9 Ways to Bring your Blog Back to Life

Have you lost your passion for blogging?

Perhaps your blog just isn’t getting the sorts of traffic you were expecting so you decided to take a break and never got back to it.

But all is not lost because the Internet (or at least Google) is very forgiving and will be happy to start sending you traffic when you get motivated again.

It’s the last day of #Blogtober and therefore, its Halloween so I’m thinking it’s a good time for a blog resurrection post, don’t you?

9 Ways to Bring your Blog Back to Life

Find your Password and Login

Having worked in Information Technology for soooo long, a password reset is usually the first thing someone needs after being on holiday. So go ahead, get a new blog password sent to you if you can’t remember it.

Back it up

I’m guessing you didn’t do a backup before you abandoned your blog so now’s a perfect time to backup your website before you apply your WordPress updates.

If you need a backup tool then install a plugin like BackWPup Free which will give you a basic backup for your blog. Otherwise, if you’ve been using Bluehost there should be some recent backup files available for your account.

Go ahead and log into your web hosting account and see if there is already a current backup available.

The reason why you should backup before applying the updates is something could go wrong depending how long your website has been idle. Best to be safe than sorry.

Apply the Updates

Most WordPress Plugins need updates regularly so you probably have a few plugins to update. However, I’d start with WordPress updates as this is your major piece of software.

Once you’ve updated WordPress then proceed with installing the plugin updates. I would do them one at a time just in case one causes a problem and then you’ll easily know which one is causing you problems.

When your updates are complete then you can proceed to the next step.

Filter out the SPAM Comments

Yes, you’ve been away for a while and if you left the blog on autopilot there’s a good chance people have been SPAMMING your website. If you have a lot of SPAM I’d suggest just bulking deleting the comments than wasting time clearing it out.

Your regular readers would know you weren’t around away so it’s unlikely to be them.

After you’ve cleaned up your comments you’ve completed all the boring ADMIN tasks, so let’s move to the next step.

Time for the First Blog Post

You first blog post after returning from a hiatus should be brief and apologetic. Explain your reasons for stopping and your reasons for returning. I wouldn’t make this a long blog post because no one is probably listing anyway and have already moved on.

Just a few paragraphs are needed.

Update your Email List

Now you should give your Email List an update to let them know your back on board. Your WordPress  might be configured to update them automatically with new blog post notifications, and that’s another reason to keep that first blog post short.

If you don’t have subscription notifications on, then you’ll need to manually send them an update.

A Change is as Good as a Holiday

Now you need to decide what you are going to do to resurrect your blog. They say a change is as good as a holiday and you’ve had a holiday so think about making a change.

Do you still like your theme? Is it out of date?

This is the perfect time to give your blog a mini-makeover.

Consider changing the theme, and removing all the ads so you have something to work with. Then start to make your website yours again and only put the ads back in when you really need to.

Personally I’d leave them out for a few weeks so your old readers aren’t bombarded with ads, while you get reacquainted.

You need a Plan

I don’t know why you stopped blogging in the first place, but usually it’s because the blog wasn’t meeting your expectations in some shape or form. But your reasons might be completely different.

It’s time to get the skeletons out of the closet.

Regardless of your reasons you need to address what went wrong, so you can get your spark back.

Yes, you need a plan.

Try working on a few headlines for your future posts to see if you can find some direction.

Think about your posting strategy and whether you were previously posting too little or too much. Now choose some days of the week where you can regularly commit to posting to your blog.

Consider committing to less posting rather than too much as you can always ramp the up frequency when you get your mojo back.

This is also the time to set some realistic expectations for your blog.

Now go ahead and create an Editorial Calendar for your blog. Here are some other tips to stop you from feeling overwhelmed.

Create a Backlog of Posts

Armed with your editorial calendar I’d consider creating a bank of blog posts in draft format before getting back into the swing of things. The worst thing you can do now is start blogging again and then find you need to stop in a few months because of XYZ excuses.

Trying creating around 10 blog posts that are almost ready to go and you can edit them as you need them.

Leave then in draft mode and you are keeping these for a rainy day.

Time for Your Next Post

Now you’ve got a few things clear in your mind it’s a good time to write your first full blog post. Maybe your first blog post back could be titled something like

5 Things I Learned About Running a Blog

This gives you a chance to explain what mistakes you made and how you’re going to fix it up. Again you may need to be humble if you really left your readers in the dark for a long period of time.

Use this first blog post to talk about your Editorial Calendar and your new posting schedule.

If you made changes to your theme then ask your readers for feedback on the new look to see if you can create some reader engagement again.

Your Blog has been Resurrected

Congratulations, your blog should be ready to go again.

Try not to eat into those backup blog posts until you get desperate, because those should be able to see you through a few months of absence again if you need them.

Only after you’ve got some interaction again, should you consider putting some ads back on the blog. Or perhaps you’ve decided to find a new way to monetize your blog. Here are a few other ways you can make money blogging without needing to use ads.

It’s going to take some time to get back into the swing of things, but create a habit as soon as you can, and it’ll seem like you never left.

The world needs to hear what you have say.

Your opinion matters and by blogging your story, you help people who are looking for validation in their own lives.

Keep on Blogging and have a Happy Halloween!