At a certain point, I had no drive to create anything original. I fell into the copycat trap. Where I started looking to bloggers that were successful in their practice, and I started to copy what they were doing. In case you aren’t familiar with the classic Instagram blogger post, it goes a little something like this:
“I had so much fun today with my kids! Of course, I wore this dress and flats. You can shop them by clicking the link in my bio or by following me in this app and screenshotting this picture! Hehe.”
Sound familiar? Here’s one of my real life posts that was a classic Insta-Promo-blogger fail:
After a while of blogging like this, I started to get super focused on the affiliate linking. I was so obsessed, I wasn’t even willing to buy clothes at my favorite thrift shop anymore because I wouldn’t be able to find the link. Sad right? A few months of blogging like this had gone by and I started to lose my drive. I stopped caring about what my captions were or what I was truly trying to convey with a post – as long as it contained that special link, I was happy. But after a while, I really wasn’t happy, I was actually kind of discouraged. I wasn’t seeing a great amount of engagement, new followers or even commissions on my posts.
I realized I needed to make a change. At one point I was scrounging through my camera roll looking for something to post when I thought, what’s the point? I’m not enjoying this. At that moment I had to seriously take a step back and ask myself:
Is blogging something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life?
Do I genuinely like sharing my life with the world?
If I never made a single penny from my blog/Instagram, would I be happy?
My answer to all those questions was: HELL YES.
I absolutely love everything I have created in the past year – the people I have met, the brands I’ve worked with, the content I’ve created. I’m so proud of the fact that I’ve actually stuck with something for more than a year (In case you don’t know anything about me, I’m a proud quitter. I’ve quit just about everything I’ve ever started. Except for blogging. Hands down this has been the longest time I’ve stuck with something.).
So here are some tips on How to get Inspired to Get Blogging again:
Look at your very first posts:
Take a look at your very first few blog posts. Now, they might not be the best blog posts in the world, spelling mistakes, low-quality images, etc. but they all have one thing in common – there is passion. Your first few blog posts were written and created with excitement. You were genuinely excited/proud to share your thoughts/ideas with the world – and that is the most important thing.
What are your passions?
You need to take a step back and evaluate your passions.
Ok Monika, but I’m not passionate about anything, I’m a lifestyle blogger, I like to talk about everything. Here’s how to combat that – ask yourself:
What am I willing to do for the rest of my life for free?
For me, I LOVE making and creating EVERYTHING. One of my favorite things to make is clothes (enter my recent thrift store wedding dress recreation – #designedbymonika) and create styled looks (enter my hashtag #monikabochstyled). Those are 2 things that I have been doing my whole life for the sole reason is that I absolutely LOVE it. Therefore, designing and styling are my passions. So what type of content can you mainly expect to see from me? Clothes I design and outfits that I’ve styled.
So what type of content can your audience expect from you?
How are you going to share what you are passionate about today?
Now, Look at your Most Recent Posts
What do you see? Someone flowing through the motions? Taking the same picture over and over? It can be difficult to break out of the mold. So, by taking a look at your most recent posts hopefully you are getting a reality check – it’s time to change. The main reason people look to bloggers is for:
- Education
- Motivation
- Inspiration
At this point, you should be asking yourself:
What is my purpose with blogging?
What am I going to teach, inspire or motivate my audience to do?
That is where your passions come into play. You now use your passions as the driving force behind your posts. Teach your audience about your unique passion. Motivate your audience to live their best life through your passions. Inspire them to use your passions in their own life.
If you still don’t know where to start, and yes, sometimes I feel so overwhelmed and have no idea where to start, I’ve created a 30 Day Content Calendar for you to download for free! It has 30 days jam-packed of post ideas, that you can totally customize. Feel free to move the days around, scrap some ideas and add on your own!
Click HERE to download your FREE 30 Days of Content Calendar
