You have made the plans and post schedules for the blog. You have great ideas for new posts. You are ready to soar high and make blogging successful. But why does your enthusiasm wane and you struggle to stick to the blog schedule in the long run?
So when things get hard or the initial enthusiasm to blog starts to dissipate it is natural that you let yourself off the hook easily. You start thinking what am I losing if skip once, and end up in a blogging slump before you know it.
Tip: Reward yourself for every successful streak, say weekly. Create a calendar and mark each day you blog on it, and try not to break your streak.
You are not accountable to anyone
Yes, not all of us have millions of monthly readers in our blog. Or maybe it is just your mother and her cat. And they are not gonna judge you if you post once in a month or NEVER.
Before I moved to Elgee Writes, I had had my blog for almost five years and never told anyone about it. I assumed I was writing for myself and that I was blogging pretty consistently. But guess what?
Within a year, I had published more posts than I published in the first five years. The difference? I had begun talking to others (bloggers, friends and even colleagues) about my blog and I started getting regular readers and engagements.
Credit: Giphy
Sure, you can hold yourself accountable too, but has it worked previously? If no, it is better to involve a friend or better, another blogger friend to hold you accountable.
Tip: Announce your next post topic to your readers. Put up an blogging schedule on the sidebar so that your readers would know when to expect your next post and hold you accountable to it.
You are waiting for perfection
I am no stranger to this flaw. I am not perfect and my blog posts aren’t either. But I can wait for the perfect word to flow, the perfect blog topic to spring in my mind and for the perfect time to write it out.
But they rarely come and my blog can’t wait until then.
Starting with an imperfect plan and then continuing to make it better, is so much more productive than to wait for the perfect plan.
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Tip: Aim for good, not perfect. Write down everything in your mind or draft an outline, and then you can edit and perfect it.
You are waiting for motivation
You cannot expect yourself to be always motivated and full of enthusiasm. The going will get tough and your initial enthusiasm will definitely wane.
But if you had planned to work only when you are inspired, then you will be working only for about 30% of the days. Following through any plan or goal, needs inspirations but most critically you need determination.
I am sure everyone has days that they don’t wanna work or go to the gym, but only people who step up and do what is needed to be, even when they don’t feel like, become successful.
Tip: Don’t look for external motivations – just hitting the publish button on your blog or being to be able to stick to the blog schedule itself can be motivating enough. And even if it, just do it because you are professional.
You want instant gratification
Often we want to see the effect of our hard work almost immediately. And when that doesn’t happen, it is natural to feel disheartened and we may even want to stop our hard work.
Sure the SEO techniques benefit the ranking of the blog, but you can’t see the page visit counts spike the very next day. Likewise you are going to not get your leads right away, because you posted on your blog for two weeks as per your schedule.
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But this lack of patience and attitude towards instant gratification is keeping from being able to stick to the blog schedule.
Tip: When you make plans, get into a mindset that you won’t see any tangible benefit right away. And have a visual reminder to see how many days you stick to the blog schedule to quench your thirst for instant gratification.
So go on, let me know what other blogging challenges do you face? What’s stopping you from achieving your blogging dreams?
It is no secret that many of us struggle with blogging consistently. And many bloggers consider putting out content regularly as a success parameter. Let us talk about why it is so important to have a blogging schedule to ensure that you are blogging consistently.
Blogging consistently: Why do you need a blog schedule
Why do we keep insisting that bloggers should be more consistent? Why is keeping up with the blog schedule so important? Here are a few reasons for you to consider.
Makes you look professional
Having a blog schedule and blogging consistently makes you look like a professional at what you do. And guess what! That means your audience and readers will take you more seriously.
Every time (or so) you add a post or update something on your blog, the Search Engine Gods (aka Google or Bing) make a note of that. And that is a good thing because they understand that you are still relevant and show yours more frequently on the search pages – and that leads to? YES, MORE TRAFFIC!
Builds trust and authority
We only take in advices and suggestions from people whom we trust.
Gaining that trust and subject authority from your readers takes a long time and needs hard work. And that comes from a portfolio of articles you have written on the topic by blogging consistently.
For instance, the index of all my reviews here usually acts as my portfolio for the authors before they ask me to review or beta read their books.
Having more than 200 book reviews somehow helps them make that decision. What do you think?
Keeping your readers happy
Oh we almost forgot the most important reason we are screaming into the void here blogging. Our dear readers!
Having a good number of traffic or ranking high on the Search Engine results would not matter if we are not able to retain the visitors on our site. And we can have happy and returning visitors only when we post consistently.
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If you post 20 times in a month and then go missing from your blog for the next three months, chances are your blog readers would forget you. There are thousands of other blogs they might move to, and it won’t be their fault.
Avoid that dreaded blogger burnout
We all have been there. The blogger burn out is real and it is so damn painful. You watch your fellow bloggers posting such creative posts and all you can do is stare at the blank screen.
Well, let us talk about how to finally defeat (or avoid, let’s be realistic here) the blogger burnout – blogging schedule!
Do you have a blogging schedule? What are your struggles when it comes to blogging consistently? What are your success parameters as a book blogger? Let us talk
Last week, WordPress reminded me that it has been four years since I signed up and that got me thinking about the things I wish I knew when I started blogging.
There are lot of things that I wish I had learnt faster, and much earlier. I wish I had given a thought about several things that I did out on a whim, some of which turned out fine and others not so much.
I have been blogging for quite a while now, first at Musings Over Nothing and now at Elgee Writes. I have no doubt there is a lot more for me to understand, to implement and to make my blog better. But I also understand why it took so long for me to reach where I am.
Here I am to spill my wisdom to others, so that you will figure things out faster than me. I am sure there is something for both new bloggers and experienced one alike. Let us get on with it.
Identify the reason(s) behind your blog. Blogging demands a lot of time and effort and you need to figure out why you want to do it.
Are you planning to earn through blog? Is it going to be your portfolio? Or do you want to be known as an authority? Or is it just a way to express yourself or for fun?
Knowing why and how you are going to be blogging right away, will help you plan your next steps.
The older blog I had was strictly personal, for me and my friends. But Elgee Writes is more than that, and my content and promotion strategy is entirely different from the older one.
All I am saying is figure out what you want from your blog and work accordingly. Not all blogs are same nor yours have to be.
YOU decide on on the level of your privacy
Some of us consider our blogs as a place to discuss only books, or whatever is your niche, while others take it as a personal space to talk about their lives and more.
It is your blog and you get to decide what and how much you want to share about yourself. The same holds good for your social media profiles as well. Take charge of them, as you want to.
Just a word of caution: be wary of what you post out there.
Make things easier for your reader’s eyes, especially the menus and side bars. We understand the need of ads, blog rolls and buttons, but keep only what is essential.
I learned this one the hard way, because I somehow thought all those badges and GIFs on my sidebar were essential. Now I am all for minimal look.
But learning the basics of photography, coding and even a bit of designing might help somewhere in the future. There are so many resources just a click away on Google. Utilize them wisely.
Search Engine Optimization is really important if you want your site to be on Google’s first few pages, so the early you start the better. I wish I knew how to do this in the early stages of blogging itself.
Involve your readers
The main goal for most bloggers is to boost the blog engagement. But often we fail to let the readers know what is expected of them. Calling them to perform an action is critical.
Ask them to follow your blog. To share the post. Link up to your other posts. Keep them interested. Always end the post with a question and tell them to reply as a comment on your blog. And lastly respond to all the comments in your blog.
This is one of the main things that I wish I knew when I started blogging, because I am spending a lot of time now to edit my older posts to add it.
Blog engagement – Quality over quantity.
Another tip to improve your engagement is by leaving comments on other blogs and open a conversation. Ask a question or make a comment that is valuable to the blogger or the other readers.
When you leave comments like ‘great post’ ‘lovely review’, it doesn’t create a rapport nor adds value to anyone. Think about it.
Being civil and polite never hurt anyone
Of course you want people to remember you, but for the right reasons not the wrong one.
If you disagree with anyone else’s post, be polite and remember it is their opinion in their own space. If you wanna talk about it, do so politely and state your reasons in a civilized manner and WALK AWAY.
Don’t be a keyboard warrior or a grouch. There is enough space for everyone in the world wide web. The sooner you understand this, the better.
YOU be YOU
Try to stay as original as possible. Avoid trying to be everywhere and joining every link up and meme possible. Do not let your blog be driven by the hype and read only the books that everyone is reading.
Or read just the ones that are new and popular. Do just what you want with your blog and read what you want. Do not let your blog change that. At least, not too much.
Do not be hard on yourself
Most of all do not be too hard on yourself. Blogging takes a lot of time and it is not always easy to be the fun cheerful persona you may have taken in front of leaders. But that is okay.
Life happens and everyone understands that. Take a break when you need it and your readers may miss you, but they are gonna be there when you come back.
There is no one way to measure success.
You will never find the right way to blog, because it doesn’t exist. There is no instant success formula. Every one does what they think is right and they drive to the success they perceive it as.
For some it might be the number of followers or visitors while a few others blog for the free ARCs they receive from the publishers as a recognition. Strive for what you want for your blog.
So there they are. My ten little things that I wish I knew when I started blogging or a little bit earlier. We are all just in different levels of the same game. So if you ever need a patient ear or a solution, feel free to reach out, new blogger or not.
Despite your claims that you want to just blog for fun, I am sure all of us want to have a successful blog, deep down. When I started as a full time book blogger, all I wanted was publishers to look my site and send me free books. That is what success meant to me, then.
Then once in a while, I would come across a post about how someone received 1,00,000 views in a month and I would feel like I had to get me some traffic. Some days, it would be all the engagement and comment some other blogger is getting. Or the number of followers.
Basically I wanted them all and worked towards not one particular goal. Did I reach some of my goals? Maybe. Did I get all of them? Not really. But am I a successful book blogger, according to myself? I still dunno.
What is success to you as a blogger?
When I started blogging, I just wanted to claim a space on the internet to call it a home, where I can talk about things that mattered to me. But as things (and myself) evolved, I wanted to have a successful blog and I had no clue what a successful blog was.
Also what ‘successful’ is to me may not be a big deal to you, or the vice versa. How does even measure success? What are you imagining the success of blogging to look like?
Putting out quality content, regularly
Consistency has always been my pitfall. Publishing regularly and consistently is one of those goals that I used to struggle constantly. I know I set myself to fail when I chose to post four times a week. I succeed in failing often, or even worse, I get those burnouts that lasts for weeks.
So my view of a successful blog was publishing engaging content like a clockwork. I am in awe people who have been blogging about books for years like Cait from Paperfury and Pages Unbound.
Becoming an authority on the subject
If you need to learn about something online, one of the first sites you remember is Wikipedia. That is because Wikipedia is an authority on the subject. Same goes to IMDB or Goodreads for film/book reviews.
Getting to a place where you are known for the type of content you publish is definitely a good measure.
I know I am up for snarky posts when I think of Shruti from This is lit and it is going to some YA related books from Charvi from Not Just Fiction.
Likewise, you know are always get to read interesting discussion posts if you go to Nicole’s blog at Feed Your Fiction Addiction.
I love it when people come to my site specifically with the goal to read my reviews and thoughts on a book, or a bookish discussion. It helps ranking high on the Search Engine Results Pages.
Community driven engagement aka comments and shares
Apparently, some people receive millions of visits on their blogs each month. It sounds really far away from my reality.
But again, who would not want people flocking down to YOUR site to read YOUR opinion about things that matter to YOU. I sure do.
Is that what you want to get out of blogging? Do you want your site to be internet famous? Or just steady and regular traffic on your blog would keep you motivated to keep writing?
Talking about my dream of publishers and authors knocking at my door (not literally, though) with ARCs and book mails, one of the main criteria they look for is the number of followers on your blog and social media.
The more you have, the more successful you appear to be on their radar, and thus on everyone else’s view. If book blogging is a number’s game to you, the follower count is one of the stats that you should definitely be following.
Here is a shameless self promotion plug in: If you like my posts, do follow me here or on any of the social media. And sure, you can buy me a coffee!
Earnings from blog
Many of us dream of earning money from our blogs, even if it means a few cents from the affiliate links. Definitely book blogging is one of those niches that has fewer scope for monetization. Nonetheless, we are working around it.
So it is a good idea to consider the earnings from a blog as a measure to success. And earning doesn’t have to be just in terms of money, freebies and products to review are all some of form earning for the effort and time we spend on the blog.
Generating leads for business
This is something I spoke of on my recent post on how book blogging is not just for fun but a good way to build a portfolio for yourself. And several bloggers, including myself, use it generate queries and leads for our business.
Being asked to contribute to a website or review some product/book related to your niche is definitely one of the telltale signs of a successful blog. It means people trust that you do a great job and maybe willing to pay for it.
Learning a new skill
As the adage goes, there is nothing permanent in life, except change, right? A successful blog is constantly evolving and a good blogger has to keep learning new tricks and techniques.
Do you know more than what you knew last year? Do you strive to keep learning things that might help you and your readers? Now that is a thing successful bloggers would keep doing. Keep it up.
Being a successful blogger is not one number or factor. It can be combination of these factors. We will see more about each of these measures in detail in the following weeks.
While I have mentioned all the different methods to measure success as a blogger, what is it that ticks you? What gets you excited and motivated is your way to success.
Earlier I spoke about how book blogging is so unlike other blogging niches and how we book bloggers blog mainly for ourselves. While there is no harm in that, I feel disheartened when some book bloggers dismiss their work as “oh, I blog just for fun”. My dear book bloggers, please stop doing that.
Recently I read a very powerful post by Marie about how book blogger’s services are not valued enough, and that completely resonated with me. And maybe, just maybe, such a dismissal from ourselves stems from that or just worsens it.
Book blogging is more than ‘just for fun’
I am a freelance writer, and every minute I spend on my blog is a minute I am not spending on my client aka I am not earning.
And that is how I came to realize how valuable book blogging generally is, given the number of hours I spend on it. I know it is a late realization and this came after about 8 years of blogging.
Since then, I sincerely want more book bloggers to understand that they are working really hard, for fun or not, and they should begin seeing their value, first. And sure you can blog for fun, but there is more to book blogging than you realize.
Let us talk about the benefits of book blogging and why book blogging is more than ‘just for fun’.
To be honest, this whole thing pisses the hell out of me. So if this post sounds a bit harsher than my usual nice tone, I apologize right now.
Your blog is your identity
When was the last time you tried to find a person online? We all know they don’t exist if Google or other search engine can’t find them.
And that is exactly what you are doing with your blog. You are creating a brand online for yourself, consciously or not. You talk about things you like and dislike, and you are brave enough to tell it so to the entire world.
Your information is already out there via social media, and through blog you have a say at how you make it available to others.
You are building your portfolio
Whether you use a self hosted site or not, you can use your blog as a portfolio for your business or style.
I am a freelance writer who started out with my old book blog as my sample writing portfolio. Even now when I have enough clips to show around, I never fail to link Elgee Writes as a sample.
Speaking of business, I know several book bloggers (including me) who started to “blog for fun” and then leveraged that to develop their business.
This practice is not new to the blogging world, irrespective of the niche.
There are so many book/reading/writing related businesses that one could start, based out of your site. For instance, I offer beta reading services and writing services. And almost every other business enquiry comes right from this site.
I might write a detailed post on bookish business ideas soon. If I forget, feel free to remind me.
While it might seem hard to get a steady size-able income from book blogging alone in the current scenario, it is definitely possible. And there are several other prominent book bloggers who do that very well.
Even I have used affiliate links (not anymore) and still display ads on my site to grab those meager bucks. It is not really hard and every cent would count towards your next book haul right?
You work hard for those freebies
Let us be honest, many of us started their book blogs, and are still working towards getting those free review copies and ARCs from the publishers.
You are working your asses off to get those copies, reading and reviewing them and then promoting the heck out of it. And are you kidding me with “oh it is just blogging for fun”?
Credit: Tenor
And bloggers from other niches, do similar posts and even get paid for it. That topic is for another day, but hey, your blogging skills are no lesser than theirs just because it comes for free.
You help authors achieve their dreams
The next time you feel down or not motivated about book blogging, think of the countless authors, especially independent ones, that you are helping out through your shout outs and reviews.
I don’t think I have to explain the importance of posting reviews on the portals like Amazon and Goodreads for authors. So your hard work into book blogging is definitely important to them and they value it.
You are learning new skills
Book blogging, and blogging in general, involves acquiring new skill set. Most of us learn about blogging and everything around it like creating images for the blog, SEO or analytics on job, without much formal training.
And that is no mean feat. Just because we learn them out of our special interest doesn’t mean it gets any easier or that it is “just” fun.
I started blogging about ten years ago. Everything I have learnt about digital marketing, content writing and even technical stuff like keyword research or Google analytics stemmed from this site.
Credit: Gfycat
I am sure you have learnt so many new things for and through your blogging too. And that should have involved considerable amount of time and effort. So how dare you put yourself down and dismiss it?
You slay collaborations
The amount of work and creativity some book bloggers put into their posts astounds me. The number of hours they put into research and collaborate with other bloggers is unbelievable.
These collaborative and team working skill are highly valuable and cannot and should not be dismissed as they are done for fun.
You may never know when they are going to be useful in your life.
In summary
Being students, full time employees, freelancers or whatever your work status looks like, is not easy, and in top of that ‘real life’ you are killing it in the book blogging world. So don’t be so easy to dismiss your hard work as ‘just for fun’.
Do you ever feel that your book blogging lifestyle is not taken seriously? What do you think we, book bloggers as a community do to be taken more seriously by publishers, authors and others? Let us talk.
