To Re-blog! (again)

Re-starting a blog is a lot different than starting a blog from scratch as you already have a history of posts, an index on Google, and a dwindling audience. But just like in a good chess game, depending on how well you make your moves you can still come out on top!

I started reading ProBlogger a lot during my absence and it really taught me a whole world of blogging I never realized. I was essentially reading the teachings of a ‘master blogger’ who’s conquered the techniques of good writing and good networking.

So I posed to Darren the question about how to ‘restart’ a blog. He hasn’t responded yet but I will report back if and when he does. In the meantime I came up with my own few tips that I hope to execute.

• Apologize for your absence- Just like I did here, apologize to the readers that stayed for your absence. Explain why you were absent but don’t try to make up some excuse or blame something. Just suck in your pride and apologize for neglecting to write.
• Outline a plan- Either in public or in private, make sure you have a plan to re-engage yourself in your blog so that it doesn’t falter again and you have an idea where you want to go with this.
• Networking Making Friends- Does anyone else get that cringe when you hear the word “networking”? I try to think of it more as making friends and a following on your blog. Try submitting some posts onto Digg or Reddit. More advanced bloggers can utilize Twitter and other social networking sites to their huge advantage.
• Give your blog a checkup- This is often overlooked but in your absence you have probably never even visited your blog so you want to make sure its still in top condition. Check your ‘about me’ page to make sure its still updated. Make sure all links and pictures aren’t broken. Even check your used bandwidth to make sure nothing odd happened while you were gone.
• Keep on Writing- Most important is to keep on writing fresh new posts so that when your readers do come back to you, you give them a reason to stay. Check back on your first posts and remember that enthusiasm and new ideas will naturally come to you.