7 Things Bloggers Can Do When THings Are Slow

Staying Motivated to Blog When Nothing is Happening

​Does Your Blogging Biz Go Through "Dry Spells" During Slow Months?

It happens. Your blogging business slows down.

One day, you are rolling in activity and skipping sleep to meet deadlines. Your laptop is whirring and your bank account is purring. 

And then it stops...

​You may notice things: 

• A huge dip in traffic
• Heartbreaking revenue
• No affiliate sales
• No comments, shares, likes, or other sign of life "out there"
• No orders for products or services
• No answers to emails. (just some cobwebby spam mail from last week)
• Social media seems dead. 

You may stare down your analytics and your email and your invisible social notifications and wonder if the fun is all over. Is it time to quit? Did you die or something, and just not notice?

Of coures not! 

You are just experiencing a dry spell. As with any dry spell, relief is always in the forecast. What should you do? 

Using a Blogging Drought to Your Advantage

​Now that you have time to breathe, you should take advantage of slow business. You can use the time to make sure that when people do start returning, they have some amazing stuff waiting for them. 

Search traffic always fluctuates, and the reasons ''why'' are probably way out of your control.

​Your followers, subscribers and clients however, probably follow a predictable pattern. Tax season, vacation times, holidays, and "kids out of school" season are some of the times you may see less activity from your regulars. 

The good news is, they are they are easiest people to lure back to your site. So why not reward them for their loyalty? 

Here are 7 things you can do with all that scary free time, to ensure that when the rain comes again, you will be ready to handle the flood: 

​
1. Take Time to Organize Your Business and Office

​Before you do anything else, make sure you have everything organized. Now is a great time to make sure that all of your photos, graphics, drafts, and other files are properly labeled and sorted. 

Here are few more things to organize: 
​

• Your passwords
• Clients names and info
• Social media followers
• Email contacts
• Your productivity tools
• Your profile links

Since no one else is reading your site...you should. Read through old posts and fix typos, awkward sentences, and other little irritants. Look for opportunities to interlink your posts, too. 

Here are some tips for "spring cleaning" your blog. 

While you are at it, check that your links are all working, freshen up your sidebar, and make sure that everything looks right on different browsers and devices. 

2. Update Your Old Content

​Is some of your best work collecting dust at the bottom of your blog? Clean it up, add some fresh images and bring it closer to the top. 

This allows new readers to access it easily. 

If your content was published before the mobile craze, check that it still looks good on your phone. If not, tweak the images and paragraphs for smoother reading. 
​
Actual blog posts aren't the only thing you can dust off. Is it time to rewrite your about me page? Do you have new links to add to your portfolio or resource page?

And don't forget your overall theme. If your site has looked the same for years, things like your header and logo might need a little updating in order to look modern. 

A few changes here and there keep your site from looking dead.

3. Update Your Photos and Graphics

This goes along with updating your old content. 

People are attracted to visual elements before they read your text, so give them a reason to sit and stare! Play with some graphics programs too. 

If nothing else, create some post headers that are different sizes to test what works. According the experts, vertical images are more attractive these days, and photos with text are more likely to be clicked on Pinterest. 

If you haven't done so, you can make all of your Pinterest boards look pretty by creating some branded pin board covers. 

4. Create Stuff to Give to Your Readers

Creating products to sell or give away is very time consuming. But now you have this free time, right? 

Use it to write up a digital guide or create some printable templates you can share for free. You can also arrange for product giveaways, if that is your thing.

5. Find Cool Stuff to Share With Your Readers

Even if you aren't giving something away, readers still like to take something from your site. What would they like to learn or see?

Did you learn a new coding trick while fixing your graphics? Did you take some gorgeous photos they might like to see? Did you try a new recipe that they might want to try? 

Another way to share with your readers is by updating older posts (as mentioned above) and placing the links in a new area where they are easier to access. Have several posts on the same topic? Curate them in a post and talk about why they are helpful. 

You can also add a video, share some links to great products, or curate content from other great blogs you enjoy. If you aren't doing it on your blog, then do it on your social media. 

No matter what you choose to do, the point is to get new readers to fall in love, and remind older readers why they should keep coming back. 

6. Try Guest Posting

Is guest posting alive or dead? It depends on whose advice you read. My advice is...you won't know for sure unless you try it for yourself. 

Using your slow times to guest post (or just comment on other sites) can help you build your online reputation and attract more readers. 

7. Stockpile Future Posts Ideas

I bet you have tons of topic ideas scribbled down somewhere. Maybe even a few sentences, some keywords. Whole drafts? 

Why not take the time now to sit down and write up every single idea you have jotted down. Feed this into your blog's automated schedule system. This takes a lot of pressure off later when you are facing writer's block. 

With weeks of posts already lined up and ready to go, you have more time to explore, learn, write, socialize and create. Just remember to check in on your posts from time to time to make sure they are posting correctly. 

Oh, and share them on social media if that isn't automated. Because when I have a slow spell...I like to read and share all that stuff you write! 

Sharesies: What do you do when business seems to go to sleep? Do you stay productive, plan new methods, or take some time off as well?