This month has been one of the most trying months I’ve had in my life. Evolving Influence required my attention around the clock for months, fashion week, traveling, then in my personal life, I’ve had to reevaluate my relationships with work, friends, and family, and my relationship with reality. Then to top it off, yesterday, I find out my grandmother died.
Life can’t be planned out in an editorial calendar, and sometimes bloggers just need focus on real life. However,”they” say consistency is vital to building traffic, to keeping it professional, after all, the New York Times doesn’t take a break. So what do you do when life demands your full attention?
Personally, I wish I had an answer to that. Part of me feels like I should keep posting, part of me wants to put up a sign saying “gone fishing” and call it a day. But there are ways to keep going even when life hits the fan.
1. Take a break
Some bloggers subscribe to the idea that if you don’t have anything to post about then don’t post. I personally disagree with that most of the time. I do believe that part of being a great blogger is learning how to post even when you’re not inspired. Inspiration is a habit, not some magical gift from the heavens. However, there are times, like say extreme emotional circumstances, when it really does no one any good to keep working, like you wouldn’t show up to work with pneumonia? Would you? Take a day off.
2. Hire/Recruit Contributors
If it really bothers you to have gaps in posting, and you really can’t be present to really create quality content, ask around. Ask your blogger friends who are fans of your blog and understand your content. They’ll be happy to help (and may call on you to return the favor). If you think it might be an extended gig, you might even want to offer compensation. That way you can ask them to post on a regular basis, so you don’t have to rush back to your regular posting schedule.
3. Blog About Your Experience
Most blogs are personal in nature, personal style, personal opinions, personal experience. Why not blog about what you are going through and share this with your readers? There was an excellent post on Men with Pens about Why You Should Write When Life Sucks detailing why writing about your emotions can not just help you, but help form a bond with your readers. Personally, I find it hard to do this, not because I’m particularly private, but because I’m particularly inept at communicating my emotions. The idea though, is great, I do love reading about what other bloggers are going through. It’s so humanizing.
Coping with life is hard enough just by itself at times, and keeping a cheery face when things are falling apart (or restructuring as I like to put it) bloggers don’t need to keep a happy face all the time, after all, authenticity makes a good blog great.
image by by `this.is.epic
I like you having a go at #3. We all have different levels of comfort with personal disclosure. What matters is the authenticity of the attempt more than how many gory details we get to know.
Were you to want guest posters, just say the word and I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I’d volunteer. You’d have to give very strict guidelines though, as your blog is so completely yours. Despite the lack of detail:).