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Ideas For The Burnt Out Blogger

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 09:34 AM PST

We all get burnt out. Blogging day in and day out will do that to you. Sometimes I just sit in front of my computer, staring at the white screen and wondering what in the world I will be able to blog on today. However when every day becomes a struggle like that, you know, you are really burnt out. How do you get over it? Well, here are some tips that I hope will help you:
1. Take a break – I know it goes against the grain for many bloggers, but sometimes the idea is a simple on. You just need a break. A vacation. A few days off from blogging. Putting your blog on hiatus is a drastic step, but it is also sometimes a necessary one. No one wants to read a blog updated by a cranky burnt out blogger. Instead let the land lie fallow for a while and take a complete brain break. If you can do not even set your fingers to typing an email during this time. Just let your brain rest and recuperate and hopefully you will be able to come back to your blog ready to get back at it once again.
2. Use guest posts – When you are really burnt out but still want to keep your blog alive a guest post exchange is a good idea. You hopefully have friends out in the blogosphere that will be willing to write a post for your site in exchange for a link to their site. This benefits you both. You get the content you need and they get to expand their audience. You can specify exactly what you want them to write so that there will be no issues or you can let them have free reign. It is all up to you, but guest posting is a great way to get content without having to write it yourself.
3. Use images –Another great way to blog without having to think a whole lot is to use images. You can make an image the whole center of a blog post or series of blog posts. All you have to do is add a caption or two and you are done. How easy is that? Not only is this easy, but readers love images. People are usually very visual and a great image is, as they say, worth a thousand words.
4. Go multimedia –If a standard picture is not your thing then you can also think about going the multimedia route. Videos, music, or even infographics all work well to communicate a message to your blog readers without having to type. Maybe you have great ideas but just can't seem to get them down on paper. Well, why not record a video of yourself instead? Not only is it easy to do, as most laptops have an included web camera and microphone, but readers also love the personal touch this adds to a blog. You can also use free videos from YouTube and free music from many sources around the net. Infographics take a little more time to create and a designer's touch, but if you are artistic and want to really show an idea visually they are a great idea. Readers and social media love them too, so that is a big plus!
5. Get creative –Speaking of social media, you may want to get creative in how you blog. Include things that are popular on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Recipes usually do well as long as you include a tasty looking image or two. You can also have fun with celebrities and blockbuster movies which always do well on social media. Get creative with your blog's niche topic and think outside the box. There is a lot you can connect to your current blog topic while still remaining true to your roots.
6. Change your subject –Speaking of your blog's niche topic, if you are bored with it why not change it up? Many times a blogger is afraid to change their blog's topic for fear of losing their current readers. While that is a true fear, it can be overcome if you change it up gradually. You can either connect the current topic with the new one, like writing about safe cars for kids when you change over from blogging about cars to blogging about kids, or you can intersperse the new ideas with the old ones. Like having one car blog post and then one kid blog post. That way your readers will not get too shocked and take off, but you will also start to build your new reader base on your new blog topic.
7. Keep it short –Another way to keep readers and get over your burn out is to make your blog posts short. Keep your posts short and sweet for both your reader's sake and your sake. No one wants to read or write pages and pages of text. Instead have your ideas broken into manageable sizes. You should also break your posts into small paragraphs to make it easier on readers to scan them. Using headers is a good idea too.
8. Make lists – Lists are a great way to keep track of what you are writing and readers also love them. I think readers love them because a list gives you a sense of how long a post will be before you start reading. A post of five is short while a post of forty five is long. Anyway, lists are great to write with because you can treat each point as its own little post. That makes it easy to accomplish things even when you are tired and burnt out. Plus you do not have to worry about forgetting what your point was!
9. Find a new place –If you are just not getting into the whole blogging thing anymore then why not go for a change of scenery? It could be where you are writing and not what you are writing that is burning you out. Trying to write somewhere that is chaotic and noisy can be very draining. However writing someplace boring and uninspiring can be a drag too. Search for a new place to write. Somewhere out of the way but still open and inspiring is best. Maybe somewhere with a view of beauty or the outdoors.
10. Get more sleep - Sometimes burn out is due to exhaustion. I know that when I do not get enough sleep I find it very hard to be inspired in my blogging. There are many ways to solve this. You could not only adjust your sleep schedule during the night but you could also take a nap during the day. Even twenty minutes of sleep in the afternoon can perk you back up and get your brain running again. If you can, try to get to bed earlier. You cannot often change what time you need to get up, but you can change what time you get to sleep. You should also get as much ready the night before as you can so you do not have as much to do in the mornings when you are not quite awake yet. Pick out your clothes, find your shoes, and get your keys and your medication out. Have everything ready to go so you can get up and get going without a hassle.

These are just a few ideas that burnt out bloggers can use to keep blogging despite themselves. It is important to keep your blog alive even when you are down, so try your best to come up with alternative ideas and whatever you do, keep updating! A few days off is okay, but a month or two off is a dead blog.

Author Bio
Sara is an active nanny as well as an active freelance writer. She is a frequent contributor of NannyPro.
Learn more about her at NannyPro-Blog.