“I Want To Quit Blogging!”

I go through stages where I think it’s time to quit blogging. There’s no rhyme or reason behind it – nothing to trigger those feelings, and most of the time I’m very proud of my blog. Still, I have days where I feel like nothing is going right, and I’m blogging for no reason. It looks like a lot of bloggers feel the same sometimes. That’s why I’ve put together my list of things to consider if you’re thinking of quitting blogging.

1. Work out why you want to quit. It’s no good quitting for no reason – and very often, if you sit down and think about it, you’ll realise that your reason for quitting is actually just a small obstacle that you can overcome. Identify whether it’s a drop in stats, a lack of interaction, no opportunities coming your way – or something else.
2. Is it a temporary blip? Don’t do anything rash. Wait and see if the feeling of wanting to quit your blog persists over a few days or even weeks. If it’s something that comes and goes, it sounds like it’s just an obstacle that you can overcome.
3. Talk to other bloggers. They’ll reassure you that we all have bad blogging days, whether you’ve been going for six months or six years. You can have thousands of daily views and still feel like there’s no point continuing. Other bloggers will be able to reassure you that it’s normal and give you that push to keep going.
4. Remember why you started blogging. Everyone starts blogging for different reasons, and sometimes we forget those reasons along the way. I started blogging to help other people who find themselves in my situation, and although the blog has grown and developed since then, when I feel like quitting I remind myself of the messages I’ve had from young pregnant women and young parents, telling me how much my blog has helped, and that’s all the reason I need to keep going.
5. Give your blog some TLC. You may have noticed The Speed Bump has had a bit of a makeover. When I get the urge to quit my blog, I spend some time modifying it instead. If you’re feeling like it’s all a bit stale, give it a refresh – whether that’s updating some content or just giving the whole thing a brand new look.
6. Don’t stress about stats. So this month has been a bit quiet, and your mind has extrapolated that into “NO-ONE READS MY STUFF AND EVERYBODY HATES ME AND I’M WASHED UP!”. Stop right there thank you very much.
7. Take a blogging break. If you’re really feeling like you’re done, take a few weeks out. Don’t be in a rush to sell your domain and announce your dramatic exit to your Twitter followers; take some time away. Absence makes the heart grow fonder – you may find that you come back with plenty of new content or even a whole new angle for your blog.
8. Nothing is permanent. So you’ve done all of the above and you still want to say goodbye to the blog, and nothing’s going to change your mind. One thing I would advise is to keep hold of your domain. Don’t hit that “delete site” button – blogging has probably been a fairly big part of your life, and – especially if you’re a parenting blogger like me – you’ll have documented a lot of big events and days out. Even if you only keep it to look back on as a diary, you’ll be glad you didn’t delete it permanently. One day you may want to return to it – and if the whole thing is gone forever, you’ll regret it.

Above all else, rest assured that you’re not alone. Almost every blogger goes through this, for a variety of reasons. The important thing to remember is that the big bloggers you look up to and seek to emulate – whether that’s huge megastar vloggers like Zoella and Tanya Burr, or the superstars of the parent blogger world – have all overcome those blogging slumps, and you can too.

No-one makes it big without starting small – and part of starting small is feeling like you’re never going to get it off the ground. Keep striving for the end goal – whether that’s to help people, or to make money, or just to create an interesting, amusing blog – and keep writing.