It's been a little more than two weeks since I posted something other than a video of the week here on the blog. I had planned to take some time off for the holidays, but a semi-serious back injury before New Years delayed everything longer than expected. Thankfully, my back is on the mend and I'm ready to restart blogging again.
If there's anything I've learned about blogging for almost three years now, it's that these ebbs and flows in posts are nothing to worry about. I used to get nervous if I got way off my blogging schedule and going two weeks without blogging would have been unthinkable. I'm not sure if I was more nervous about losing readers or more nervous that I wouldn't know how to restart...or maybe it was a little of both. I have a different view on it now.
If good content is really the key to blogging success (and I believe it is), then any readers to your blog will rediscover you after a break. It may take a while to get your readership back to where it used to be, but that's all right. You're probably a little rusty anyway.
There are three things to remember when you restart your blog. This is where I'm starting today as well.
1. Start with something easy for you. Whatever is really easy for you to talk about (and fits in with your blog content) is the best topic for your restart. Just pick a topic that fits your blog topic(s) but is really easy for you to talk about. You just want to get back in the flow of blogging right now and the biggest barrier to getting restarted can be finding something to talk about again. Start with something you know really well and is easy to write about.
2. Start with a short post. My wife ran a half-marathon a few weeks ago. That's 13.1 miles. She took a week off and then ran only a few miles her first time back out. That's how you should restart your blog. Don't feel like you have to restart with a long post. A short one is just enough to get you going again. In fact, all the posts you'll do for the first week or two may need to be short just to get you back. If that't the case for you don't worry about it. It's more important that you post something good and short than something long and meaningless because you feel like you need to make up for lost time.
3. Start with consistency. The worst thing that can happen is that your restart your blog and post a time or two and then take another break. Readers will accept a break. They understand everyone needs a break from time to time. When you're ready to return, however, be ready to return to your previous blog schedule. If you're not quite sure you're ready to restart, it would be better to delay the restart another week or two rather than post once and let it sit again for several weeks. Readers have a sense of a blogger's post frequency so don't toy with them. The break isn't what will hurt you, a bad restart will.