Written on June 16th, 2008 at 11:06 pm by Darren Rowse
10 Ways to Let Your Blog Go and What to Do About It
Have you let your blog go? It’s easy enough to do - this series of posts explores 10 ways that bloggers ‘let their blogs go’ and what they can do about it.
The season here in Melbourne is changing (some say it changes every day) and we’re slowly moving into Winter. This is the season that many of us ‘let ourselves go’ physically - less exercise, more comfort food, wearing clothes that cover up the flabby bits…..
It happens almost without you noticing and then suddenly summer hits and you go to put on that T-Shirt and shorts and BAAAM - it hits you in the face - you’ve let yourself go!
The same thing can easily happen with a blog. No one plans for it to happen - but gradually over time you let things slip, become a little complacent and then fall into a lazy free falling downward spiral.
Over the next 10 days I’m going to look at 10 common ways that I see bloggers ‘let their blogs go’.
My hope in doing so is not to induce guilt but to shine the light on some common problems that bloggers face and make some constructive suggestions on how to overcome them.
Stay tuned for the first post in this series in the next hour or so and bookmark this page because as I add new posts to the series I’ll link to them here.
48 Responses to “10 Ways to Let Your Blog Go and What to Do About It”
Eric
June 16th, 2008 11:07 pm
Great, I am really looking forward to it!
Amit Bhawani
June 16th, 2008 11:20 pm
Cant wait to read the whole series of this session :)
Shanel Yang
June 16th, 2008 11:49 pm
Excellent topic! I’m sure we’ll all learn a lot from this series.
Louis Liem
June 17th, 2008 12:01 am
I think those moments had just hit me sometime ago
Marifer Rodriguez
June 17th, 2008 12:05 am
Looking forward to this! I’m new to the blogging world and I’m sure I’ll be learning a lot :) Thanks!
Ramesh | The Geek Stuff
June 17th, 2008 12:16 am
Darren,
It is always good to know the common mistakes made by bloggers. I’m eagerly waiting for your suggestion on how to overcome them. I would like to learn from the experience/mistakes of others, instead of me trying to do the same mistakes.
I’m pretty sure this series of your posts on this topic is going to be a fabulous one.
Ramesh
The Geek Stuff
Keith Goodrum
June 17th, 2008 12:22 am
Also looking forward to the series.
However the image of the cat deserves its own post. Great image…
Ellen Wilson
June 17th, 2008 12:33 am
I love this picture, Darren. LOL!!!! This inspires me to do something staged and silly with my cat.
We have nice, sunny warm weather here in Michigan.
My regards to little Henri and the rest of the family. E
Scott from BlogPantsu
June 17th, 2008 12:57 am
already read number 1, can’t wait for number 2. Except I can’t really see how you could build off of that :D,
Ryan McLean
June 17th, 2008 1:16 am
Great idea,
So often I have let blogs go, usually until they died
I really don’t want to let this happen to my financial blog, I feel it could really hit the big time in the next year
ramiro
June 17th, 2008 2:52 am
Great idea. I am waiting for those tips.I edit 3 blogs, 2 for teacher and one about travelling and sometimes I am lazy and does not post. And the visits go down.
Raag Vamdatt
June 17th, 2008 4:15 am
Most experts, including Darren, say that people give up writing in 1-2 months of starting their blogs.
I have been writing on personal finance and investment planning for around 6 months now. So, I am glad that I have passed the danger zone :-)
But it would be great to know where most bloggers give up, so that I can keep watchful of the symptoms!
Thanks Darren in advance!!
Tom - StandOutBlogger.com
June 17th, 2008 8:31 am
sounds like fun. There are so many options you can use for your top 10!
The Tech Juice
June 17th, 2008 12:20 pm
I look forward to this Darren.
@Raag - If 1 -2 months is the give up time, at least I can safely say I’m not a quitter. Although I cannot pretend that I never considered throwing in the towel. Blogging on any kind of day to day level is pretty tough work.
Double negatives are the keys to understanding.
Feel free to quote me on that, my friends.
I’ll be tuning in for each of these posts
(please don’t tell me making lame attempts at humor on other people’s blogs is letting your blog go, it will ruin my ego)
Cheers,
Sean @ The Tech Juice
kristarella
June 17th, 2008 12:31 pm
Heh, I can relate to the physical-winter-letting-go… it’s awful. I hope I’m not doing the same for my blog!
lankapo
June 17th, 2008 7:11 pm
hi,
I have 20 + blog with different niches. Should I concentrate just a few blog and let go my other blogs. Because rite now, I am jsut to tired to post entry for every blog.
When is the time that you think we should let go ?
on more how do you manage your time , darren ?
thanks
lankapo.com
malaysia
Matt Radel
June 17th, 2008 10:47 pm
Nice lead in - it’s so strange for me to think you’re going into winter when I’m just getting into summer (80-90 everyday) here in Cincinnati USA. How narrow minded is that? :)
Anyway, I’ll be really interested to read your thoughts.
Jason
June 19th, 2008 7:43 am
This has happened to me way too many times before. I’m looking forward to your tips. I’ve already read the first three. :)
myBrainfart
June 19th, 2008 12:52 pm
I like the idea about making someone famous. Care to try it with my site? :)
Thanks for the info
Reginald
June 20th, 2008 4:41 am
It is too easy for any blogger to let themselves go.
In fact, when anyone cruises the web, they could note the short lifespan of some blogs.
I have come across blogs with the last post some years ago.
This I consider to be an ultimate shame.
radhoo
June 21st, 2008 4:41 pm
Hi,
I am trying to start a niche blog, in english, but some times I don’t want to write. I think it’s because in the beginning of each blog, you have few visitors and that demoralize you…
Faruqi
June 22nd, 2008 12:19 am
I’m looking forward for the post Darren. It probably going to be a hit. I’m wondering, what are your opinion on Letting The Blog Go. Huh…but most likely, I think most of them because of ‘Lack of Posting’.
http://ShockingHomeBusiness.com
juler
June 22nd, 2008 1:07 am
Like them am looking forward for this because me myself is one of them of thinking of letting go…
By the way could you send it directly our email addresses?
Who knows one day i can beat you out of the competition! lol! More power and good day…
ITrush
June 22nd, 2008 2:15 am
This is very informative, thanks for sharing. Keep us posted!
nhick
http://www.itrush.com
Sportstrader
June 22nd, 2008 3:08 am
I totally agree. The number one problem is lack of posting. You know a blog is going down when there are weeks between the last few posts ;)
http://tradingsports.blogspot.com/
Regards,
Sportstrader
Michele
June 22nd, 2008 7:16 am
Like the others, I’m looking forward to this series.
Have I let my blog go? I don’t know. I answer every comment (at this point, I’m able to still do that) and although I don’t post at specific times every week, I do continue to update my blog and improve it as I learn how. I have a growing friendly community and look forward to sharing and learning more every step of my journey!
*smiles*
Michele
Online Dividends
June 22nd, 2008 8:26 am
On my main blog I am already feeling that I don’t have the motivation to keep on posting. My traffic has declined because of that and my blog income has declined too..
I need motivation :-)
Sangesh
June 22nd, 2008 6:06 pm
Oh oh, I was looking for all 10 of them. Humm… I will be posted to this page to check for all of them.
Rossco
June 22nd, 2008 6:38 pm
Motivation is the biggest hurdle. Plus not seeing results for your hard work.
David Walker
June 23rd, 2008 6:31 am
I am really looking forward to this series as I am focused on making my blog a useful resource for my customers and casual visitors alike!
However, I don’t think the weather will be a major contributor to my website’s downfall, here in Wales it is permanently set to rain, rain, rain!
Ruel Cena
June 23rd, 2008 3:43 pm
It’s very useful for me to have this info, since I’m first time blogger.
Thanks
http://myruel.blogspot.com
Shams
June 25th, 2008 4:21 am
Good luck for you and for the bloggers :-)
According to Kieli
June 25th, 2008 6:00 am
#6 Excuse Posting: Been there - done that! This a great list Darren, and some things I think that we’ve all done!
Haven
June 25th, 2008 3:09 pm
Love Love Love that pic!
hetal
June 25th, 2008 3:17 pm
It’s very useful for me to have this info, since I’m first time blogger.
Thanks very much
Paul
June 25th, 2008 8:00 pm
Great info, appreciate it. I also just ordered your book too. Thanks in general for this site.
Jake
June 26th, 2008 12:11 am
I’m a fairly new blogger and I have found myself doing some of these things, thanks for the heads up!
Jake
http://themoviespace.com
Craig Workman
June 26th, 2008 1:36 am
It wasn’t the content of this article that got me, it was that cat! That was quite a staged shot, and one for the books….Anyway, all kidding aside, the article was right….it can become difficult to constantly develop original content. Your heart definitely has to be in it. Thanks go out to Problogger for always giving me something to come back for…
Emma Larkins
June 26th, 2008 3:29 am
I loved this article. I’m an emerging author, and I’ve been told that blogging can attract people to your writing “brand,” but having a bad blog can hurt you more than help you. I especially got the part about lack of posting - my new goal is to post at least twice a week. Thanks!
Cath Lawson
June 26th, 2008 3:49 am
Hi Darren - This will come in really useful. I was ill recently and let my blog go quite a bit. I would really like not to let it happen again.
Mama Zen
June 26th, 2008 11:16 am
I can’t wait to read them all!
detoxy
June 28th, 2008 1:06 am
the fat cat is really cute though hehehe
Tim
June 28th, 2008 2:24 am
I think it’s easy to let go, especially when things are no going quite to plan. Them days when the visitors are just not coming through or your visitors are coming through but your income streams are struggling. You think what is the point in updating content, finding links, researching your topic etc….
Boy you can tell I’ve been there a few times.
Look forward to reading it.
MG
June 28th, 2008 6:15 am
I am a new blogger and I was lucky to come across your site while surfing late at night no less. I was looking for ways and stuff to be effective in this trade ( I do have much to learn) and there you are. Thank you for bloggers like you. To return your generosity, I blogged a bit about you in my site. I hope that’s OK. Again, looking forward for more tips and tools. More power to you!
Rebekah
June 28th, 2008 12:08 pm
Unfortunately, this is a really big problem in the blogging industry-especially the small business or freelance bloggers who have settled in or gotten comfortable with their blogging routine. I want to see a blog that is edgy, with frequent posts, and with invigorating content. They are out there. Those certain blogs have given me a drive to be a better blogger-and I am excited about blogging because of their example.
Creepy
June 30th, 2008 2:46 am
Great idea (again), it’s easy to let your blog go when nothing seems to work, certainly in the beginning.
Jay
June 30th, 2008 3:23 am
bring on the inspiration, please! I’m ready to kick it back into high gear.
AhTim
June 30th, 2008 5:07 pm
Great tips. One more, complicated blog design make reader go off too.
–blog for dream–
Leave a Reply