When I first started my blog, I just knew that within a year or so I would be able to replace my full-time income and work from home. I was determined to work hard on my new venture, and I had grandiose ideas of being my own boss and ditching the corporate world forever.
But a funny thing happened on my way to self-employment utopia. My one-year blogging anniversary came and went and I had yet to earn a single dollar from my blogging efforts.
One thing that many blogging gurus don’t tell you is that it can take a while for a new blog to get some traction and make money. Also, if you are new to blogging, the learning curve can be steep.
Blogging is definitely one of the best jobs where you work alone there is. But it’s not a quick way to wealth. Because of this, many new bloggers experience burnout and completely give up before their blogs have enough time to reach their full potential.
10 Ways to Deal With Burnout as a Blogger
If you are a blogger and you suddenly feel the urge to cancel your website hosting and look for another business opportunity, it may be time to hit the pause button and take a deep breath. Don’t throw in the towel just yet.
The following are 10 things you can do to help manage burnout as a blogger:
- Have realistic expectations
- Learn one new thing at a time
- Connect with other bloggers
- Set realistic goals
- Take some time off
- Take frequent breaks
- Establish work hours
- Take care of yourself
- Take up a hobby
- Have a plan
Let’s explore these in more depth!
1. Have Realistic Expectations
One of the most important things I wish I knew as a new blogger is that most blogs don’t make any money in their first year. Yes, some bloggers hit home runs and earn full-time incomes in surprisingly little time, but they are the exception instead of the norm.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t earn a good living from your blog at some point in the future.
With the right strategy and enough hard work, it’s definitely possible to build a blog you can replace the income from your job with.
How long does it take to start earning money with a blog?
While it’s different for every blogger, it’s not uncommon for new blogs to take anywhere from 1-2 years before they earn anything. Some blogs take longer. It depends on many different factors like your niche, how much time and effort you put into building your business, and other things.
Having realistic expectations is very important as a new blogger. Think of blogging as a marathon and not a sprint.
Most successful businesses aren’t built overnight, and just as it takes time for a seed to grow and mature into a fully-grown tree, it also takes time to turn a new blog into a business you can support yourself with.
2. Learn One New Thing at a Time
Starting out as a new blogger can be very daunting. It can feel like you’re drinking from a fire hose when you are trying to learn everything. There are many pieces to the blogging puzzle.
Just a few include:
- WordPress
- Email marketing
- Search engine optimization
- Pinterest marketing
- Niche selection
- Writing blog posts
- Product creation
- Sponsored posts
- Affiliate marketing
- Display ads
To further complicate things, many bloggers sell courses on blogging.
Their sales copy is often quite good, and it’s easy to get shiny object syndrome thinking the next course is going to be “the one” that finally allows you to experience a blogging breakthrough and start earning real money from your efforts.
As a blogger, it’s important to focus on learning one thing at a time.
When you have mastered that one thing you’ve been working on, you can then give yourself permission to learn something new. In time, all of your small wins will pay off.
If you are tempted to buy the latest and greatest blogging course (as I have been many times), be sure to ask other bloggers their opinions on it before buying.
Some courses are better than others.
Some are also very expensive, while others are very affordable.
3. Connect with Other Bloggers
One of the best things I ever did with my blogging career was to make connections with other bloggers. And one of the best ways to do that is to join some of the blogging Facebook groups. Some of these groups are more active than others, so be sure to choose the ones that look like they are lived in instead of ghost towns.
Once you are in a few blogging Facebook groups, be sure to read through them every day.
You don’t have to spend a lot of time on this. It just takes a few minutes a day to pick up some tips and blogging news.
Important things you can keep up with include:
- Affiliate changes
- Pinterest and Google algorithm changes
- New strategies to try
- Find out what’s working now
Participating in Facebook blogging groups can be a great source of motivation. Seeing other people’s success can help you keep going when you’re having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
4. Set Realistic Goals
A source of burnout for many bloggers is setting unrealistic goals and then becoming discouraged when those goals aren’t met. Because of this, it’s important to be realistic when goal setting.
What does a realistic goal look like?
Realistic goals are those things you know for sure you can achieve.
For example, you may be tempted to make a goal to earn a certain amount of money by a certain date. That’s not a realistic goal because there are so many different things that can affect your earnings.
Examples of realistic goals include:
- Create 50 new blog posts in a year
- Start an email list
- Take a course on SEO
- Publish 10 guest posts on other people’s blogs
- Write an ebook
Do you see the difference? Realistic goals are specific things you know you can achieve. They are not things that are subject to the whims of algorithm changes like how much money you make or how much traffic your blogs gets.
5. Take Some Time Off
As a blogger, you may be tempted to work long hours on your blog in hopes of achieving your goals quicker.
Perhaps you’re someone who likes to work on your blog whenever you get a few minutes to spare, or maybe you work full-time on your blog. Although this may sound like a good idea, it can lead to burnout if you aren’t careful.
One of the best things you can do as a blogger to deal with burnout is to occasionally take some time off.
Turn the computer off and do something else, such as:
- Watch a movie
- Go for a walk
- Take a trip somewhere
- Read a book
Resting is good for us. Whenever I take some time off from working on my blog, I usually feel refreshed and ready to work on it again. It doesn’t feel like a chore or something that I have to do because it’s my job.
One of the great things about being a blog owner is that taking time off is something you can actually do and still earn money.
If you do a good job on SEO and Pinterest, you’ll still get traffic to your blog and it will continue to earn money – even if you’re sitting on a beach somewhere sipping fancy drinks with umbrellas in them.
6. Take Frequent Breaks
Have you ever been writing a blog post and you suddenly got stuck – you just couldn’t find the right words to continue? If that ever happens, it might be your body telling you that you need to take a break.
Just take a 10-15 minute break and come back.
To help keep the mental juices flowing, consider taking frequent breaks when you are working on your blog, whether you feel like it or not. According to research on taking breaks, benefits include:
- Prevents decision fatigue
- Essential for emotional health
- Restores motivation
- Increases productivity and creativity
- Helps consolidate memories
In my experience, taking a break seems to clear whatever mental blocks I may have. When I sit back down at my computer desk, the words start flowing again.
7. Establish Work Hours
If you’re a part-time blogger and you also work a full-time job, you may not be able to have set working hours.
Many new bloggers work on their blogs whenever they can find the time – and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, you may still be able to work on your blog during your days off.
It’s important to treat your blog like a business, and that means establishing set working hours where you devote your time and energy to building your blogging empire.
If you treat your blog like a hobby, you may grow tired of it and stop working on it as other hobbies and interests catch your attention.
Having the right mindset is very important to growing a blog. Apathy can lead to burnout, and burnout can lead to abandoning your blog.
8. Take Care of Yourself
Do you get plenty of exercise and a good night’s sleep every night? Are you sure?
Exercise and sleep help your body operate at optimal levels. If you don’t get enough rest, you may not be able to think very clearly when you sit down in front of your computer to start writing your latest blog post. A lack of exercise could also lead to a host of health issues.
Another thing to consider to help prevent burnout is to eat healthy meals.
As a blogger, you may not always have time to do a lot of cooking. If you are existing on processed foods, carbs, soft drinks, and other non-nutritious foods, then your body may not be operating at peak efficiency.
A poor diet could result in brain fog, fatigue, apathy, and a host of other problems. Eating healthy isn’t hard to do, but it does take some commitment to make it work.
9. Take Up a Hobby
Another way you may be able to deal with burnout as a blogger is to take up a hobby if you don’t already have one. Spending time doing something you enjoy is a great way to reduce stress and get your mind off of things.
A few hobbies to consider include:
- Reading
- Fishing
- Hiking/walking
- Woodworking
- Collecting
- Watching movies/TV
- Golf
- Traveling
- Shopping
- Gardening
- Cooking
- Theater
- Spending time with family and friends
Your leisure time is just as important as the time you spend working. It helps you to recharge your batteries so you can be more productive and maintain your focus.
10. Have a Plan
Do you have a plan to grow your blog or are you just winging it? If you are throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something will stick when working on your blog, you may not see much progress. A lack of focus could lead to burnout.
An important factor in growing your blog is to have a plan. It’s important to understand that plans are different from goals. Goals are things you want to achieve.
A plan is how you will achieve those goals.
If you currently don’t have a plan to grow your blog, take the time to create one. Be sure to include specific steps you will take over the next 12 months.
Conclusion
Growing a successful blog takes a lot of hard work. It can also be a very lonely venture since you’ll be doing a lot of the work by yourself. It’s also a business that many people don’t understand.
Tell people you’re a professional blogger and many will roll their eyes and ask you when you are getting a real job.
Most people just don’t get it.
Bloggers face many unique challenges that other business owners don’t have to deal with.
Because of this, you want to make sure you do everything you can to avoid burnout.
In this article, we discussed these 10 ways to deal with burnout as a blogger:
- Have realistic expectations
- Learn one new thing at a time
- Connect with other bloggers
- Set realistic goals
- Take some time off
- Take frequent breaks
- Establish work hours
- Take care of yourself
- Take up a hobby
- Have a plan
Many bloggers are able to replace the incomes from their jobs with their blogging after 2-3 years of work. With hard work and determination, there’s no reason why you can’t be one of them.
Just don’t forget you as the blogger are the biggest asset. Treat yourself well and you can succeed.
