Famous Bloggers

How To Blog and Start a Business

Home » The Famous Blog » Today, You Just Lost Your Blog

Today, You Just Lost Your Blog

- by

Lost Blog

Keep calm people. I don’t mean it literally. This is just a hypothetical situation. Today, I want you to think about a big ‘what if’. What if you lost your blog today?

Just recently, my journal log of how I earned my first $1000 was published here at FamousBloggers. You can read the rest of the story there if you’re interested in it. One thing you’ll learn though is that before I ever reached that mark, I lost my blog and in turn, became blogless for a couple of months.

That’s my story and my reality. There are two things I’d like to point out here:

  1. What if it really happened to you?
  2. Even if it didn’t, what are the valuable (and profitable!) lessons that you can get from a blogless phase in your life?

Let’s get on to it:

What if it really happened to you?

It did happen to me so for this reason, I’m going to share with you my general experience on what it felt like. First off, it didn’t feel like the end of the world. Seriously.

Most of you have probably had blogs for about a year (or more!) and the life of blogging has been integrated already into your life. I’ve met some guys online whose life practically revolved around it.

I built my first blog back in 2008 (I was still sixteen I think back then). Oddly enough, I’ve stuck with it and pursued it as a challenge despite my young age (hey, a lot of young bloggers were on the rise back then!). So fast forward to around 2-3 years later, I upgraded it to become a pretty note-worthy blogging tips blog boasting of a PR3 plus a horde of readers. Yeah it wasn’t that great, but it didn’t suck either.

Around early 2011, I decided to let it go and move on. Now, I don’t want to keep saying the reason why (and for the sake of this post, it doesn’t really matter). The point is after years of hard-work and persistence, and of making it a part of my routine, I just dropped the whole thing and moved on.

So I woke up one day and I didn’t have a blog anymore

It’s odd at first. Like, really odd. Because I would go online and I still see my social circles, but there wasn’t any point to it anymore. I was a blogless blogger… or yeah, not really a blogger anymore but just a social entity online. It went on for 2-3 months.

Slowly, I began to untangle myself from the whole blogging routine and for a while, I felt so grounded. Like a really normal person that doesn’t have to worry if my traffic had gone down or that I haven’t written any posts in a week- or months.

It feels grounding. There’s really no other explanation for it. You have to find yourself as a person again and not this active/popular blogger trying to get more web attention. It’s just you. And this time, you’re really forced to reflect and figure out the things that matters most.

From “blogless” to “getting back on your feet”!

Obviously, I wouldn’t be sharing this to you if I didn’t get anything valuable from my blogless experience. On the contrary, I gained a lot of lessons. So listen up.

Going back to the start means you’re free to go in any direction.

When I was blogging, my mindset kept telling me that I should continually work forward, always make my blog better, always write good content, always engage with subscribers, blah blah blah. You try to keep pushing for it. At some point, you lose the sense of moving forward.

Being blogless is like being given a second chance. You have to really think this time. If you have to do it again, how would you do it? And if you don’t want to blog again, what is it that you really, really, want to do?
I figured that I still love blogging. But I don’t have the drive to be successful as a blogger. There has to be something else. So after much thought, and while I was killing time, I began to devote my time to what I really love doing ever since- designing.

Long story short, I realized that blogging and designing are two of the things that really worked best for me. So that’s what I did. Having an experience as a blogger, and being better at designing gave me a one-two-knockout combination.

I put up an online design business for the blogosphere. And the rest is history.

Take it from me

You don’t need to lose your blog to be able to think about the direction that you want to go in. Actually, that was my mistake- that it took me to lose my blog to be able to see what I should do. It doesn’t have to be the case for you.

Take some time. Think of the blog that you have now. And then think ‘what if’ you lose it? What do you do next? The answer to that should be something that you take seriously. That’s called your gut instinct. Follow it because it always has the right answers.

That’s it then. Let me know what you have in mind!

Image © iQoncept – Fotolia.com

About

I created the Blog Design Team. It's the blogosphere's premium design service destination if you haven't heard ;) I currently specialize in helping amazing people kickstart with a wicked logo.

Reader Interactions

Related Posts

{ 28 Responses }

  1. Suraj says:
    Hi, Thanks for sharing this wonderful article. It helped me gain a lot of info.
  2. Steve says:
    Great point. If you are Internet businessman blog should only be part of the effort. Personally I would probably make more money without a blog, since I pour too much effort into that one facet. But even if you blog is your major focus and you lose it, it should not be as difficult to rebuild hthe second time, because, if you have done things correctly, the second time around your also contacts, networking opportunities and social media contacts.
    • Liane says:
      Yep sure did that. If there was anything that survived from my early blogging career, it was the network and the social contacts that I gained. Definitely useful when I launched my design site!
  3. Amy Turner says:
    Maybe you can combine your two loves, design and blog. What if you blog about designing, hey it's unsolicited, but think about it. Seriously, you write about your passion, right? So, if you could just pour out your feelings about designing (not the profitable ideas of course), could you sustain the blog? Just wondering.
    • Liane says:
      Hi Amy! Yes I have those ideas in my head too. Haha. Problem is I figured that if I blogged again, my design time would be limited and I'll end up spreading myself thin. Right now I just want to focus on improving my skill :) But maybe someday I could launch a personal blog (and yes, that I really might!). Thanks again!
  4. Alva Fergen says:
    At one point I thought my blog was lost, more likely destroyed but thankfully the database was just messed up. It was actually an easy fix like automatically. At least I have reference if my blog lost it's way. ;)
    • Liane says:
      But I do hope that never happens haha ;)
  5. Roezer says:
    Make sure in your php configuration register_globals is set to off. I did not have it turned on when I started using WordPress and got my blog hacked twice. That's actually where I got the name for it, I was setting up the blog knowing that it could not last that long before something new went wrong. So not putting to much thought into the naming of the blog I just called it LostBlog since I assumed something bad would happen it and it is also why I installed it in a folder as I was unsure how I was going to develop the domain. It could save you time and money instead of spending on domains that are not maintained to use folders on the domains you have. Here is an example, Someone wants to make a blog about "Can't use a keyword example because of spammers" they will buy "thatkeywordname.domain" and find out after a few days that it was not that good idea at all and they do not really want to write about "the topic" all of the time. So what you do is install WordPress in a new folder on your domain. See if you can write at least 20 posts and if so buy the domain and use WordPress export so you can schedule your posts to publish and leave it so you have time to promote it on twitter and other social networks and starts getting comments and search engine traffic.
  6. Melvin says:
    I have stopped blogging for about 6 months so does that count? :-p Anyway this post makes me feel thankful that I didn't close down or sell my blog. Even though I took some break from blogging, I just let the blog stay. So now that my passion seems back, I still have something to turn to and write to. But back to your question. If I lost my blog, I'll just start another one. Doesn't cost that much anyway. For the passion that I have for blogging, its priceless!
    • Liane says:
      Really Melvin? You stopped for 6 months??? Wow. Never thought you would- ever. Haha. I'm curious though, how did you regain your traffic/reader stats? 6 months means a major resuscitation for your blog. Would love to hear your story! Anyway, since you're back now, kudos to you and keep it up!
  7. Jamie Northrup says:
    Very interesting Liane, I've been through that, actually a few times, over the 17 years I've been online, I've gone through phases that had me create websites/blogs only to abandon them after a year or two, and they be "normal" for a few years, only to return again. In this last "phase" I've been consistent since 2008, but about a month ago I decided I wanted a new direction, but instead of scraping everything which is something I've thought hard about doing (or at least almost everything), I decided to hang on to all my website/blogs, but to rethink the direction of each one and make a plan for the changes I want to make. I'm not sure how it will go from here, but I've given myself a deadline for each website/blog to turn it into what I want or else I'll be scraping it for real.
    • Liane says:
      Well you certainly have a much longer experience than I do Jamie! :D I can't share my advice, you'd know better as to the direction that you'd want. Just hope it works for the best!
  8. Ameen Aliyar says:
    Its an interesting scenario. I presume when you say "let it go," it means you sold it. It doesn't really matter now does it? The choices you made in the past have created your present situation, and the choices you make now will create your future (not the exact wording; but I've heard this from Yaro Starak). Glad everything worked out for you.
    • Liane says:
      I think I've heard that as well from him :P Thanks Ameen!
  9. Allie says:
    Laine, As I read your story I almost cried. What the heck is wrong with me? LOL. It is so sad: a blogger with no blog. I don't know what I would do without my blog. She has been a part of my life for a year and a half. What would I wake up in the morning to do? What would I link to when I comment? Where would I place my words and make them feel at home? I don't want to think about it. :-) Your story is very inspiring. You can still follow your passion online and feel like you are part of something. I love it. ~Allie
    • Liane says:
      Did I just hit your soft spot? haha. Yeah that's precisely why I wrote this entry too. So that people will realize the value of their blogs in context to their lives and daily routines. Well I hope you the best and wish you'd stick with your blog for years to come. It's not just meant for me, but hopefully blogging is really meant for you :) Cheers!
  10. Alan Turner says:
    Hi Liane, firstly a really catchy title for your blog post, it is what drew me in to the post. I think that many of us get so caught up in the day to day of whatever it is that we are doing that we forget to do what we love! I am glad that you have managed to get to grips with your passion early on in life, many people unfortunately take years to figure out what is important. I wish you many successes in your business ventures. Keep moving forward. Alan
    • Liane says:
      Thanks! Took me a while to figure out the title too haha. Well from what I learned it's always important to periodically reflect on what we do, especially if the task gets to repetitive and sometimes you lose yourself to it. I guess I'm just really lucky that I saw losing my blog as another opportunity rather than one big setback :P
  11. Abhi Balani says:
    Hey Liane, I'm really tired for now and don't have any intelligent comment to say. But I'd like to appreciate your mysterious article title which took me to your article. :D
    • Liane says:
      Thanks for reading anyway Abhi! And hope you get some sleep :D
      • Abhi Balani says:
        Oh yea, I'm just to bed. I'd love to see you over my very first blogging contest entry (linked below) when I wake up. Reply you tomorrow. Good night. :D
        • Liane says:
          I'll check it out! Thanks for the invite! :)
  12. Dave Lucas says:
    So, Liane! When will you blog ever again? For a minute I though your post was about actually having your blog kicked out from under you by your blogging platform, which has happened to me! I got over it. :) Dave Lucas
    • Liane says:
      Hi Dave! Well I think I've done with running a 'blogging tips' blog haha. But I'm thinking of starting a personal blog soon :P I'll let you know :)
  13. Morgan Barnhart says:
    I'm sorry that happened to you, but it sounds like it all worked out for the best. That happened to me when I first started creating websites way back in the day. I'd wake up and the people I was hosting with were suddenly shut down! I had to re-create my site a few times, but each time I did, it got better and better and I continued to love it even more. :) Thanks for the great advice!
    • Liane says:
      Woah. Lost your blog over a hosting problem?? I should be the one sorry to hear that :( I still have some level of control involved in losing my blog, I think your case merits a more intense level of "losing a blog". But yes it did (luckily) worked out for the best Morgan :D And I hope it did for you too!
  14. James says:
    Very interesting post, I'm glad that you managed to find the right direction in your life, combining blogging with your love for design. thanks for sharing
    • Liane says:
      No problem! Thanks for reading :)