Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
Some people make blogging look so easy. How can people come up with ideas and keep themselves writing all the time? Most will find ways to get fired up to keep blogging, even when they don’t wanna.
Today, I’ll share several methods I use to keep myself writing on a daily basis. You may even find some of these methods to be habit-forming.
I know I do.
10 Methods to Keep Yourself Blogging
Now, I can’t guarantee these methods will work for you. However, I can attest to how they’ve driven me to keep pumping out content on a daily basis. And many of them work whether I’m blogging or writing for clients.
So, what can you do to keep focused on blogging?
1. The Right Kind of Music
One of the first things I do in the morning is turn on my “Motivation” playlist. This is a collection of fast-paced, energizing songs that I’ve collected over the years.
For me, it’s all about getting the foot thumping, blood rushing, and energy flowing. And the right kind of music can do this in spades. That’s because music has a way of engaging human emotional status.
For example, right now, I am listening to “Good at Being Bad” by Jeremy Dooley of Achievement Hunter. It resonates within me and gets me moving.
2. Exercising First Thing in the Morning
Another one of my favorite methods for getting energized to keep blogging is exercising in the morning. In fact, there are a lot of studies that show how exercising boosts energy and contributes to productivity.
Personally, I love getting in front of the Xbox Kinect and playing various games. Yes, even in 2021, I turn on the Kinect.
At any rate, getting the blood flowing first thing can be incredibly helpful when trying to get the motivation for writing or any other project you may have.
3. Run a Blogging Experiment
After I ran a blogging experiment on one of my other sites, I felt compelled to keep writing every morning. Part of this is because I forced myself into habitual blogging.
Essentially, I wanted to see if my personal site would benefit from a new post every day. So, I wrote about everything I could think of during that time.
Nowadays, I feel “off” if I’m not writing first thing in the morning.
Find an experiment you would like to do on your website. For me, it was 30-days of blogging. Perhaps you can find something that can turn into a habit for yourself.
4. Run Your Blog Like a Business
One of the biggest reasons why a lot of bloggers fail is because there really is no accountability for maintaining your own website. There’s no boss looking over your shoulder and very little sense of urgency.
Once I decided to dedicate myself to running WriterSanctuary.com like a business, things changed. It’s now incredibly important to me to maintain a writing schedule and keep the blog active.
If you want a successful blog, you gotta brand it anyway. And by putting more emphasis on your brand, it heightens your awareness of what needs to be done.
In other words, it helps you create accountability for your actions.
5. Crunch Some Numbers (for the data dork)
This specific method is more for those who love crunching numbers. My spreadsheet is a convoluted display of all kinds of data points that keep me blogging.
For one thing, I love to see if and when a blog is gaining traffic each month. Then, I’ll set up formulas to estimate how much traffic I can get by the end of the year and how much content I need to write to hit a certain dollar amount.
For example, I can look at my spreadsheet and see if I still have a chance to write one million words this year. If not, then I can see how much I need to write for the remaining days of the year to hit that goal.
This is how much of a data dork I am. I also have an automated pie chart that shows where all of my time is spent. It’s broken down by:
- Clients
- Personal Blogs
- YouTube Videos
- My Novel
Last year, my novel had a very small piece of the pie.
6. Explore Other Niches on Blog Platforms
Most successful blogs are focused on a specific niche. But, what if you’re having issues staying motivated to blog about that specific set of topics?
Explore other niches on sites like Vocal, Medium, or Hubpages.
I know this isn’t necessarily helpful to keep yourself blogging on your own website. But, it can ignite the kindling to come back to your blog to crank out something new.
I often get all kinds of ideas for my other sites while writing in different niches. For instance, I thought of this topic as I was setting things up for ColoradoPlays.com this morning.
7. Find Daily Writing Prompts
One of my favorite moments of blogging is when I followed the daily writing prompts at WordPress.com. I did what I could to write every day surrounding a specific word or hashtag.
Usually, these are more creative prompts. But I did find them to be stimulating and helpful for getting a flow going.
There are all kinds of writing prompt websites on the Internet. If you’re active on Twitter, there are also a few accounts you can follow to get motivated.
8. Worry More About Who You’re Potentially Helping
I often find motivation to keep blogging by retaining my audience in mind. Many people rely on my input to help guide them through a variety of subjects. And if I don’t blog, I feel like I’m letting people down.
Even if you get one reader per day, it’s still an audience. If you keep consistently writing, that audience will grow over time. But that one person may still rely on you to brighten their day or inspire them to proceed.
What can you put out there to either help or entertain those who read your blog?
9. Write About Learning Something New
I love learning new things. This is part of why I have so many blogs and why I was such a success writing for content mills.
Ways you can do this include:
- Case Studies
Many people are interested to see the results of an actual case study from a person’s point of view. They are some of the most popular types of content on all my blogs. Though, they depend on strict guidelines to collect accurate data. - First Looks
I like doing first looks. It’s when I come across a new app, service, or product and give it a once-over to experience how well these things work. It’s not a review, though. Reviews are more in-depth about the product. - Experiments
Experiments are another popular piece of content on the blogs. It centers around trying something new. It’s kind of like a case study, but often less restrictive behind the process. - Reviews
Unlike the first look articles, reviews are more focused on the overall experience of a product, service, app, or location. Instead of just dusting the surface of something, it’s more detailed and informative. And if done right, they take much longer to write.
Try something new you’re interested in and keep blogging about the experience.
10. Set Realistic Goals for Yourself
I’m an ardent fan of setting realistic goals. It’s one of the motivators I use to keep productive on the blogs. Like, right now, I am tracking the number of words I write as well as how much time in the day I actually spend “working.”
When I say, “realistic,” that’s what I mean. Otherwise, you can generate negative feelings about not reaching those out-of-reach goals.
If you’re able to write 3,000 words per week, set a goal to write 4,000. If you only write an average of two blog posts in seven days, see if you can write three.
Keep increasing the goal each time you meet it.
That’s how I was able to crank out nearly 10,000 words per day while writing on Textbroker. Each day, I would try to do more than I did the day before.
Don’t Stress, Just Keep Blogging
Stress can do bad things to any blogger. Especially someone who is new to the process. It can quickly sap motivation and prompt you to quit.
This is when perseverance is measured. It’s all about how you adapt to those moments that will dictate success.
Perhaps two of the biggest stress-makers I see from new bloggers and writers are the lack of visitors and the lack of income. Especially from those who believe they’ll get rich quick by blogging.
A Lack of Visitors
It’s discouraging to keep blogging for an audience of one. When I created WriterSanctuary, I was only averaging maybe five to 10 visits per week. But, I wasn’t really trying to gain an audience at that time.
When you don’t see people consuming content that you think is helpful or otherwise incredible, you can get stuck in the mindset of, “why bother?”
Don’t focus too much on the visitor numbers today when trying to build momentum. Instead, keep blogging quality content. Sooner or later, the Google algorithm will kick in, and blog posts you didn’t think would do well may greatly affect monthly traffic.
A Lack of Income
I also see a lot of bloggers get discouraged by not immediately making tons of money from their sites. That’s because a lot of “experts” fill their heads with the nonsense of creating a blog that will instantly make them rich.
Successful blogging is all about the long game. To generate an income, you need a large audience. To get that large audience, you need a lot of content.
In reality, it can take up to six months before a blog post you write today will gain any traction in search results.
Don’t worry about what you make today. If you keep at it and consistently produce content people want to read, the income will grow over time.
How Do You Keep Yourself Blogging?
These are methods I continue to use to this day to boost my motivation to write. Perhaps there is something here that will prompt you to start typing.
At any rate, find what works best for you to keep blogging. And keep in mind that anything worthwhile is going to take a lot of effort to accomplish.
Find what motivates you and leave your mark on the world.
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