Blogging Struggles: How Do Bloggers Stay Motivated?

A lack of motivation is an issue all of us will deal with at some point.

It can be hard to know how to stay motivated when things aren’t going your way, or when you can’t get into a productive daily routine.

When you’re a blogger, a lack of motivation is something that can happen pretty regularly- and blogging is something that really depends on keeping motivated.

If you drop the ball, your views might drop- and this can lead to an even bigger drop in motivation.

However, there are a few ways to give yourself a little motivation boost when you need it- especially when faced with low views, writer’s block or blogging struggles.

In this blog post, I’ve asked 6 fantastic bloggers to give me their thoughts on keeping up motivation as a blogger- including a few tips and tricks for anyone to try out!

Ceri: Read and Review It

When I started out blogging it was really disheartening to see low views, followers and minimal engagement. It was definitely a learning curve for me.

The one thing that got me through it was seeing how far I’d already come. Okay, so this post only had 20 views, but my first one had 10, so that’s an improvement, right?

I also think that setting goals can really help with a general lack of motivation. Sitting down and writing what you want to achieve can really fire you up to get going and achieve them- at least in my experience.

Hitting those goals can boost your mood, and it really helps you realise how much you can achieve when you stick with it!

Finally, giving yourself rewards can also be extremely beneficial for low motivation. In return for completing a certain task, you could treat yourself as a way of making you want to do it more.

You could even start a jar and put different rewards on pieces of paper. Then, you can pick one at random when you need a little pick me up!

Dear Dating B

Blogging is hard work– anyone who tells you otherwise probably isn’t doing it right!

You have to constantly:

• Come up with new ideas and blog posts
• Find ways to write what’s on your mind that will be interesting for others to read
• Spend a ton of time just promoting your work so that people will read it

When posts do well (such as getting lots of views, shares and comments) it feels like all the hard work has paid off.

However, sometimes not as many people read a post as much as you’d like. Or you don’t hit your target social media follows for the month.

When that happens, it’s hard to keep up motivation and you might want to pack it in and give up.

And honestly, there’s no simple “trick” to keeping up motivation. Instead, you need to just try and remember why you started to begin with.

Did you start so that you would become rich and famous? So that you’d gain 10,000 followers?

Or did you start because you genuinely wanted a creative outlet? Because you felt like you had something of value to say?

Because you wanted just one person to read something you wrote and feel better– even just for a day.

In the end, that’s what’s going to keep pushing you to continue.

Kate: Love My Anxious Brain

Many things can mess with your motivation as a blogger. Like lack of time, or those technical troubles that always seem to crop up.

However, I think the worst motivation-sapper is comparison anxiety.

Picture this: You spend hours on a post, carefully editing it, and choosing photos- and proudly share it on your socials. And… tumbleweed.

This happened to me a lot in the beginning. I’d look at better-established bloggers and see their levels of engagement compared to mine, and I’d start questioning whether I have what it takes.

The thing is, bloggers with a lot of engagement and followers didn’t start out that way, and we all get tumbleweed to start with!

It’s easy to compare ourselves with someone else and feel we come up short, but we’re not seeing all of the struggles they’ve experienced along the way.

If you’re currently feeling unmotivated, here’s how to slay the beast of comparison anxiety and enjoy blogging again:

• Connect with other bloggers (see them as teammates, not rivals!)
• Take some time out from creating content to up-skill. Learn about SEO, blog post structure and how the different social media platforms work
• Remember that you always have something unique and valuable to share

Nele: The Navagatio

Even though I absolutely adore blogging and I am so fortunate that I get to do this as a job alongside my freelancing, it’s impossible to always stay motivated.

Especially since my website is in the travel niche, keeping up with it during the pandemic was incredibly difficult.

I saw my views and income, something I’d worked tirelessly on for years, almost completely vanish overnight.

One of the main things that helped me stay motivated is taking on some steady freelance editing/writing jobs.

Pre-pandemic, my blog was my main income and having the constant stress of “if these articles don’t rank on Google quickly, I don’t know how I’ll pay rent” kept me from actually working on it because the pressure was too high. 

Also, it’s really nice to not constantly work on my site, but have some variation by working freelance for other websites for half of my working week.

I also promised myself to not work on Sundays anymore. Instead of constantly working, I make sure I take Sundays (and sometimes Saturdays too) off, which also makes me more productive during the week.

Joining FB groups with other travel bloggers who are going through the same thing was another thing that kept me going.

Blogging can get a little lonely, but surrounding yourself with like-minded people online and knowing you’re not alone in this is a huge motivation boost for me. 

And sometimes, I simply take a break. My blog will be there when I’m back, and my mental health is way more important! It’s all about finding the right balance for you.

Anneliese: Look on the Dark Side

I’m a therapist so I take a symptomatic approach to low motivation for blogging. Motivation can be impacted by mind, body, heart, spirit, home and community.

I know that I struggle with depression, vitamin deficiency and toxic perfectionism.

So when I notice myself avoiding a task that had me jumping out of bed with excitement the week before, I have a few likely suspects to interrogate.

Depression: how is my mood overall? Am I avoiding other enjoyable activities? Do I feel exhausted despite increased sleep? Do I feel more physical pain? Start crying for no reason?

These also indicate I’m getting a cold, so I usually reach for Dayquil and green tea before anti-depressants.

Vitamin deficiency: have I forgotten to refill my dispenser recently? Has my diet changed in the past couple weeks? Am I drinking too little, or too much, water?

Toxic perfectionism: This can be the hardest to diagnose because it is so subtle and pernicious.

Here’s where my husband usually steps in and points out behavioural patterns that suggest I’m sacrificing flexibility and joy to an unrealistic standard.

“The pursuit of excellence does not require perfection” – Henry James

Sunshine Sarah

Whenever I find myself suffering with low motivation, I usually try and figure out what
exactly has caused it and if it’s something I can change, or if I have to find a way to cope
until it passes.

Being a blogger, low motivation can come in waves, usually when I have lots of work to do!

Sometimes when this happens, it can lead to a “deer in headlights” situation where you just stop and don’t do anything because it all seems a little overwhelming!

It’s apt that I’m writing about this at the moment because since suffering with (and
recovering from) Covid, my brain seems to be in a fog and I’m just not finding the energy or desire to do anything – which is very frustrating because I have quite a lot of work to do!

To those suffering with low motivation, I would say don’t try to fight it. Recognise the signs and allow them to settle, perhaps write a list of what’s bothering you and why.

Don’t worry if you can’t find the exact reason, by writing this list you’re already on the way to figuring it out.

Motivation is like a river, it ebbs and flows. My one big piece of advice in this instance would be not to worry. Don’t beat yourself up about why you’re feeling the way that you are. In this time, try to do activities that bring you joy, even if you don’t feel quite up to it.

Drawing, painting, walking in nature, reaching out to friends, yoga… the list of possibilities are endless, so you’re bound to find something you love!

Be aware of your feelings, and this can sometimes be all you need to feel better.

How do you stay motivated as a blogger? Do you struggle to stay motivated? What tips would you give to a new blogger who struggles with low motivation?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Happy reading x