Get Your Blogging Mojo Back

I have to admit this is a self help style post. For all our good intentions with the New Year, we're both still working full time leading busy full time lives, and we both admitted recently we ran out of steam a bit. Motivation sorely needed!

Blogging has never been more competitive, and it's easy to feel swallowed alive amongst the noise. Twitter chats, daily instagram uploads, posting consistency, to vlog or not to vlog, blogger or wordpress, PR friendly or not-for-profit. Let's strip out the questions and get down to what sparkly stuff returns your blogging mojo.

1. Stop
Yep, just stop. Stop posting. Don't write a thing. Don't tweet, don't schedule, don't upload photos. Just be. Take time. A week, a day, a month. Longer if you need to.

If you need to fulfil collaborations, then of course handle those how you see fit - you can apologise and return product/payment, communicate a later posting if that suits the brand or get it out the way before you halt. Either way, just have a healthy breather. As a duo, we are (perhaps surprisingly as bloggers) big advocates of going offline for a while if needed, and it's healthy and necessary to have a break.


2. Evaluate
Once you're ready to return to the mad world of blogging, take some time to evaluate how you got to a point of 'bloggers block'. What are you reading yourself? If you wouldn't read it, then why are you writing a post on it? We can yak on for ages about quality and consistency, but if your heart ain't in it then anything that you do post will be half assed (and we all know the quote about using your full ass). So think about how you got to a point where you weren't sure where to go, and use it - what do you want to read? What imagery are you drawn to? What do you like? What are you into? Take some time to really invest in your vision.

3. Get inspired
Ok so now you might have a good idea about what you're wanting to do with your space on the internet. Awesome. Don't give up just yet, this is fun (we promise). On a day when you're feeling really motivated, get inspired - use pinterest, other bloggers, instagram, magazines, go to a museum or gallery, hit the streets, walk around - use the world around you to feed your creativity. Find your niche in that and carve it out. If you like having something physical to refer to, make a moodboard with pictures and notes. It'll serve as inspiration for whenever you hit that point in a post where you may feel you've waffled off point a little too much. It doesn't just have to be other bloggers or prominent figures - although it is totally ok to covet their style, eye for detail etc etc. But think about other areas - not just who, but what and where inspires you? Why? Go on, write it all down. Get it all out there.

4. Create/Communicate
Ok so it gets a little tricky because now you have to jump back in. Don't hold your breath - pick a day you're feeling capable and just dive straight into it. Write. Take photos. Tweet your thoughts. Heck, tweet your breakfast. Reply to comments. Comment on other blogs. Talk to people about your journey, what you're hoping to create. Be positive and don't push it if you're not feeling it - create what works for you, what you'd want to read, what you're actually proud of posting. Keep going, and when you get stuck, talk some more. That's the great thing about the blogging community - there's always someone ready and willing to help you talk things out.

5. Believe/Achieve
Now you've written something, get it out there and set some goals for yourself. You are able to achieve whatever you set your mind to, we all know that, but let's nail this down to what is achievable for you. This is very personal. For the best part of two and a half years, we posted daily. I look back and I'm proud we managed it alongside full time jobs, but it meant sacrificing other things -  building a following on social media, talking to other bloggers, paying attention to the quality and consistency of content and imagery - the list goes on. So work out what works for you and stick to it.

We've learned a huge amount over the past few years and will no doubt continue to learn, but I cannot stress how important it is to prioritise your life and happiness above how many hits you've had today. We can't all be full time bloggers, but take it from two girls who have worked with incredible brands and gained unique and specialist skills just from putting their little blog out there - as long as you enjoy it - it's absolutely, totally worth it.

So what do you reckon? Any more to add? Whack a comment in and make our day - or tweet us @prettyposhomg, we'd love to hear any suggestions you have for bringing the spark back.

Felicity