EmPress Themes

It’s that time again — we’re excited to share our monthly <em>press Link Up! To recap, each month we release a blog post prompt, and anyone who wants to participate can write a post answering it. If you’re curious and missed out on the last one, you can read up on the details here, and check out last month’s Link Up here. This month’s prompt is:

What are your goals over the next few months?

As we head into the spring and summer months, we’ve naturally forgotten some of the goals we set for ourselves this year. For some of you, winter has held on so long that maybe you find yourself in a bit of a funk. Or maybe, like us, you’ve been so busy lately that your larger goals have been forgotten in the daily grind.

One of the first things to get pushed to the back burner when we’re in a funk or things get busy is our blogs. So for our take on this month’s Link Up prompt, we thought we’d share a little spark of inspiration for your own blog! Here are a few good goals to help you get excited about blogging again:

1. Commit to a blogging schedule.

If there’s anything we’ve learned over our combined 18 years of blogging, it’s that the magic is in the practice. We believe that blogging is whatever you want or need it to be, and for some that will mean you need to throw your schedule out the window. And that’s totally okay! But if you’re feeling stuck, uninspired, or overwhelmed, the best thing to do is start and just keep going. And the best way to do that is to commit to a blogging schedule, whether that’s twice a week or once a month — whatever works for you.

Blogging on a schedule can be a great first step to help you gain momentum. It might seem counterintuitive at first — after all, shouldn’t you blog when you actually feel like it? But we’ve found that sometimes inspiration requires action. Sit down at a scheduled time, start a new draft, and you may be surprised at how easily the words come to you.

2. Start a new series!

If actually sitting down to blog is the first step, coming up with an idea is the second step. And that’s the really hard part, right?! So, give yourself a framework to get started! A blog post series is a way to provide yourself with prompts, so you’re not starting with a totally blank screen. The beauty of a blog post series is that you can keep the theme totally simple, and there are endless ways to approach it. Just look at our Link Up, for example — we’re all responding to the same prompt, but we each have our own unique spin.

We love how Erica from Luv in the Bubble structures her Weekend Roundups with the same prompts each week: a high point, low point, and find of the week. It provides a go-to framework, but keeps the content fresh as her answers depend on what she did during the week. Similarly, Sasha’s Monday-Roundup on The Sasha Nicole gives her a starting point with the type of content to post, and then she can get creative with the themes of each roundup.

Also, keep in mind that a blog series doesn’t have to be a forever thing, or even follow a particular schedule. Our co-founder Victoria is currently writing a blog series based on personal experiences as they unfold, or as compelling anecdotes come up in everyday life. Think about something in your life you’ve been wanting to share on your blog, and how you may be able to structure it as a series to help you process or break up the writing into more manageable chunks.

3. Update your design.

We’ll cop to it, as a theme shop this advice is a bit self-serving. But one thing we’ve heard time and time again from our customers is that a new theme was just what they needed to get excited about blogging again (we love hearing that!). And it makes total sense — you know how when you take a few minutes to straighten up your desk, you get a little more excited about your work? It’s the same idea here.

You don’t have to load up your cart just yet (but if you’d like to go that route, may we recommend our newly launched theme, Presidio?). All it takes is a few minutes and a few simple tweaks to show your site a little bit of love. If you’re like us, we’re sure you have a list of tweaks you’d like to make to your site just sitting around, waiting for you to find the time. Maybe you’ve been meaning to update your About page image, or add an image to your sidebar linking to that post you’re super proud of. Maybe you’ve been wanting to figure out a little CSS to make that one tweak that’s been bothering you. Or maybe you’re not even sure where to start — try going through our list to spring clean your blog. Whatever you need to do to feel proud of your site again, make a list and make it a goal to get it done. Just like straightening up your desk, it’s amazing what a few small tweaks can do!

What helps you get excited about blogging? Share in the comments below! And don’t forget to check out these posts from participating bloggers:

Fonderlove
Not for Wallflowers
Monica Dutia
The Good Living Blog
Victoria McGinley
VICILOVES
Sincerely, Dani Rose
Luv in the Bubble
Elembee
EmDash

xx,