Taking a Break From Your Blog? Three things you should know
)
We all need a break sometimes. What do you need to know before taking a break?
1. Don’t Abandon Your Blog
Whether it’s a malicious person who wants to knock your blog offline, a spammer who wants to flood your blog with junk, or a troll who feels like writing a lot of nasty comments, telling everyone you’ll be away is like leaving your keys on the front doormat when you go on holiday.To stop your blog from appearing abandoned, queue up some posts to go up while you’re away. This is like leaving a light on in the hall. As with lights, it’s best if you can do it at a consistent time.
2. A One-Off Gap Isn’t Worth Announcing
Missing one day isn’t the end of the world. Whether you know it’s going to happen beforehand, or if it catches you by surprise, a quick post to announce this is a waste of time.So if you feel like skipping one post, do it unannounced. If possible, have some other posts in reserve that you could use instead.
3. Ask For Help
If you’re really stuck, why not ask a friend for help? You could ask for ideas on what might make the blog better, or do a “guest post exchange” where people guest post for you, and you do the same for them. Also, you could publish a discussion post or a poll, asking readers for their help.Don’t start by saying, “If you can’t help me, the blog will probably die. So it’s down to you.” Going in with a comment like that makes it sound like you’ve already made up your mind. That’s not fair on anyone. It’s your blog – if you really feel like closing it, is it even worth asking?
Discussion
Have you ever taken time away from your blog? How did you tell you readers, if you told them at all? Would you do it differently next time?