It’s happening again. It creeps up on me, usually taking me by surprise, and then it crushes me. The fatigue…the crushing fatigue of the constant “self-promotion” on Social Media that is part of my job…as a blogger.
And I’m just going to be honest. There are times when I am on a high. I feel like I can do it all and it is working. At least something is working. I figure something out and it is bringing in traffic and growing my blog, and I love it! And then, inevitably…Facebook tanks our reach, Google kills Authorship, Pinterest gets a Smart Feed. But it is not even those things. They affect everyone. It is the times you get in a groove and it works for awhile. You are almost coasting…and then it all dies down and you feel like you are back at square one. You have no idea what changed, so you have no idea how to fix it.
And you are tired. You want so badly to give up. You WISH that it wasn’t a necessary part of blogging. And it is. It is a necessary part of any business.
It has happened to me more than once, and so I want to share with you some ways that I get through it. My “Cures” for this malady.
Take a Chill Pill
Medication is that “blessed fog of feeling betterness”…when we feel a little better than we actually are. It helps us get through it.
Your Chill Pill is positive self-talk. Breath. Tell yourself this is normal. It happens to everyone. Tell yourself it is just a phase. Tell yourself it is not the end!
Just calm down and ride it out. Wrap yourself in a nice, warm Sanity Blanket. Convince yourself that it can’t be as bad as you think. In the meantime…
You are not Dying
Are you one of those people who think the worst when you get sick? You are all ready to get to the emergency room…”I’m dying here people!”
Don’t overreact. Especially with social media, you should resist having a knee-jerk reaction. You have to take it slow. If you have to wallow in the problem a few days, do that…just don’t react too fast, thinking it is some kind of emergency. Sometimes it is just a “thing”, and it will pass. You have to wait and see a little bit. Because if you make a big change to try and fix something, it could end up worse than the problem if it wasn’t something you were doing wrong.
Don’t spread your Germs
When we are sick, we need to stay away from people so they don’t get our germs.
Resist the urge to whine and complain about your Social Media problems to your blogger friends, and especially your followers. Weather the storm. Save your comments for a week or so…after you get some perspective. Do ask thoughtful questions to other bloggers about their experience. Use this time to do some research on whether the problem is you or the social media that is giving you issues.
Get some Rest
Rest is the best medicine, right? Sleep is not going to help with Social Media fatigue! But we do need a MENTAL rest from it.
I absolutely recommend giving yourself a true break from Social Media. That might mean a day, or it might mean a week. Your blog will not fail while you take this hiatus. Go one step further and put down your cell for all personal Social Media as well. Do whatever it takes to give yourself a mental break. It will also allow your brain some free time, and you might think of some new ideas!
Work on your Laptop in your Sick Bed
The world doesn’t stop while we are sick and in bed. How many times have you grabbed your laptop to keep up on emails while you were bedridden?
So here’s an idea…completely ignore the frustrating Social Media, and get out the To-Do list. All the other things that “I’ll do this to my blog someday”. Add an Email Popup. Get Monetized. Update old posts. Make better Pins. I KNOW you have a list like that. So use that list to forget the fatigue. Work hard at it and knock out a big project. Then just see if that helps your overall feelings about your blog…and maybe give you renewed strength for Social Media!
“Just get up and get moving.”
Did your mom ever tell you that when you wanted to stay in bed? Well, sometimes she is right. Do something else…besides Social Media!
Work on something that is closest to your passion…why you started blogging in the first place. What is the passion that drives you in blogging? You need to know what that is. For me, it is helping people. And when I am having a hard time dealing with traffic dives or plateaus, I remember my passion and reset myself. I know that when Social Media is getting the best of me, it probably means I need to focus more on my passion.
Any “company” or endeavor usually wants to grow. We “measure” our success by growth. We feel that growth means more income. But the hard fact, the “bitter pill to swallow”, is that pushing growth can sometimes lead to unbecoming, self-promoting behavior. Keeping a balance between growth/income and passion is essential to growing in a healthy, sustainable way.
The problem with passions is that they don’t pay the bills, right? I could help people all the day long and not make a penny for it. And that is hard to balance. But when Social Media is getting me down, it usually means I have let the balance go too far that way, and I need to put more energy into the thing that motivates me even when I don’t make money, and that is my passion of helping people.
Stay Healthy!
Follow my Blogging Tips Boards on Pinterest!
It’s like you are reading my mind. I’m totally burned out on Social Media right now, so I’ve let Facebook and Twitter rest for the week (with the exception of a few posts. Pinterest is going strong thanks to BoardBooster. (I really owe you for that one!!) Thanks for the reminder that it’s OK to take a break sometimes! Time to get out that to-do list!!
I know, you are killing it on Pinterest! And people are repinning your stuff all the time! It is always nice when something is working!
Social Media is exhausting! Especially when you are not seeing the returns that you are hoping for. I know that I need to keep going, to find the magic formula for my sites, but sometimes it is rough. But then, I get a shout out on your blog…it’ll keep me going this week! Thanks.
Social media is a constant thorn in my side. And for the record, I don’t include Pinterest as social media anymore! They are a search engine! Love me some Pinterest!
I find social media very interesting as you get to do new things every single day. You can experiment with social media and get good results. But sometime it is tiring, I agree. You still have to keep going to achieve what you want. Thank you for the great post Jill.
I think for a company the exhaust factor is amplified, because not only are you frustrated because things aren’t working the way you want–you also have to justify to others in your company why social media is a good investment of the company’s time and money.
I like your idea of putting the social media aside and working on that ever-growing to-do list for a bit. It helps restore your confidence and give you something you can show your company while your taking your break from social media.
Thanks for sharing!
That would be a huge bummer to have to quantify Social Media to other people who don’t care!