Welcome to the Camp Blogaway Awards, Part 2! In case you missed Part 1…
- Most Inspiring Session: Building a Bona Fide Community with Foodblogga and 5-Second Rule
Our next award goes to the panel that made me feel I wasn’t alone in the pressure I put on myself and my blog. The panel that could have easily been twice as long as it was, and everybody would still be interested and interacting.
And the award for Most Encouraging Session goes to… Balancing the Pressures of Blogging, a panel discussion with Lori of RecipeGirl, Jennifer of Savor the Thyme, and Greg of SippitySup.
The panel kicked off with a discussion about the pressures we all face as bloggers. There were the expected items on the list… dealing with negative comments, trying to build traffic, managing your time, making your site stand out among the sea of other blogs and monetizing your work.
But there were also stresses mentioned that aren’t always addressed in the blogging community. Stresses such as the added difficulty of weight management when you are regularly baking multiple iterations of dessert and other rich recipes. Many bloggers feel pressure to post on a regular basis, on certain days and times. And most of us put in more time on our blogs than we earn back monetarily.
As the panelists spoke of the stress they experience with their blogs, campers throughout the room were nodding along, agreeing with what they were hearing.
And as encouraging as it was to hear that so many bloggers feel the same pressures, we were really all there to hear how to deal with said stresses.
Greg is big on keeping himself on a strict schedule. Lori finds it helps to go to the gym and squeeze in a workout. And all three panelists find it helpful to take time to completely unplug.
Savvy Tip: I can attest for the benefits of unplugging. Whenever I can, I steer clear of doing blog design work or writing posts on the weekends. I find myself to be so much more relaxed and refreshed on the Monday mornings after these unplugged weekends.
What else helps? Prescheduling posts when you can. Setting up an editorial calendar so you have a general idea of where your blog is going and what topics are coming up.
Even more importantly, we need to realize that the pressure to publish at certain times or generate certain content comes from within. Not from your readers.
The less pressure we put on ourselves to fit certain standards and timelines, and the more we have fun with our blogging, the higher quality our sites will be. And what attracts traffic more than anything? Higher quality blog posts.
What blogging pressures do you feel, and how do you deal with them?
Huge thanks to Garlic Gold for sponsoring a portion of my travel to Camp Blogaway!
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Julie — This may be a silly question, but for a person who does not affiliate with Foodbuzz because I have a fitness blog not a foodblog, are there other ways to monetize the blog? I mean, I just write for fun, but what are other ways to get a little kickback for all the time that spent putting into blogging? Just curious, as I’ve never seen a post on this before. And sounds like your Camp blogaway may have touched on it a bit.
Linzi (Beyond Destination 26.2) recently posted..My FiveFingers
Not a silly question by any means! There are other ad networks you could look into (BlogHer, etc… I’m sure a google search would reveal more). If you keep good contact with PR reps, etc, there are opportunities for paid/sponsored posts. And lots of bloggers take on freelance writing or photography. Hope that helps!
I’m totally on board with prescheduled posts and posting calendars. I have to do almost all my writeups and chocolate reviews over weekends because I travel during the week. I often pre-write posts on long airplane trips and can knock out a few posts so that I have less to do over a weekend.
And for weight management with recipe perfection? The answer is GIVEAWAYS!
Victoria (District Chocoholic) recently posted..Dilettante- The Leftovers
My other solution is “send it to work with the husband.” Or make friends with the neighbors and give them the extras!
Great post! It is hard to “turn off” the inner blogger. I am still struggling with finding that balance and keeping a consistent blogging schedule that isn’t too much or too little.
As for the FoodBuzz bit , I have been on the fence about accepting their offer and have since received several other similar offers in the past few months. Hang in there Linzi, there are always other groups out there!
Chelsey @ Chew With Your Mouth Open recently posted..Myth Buster 4 – Superfoods- Are they really super
I agree – These panels were insightful and inspiring! Camp was a blast and I look forward to getting to know you better through your blog. P.S. The “garlic gold” is awesome! Just tossed some on veggies and pasta for lunch yesterday
I lovvvvve Garlic Gold. If you have any left, try it on popcorn. Yum!
Wow! This makes feel so happy! Thanks or your kind words and for listening to us, because ultimately it’s up to us all individually to find the balance and formula that works for our own selves! GREG
Thank YOU for such a wonderful panel!
This was one of my favorite panels too…it was nice to hear how others managed their time and tried to reduce stress. It helped me realize that most of the time the stress was self-imposed. I really took it to heart and gave myself a break from blogging last week and it felt great. Now, it’s time for me to get on a schedule! Take care and I’m looking forward to keeping in touch!
I think the schedule is the hardest part! I’m working on figuring out what works best for me in terms of scheduling, too.
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