Every blogger is faced with situations that don’t allow them to publish as frequently as normal. Could be a slump. Maybe they’re too busy. Or…wait for it…they could be taking a vacation!

When there’s some planned time away from the computer lots of bloggers will set the publish date on stories in advance, so the stories go live automatically – but that’s not always the case.

My last post was Tuesday, February 27th – probably the longest gap ever. The reason: I was moving. A new house means lots and lots and lots of boxes. It took me 2 days to crawl out from under the boxes, let alone squeeze my arse out from behind the dryer that I had to install.

But I’m back! And along with a host of other major changes in my life (to be discussed soon, I promise) I’m hopping back into the blog saddle.

Thinking about the blog saddle a bit more, here are 6 steps to help:

1. Read More. Now is a great time to catch up on some reading – be it your feeds, or, dare I say it, an actual book. I spent a few days reading some magazines and the newspaper, letting new ideas and thoughts percolate in the back of my head.
2. Take Some More Time Off. Sounds strange – you’ve already been out of blogging for awhile – but take some more time off anyway. Don’t rush it. If you jump back in desperate to publish something the result won’t be as good as you want. So don’t panic; get back into the swing of things by taking just a little more time off to prepare.
3. Think About a Series of Posts. While you’re taking just a little bit more time off you should think about writing a series of posts. A series is a great way to get back into things because you’re preparing a few posts in a row and thinking longer term. Instead of trying to get back on the saddle with just one post, you’re now thinking about a real story arc that can help re-build momentum.
4. Write What You Always Wanted To But Never Did. Every blogger has a post or two in his/her mind that’s been sitting there for ages. Now is the time to finally spit it out. If you don’t, you might lose it and never find the right opportunity again. Maybe it’s a controversial post, or something a bit out of synch with what you normally write…that’s fine! Give it a shot. Grab your readers’ attention back quickly and suck ’em in.
5. Keep It Simple. No matter what you do, keep it simple. The worst thing you could do is blurt out a million different ideas in a hundred posts in a very fast period of time. You’ll overwhelm your audience. And as Darren Rowse points out in a recent survey he did, most people unsubscribe from a blog because of too many posts. Shock and awe isn’t really suited to blogging, especially when you first get back into it.
6. Give Me Something Unique. Don’t come back into blogging with a link post, or something that might be considered “content filler.” Give me something unique, interesting, thought provoking, funny. Your first post back has to really resonate with people, who may already have forgotten you were there. Hey, people are fickle! So keep it simple but don’t be chintzy. (Granted, a post about how to get back into blogging might not be the most unique; so I may be breaking my own rule!)

Getting back into the blog saddle isn’t easy. You may be a bit unmotivated, distracted, tired, overwhelmed, bored…Even if you’re absolutely raring to go it’s not always obvious how to jump back in. Ultimately you just do it. You won’t be wholly judged on that first post, so don’t throw yourself into a frenzy about it. Write something, make it as good as you can, and plan the next few posts as quickly as possible. You don’t want to tease people with one post only to disappear right after.

The most important thing is to find your groove again, and as soon as possible. I know my groove is packed away in a box somewhere…if only I had labeled these boxes better! Kitchen, bathroom, dining room, blog groove…

Photo by Rexys Lightgarden.