Blogging Tips: Avoiding the Burnout

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Have you ever heard, “Can’t have too much of a good thing” or the famous quote “Do what you love and never work a day in your life”? Well, that’s all great in theory, and for the most part it’s {TRUE}. But for most of us, work is work is work. Perhaps you’re a blogger, perhaps you’re not. Either way, I think we all hit a point in our lives that can be classified as a {BURNOUT}. I can’t speak for every aspect of life, but I have compiled a list of Blogging Tips: Avoiding the Burnout in hopes of offering some practical solutions (for me and hopefully for you) as well as some of the issues that cause it.

When we finally decided to start blogging, I feel like I was pretty realistic with my expectations of what it was going to be and how much it would require. A few blog posts a week and {BAM}, we were going to be instantly famous! {LOL}, not really, I knew it would take more work than that. But we made a pretty informed decision and started planning out our blogging adventure.

What I didn’t plan for was the content behind the posts! So let’s take a look at the first (and probably most common) issue:

WHO HAS TIME FOR THIS?

Start the snooze fest… who wants to read about time management? Certainly not me! But that’s the problem I ran into! I would plan a nice little post, should go live in a few days, and next thing you know, life comes crashing in and all your plans go to… well, you know. So what can you do? Here are some solutions:

Start small – not every post has to be a full blown tutorial with pictures and charts.

Plan your posting schedule around completed projects. It’s okay to have a to-do list to keep you on track with your upcoming projects, but work on your finished ones first. I can’t tell you how many times I had these fabulous projects completed, photos taken, but wouldn’t take the time to write the post! I still have some of these {sshhhhh!}.

Diversify your posts. They don’t all have to be about the same thing (such as crafting!). For example, I don’t always post about a new project, I try to switch it up with round-ups, features, a weekly link party, etc. It’s important to appeal to all of your readers as well as lighten the pressure on you. Swapping guest posts is a great way to do this as well.

Get up and personal with your schedule, and be realistic. This is the daily flow that works for me…

I know, I know, that’s a lot of hours just for a blog (especially if you work during the day or have small kids at home!). But you don’t necessarily have to do it all in one day. This would be my ideal schedule, but life gets in the way and you might have to make some concessions. Just be aware of what you are sacrificing and how you can make up for it, say, when the kids go to bed.

So, I don’t know about you, but once I hit the {BURNOUT} phase, blogging and crafting just weren’t fun anymore. They felt like work! Which, of course, if you are monetizing your blog, I guess it is work. But we’re not to that point {YET}, so why does the thought of creating something new drag me down? So it’s at this point that you have to stop and ask yourself…

WHO RUNS THIS BLOG?

“I do.” Say it with me, “I run this blog!” That’s right, and don’t forget it! This is YOUR show, you’re the boss and this blog does not control you! Do you feel any better? Maybe if we point out some benefits to being the boss…

YOU control how many posts you need per week. So what if you decided that you wanted to post every day? Unless you have some serious mojo or outside contributors, that goal was impossible to begin with. Don’t set yourself up for failure! This comes back to your time management—figure out how many posts you can reasonably handle after you factor in a few possible real life interruptions/delays. Trust me, your readers are totally fine if you decide to cut back because the quality of your posts will make up for it.

Take it easy on YOURself – you deserve it! Us bloggers and crafters are often our own worst critic, proofreading and editing, proofing again and editing some more, rewriting and reproofing… just take a chill pill. Of course you want your posts to be the most amazing posts out there! But a missed comma or one run-on sentence isn’t going to land you a failing grade.

Don’t post anything YOU aren’t proud of. Sometimes, in the rush of the moment, we are so ready to just put something out there, we hit PUBLISH before the post is really ready for all those prying eyes. It’s easy to think, “At least I have a post…” but that’s not always the case. Most of the time you do yourself and your readers an injustice by publishing filler content and half-posts.

Give YOURself a break – but keep it short. You see it all the time, bloggers go on vacation and come back with awesome “this is what we did” posts. It’s fun, enjoyable, and relaxing for everyone. While you’ll have some critics that don’t want to hear about your personal gallivanting, as long as you keep your readers informed, they’ll be a-ok with you taking a short break for a week to relax and have time to yourself. Just don’t make it too long or your readers will start getting their fix elsewhere.

Strip YOUR blog. Schedule some posts in advance and give yourself some time to go back to square one. Ask some critical questions:

• What is my purpose in blogging?
• What kind of content do I want to publish?
• How can I be more efficient in my work?
• Are there any unnecessary tasks I can eliminate?

Ask for help – and help YOURself! There’s no shame in being overwhelmed, especially with everything you have going on in your personal life. Our blog is a duo, a mother-daughter team, and that works out great! We get to split up the work, take breaks when we need, etc. If you can’t collaborate regularly with someone, here are some options for seeking help with the burden of your blog:

• Join a blogging group for support – we all understand the struggles! Several are available on Facebook.
• Grab some blogging buddies (or make some new ones) and host a give-a-way! This is a great way to make new friends or renew relationships with your fellow bloggers, plus it’s a reward for your readers!
• Once you have those relationships, set up a post swap! Ask if anyone is interested in guest posting on your site, one time or regularly! Maybe there is even a sister site out there and you guys can combine efforts!
• Take on an assistant! This can be a win-win for someone who wants to get into blogging but doesn’t want to take the leap all on their own. They help you out and get the full exposure of what it takes to run a blog.
• Feature your crafty friends! Even crafters who are not bloggers need publicity! It’s important to nurture all your relationships, so don’t be afraid to say “Hey, this is my friend and this is what she can do!” I once even posted about a friend of mine who sells Celebrating Home. It was probably seen as more of a sponsored post (which it was not), but if you pair it with some original content and benefit to your reader, it makes it worthwhile for everyone.

So now that you have all your time issues addressed and reevaluated your relationship with your blog, let’s address another obstacle… the dreaded writer’s block!

WHO COMES UP WITH THIS STUFF?

Unfortunately, all the time in the world won’t help you come up with content and projects for your blog. Even if you team up and ask for help, reorganize and regroup, you will eventually need a steady stream of fresh content to keep your readers fat and happy. So how do you do this while keeping your time and priorities in order? Here are some tips:

Think of your upcoming projects – ones that you would be doing even if you didn’t have a blog. If you’re into crafting like we are, there is always a wealth of content floating around us if we would just pay attention.

• Made some invitations for your kid’s birthday party?
• Reorganized your laundry room?
• Found a new trick to crafting that you MUST share?
• Made a gift for that baby shower you went to last week?

All great opportunities for a post (depending on your niche, that is!).

What is going on in your life?

• Have kids? What about some kid friendly projects that they can help with?
• Too busy during the week to complete your DIY project? If you’re a strong writer, consider writing other content for busy working or stay-at-home moms.
• Good with graphics? Maybe you can whip up some free printables for your readers to enjoy!

Go looking for inspiration!

Get out there and see what inspires you! My favorites are…

• Pinterest
• Hometalk
• Google Images
• Don’t forget your fellow bloggers!
• Browse your favorite craft and hobby stores
• HGTV has some great shows {LOL}
• YouTube is great for tutorial

In all these cases, just remember to give credit where credit is due!

So now that we have identified these three obstacles and ways to better overcome them, do you feel a little better about conquering your burnout? Or better yet… preventing it all together?! At times, the blog will get the best of you and that is okay! When all else fails, just take a few moments and go back to the first time you published a post, all the eagerness and maybe a few giggles. Remember that no blog (or blogger!) is perfect and you are doing this for {FUN}!

We’d love to team up with you and talk about more blogging fun, tips, problems, solutions, success stories and failures retries! Whatever ails you or makes you laugh, give us a shout and we’ll celebrate (or cry!) with you! Email us at mypapercraze@gmail.com or check out all our creative fun at our My Paper Craze blog!

About the Author

My Paper Craze, the blog and the business, have been an ongoing journey of a mother-daughter team of crafters. What started as a small-time hobby quickly turned into an obsession, which turned into a business and a labor of {LOVE}. Our only goal for this blog is to create {REAL} crafts for {REAL} people. Check us out and you’ll see what we mean!