I started blogging two years ago and learnt a lot since. Mainly that sometimes, I don’t really feel like blogging. Yes, sometimes I lack motivation. Whether it is because I lack inspiration, I am to busy, lazy, etc. I have learnt to go pass that phase and will now share with you my top tips to stay motivated as a blogger. They worked for me and I hope they will work for you!
Top tips to stay motivated as a blogger
1. Remember why you blog
Blogging, as a hobby or full-time job, is a lot of work. Creating content takes time and can become overwhelming. Thus, it is easy to lose track of why you started blogging in the first place. You established a blogging routine, post twice a week, think your readers are expecting you to stick to that schedule. Your readers are important, sure. However, what matters most remains your initial motivation – Why did you blogging in the first place? Because you love it. Because it is your passion. Don’t let it become a chore or the quality of your work will suffer.
2. Set small goals
Setting goals really helps to give you a direction. Reaching a destination is easier when you know what it is. Being ambitious with your goals is great. Indeed, it encourage to push further, do more, never settle. Yet, be careful. Over-ambitious and unachievable goals will do one thing – discourage you and demotivate you. Your goals need to be SMART. Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based. Use your previous achievements, current growth rate and statistics to set your goals. Remember that small victories all together make big ones!
3. Plan ahead
This is not my forte. I forget to write dow my ideas, thus forget them. Lately, I have left writing until the last minute. Which can be stressful, especially if I lack inspiration. And one thing leading to another, I get lazy and end up not writing. So I need to start following my own advice. PLAN AHEAD! Have your own system. Maybe an editorial calendar. Knowing what content goes out when will really help and give you more time to think and write. No rush, no stress, better quality. Also, scheduling posts in advance is great when you go on holiday!
4. Take a break
We all have times where we lack inspiration. Writing for writing is not the solution. If you struggle, then leave blogging aside for some time. Don’t force it. Take a break, clear your mind, focus on something else. And get back into it, all fresh and ready! Taking a break can come in many forms. It is all up to you. And it will always do you more good than bad, give you new ideas or new ways to approach your blogging!
5. Test, analyze, learn
Bloggers pour their heart in the content they create. It is disheartening when results are not there. Blogging is like anything else – a learning curve. Have a look at your most performing posts. Understand why they did well. See if they have anything in common. If a particular topic works well with your audience, consider focusing on it a bit more. Do not stop writing on what you love though ever. It might be a matter of timing – the right audience has not found you just yet – of strategy – reconsider the type of content you are pushing out – or of SEO – Google can’t find you. But always remember, you blog for you first and foremost.
6. Don’t compare
This one is a bonus. The topic has been covered a lot but it does not hurt to repeat it. Do not compare. Ever. You can’t compare your beginning to someone else’ middle. Looking up to established influencers for inspiration but do not compare. They did not make it in a few days and neither will you. Blogging is hard work.
Do you agree with these? Already practicing those tips? What are your top advice to stay motivated as a blogger? Ever felt demotivated? What did you do to remedy that?!
Thanks a lot for stopping by! Hope you liked this post.
See you soon,
Love,
Corinne
Photo credit – Haute Stock Photo
Totally agree with these tips! I actually did a similar post recently and I definitely use most of these to stay motivated! Not comparing yourself is a hard one- I definitely struggle with it at times but I am working on it! xx
https://beaulife.org
Totally agree with these tips! It can be so hard not to get caught up in the dark hole of comparing yourself to other bloggers, but you’re right, you have to remember WHY you started blogging, and go back to that reason over and over. I’m not very good at planning ahead but I’m trying to get better at it! If I need a break, I still make sure I read my favourite blogs, take photos, jot down ideas etc and then I can come back feeling more motivated and inspired!
Hels xx
http://www.thehelsproject.com
Yass very lovely blog post! I always schedule my blog posts weeks in advance otherwise I would never get them finished.
Kate xx
http://www.mummywho.com
Thanks so much for your useful tips!
Candice | Natalya Amour
My goals have always been not to compare and take it one day at a time. Set smaller goals which end up teaching you how to make larger goals to reach. Great post.
Thanks for these good reminders, especially the one about taking a break. This is something I really need to get better at. My instinct is to just keep trying and working harder when sometimes the best thing I could do is just get some fresh air and sunshine – something we bloggers don’t tend to get enough of!
Joan Senio
My Best Friend Adeline
Kindness-compassion-and-coaching.com
@joansenio1
I loved this! It can be hard to motivate yourself sometimes but I feel like setting goals and trying to keep to a set schedule really helps. Remembering why you started is a great tip too x
Sophie
http://www.glowsteady.co.uk
Omg I love the part about not comparing!!!! Everyone blogs different and this is great info!!! ?
Loved it!!
Such a great post Corinne!! Remembering why you started is so important when you’re struggling. Blogging for yourself and not other people is the beat way to learn, yea take inspiration from your faves is great but always best not to let yourself go down the rabbit hole which is comparison because you’ll never get back out!!
Thanks for this babe. Xoxo
I’m very lucky in that I’m often so motivated when it comes to my blog and always wanting to improve it, but these are amazing tips nonetheless! I always find that small goals are much more attainable too!
Sophie – https://sophiehearts.net x
I couldn’t agree more with these tips! It can be so easy to get wrapped up in the need for a schedule and posting certain content, but we all started out with a passion for writing and sharing stories. I’m new to the blogging game, and your tip on setting smaller, more achievabe goals is a really important one. Thanks for sharing!
Evie x | https://eviejayne.co.uk
Such a great post! I hate it when get creative block and can’t motivate myself to work on my blog. I definitely think that I’m guilty of setting my self too unrealistic goals. x
Antonia || Sweet Passions
There’s are great ideas. I had to take a break for awhile and came back stronger
These are really really great tips, I sometimes really struggle with motivation and I do use a lot of these tips! 🙂
Lainy x https://bookishbitsblogblog.wordpress.com/
Totally agree with these suggestions Corinne! I really need to find time to write and schedule posts as I’m such a last minute kinda person! I either write posts the day before or on the day! ? Remembering why you started is a fantastic tip and a good one to stay motivated. Great post, thank you for sharing! ? xx
Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
You share some great tips for how to stay motivated as a blogger. The main one is to remember why you started blogging in the first place. Finding out why or reminding yourself why you are doing something is always going to help reframe your mindset. Great tips!
I so agree with the breaks. I took a mini break and it helped me get motivated again.
Fabulous tips! I’m still pretty new to blogging- less than a year- but I find planning and keeping to a realistic schedule helps keep me motivated. I recently took a short holiday where I completely switched off from blogging for a few days and it did me the world of good spring back recharged and ready to hit to ground running again!
Melanie | http://www.frasersfunhouse.com
Totally agree! It’s all about why I started which keeps my motivation up. I try not compare myself to others who get hundreds of likes and followers
Great advice ? I need to set myself some small goals ? Hopefully they will inspire me ?
Abi xx
https://simple-joys.blog
Thanks I am new to blogging. It’s something I have always wanted to do and finally taken the leap. These tips are great especially about not comparing your blog to others. x
Such a great post, really agree with everything! I used to be not that great at planning ahead but I’ve got better at it, I’ve managed to plan out the next few weeks on my blog and it makes me feel so much better! It’s definitely important to remind yourself why you blog, I do it because I get so excited to write posts and take pictures, I don’t want to feel like I have to do it. I actually took a two year break from blogging because I felt like that!
thefashionfemme.blogspot.co.uk Xx
I love these tips! I do remind myself why I’m a blogger at times when I become frustrated with things. That helps keep me going. And I do make goals!
These are such great tips, thank you so much for sharing! Sometimes it’s hard not to get discouraged, especially if you start comparing yourself to others.
Very interesting and helpful advice. I think planning is the key for me, I need to have a schedule in place x
These are some great tips, it can really be hard to stay motivated working alone at home! Making sure you keep enjoying what you do is a big thing.
I am brand spanking new in the blog world (like a month). I think these tips are really good. The hardest one is to not compare, because I see all these beautiful blogs and naturally I start comparing.
These are valuable reminders for all bloggers! Comparison is so bad because everyone is at a different level. Someone might’ve worked on their blog for 10 years to get to where they’re at. Everyone should celebrate their own milestones :). It’s important to set small goals. I mean it’s great to get 10,000 followers but it gets discouraging to go from 0 to 10,000. Set steps along the way and action plans! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Nancy ♥ exquisitely.me
This is such a great post, very informative and interesting. These are good tips that I believe that will help in all bloggers most especially to all beginners. It is important to set a goals its either big or small.
thank you for sharing this information and suggestions, I am sure it will help all bloggers, especially the newcomers 🙂
I completely agree with all of these. Especially not to compare. It’s so important to stay focused on yourself and your growth and support others, without comparing what you’re doing to what they’re doing.
Taking a break is so necessary. People think the world will end if they don’t but it’s so needed and that’s what has kept me going as a blogger for so long.
I love all tips, especially #6. There are so many bloggers nowadays and comparison sometimes is inevitable. But if we will just keep in mind #1, we;ll continue to be motivated!
Sometimes, it can be really hard to keep ourselves motivated! I love all of your tips. Especially the one about not comparing yourselves to others. That is more important than you know, even though it can be hard.
A few months ago I went into a blogger slump where I didnt know what to post. Sometimes it is super hard to get back into the groove.
I love, love, LOVE this! I had so many breakdowns this year, and there were months that I felt like there’s no point in blogging anymore… But it’s important to remember why you started, and also have friends close to you to motivate you! That’s why I love the blogging community.. Especially on Twitter. People there are so supportive!
This post couldn’t have come across my screen at a better time. It’s easy to get frustrated as a new blogger. I’ve only been at it a few months and never could have imagined the roller coaster of emotions that posting online can bring. I do need to work on creating goals and a more cohesive plan for posts. Finding a niche will come with time as I am enjoying the “exploration” of content that speaks to me. Thank you for sharing!
I definitely lose all my motivation not because I don’t plan things or don’t set goals, but because I feel that I am not getting appreciated. Anything you wanna say about this? 🙁
Yes to everything you just said! I think the biggest culprit is the comparison game, it takes away the joy of blogging.
Such great tips here. It really is hard to stay motivated sometimes but I suppose you just have to push through or take a little break as motivation will come back along with a whole heap of inspiration.
i love blogging and talking about traveling and my kids. keeps me plugged into what’s going on
Great tips. I definitely work on reminding myself why I am blogging and for who I do it. One of my tips would be to stay close to those that help you stay on task and motivated. My family are huge supporters and I couldn’t do it without them.
I’ve struggled with this occasionally but I’ve utilized some of the tips you’ve mentioned here. I find that having goals, taking regular breaks and planning ahead help me stay motivated.
Excellent share! It’s so important to have a motivator and seeing posts like these really help keep the fire burning. Ruts happen, but that’s why I think I love number 1 so much, remembering why you blog. That for me always reinvigorates me and my passion.
Shawn definitely gets discouraged at times, this is a great post to help encourage other bloggers to keep motivated.
I agree never compared yourself and your blog to others. It will onoy distract you and gives you stress. Remember your purpose.
These are all really smart tips! I have been blogging since 2012, and it never occurred to me to set goals until this year. It is a super helpful exercise!
So so many great tips here! Thanks for sharing and getting me motivated again!
These are great tips! Planning ahead really helps me stay motivated as I know I have plenty of time to write each post!
Molly | http://www.mollyeez.co.uk
Saving this for when I next lose motivation – you have some great tips! Especially the comparison one – I tend to do that a lot
Fab post with some great tips.
I’m really bad at planning ahead, but around once a month I try to sit down and write a couple of “spare” posts that I can use if I’m just not feeling up to it or not feeling inspired.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
I think setting yourself small goals is invaluable! Big goals can be overwhelming and put a negative view in straight away.
This is a beautiful piece of writing that touched me on my struggle as a newbie in the blogging field. I so much love the statement saying “remember you blog for you first and foremost . I am in agreement with your list also since I follow some of these tips and I felt demotivated but the burning passion and good people out there giving out good advance keeps me going Thankfor sharing .