This post has been sitting around in a very raw draft form for a long time now. Every now and then I would come across yet another blogger announcing a blogging hiatus, and I would add them to the draft.
Going back and forth on how exactly to turn this list of goodbyes and explanations into a meaningful blog post, I decided I don’t necessarily have to.
I am going to allow this fascinating list of bloggers who stopped blogging, and their reasons for doing so, speak for itself. Let it be a reminder to everyone – readers and bloggers alike – that blogging, even blogging as a hobby and definitely blogging professionally, is insanely demanding. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because blogging is a very public platform that involves a lot of interaction with other people. Or maybe it’s the 24/7 Internet culture that demands a constant stream of articles, comments, and social media participation.
Whatever the reason, blogging involves a lot of work, and for many bloggers, especially those who write a personal blog, the moment comes when they realize they’re investing a lot but getting very little in return.
It’s also important to realize that quitting blogging, for most bloggers, isn’t such as earth-shattering decision. While the ones left behind are shocked, surprised and at times dismayed, I’m pretty sure most bloggers who quit actually feel great, simply because they have so much more time to devote to other pursuits.
Me? I love blogging. And after several months of struggle, I’m grateful to have finally found a happy medium. In recent months, I have become very focused on advancing my career as a blogger for hire. I love MomGrind and plan to keep blogging here for the long term, but I scaled back quite a bit by posting less, closing comments to some of the posts (which prompted many angry emails, because how DARE I not allow people to speak on MY blog), and commenting less on other blogs.
While this has slowed down traffic around here, I didn’t really have much choice. Slowing down and re prioritizing is one of the best things I have ever done career-wise, second only to my decision to quit working as an attorney and start blogging in the first place, a decision which opened up an amazing new world full of endless possibilities.
The List: Bloggers Who Quit And Their Reasons
Shut Up Sit Down
The writer explains that feminist blogging has been taking an emotional toll on her. “My real life, my mental health and my family have to come first. My partner said to me this evening “If it’s affecting you this badly, why are you doing it?” – and that kind of flicked a switch in my head. I used to do this because it was stimulating, it was thought-provoking, it was enjoyable and it felt like the right thing to be doing. These days it is none of these things, and I have to admit to myself that it is no longer good for me, and to stop doing it.”
Slacker Moms R Us
The short message on the home page says, “Good bye internets. It’s been fun. You can find me at slackermommy of 4 at gmail dot com.”
Space Age Sage
Lori gives several explanations. One of them: “Posting to SpaceAgeSage has not improved my writing. I’ve enjoyed writing more for self expression rather than for the art of writing. It’s time for me to delve more into the artistry of words.” But it looks like Lori is going to return to blogging soon, as she explains in a recent comment on this blog.
Nutrition Fitness Life
The author simply says, “I feel my blog has run its course. (That was difficult to type!) I’ve been feeling this way for the past couple of weeks now and have given serious thought to my next step. I think it’s time for me to hang up my blogging hat.”
Jason Calacanis
“I’m looking for something more acoustic, something more authentic and something more private. Blogging is simply too big, too impersonal, and lacks the intimacy that drew me to it. The “a-list” pressure, the TechMeme leaderboard debates, and constant accusations of link-baiting are now too much of a distraction… the blogosphere is so charged, so polarized, and so filled with haters that it’s simply not worth it. I’d rather watch from the sidelines and be involved in a smaller, more personal, conversation.”
Memarie Lane
The author simply states that “I gave it another shot, but this blog is just not working for me anymore.”
Psych Mamma
“Blogging leads to time taken away from where my priorities are: PsychDaddy and a cute little toddler who just wants me to play with her all the time.” She adds, “Time spent blogging is also time that I feel I should be spending working on something that will earn money” and “I’d love to have more time to work out, to work on my photography skills, to scrapbook, to journal, to read, to cook.”
Going Bananas
“I can’t keep up anymore! With frequent posting on this blog, that is. I have so many ideas and so much inspiration for posts, that for awhile there I just wanted to get them all out asap. The problem is, my life sneaked up and totally got in the way of blogging! My husband, my children, my friends, my house, my little quirky fitness habits, my gardening dream, my urgent need to be outside as much as possible, my piano gigs, my dogs, my LAUNDRY…can you believe the nerve of my life to intrude on my blogging like that!”
Although this was not a formal goodbye post, she stopped blogging shortly after posting it.
Success Soul
Shilpan Patel burst into the self-improvement blogging scene with a great writing style, plenty of ambition and several posts that landed digg’s front page. However, he soon realized he can’t monetize this blogging success and decided to go back to focusing on his business and on his family. The blog is now gone.
Pretty Little Girls
The author, a survivor of an eating disorder, started a blog about women, body image and the media in early 2008. I loved her blog, but one day she simply disappeared. The standard WordPress.com notice on the homepage says, “The authors have deleted this blog. The content is no longer available” and encourages the reader to “create your own free blog.”
Rockstar Mommy
Her home page explained for a while, “A once light-hearted hobby has turned into a chore that sucks up every last ounce of my free (and sometimes not-so-free) time, leaving my family competing with the internet for my attention and me not living REAL life and all the things I’ve always said I wanted to do with it. Some people are able to find the real life/internet balance. I’ve tried many times and have failed each and every one of them. My family is waiting for me and I’m not going to waste away our lives on this machine anymore.” The blog is now gone.
Bloggers Who Took A Short Break Or Slowed Down
SHE-POWER
Kelly, who writes about life and personal development, decided to slow down her posting schedule, explaining that she enjoyed simply being present. “Finally, I lay down on my bed and decided that for one day all I wanted to do was stay still with my life. Not write. Not blog. Not read self-help books. Not analyze. Not give myself pep talks… A week later I couldn’t believe how much better I felt. Content. At peace in my home. Sitting still with my life and liking what I saw.”
Noble Savage
The writer took a short blogging break, explaining “But you know what, Internet? As much as I love you, I love me and my family more. When you suck my energy, attention and time towards you, I (and they) lose. When I spend two hours every day just reading blogs, another hour a day blogging, and the equivalent of another couple hours browsing forums and news sites, it’s no wonder that things sit undone in my life — books unread on the shelves, the house in a thin layer of filth, my hobbies untouched, friends unvisited, exercise abandoned and, worst of all, my children and marriage unappreciated.”
Shades Of Crimson
Life coach Davina says, “After almost nine months of blogging pregnancy, hormone changes, late nights and early mornings, growing pains and stretch marks, I’m about to give birth. To what? To my senses. For me personally, I’ve allowed blogging to take over my life.”
Clark Kent’s Lunchbox
“I determined that my writing efforts needed a bit more focus while other areas, such as, say, daily blog postings and betting on dog races, would have to take a lower priority. Don’t get me wrong, I love this community and meeting great new people. However, there are just so many things you can do in a day, and aside from family, writing for publication has to come first.”
How Did I Get Here?
“I lost my inspiration to write. I wasn’t enthusiastic about penning much of anything, my mind’s eye was focused on the trials of daily life and focused on the mundane but important tasks that get us all through – pay bills, shop for groceries, plan for the next few months, check in with loved ones. I didn’t want to post just for the sake of it… I promised myself when I started writing on a regular basis that I wouldn’t do it if I wasn’t enjoying it. Like I’ve said before, life’s too short to do anything that you don’t enjoy.”
Final Thoughts On Why Bloggers Quit
A Daring Adventure
Life coach Tim Brownson says, in a comment he left on Sean Platt’s Fatherhood blog, “The irony is, although it’s never been easier to set up a blog, offer great content and get readers to a site, it’s never been harder to make money by doing so. The blogging scene is so fragmented and there are so many calls for peoples attention. Lots set off thinking they can be the next Problogger or Zen Habits and 99.999% don’t make it.”
Valerie Morrison
Valerie didn’t quit. She is blogging regularly. But a few months ago she asked the question that many of us have asked ourselves many times: “Regarding your blog, do you have a gauge for calling it quits? Will you not be motivated or excited about blogging? Maybe there’s nothing left for you to blog about or you’re not getting the response you hoped. Maybe someone has trashed your efforts and you wake up one morning and wonder: Why am I doing this again?”
Blogging Without A Blog
Barbara, who blogs about blogging, believes it’s important to say a proper goodbye if and when you decide to quit blogging. I agree.
Exit78
Mike looks at the comment section of an old post from 2007 and finds out that around 50% of the original commenters have stopped blogging.
Green And Clean Mom
The author is urging mommy bloggers not to quit. She says, “Moms need to have a voice. We need each other. [Mommy blogs] inspire me and make me a better mom and person. They also are creating change, making a difference and advocating and this is POWERFUL. Moms, don’t quit, please. If you do one post a week and it is too much do one every two weeks. Find your groove and what will work for you but find that groove, take a break and figure out a new direction for your blog. If you’ve spent time creating a blog it is valuable online property. Would you leave an acre of land in the middle of development?”
Surrender, Dorothy
The writer has been blogging since 2004. She says, “Blogging gets me writing every day, and some days it’s good and some days it’s bad, but at least I’m writing at least five days a week these past four years, and it’s the first time in this writer’s life I’ve had the discipline to do that.” She adds, “The blog is the only part of my life that is all mine, and I can’t imagine giving it up for that reason. I don’t criticize Rockstar Mommy or any of the others for closing up shop, but I don’t understand. Perhaps they have other outlets. Perhaps they don’t itch to write… I’m thankful for the blog because it keeps me writing, and I know I’d have to keep doing it even if nobody dropped by ever. ”
Thomas Baekdal
The writer explains that blogs die because they are ineffective in a blog form and other platforms support their content better. For example, “Personal diaries have moved on to Facebook, which is a much better platform for sharing what your life is about.”
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I'm Vered DeLeeuw, a blogger for hire and a social media consultant. My social media campaigns increase brand awareness and loyalty, improve search engine rankings and drive targeted traffic to my clients' websites. Momgrind is my personal blog.
