We all go through both hectic and quiet periods with our blogs. Some months, right from the get-go, we’ve got emails flying in about collaborations or offers to review products. Our stats are banging, interaction is great and we’re generally just loving life. And other months, it’s quite the opposite. So today we’re going to look at how to keep busy during quiet blogging months

how to keep busy during quiet blogging months

We’ve all been there. I have. And it sucks. But it’s important to remember that it’s probably not your fault. The blogging industry certainly goes through waves of activity and more often than not, when I’m having a quiet month, I’ll see other bloggers mention on social media that they are too. I mean, it sucks for both of us but it’s nice to know I’m not alone.

It can definitely be a bit disheartening and annoying. Not to mention a little worrying when you rely on money you make through your blog to pay for things. But the important thing to remember is that it won’t be like this forever, especially if you continue to work hard and tomorrow, next week or next month could be completely different.

When I go through quiet periods with my blog where my inbox resembles that of tumbleweed, I always try and keep a level head. But sometimes, it does get to me. And I mean REALLY get to me. I don’t think it matters how long you’ve been blogging or if you’re a full-time or a part-time blogger, it’s absolutely okay to feel negatively affected by quiet blogging months. 

That said, there are plenty of things you can do to keep yourself busy and motivated and I’m highlighted 8 things in this blog post to help you, if you’re going through a quiet period as well.

Here’s how to keep busy during quiet blogging months:

how to keep busy during quiet blogging months

Update or create your media kit

When working with brands it’s good to have an effective media kit handy to send out. If you’ve neglected your media kit or don’t yet have one at all, now would be a good time to carve out some time to focus on creating one or updating it! Check out my post about how I created a free and attractive media kit with some tips on what to include in yours!

Spring clean your blog

Now is also a good time to give your blog a little TLC as well. If things are on the quiet front, you’ll have more time to tend to your blog like you’d tend to your garden on a slow Spring afternoon. All those little jobs you’ve been putting off… get them done! Stuck? Here are some suggestions!

Research and make a list of brands you want to pitch to…

Just because brands aren’t coming to you right now, doesn’t mean you can’t go to them! Dream big, make a list of all the brands you’d love to work with and potentially pitch to. Categorize them and research the appropriate email to send your pitch to (and the name of the PR person, if you can!)

…then pitch to them!

Why the heck not? You’ll never know until you try. Pick out some of your favourites, write up a banging pitch and go haywire on that send button. You can pick up my Beginners Guide To Pitching To Brands for just £7, which contains all my insider tips and tricks for successful pitching, as well as real life pitching examples and templates for you to use!

Set some short and long term blogging goals

Now is a good time to sit back, reflect and have a little think about your blog and where you want to go with it. Busy months are fan-bloody-tastic. But they rarely give us time to reflect. So sit down with a pen and paper (not your phone!) and write up some short and long term blogging goals for yourself.

Where would you like to be in 1 or 5 years? Who would you have liked to work with in that time? What direction do you want your blog to go in? All those scary questions! Sign up to my mailing list to receive access to my freebie library, where you can grab your own Goal Setting and Action Plan Workbook!

Brainstorm blog content for the next month

A great thing to do – that I like to do the most – when I’m thinking about how to keep busy during quiet blogging months is to brainstorm, plan and create new, incredible content for the upcoming months ahead. You have more time than ever to put into your content right now so make it count! Stuck for ideas? Here are some blog post ideas to help you out:

Make a plan and research something you’d like to create

If quiet times stress you out (yep) then it might be worth spending these times researching alternative ways to avoid them, going forward or extra ways to make money blogging when the sponsored post opportunities are on the slow side.

Do you excel in an area of blogging that you could create an informative eBook about and sell? Are you in a position to start offering advertising packages to other bloggers? Or think even bigger than that in terms of offering coaching or another type of service!

Try and not let it get to you

And finally, you gotta look after you and mentally, these quiet periods can really get to you. It’s easy enough to say “don’t let it get to you” but just try and remember that there’s a 99% chance it’s not your fault and that other bloggers are probably going through the same sort of drought. Keep yourself occupied, work on your plan and have faith that things will turn around. They always do!

I hope this post gave you some good ideas for how to keep busy during quiet blogging months. If you’re going through a quiet blogging month right now, I’m sorry to hear that and I hope it picks up for you soon! In the meantime, try focusing on some of these tasks to help keep the motivation and creativity high!

What do you do when your inbox is dead and you’re having a quiet month? Do you have anything to add to this post? Let me know!

Quiet blogging months can be really hard – I’ve been there when I’ve really let them get to me. So focusing on your mental health as a blogger is so crucial. Sign up to my mailing list to receive your FREE Mental Health for Bloggers guide!

99 Comments

  1. We try to do all these (or most of these) regularly, but you are so right, once you’re a little quieter, it’s the best time! Also updating old content is a great way to make it less boring (if there is ever anything boring!)

  2. As someone who’s worked in the restaurant and clothing business I can say that it’s not just blogs that have downtime. As you say the important thing is to keep going, use the down time to catch up and think of new ways to attract readers. These are some great tips. Thanks for sharing

    Love, Tea

    https://teaspangsberg.com/

  3. I have to admit that when my inbox isn’t coming up with new opportunities every few days then I do get quite disheartened and I shouldn’t feel that way x

  4. Great advice! Glad I read your post. Currently at a quiet position at the moment and redoing my media kit now. Pinned your post for future 😄

    1. I totally agree! I think since the ASA guidelines were reinforced it’s been harder. There are STILL brands wanting no disclosure and I’ve definitely turned down more things this year than any other!

  5. Such insightful tips! I LOVE pitching to brands but I feel like it’s daunting for a lot of people. I always tell myself “realistically, what’s the worst that’s going to happen? They’ll say no” and then just crack on with the pitch haha. P.s. the title on this post is perfect – definitely better than any “professional sounding title”. xx
    El // Welsh Wanderer

  6. Hi Jenny,

    Some great tips there. Being new to the scene I’ll be checking out quite a few of the links included so thanks for that! 🙂

    Dan

  7. Pitching to a brand is such a scary concept! But you’re right, why the hell not?! Thank you the tips, I’m going to look into writing a great pitch! Can’t hurt! Thanks for your advice.

  8. The title of this post really made me laugh! It’s true though, it can definitely come in waves and it’s so hard to not think you’re doing something wrong when your inbox dries up a bit. It took me a while to get over that mentality. This is a great list of proactive blog things to do instead though! x

    Sophie
    http://www.glowsteady.co.uk

  9. I love these ideas! When things are quiet, we all need something to do and what better to use the time for then improving our blogs?

    My favorite pastime is brainstorming and, when I am on a roll, I write like there is no tomorrow.

    I can tell you first hand cleaning up your blog will suck away time and you will be left wondering where it all went!

  10. Oooh thanks again for another insightful blog post! I admit that I haven’t thought about pitching before because I am just a hobbyist blogger, but I would love to work with Boohoo or missguided one day!

  11. YESS – It really is up and down, some months are amazing in terms of interaction & stats and some not so much, a massive rollercoaster at times. I’ve been cleaning up a few of my old posts and wow that takes so long to do but also so worth it!

    Personally I haven’t approached brands myself – usually some just find their way into my inbox haha – I think I’d be too scared to be the one to initiate the conversation!

    I love love brainstorming blog content but I have to say the best ideas come when I’m not focused on thinking on an idea if that makes sense!

    Great tips!

  12. The last few months have been the best for my blog numbers wise, however I haven’t spent nearly as much time writing as I want to. So my focus for the next few months is to get back in the groove of writing more!

  13. I don’t earn from my blog yet but I think these tips are great for any of us, especially if we find ourselves with a few minutes to spare… rare I know as a blogger but we can certainly learn a lot from this.

    Thanks for sharing 😊

  14. Great post Jenny. I thought these tips were really great. I’m still nervous about creating a media kit though eek. Idk if my stats are up there yet. But you gave me some things to think about

  15. These are great ideas. I really like to take the quiet times during blogging to revisit older content and spruce it up. I also like to redo images to give some new stuff for Pinterest.

  16. I love this!! I definitely get really disheartened when everything goes quiet, but I never really know what to do about it. Definitely now clicking through to your spring cleaning your blog, I feel like I need to do something with some of my older stuff since upping my game last year. Another great post.

  17. These are such great ideas to help. I need to actually develop a media kit. This year was the year I started pitching to brands, stationery week was amazing and it actually pushed me outside my comfort zone to approach brands and it went really well. I definitely want to do a spring clean on my blog. I will definitely keep these ideas in my mind for my blog when I am struggling. Thank you for sharing your advice and tips Jenny! Xx

  18. Great post, I can imagine this will definitely help a lot of people because as you’ve said – there are the quiet moments which I can guess can be quite sad but it’s definitely good to make the most of that time because you may not have the opportunity when you are really busy! I’d love to work with brands and such in the future so I’ll make sure to keep these tips in mind if I’m in this position!

    Amy,
    https://creativenails.uk

  19. I never even considered these things during quiet patches, I usually hope for the best with promotion, but I’ve noticed lately blogging Twitter is a bit quieter than usual. Thank you for this post, it’s so helpful!

    Ash | thisdreamsalive.wordpress.com

  20. These are great ideas Jenny, being a blogger there is always something to keep us occupied isn’t there! 🙂 It’s nice to have quieter times to have a chance to reflect and plan ahead. Setting goals and pitching to brands are both fab ideas to give motivation and direction. Like you say, things always turn around.. and before we know it we are busy again! Thanks for the inspiration, fab post as always! <3 xxx

    Bexa | http://www.hellobexa.com

  21. I actually breathe a sigh of relief when my inbox is quiet, it takes the pressure of – at least for me. I just enjoy the lull and I do take the time to do things like updating my media kit, do some boring maintenance stuff. 😀

    Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip || Latest Post

  22. Yas to this blog post! (I’ve actually booked marked it now) because my blog inbox is very very empty and is filled with tumble weed. I’m hoping once my final university assignment is handed in that I can do this and really start investing back into my blog! I’m so nervous about pitching though because I’ve never actually done it before. Do you have a blog post or something advice surrounding pitching and approaching brands for a newbie?

  23. I have little time to devote to my blog at the moment as I am working on beta edits of book two. Plus working long hours and hoping to submit to SCBWI undiscovered voices competition.

    Great tips though Jenny. 🙂

  24. I needed to hear this as we go into this next week. I know that it will be quieter because last week was an anomaly. I need to remind myself that these surges happen, as do these ‘tumbleweed’ moments.

    I’m nervous about approaching brands. I have a gifted opportunity coming up, so I suppose after that is completed I will have more confidence to approach brands that I love.

    Finally, I’m all or spring cleaning your blog/pins!

    – Nyxie

  25. As a book blogger my inbox is always dead ha. I appreciate it at the moment though as I’ve so many books to get through.

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