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Why The Holidays Are Great For Your Blog

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Last year, I bemoaned the arrival of the holiday season – at least from my standpoint as a blogger. I knew that as people (including myself) busied themselves with shopping, baking and other forms of merriment, it could only mean two things for my blog: lower pageviews and a drought of writing topics.

As a person who is prone to look obsessively at things like stats, this was a disheartening reality to face.

But guess what? There are plenty of reasons that the holidays can be GREAT for your blog.

writing topics

Why the Holidays are Great for Blogging

Here are five of my favorite reasons that I now welcome the arrival of the holiday season!

1) You Need Fresh Writing Topics

By the time December rolls around, we’ve had our fill of talking about our children’s school year, Halloween costumes or how summer vacation drove us crazy. The holidays offer plenty of new inspiration for you and your blog. Think of childhood memories. Funny holiday party stories. The best gift you ever gave or received. There is so much to write about at this time of year!

2) It’s A Chance To Blog Outside Your Niche

If you blog within a certain niche, welcome the lower traffic levels on your blog by expanding your horizons and posting about some new writing topics. If you mainly write about being a mom, post some recipes. If you’re a food blogger, sharing a personal story or two with a holiday twist will be a breath of fresh air. Maybe you’ve got a short story or poem that you’ve been too embarrassed to share on your blog? Do it now! Hardly anyone is reading so what’s the worst thing that can happen?

3) Grab Other People’s Readers with Guest Posts

Everybody’s busy at this time of year, so why not trade off guest posts with a friend or two? It’s a great chance to give and get – and it’s a fabulous opportunity to have another blogger’s audience exposed to your writing – even if it’s small! We featured a great post on how to request guests posts just last week!

4) You Need A Break

Let’s face it. We all get tired of blogging from time to time. But many of us soldier on, blogging even when we don’t really feel like it because we have the “I can’t go too many days between posts” syndrome. Guess what? Life will go on without your blog for a few days. Even a week or <gasp> TWO weeks. Instead of compounding your holiday stress by imposing blogging obligations on yourself…let it go. Enjoy.

5) You Can Catch Up On Reading and Commenting

Almost none of us read as many blogs each day as we’d like to. If you go a little easy on yourself this holiday, and only write when you feel inspired, it will free up a lot of time to read others’ blogs (and don’t forget to share the posts you love!). If you can spend some time reading YOUR followers’ material, it will foster a sense of loyalty from them that even your most stellar piece of writing could ever achieve.

So remember…the holidays can be your bloggy friend, not your enemy. Embrace the season and enjoy!

Your Turn!

Let’s chat about writing topics during the holiays! Leave a comment on this post or head over to our Facebook fanpage to keep the conversation moving.

How are you tackling blogging and writing topics this holiday season? How do you keep your motivation and keep moving forward?

Looking For More Motivation?

If you are looking for more writing topics on how to stay motivated both in blogging and in life, then you do not want to miss these posts:

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Making Our Life Matter says

    I am working on my blogging calendar now. I want to branch out on some new topics for this month, especially for working Moms that are dealing with holiday stress and feeling guilty.

    I have to laugh how you always post this entries when I really need them!

  2. Kathy says

    We are preparing for our first Antique/Vintage show in February so I welcome the December break. We still plan on posting a couple times a week but it won’t seem as hectic as the past few months….I think 😉

  3. Colleen Hazlehurst says

    I blog for a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. It’s a new blog – just started in August – so I decided to strike while the iron is hot with pin-worthy posts about all things MOPS Christmas. MOPS groups all over the world are hungry for ideas, so I’m sharing every MOPS craft, recipe, and idea I can remember. I only write about things our group has actually done, but there’s plenty. I’m trying to keep up. Would love to see the momentum continue into the new year.

  4. Alison Satterwhite says

    You know, I thought I would have blog burnout this year at Christmas, but it turn out to have been just the opposite and more pageviews/unique visitors than ever. But it’s always nice to give yourself permission to take a break–and the holidays ARE just the time! Thanks.

  5. Lindsay says

    I’ve been using this time to catch up on reading and commenting, for sure! I’ve become such a slacker in this area and it’s one of my favorite things about bloggging, so I need to catch up!

  7. Kelley says

    It is so hard at the end of my first year to find the time to put something out there on my blog. I agree I can step outside the box and write something about someone else besides my little family. I just wish I had more time to read and write on the blog. Thanks for the tips. Glad I am not the only one in this boat.

  13. Kat Meller says

    Some great ideas here.
    I love the thought of “branching out” to things you don’t usually do (I do try this) but also being able to catch up on my reading (my poor reader is overflowing) and commenting.

  20. Sylver Blaque says

    Oh, this was good – and so true! Especially the inspiration – there’s just something about Christmas that lends itself to feel-good blogging…

  23. Jenn @ Coolest Family on the Block says

    I don’t have this problem. Traffic is up for me during the holidays. I’ll see a huge plummet in January. Luckily my Christmas posts from last year are carrying me and I don’t have to really post anything new. Being 7 months pregnant, chasing a 2yo, and trying to keep Christmas going hasn’t left a lot of blogging time available. Still…stats are up 🙂

  28. Nia/ChicWorking Mom says

    Great ideas! I have been feeling guilty about my lack of posting but I’m very busy and working on a business idea so I just have a lot going on. I’ll still post something weekly but it will definitely be far and few between. Thanks for taking the monkey off my back 😉

  29. Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos says

    I’ve been working on a few posts that have me beyond burnt out. I think after I wrap up a few more recipe posts that I have in the hopper – I might take a couple days off. If anyone is up for some guest posting, I’m all ears 🙂

  32. Jessie Powell says

    I’m enjoying holiday blogging because I can be SO negative about Christmas. It’s really my least favorite time of year. (I’m hesitantly linking to my most recent rant below – be warned, it’s pretty intense). And my blog gives me someplace to PUT those emotions where I feel like they will be heard and validated (or not – I really angered somebody with this particular rant. She got pretty snarky on facebook.)

    Be also warned, I DO swear in that post. I know SITS prefers the nonswearing linkups, so I’m including the warning here. My objective really isn’t to offend 🙂

    • Jessie Powell says

      PS — I don’t get upset with disagreement. I feel validated when people acknowledge the emotions as real. Not when they gush over my writing ;P

      (And here’s a safer linkup)

  34. Lisa says

    Some very good points here- liked the one about not posting as often. I’ve falling into that one with the holidays and with so much to do! I also noticed a less activity on social sites too. Everyone is hustling and bustling around. It does also give you topics to blog about outside your niche. I did one about the Christmas vs. holiday tree controversy in our state. Merry Christmas!

  39. Mimi says

    I have been totally lacking motivation and creativity the past few weeks! I think I’m going to take the rest of the month and just plan out 2012, so I start the year fresh and motivated!

  41. Stephanie's Mommy Brain says

    In the past I’ve usually blogged only a little during December. But this year I decided to focus on kids’ activities and books for 30 days. I wrote a list of activities that I wanted to do with my children and thought other moms would appreciate the inspiration. My stats have doubled and some days tripled because of these posts. It’s fun to see my stats but it’s also fun to know I’m helping other moms make memories with their children!

  42. Amanda says

    I need to read about how not to get blogger burnout and how to write a blog in 15 minutes. It usually takes a few days in the making because of my busy schedule and the type of blogs I write.

    • Gigi says

      My humble opinion? Better to write fewer posts and take your time with them than to try to write something in 15 minutes. Quality is definitely better in the long run! 🙂

  43. brooke says

    I am taking a blogging break to spend time with my husband since he is off from work and that is a rarity! I am using it to re-post some early posts that my new readers might now have seen as sort of a best-of collection.

    • Gigi says

      hint: make sure you don’t repost the content exactly…excerpt it and then link to the original post…Google doesn’t like duplicate content 🙂

  45. When Pigs Fly says

    My blogging friend Ron at Vent every year puts up a post a couple of weeks before Christmas and lets people know that with working in retail he will be too busy to keep to his regular blogging schedule. I think people respect that and because he has a regular schedule his followers aren’t wondering where he is.

    I agree that it’s a great time to catch up and read everyone else’s blogs. It’s so hard to keep up on all of it.