If you've lost your blogging mojo

I hear it everywhere, "Ahhh, I've lost my blogging mojo, I just can't be bothered with blogging anymore..."
If you've been feeling like this, you're not alone.
Apparently there is an epidemic out there, sweeping through the blogging community.
Blogs lie dormant, neglected, as one blogger after another begins the new year devoid of inspiration.

Why is this?
I've been thinking on it quite a bit, as some of my favourite bloggers have been posting so infrequently I'm worried they've given up altogether.

Probably for many, the tug of the Real World has made blogging too difficult. Maybe there's no time in your day, or when you get some free moments, the last thing you want to do is hunch over a computer. Or maybe you just lack inspiration. Your blog feels stale, you struggle to find things to say. Or maybe you feel like your blog is just an unmapped desert island in a great big ocean of blogs; maybe you feel small and insignificant.

Whatever the reason if you're in this situation, I'm writing this post in an attempt to encourage you to keep blogging.
Because to a blog fanatic like me, when my bloggy friends give up, its like you've died. Or moved away. And since I don't get to see you in the Real World, the only way we can be friends is in Blogland. So it makes me sad when I lose a blog-friend.

Can I encourage you to think again? Cos I hate losing friends.
Maybe I can wrack my brains and come up with some ideas to help you regain your lost blogging mojo.
I'm going to give it a crack, and if it doesn't work, well, at least I tried.

#1 Problem: I have no Time
OK, this is a pretty good reason. I can't argue with that. If you're at home with small children or started a new job or just juggling the responsibilities in your Real World, blogging is going to come way down the list of priorities. But maybe you could look at it as carving out a little corner of space for yourself. Perhaps you could schedule in some blogging time. I'm not talking about posting every day, but three times a week might be do-able? Maybe when the kids are in bed, the dishes are done, pour yourself a glass of wine, put on some music and sit down with your blog. Figure out a pattern of blogging like my friend Kristy does (a mum of four, with a part-time job and umpteen pets). Kristy  posts four times a week. 1 = a recipe; 2=something she's made; 3=something from her week/family life; 4=Things I'm Loving linky.

For you it will be different, depending on what you're into. But it's more do-able when you have a plan {especially if you make use of post-scheduling... write a couple of posts at one time and then schedule them to post on certain days - brilliant.}

#2 Problem: I have no Inspiration
If your blog no longer inspires you, its time to rethink it.
Anything becomes boring after a while. Even Disneyland (I'll bet if you spent every day there you'd be sick of it before long).
So you have to shake things up a little.
When I get bored I tinker with my blog's look, first of all.
Change the header, the fonts, the colours, the sidebar.

Of course this is just cosmetic and doesn't deal with the underlying issue of boredom. But it's a start.

Next, think about your blog's voice. What is your purpose in blogging? Who are you wanting to reach (who is your readership?)
You need to re-focus. You might even need to re-brand and change your blog's name to match a new purpose. But you don't need to ditch your blog and start over. If you do, you will lose many of the readers/followers you worked so hard to gain, trust me. You can change the name without changing the blog's URL.

Later you can change the URL to match, if you want to, as my friend Alicia over at Project Alicia did. She re-purposed her blog (focusing almost completely on Photography and sharing her photography and editing tips) without starting a new blog and losing her readership.

For instance, if your blog started out as a general day-to-day record of your life and family doings, but now your kids have all gone to school, or you're just over it, have a think about what gets you excited in your real life.
Photography? Cooking? Painting? Books? Writing? Home decor?
Allergies? Fitness? Personal Growth?
Or a combination of all of them...

Focus on what you love and draw inspiration from that for your blog.
Create pages where people can find your posts listed on each topic.
And set yourself a posting schedule - three times a week is do-able {again, post-scheduling}.
Find some linkies or memes happening on the topic you want to focus on... join in and draw ideas from them.

#3 Problem: I can't keep up with it all
You might have found yourself on the Blog Etiquette treadmill, endlessly replying to comments, reading and commenting on blogs out of politeness.
Guess what? You can get off the treadmill at any time.
Work out what you can cope with and which comments you will reply to, which blogs you will read... and then take away the pressure. I've just written a post on this topic over at The Blog Guidebook (where I am now a contributor) called "Blogiquette Revisited".

Here is my advice on Blogiquette:

We figure out how much blogging time we get. Hmmmm. Not as much as we'd like.
We'd better Prioritise.
What comes first? Writing content for our own blog, surely? And reading those blogs which truly inspire us, make us laugh - the ones we will read whether the author ever comments on our blogs or not.
We can also make time to read the blogs of those bloggers we've built meaningful friendships with.
We check out a few newbies... and leave some encouraging meaningful comments.
But not every day.
We reply to the comments where someone asks us a question, and to the comments that made our day, or intrigued us. If we have time we hop over and check out those bloggers (who knows, they could become our new favorite?)... and we leave it at that.

Then we walk away from the computer.
Conquer the Laundry mountain. Fight back against the Dust Bunny Revolution.
Reintroduce ourselves to our children.
And live our actual Real Lives. Without which we will have nothing to say.

...........................

Has any of that helped at all?
{The correct answer is, "Yes Simoney! I am now inspired to start blogging again!"}
I hope that it has helped somebody, at least.

• For help revamping your blog's new look, check out my Blog Tips Page
• For further inspiration, here's a bunch of linkies you might like to join in with - not all of them, just the ones that make sense for you and your new blog mojo! {Full list over on Curly Willow}

Sunday Showcase Party @ By Stephanie Lynn

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm 
Anything Goes @ Type A Decorating
Trash 2 Treasure @ Sassy Sites 

All Things Inspired @ All Things Heart and Home
Power Of Paint @ Domestically Speaking
Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Open House Thursday @ No Minimalist Here
Strut Your Stuff Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Frugal Friday @ Shabby Nest
Weekend WrapUp Party @ Tatertots and Jello 
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal

These are the ones I like to join in with...

        

Where are you at with your "Blogging Mojo"?