They say that the third time is a charm. I don’t know how true that is, but let’s hope there’s some validity to it. This post marks the end of my second hiatus from blogging. I can’t believe that it’s been over a year since I last posted to any of my blogs. It wasn’t just blogging either. I abandoned all of my social media accounts. I virtually disappeared (pun intended).
Why Did You Quit Blogging?
There are many reasons that people step away from the keyboard and let their blog fade away into the shadows of the blogosphere. The most common are:
- They ran out of things to say.
- The time commitment was greater than they thought it’d be.
- Their readership slowly dwindles away or they’ve never managed to build one.
- They fall out of the habit of posting and never pick it back up again.
For me, it was a medical issue that attacked my wrists and hands making it extremely painful to use the keyboard. After a year of prodding, poking, x-rays, blood tests, and various medications, the doctors still don’t know what is causing the pain. Thankfully, the pain has let up over the past several weeks, but it hasn’t completely gone away. Who knows if, or when, it will intensify again?
How Do You Restart a Dormant Blog?
Interestingly enough, both Big Feet Marketing and Marketplace Christianity have continued to increase in both traffic, and Facebook likes, during my hiatus (maybe someone is trying to tell me something?). This blog was still in the process of a redesign, and has not fared so well.
I searched for some advice from bloggers who have started blogging again after taking a long break, I didn’t find many good posts on how they did it. I did uncover this old guest post on ProBlogger by David Peralty on How to Restart a Dead or Dormant Blog, but not much else.
Have You Started Your Blog Over?
I’ve started multiple blogs from scratch, but I’ve never picked one back up after this long of a break. Have you been in this place before? How did you start over? Did you wipe the slate clean or just pick up where you left off? What worked for you? What didn’t?
Photo Credit: Berc
Article by Brad Harmon
Brad's Big Feet Marketing helps people on a limited budget enlarge their online footprint using blogging & social media. His other blog, Marketplace Christianity, examines faith's role in how we earn and spend money.
Brad has written 95 awesome articles for us at Bradley A Harmon
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Unless your content is VERY dated, I would not start over – I would simply write a post about where I’d been or why I had chosen not to be active on that blog (because readers will wonder) and pick up where I left off.
Whether launching a new blog or rekindling interest in an old one or simply desiring more traffic to ANY blog, I am certain that the key is relationships. If you collaborate with other bloggers – and especially those in your niche – you can multiply traffic to ALL your sites quickly and end up ranking and gaining organic traffic as well.
Gail Gardner´s last [type] ..How to Get Recommended: Recommendations ARE WHAT WORKS to Grow Your Small Business or Blog
I’m leaning in that direction, Gail. There’s still a lot of content on this site that either needs to finish migrating to my other two blogs or put into mothballs. Some of the posts here will make good pillar posts to rebuild on, though.
After hemming and hawing about the best way to approach all of this the past two weeks, I decided maybe it’s best if I just jump back in and wade through it as I go. What’s nice is having built relationships with people like yourself, the transition back will be much smoother. Thanks for the great advice and support.
I think If someone started a blog than they should stick with it and work hard to take their blog to the next level instead of running it for limited time
BTW, Nice to see you started again. You might want to participate in my giveaway to try your luck for winning a CommentLuv Premium plugin.
Ehsan Ullah´s last [type] ..CommentLuv Premium Giveaway
I’m sure most bloggers have that intention when they start out, Ehsan. It’s a learning process, both about the art of blogging and the discovery of one’s own self. I’m not sure we’re always prepared for what that process reveals or are ready for the changes it calls us to make.
I tend to agree with you, though. As long as there’s a sound foundation, fix whatever needs it and keep on building.
Hi Brad,
I don’t think there’s a need to scrap and start over unless you plan on combining all of your blogs into one. But didn’t you separate them because they served separate purposes? So that probably won’t work. I agree with Gail and think you’ve done a good job of explaining where you’ve been (you kindly left out the details of how bad you’ve been beating me in Words w/friends). I say just keep posting and keep moving forward.
Kiesha´s last [type] ..10 Week Gameplan Giveaway!
Lord no, Kiesha! It was so much trouble splitting them out. I can’t imagine trying to recombine them again. Gail made a great point on Twitter the other day, after a few months of posts nobody will notice the large gap in posts. I just need to find a way to wrap up some of the series posts, and live with the gap in the archives.
Oh, and a couple lucky wins against you don’t even come close to the drumming I’ve taken from you in Words with Friends overall.
Brad, I just discovered your blog today and I am thankful you have decided to continue. I am also very eager to follow your new posts as well as catch up on the “old” posts. This is a “now” topic that needs to be explored, discussed, and made relevant as Christians struggle to make a cultural difference in our communities. Thank you!
Thanks, Russell. If you haven’t already done so, you might want to check out my Marketplace Christianity blog. You can see some of the recent posts, and a link to the site, in the upper right hand side of the side bar. I look forward to getting to know you.