In general, blogging is super forgiving. You can’t really mess it up.
But, there is one thing that will kill your blog.
It came to my attention when one of the bloggers in my free writing group asked me a simple question.
The answer to this question means the difference between continuing to produce vibrant, high-value content on your blog… or stopping dead in the water.
Watch the short video (about 6 min.) to learn the one thing that will kill your blog.
Prefer to read? Here it is in a nutshell.
The one thing that will kill your blog
The question was, “Hey, Megan, previously on my blog, I was doing X, Y, and Z. I liked the results, but it took a lot of time and effort. Is it OK if I stop doing X, Y, and Z and switch up my blogging format?”
The answer is YES, YES, stop right away!
Forcing yourself to create content that doesn’t make sense in your life and business is the one thing that will kill your blog. And pretty quickly, too.
Your blog, your call
If you’ve gotten into the habit of doing something on your blog and for whatever reason it’s no longer working, you have permission to stop right now.
You don’t have to make a big announcement. The great thing about the online content space is that your audience isn’t only reading your blog. Your blog is one of many pieces of content that people are consuming. Chances are, they won’t even notice the change.
If they do and they ask you about it, what a great way to start a conversation with your readers. Simply explain the benefit of the new format. Tell people why it’s better and get them enrolled in it.
Will it really kill your blog?
Blogging takes a lot of commitment. You’re showing up every week and putting in effort and energy, and at the same time, blogging is a long-term strategy. You usually don’t see results right away.
When we invest a lot in an activity and don’t see immediate results, it often leads to trying to talk ourselves out of the task. There’s a perceived imbalance between input and output.
If you’ve told yourself that in order to create a blog post, you have to do X, Y, and Z, you’re creating a barrier. You’re making blogging even harder, which means you’ll put in even more effort, which means those scales will tip even more extremely against blogging.
Instead of defining blogging as X, Y, and Z, give yourself permission to stop whatever format you’re using if it’s no longer working for you. Even if readers love it. Even if it’s worked in the past.
Find your flow
It’s your blog, and it needs to work for you, your business, and your life.
Not for your hypothetical life where you have all the time in the world. But your real, actual, your-cat-threw-up-everywhere-and-your-spouse’s-car-won’t-start-and-now-you’re-in-a-massive-time-crunch life.
Don’t put parameters on your blog that make it harder to publish.
Do the opposite. Do what works for you.
Find your blogging flow and make it happen. In the real world. 😉
Interested in the Blog Strategy Sesh mentioned in the video? Register here.