 26th, 2008
Daniel Richard
Heya Skellie! Great seeing a new article from you right here today. Glad that you were confident in your blog’s growth even while letting it evolve from where you left off with a 8 posts in 4 months rate of writing new entries.
And yes, I’ve noticed the new logo on your site too. It looks really neat! Haha. All the best there to ya.
Aug 26th, 2008
Amanda Fazani
Skellie, I’m thrilled to see a new post appearing here. Your blog has inspired me in more ways than I can describe, and I’m sure no-one will mind the addition of some relevant banner ads which we hope will help reward you for all of your hard work and effort.
My best wishes to you, Skellie, and sincere gratitude for the inspiration you provide
Aug 26th, 2008
Mark Dykeman
Looking forward to more Skelliewag, as always. Cheers!
Aug 26th, 2008
Ankesh Kothari
Thanks for articulating your thoughts so well Skellie.
Am curious to see where you take the blog from here on.
Aug 26th, 2008
Michael Martin
Welcome back Skellie!
I think adding the adverts is a great idea. I did that to my blog a few weeks ago, and since then has been the first time I’ve actually looked at my visitor count and pageview counts regularly, and really cared about increasing them.
Blogging itself is a lot of fun, but it still doesn’t hurt to have a monetary incentive to inspire you when you’re not really in the mood for writing!
Aug 26th, 2008
plonkee
Thank goodness you’re back. I think I’m going to (unfairly) attribute my own lack of inclined-ness to not getting a regular fix from Skelliewag.
I guess it’s important to not constrain your own creativity. Just because you’ve hit upon a formula that works, doesn’t mean you can’t find another one that works in a different way. And you don’t need to be right all the time.
I’m hoping that the new and revamped Skelliewag provides me with useful content. As a reader, that’s all I’m looking for.
Aug 27th, 2008
Jeff@MySuperChargedLife
I love this post! I think it is right on target. I like so many of the points you made, but I think most of it is summed up in the statement, “The person/entity you should be pleasing before social media, before other bloggers and even before your readers is yourself. A big chunk of what makes content remarkable is the sense that the blogger loved creating it.” I absolutely believe your blog needs to go where you are going. It needs to reflect your life. Sure, some readers may leave, but others will likely join you. I appreciate your courage in admitting these things and writing about them. Thanks!
Aug 27th, 2008
Dave Navarro
100% agree. The moment I decided to drive my blog instead of letting my blog drive me, everything changed for the better.
Sometimes I’ll skip a week … and sometimes I’ll post 5 days in a row. I decided I’m going to write when I have something to say, rather than be tied to a forced schedule.
Looking forward to seeing what articles come next for you
Aug 27th, 2008
Nascar
I totally agree too. I never thought of something like this but I am defintely going to try these tips. Thanks for the great post!!
Aug 27th, 2008
Adam Singer
Skellie proves something else - look at her blog traffic even with infrequent posting:
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/skelliewag.org
proves content is king. skellie is a rockstar =)
Aug 27th, 2008
Remarkablogger
Change must be in air today.
Maybe you didn’t do it strategically, but you built up an audience and gained their trust, and once you do that you can introduce monetization methods that not only do not damage that trust, they can enhance it even more, because you’re providing valuable resources. You happen to make money off of those resources. Put the money before your audience, and you’re dead. Keep your audience at the forefront, and everything will be cool.
Changing direction, broadening is natural during the life of a blog. Looking forward to the new stuff.
Aug 27th, 2008
Writer Dad
I promise I’ll be there to listen. You have to write to make yourself happy first. That’s what’s most important. The funny thing is, as I was opening my back door this morning, “Skelliewag,” floated into my head from nowhere. I thought, “It’s been a really long time.” I think there’s only been a few posts since I added you to my reader. Then I thought I should check out the archives today if I have time, I must be thinking of it for a reason. Then, my RSS is lit up. Nice to see you again. Hope to see you soon.
Aug 27th, 2008
Bamboo Forest
“This means that sometime in the future there will be banner ads in the sidebar at Skelliewag (I’ll most likely wait a month or more until traffic returns to normal levels
Good to see you writing again Skellie. Yes, please get banner ads. If there ever becomes an online culture where people are resentful of ads on blogs, that will be a sad day indeed.
Bloggers work their asses off - and seeing them get something in return should make any reasonable person happy. Moreover - it motivates the blogger to continue writing superb content which makes the READERS happy.
Aug 27th, 2008
Julia
Welcome back, Skellie! I’ve missed seeing your thoughts in my RSS pile :-). I can’t say that about too many other folks in the pile.
I think many times we forget that a blog that just exists to earn an income for the author is in serious danger of becoming sterile and formulaic. I’m not sure I’m an “average reader,” but when a blog to which I subscribe falls into that trip, it loses me as a reader. I’m looking for creativity, enthusiasm, and passion from an author, and let’s face it, none of us have those traits all the time. When I lose mine, my blog goes silent (just like my lampworking, my writing, and my web design). But sooner or later it comes back stronger than ever.
@Dave Navarro — I’ve never heard/seen it said better.
Aug 27th, 2008
Angel Cuala
What a pleasant surprise! This is your first post that I received after subscribing to you a month ago. I understand that there are times we should rest a bit even if we enjoy what we are doing. This is re-charge ourselves and somehow do some soul searching.
This is a great post but I love Lesson # 6 the most. While we can always choose the high-paying keywords to monetize our blogs, or make a deep research about the things you think your readers like to read, writing for yourself is still the key.
No amount of money can pay the self-achievement once you finish your most-wanted post.
After all, this is what readers really want from us.
Aug 27th, 2008
Jean Gogolin
Welcome back, Skellie; I’ve missed you. Obviously with this post you’ve given us all a lot to think about — and probably a jolt to think about what we could do differently!
Aug 27th, 2008
Juggling Frogs
Welcome back. I can relate to so much of this. Myriad reasons made it necessary to stop posting for a while, and then inertia took over. It was so much harder to resume than it ever was to start.
Aug 27th, 2008
EsanSpa
Good to see you are back! I’m new at blogging and Anywired has really been an important resource for my new adventure! Thank you for sharing these lessons learned.
Aug 27th, 2008
Tibi Puiu
Excellent to see you back, Skellie! I’ll be patiently waiting for your next insightful, as always, article. Regards,
-Tibi
Aug 27th, 2008
Frank
Geday mate, welcome back! Have missed your excellent posts. Looking forward to your new direction.
You post reflected a lot of my thoughts and was very reassuring.
Post for your own satisfaction and enjoyment I reckon, not just to chase the numbers or dollars.
Looking forward to your new work
Frank
Aug 27th, 2008
Jade Craven
I am very, very glad that you are back blogging.
Your style is like no other, and is like a breath of fresh air in the blogosphere. The absence of content was definitely felt though I always think its important that appropriate time is given to repurposing a blog.
I remember early on you were advocating manual archiving - thanks for admitting that a plug-in is more efficient. It helps prevent early blogging mistakes.
What you’ve sacrificed in banner ad income, you’ve probably more than made up for in freelance work
It’s also about preeminence; by having no ads from the start you are able to make accurate cross comparisons.
Welcome back - and really looking forward to the new content!
Aug 27th, 2008
Cath Lawson
Hi Skellie - At least you’ve identified what changes you want to make and you’re making them. As for the ads - I’ve also started adding some. You can’t write for free forever. All I would say is keep tweaking them and trying different ones.
Oh and keep them out of your posts. I had someone email me tonight - wanting me to do a series of posts on their company, for commission only. Like that would really do anybody much good. I hate it when companies see bloggers as a cheap way to promote themselves.
Looking forward to the new stuff you’re going to write about.
Aug 27th, 2008
Andrei Kharlanov
I am happy you are back
(check your post — you have two number 2 points)
Aug 27th, 2008
~C4Chaos
great to see you back in the blogosphere.
“The person/entity you should be pleasing before social media, before other bloggers and even before your readers is yourself. A big chunk of what makes content remarkable is the sense that the blogger loved creating it. Once you lose that, the other stuff becomes less effective. In fact, if you have to choose between enjoying yourself and writing according to proven social media formulas, choose to enjoy yourself. You might be surprised at the results, both for your enjoyment of blogging and the growth your blog experiences.”
exactly! my blog is not as popular as yours. but i’ve been blogging for five years now so i can relate well to what you just wrote. the attention, comes and goes. it takes passion to continue with the practice.
but i felt a sudden shift in focus lately. it was time to make the shift and move on. so even if i blog less nowadays, the same passion and compassion is still there, and then some.
godspeed.
~C
Aug 27th, 2008
Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters
You definitely have the intelligence to expand your blog to a broader range of topics. I’m glad you are expanding out. I look forward to what you will write.
To be honest…it’s all about working happy now. If you don’t enjoy the writing process than what’s the point. It doesn’t matter how many people follow you, you got to love what you write.
Aug 27th, 2008
Vanessa Byers
Great post, Skellie. I’ve missed your messages but look forward to keeping up with your blog evolution.
Welcome back!
Aug 27th, 2008
Evelyn Lim
Welcome back!! I’ve been noting that you haven’t been writing for a while. I enjoy the authenticity in the way you write and at the same time, weaving important lessons for your readers. For a while, I thought that you are going to give up this blog….but I’m glad to find out that at the end, you are intending to expand the range of topics. Looking forward to reading more fabulous content!
Aug 27th, 2008
kristarella
Yes! I have felt the burden of this truth this year…
Hope your new outlook on your blog is rewarding for you and your readers.
Aug 27th, 2008
skellie
Hey all, I wish I could respond to each comment individually but I’m sure you would all rather I wrote another blog post instead (it would probably be just as long!)
I can probably respond to everyone collectively by saying how much the warm welcome back means to me. I had been anxious about stepping back into blogging and worried that I would have to try to convince everyone to give me a second chance. It’s been so uplifting to see so many fimiliar names and personalities welcoming me back into the fold, some of whom have been with me for over a year now. Thank you! I feel really bouyed and inspired to write… it’s just a fantastic feeling you’ve given me.
Aug 28th, 2008
Mr. Javo
I have left my blog go in a month, because of the time I hadn’t to maintain it. Although, that inspired me to continue working (besides some emails of my readers) and now I feel well with what I do.
Great tips, continue working!
Aug 28th, 2008
Ali
Skellie’s back! *little happy dance*
I’m technically “on vacation” this week, but just had to pop over and comment after the delight of two new Skelliewag posts in my feed reader.
The expanded list of topics sounds just brilliant. Also, I have no objection whatsoever to ads — the ones on Anywired certainly don’t bug me. If they contribute to you getting fair value for your blogging (and the articles you produce are worth a LOT to us readers), then go right ahead!
And thanks in advance for all the wonderful posts you’l be writing
:-D
Ali
Aug 28th, 2008
rhonda jean
HI Skellie, thanks for your thoughts, I always enjoy your writing and your analysis. I have you on bloglines and love when I see a new post. I’ll be waiting for the next, no pressure, just to let you know I’m here waiting to listen.
Aug 28th, 2008
Sherra
I’ve read your blog since I started thinking about starting my own and have missed your posts. Glad you’re back on your terms - exactly how it should be! Setting your own boundaries, that’s really what it should always be about…
Aug 28th, 2008
Atlas
Great post. I’ve just recently returned to my blog after “letting it go,” and I thought about a lot of the things you mentioned.
I think it’s pretty natural, and good for your blog’s health (as long as you return to it) — stepping away for a while lets you clear your head and refresh yourself.
Aug 31st, 2008
Bean Jones
Alll good points. I think as you evolve and grow as a person your blog will change with you, so you’re on the right track if you’re just following where your passion leads you. Good luck!
Sep 4th, 2008
Shweta
Hi Skellie,
Have been reading your posts on Darren’s newsletters, thanks for the great tips you have for us, I look forward to reading them everyday.
That’s exactly what we bloggers need, great content and readers telling you that they want more from you and how valuable your tips are to them!
Best Wishes!
Sep 24th, 2008
Anthony Lawrence
“Focus” is not something I do well, so my blog has never been in much danger of topic burnout
I had dropped you from my feed reader because of lack of activity - I figured you had just burned out and were done. I found you again because someone else mentioned a post of yours.
I’m glad you are back and have put you back into my reader. I’m looking forward to your posts.
Dec 15th, 2008
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