Having kept this site loaded with at least some form of update nearly daily, I decided it would be good to post a bit about things you can do to keep your site alive with fresh content.  Writing or producing for the web should be fun.  I’m not saying you’ll never have your off days or times when other priorities in your life might keep you from the keyboard, quite the contrary. There are plenty of caveats to producing something new.  You might find yourself stuck in a rut with bloggers-block or have too many other demands on your time to focus on producing new content.  Whatever your current vice is, here are 5 tips I put together to help you keep your head up and keep creating.

Write When it Feels Right

If your website focuses predominantly on blogging, don’t feel forced to write at the same time every day. While it’s certainly helpful to establish boundaries and work around a schedule, it doesn’t have to be so rigid that it begins to feel like a job, even if you are profiting from your work. Maintaining your site and producing content should be fun, because if it isn’t, you should take a serious look at why you decided to start doing it in the first place.  If a eureka moment strikes you at 2:30 in the morning (as this post did me) then go ahead and write it, or at least jot down the general idea so you can re-visit it later (preferably after you’ve had some very, very strong coffee.) As a general strategy, I’ll write multiple posts a day and save them in draft form to be published later.  Not only does this give me a little bit of margin if I know I’ve got a busy schedule in the coming days, but it’s also refreshing in its own right as I usually end up with a variety of subject matter.

Explore Different Types of Updates

Continuing with what I’ve said about bloggers-block, sometimes it helpes to work with different types of posts.  Not every article you write has to be a review or editorial.  There are many dozens of types of posts such as:

• Interviews
• VS pieces, i.e. Xbox Live vs. PlayStation Network
• Rants (though, Dennis Miller has largely perfected these)
• Research
• Ask the Reader

If all else fails and you’ve exhausted every conceivable type of post, call in a guest post!  Aside from giving you a break, it also has the advantage of mixing things up a bit for your readers.  Not to mention, this type of post can be mutually beneficial in driving traffic from your site to your guests and vice versa.

Make it a Daily Goal to Produce Something

Even if you’re only re-posting an interesting story from another site with a few sentences on how you feel about it, that’s still better than nothing at all.  Even if you positively don’t feel like it, take 5 minutes out of your day to put something out there.  Granted, there are plenty of successful sites out there which post a few times a week while others let months go by without posting something new, loyal visitors tend to appreciate a site more when there’s consistency to updates.  This will also give you a feeling of accomplishment and even if you’re starting on your first website, making this a habit will pay off in the long run if you stick with it.

Stay Passionate

The natural voice you develop through your writing, podcasts, or videos will show if you’ve got a deep appreciation for the information you cover.  As with anything, resounding passion in what you do will determine the success you’ll enjoy.  Don’t get too caught up in producing content solely because it appeals to the people you’re trying to reach.  Producing content that you personally enjoy will make for a far more interesting experience than just pumping something out because you can and your visitors will appreciate this.

Don’t be Afraid to Experiment

Not like in college, you pervert.  What I mean to say is that just because you’ve gotten used to only blogging or only producing podcasts, doesn’t mean you should hesitate to try something new once in a while.  Draw a comic, record a YouTube video, write an application to give away.  Oftentimes publishing on the web is a trial-and-error endeavor where you don’t really know what works until you give it a shot. Take a chance and see how your readers respond.  Even if it’s not their cup of tea, in time you might find an entirely new creative outlet and provide something incredibly valuable to your visitors.

These are just a few steps you can take but there are plenty of other resources online to help you stay motivated.  One of my personal favorites is ZenHabits.net. In the end, as long as you’re having fun with what you do and you’re focused on your passion(s), you should be just fine.  What tricks do you use to keep your site updates consistent?

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