Kicking off a new blog can be exciting, and that alone can help you stay motivated. You have these ideas, you get to work creating the site, designing it and creating content. However, that excitement can get the best of us, and things come crashing down when you are not seeing the results you had hoped for. We all have certain expectations, and we all want to see massive success from whatever project we are working on. In the blogging world though, success is far from an overnight process. In fact, it’s more of a work-till-your-hands-bleed kind of process, requiring hundreds, even thousands of hours.
Several times I can easily recall just wanting to give up. I had put together what I felt to be a great blog, and written many what I felt to be great posts. Unfortunately, traffic was far from great, and it seemed like I had created yet another blog to get pushed aside from all the noise coming at every which direction. If you are trying to get a blog off the ground, or have but are struggling to stay motivated, here are several tips:
Have A Plan
The majority of problems stem from improper planning, or lack thereof. If you don’t know where you are going, how can you expect to get there? (Tweet This) Naturally, I’m a big procrastinator, and when it comes to putting a plan together, I want to gravitate towards flying by the seat of my pants. “Things will work themselves out” or “You can work on that tomorrow” are common thoughts that pop in my head. However, the lack of a plan is one of the quickest paths to failure.
You need to have a serious, legitimate plan to guide yourself along the way. You don’t want to be crazy unrealistic, but you also don’t want average, ordinary objectives either. That will just bore you, and it will be harder to stay motivated. Also, a plan will help you to stay focused, and focus is important for a couple good reasons.
Number one, you are able to get work done on what matters most. Second, your mind will not wander as much. I find that on days when I’m not following the plan, whatever that may be, my mind is more all over the place, and anything negative is amplified. Focus helps to distract me from the things that don’t really matter, and I’m able to put more of myself into my work.
Attack The Plan
Simply put, attack the plan, and do it every single day. Your plan may change from day to day, but that’s a good thing. Consistency helps to keep up momentum, and it also helps prevent you from falling off the wagon. In a way, it’s kind of like exercise. If you convince yourself to skip going to the gym, it’s going to be even easier to skip the next time. Soon enough, you’ve put on five extra pounds, are eating your feelings and haven’t been to the gym in three weeks.
Get Inspired
It’s so easy to look at, and dwell on the negative. Despite them appearing to be all rainbows and unicorns, even the greatest bloggers deal with some sort of disappointment. There are tons of great articles and people out there who can help you stay motivated, and inspired. Ever read a post that made you say “WOW!” before? Of course you have. Spend more time exploring content and listening to people that are inspiring, not tiring.
Photo credit: Luis Sarabia
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