Hiatus Vs. Selling Your Blog
I know that I have been on hiatus for quite a while now but it seems like this hiatus seems to have struck quite a few bloggers who are not being able to post as often as they used to. As the blogging niche gets more and more saturated, it seems that some bloggers are not seeing a benefit (money-wise) to stay in the business. Some bloggers are selling out and jumping ship and others like me are still hanging in there. I have made a promise to myself to keep this blog alive, and that, I will do. I see a benefit in posting on the blog and I have now set a goal for myself to blog every day after my first class, so hopefully I am able to meet that goal.
I love my blog, and it feels like a family member to me because when I don’t write on it for a few days, I have a guilty feeling. I feel as though I have ignored it for a while and that I need to get back and so I’ve made a promise not to have that guilty feeling anymore and thats why I’ll be writing on it as much as I can. Lately I’ve thought about all the benefits of going on a hiatus rather than selling the blog. No, I’m not talking about selling my blog but about the blogosphere in general. As to why people should rather keep their blog instead of selling it.
1) Readers Will Return – Most people feel that when they stay away from their blog for a while that their readers have moved on and will never return. I for one, can tell you that this isn’t true. There have been two occasions where I had completely stopped blogging and my readers always returned. Your readers are loyal and if they like your content, then they will return. I know for certain that if some of my favorite bloggers go on vacation for even a month or two, that when they come back, I will definitely return to read once I know that they are back. There was a 3 month period last year where I only blogged 3-4 times a month and my readers were always there to support me and I cannot thank them enough but the truth is that they will definitely return when you decide to come back from your hiatus.
2) Its Not Coming Back – Once you sell your blog, its not ever coming back. Yes, you can find a new blog and build it back up from scratch but its not the same thing. You have a personal connection with your blog and its not as easy to just sell it and start all over. This is my first blog and selling it and starting another blog is not the route I would want to take. Its sort of like your first car. Once you sell your car, you still always think about it or talk about it. The way I see it, is that starting a new blog will take lots of time and effort and you will have identity issues because people will still associate you (for a while atleast) with the older blog and not the new one so aside from the time input, you will also have a harder time developing the new blog into something to remember.
3) Satisfaction > Money – This is a simple math equation. I believe that the satisfaction that comes from keeping my blog is much greater than the money that will come when someone sells their blog. Its a confusing concept to explain but think of it this way. When someone makes you an offer on your blog, you might think about the money and not about the blog but once you have sold your blog, you will want to visit the URL and check up on it because now you realize what you missed out on for a little bit of money. I think the personal satisfaction you get from your blog is far greater than what you think it is, until you decide to sell the blog entirely.
So, I really hope you enjoyed this post and I’d love to hear your thoughts about this. Once again, sorry for the hiatus but I will strive to post as much as I can. Thanks again for reading and have a great rest of the week!
Glad to see you’re not selling your blog. I’ll be looking forward to your daily posts. I think it’s great to keep blogging if you really enjoy it. You don’t always have to be in it for the money. That is a nice bonus though.
I decided against selling my blog as well.
However, instead I did close it and change the niche to general, which has actually been the best decision I have ever made
I think if you go on Hiatus for a long period of time, you will lose a tremendous amount of your loyal subscribers and it will be very hard to gain them back
When I started blogging, I knew it was going to be huge commitment but it was definitely the right decision.It´s true, readers will return even if you don´t write for a while.A good way is to do a quick post saying when they can expect a new post from you.
I didn’t realise it was such a big commitment and that’s why my blog ended up closing – we all learn from our mistakes
I agree that in most cases, holding on to the blog/site would be the more desirable course of action. It will be fun to get to read your daily musings again and perhaps we can finally get a chance to catch up as it seems we’ve been taking hiatuses at opposite times for the last several months
You’re right. It’s kinda funny I became interested on selling my personal blog… Oh well
I definately think a long hiatus causes the loss of a lot of followers. There are so many blogs in each niche that readers find another outlet. We’re creatures of habit. One the habit of going to a site if gone that blogger has to make a pretty big splash to get readers back.
Maybe you could rent it out or find a blogger to manage it for you while you are a way maybe one of your readers will be interested in writing for you while you are away
That’s what I was thinking. Have you considered outsourcing? That way, the blog stays updated (good for SEO, good for readers) and you can chime us from time to time without the pressure of daily updates.
Personally i think its gr8 2 keep blogging if u really enjoy it… Bcz money is nt only the thng… U r gettng daily readers…even am one of dat…
Kp up d Good Work!!
Satisfaction is definitely worth more than money when it comes to your blog. Personally a couple of my personal blogs are dead, but hey, they were a part of my 2008, so I don’t want to sell them away.
I agree with you that if something we feel personal then we cant sell it for money, for that the thing is more than money.
If you ever plan on continuing you should never sell your blog because than if you ever decide to go back to it all your hard work will be gone and you will have to start over
For me blogging is a passion. If you dont have a heart in writing. One will never see its fruits reap.
Very well written Article Enkay! I agree to the fact that your readers return to your blog, like I did couple of times
I recently came back from a hiatus and from the first moment, some of my readers came back and started commenting again.
I also know that Big Ben Patton came back from his long hiatus and I was one of the many who welcomed him back as soon as he pressed the post button!
I think that for most people the value of their blog is less than the possible future worth of their blog if/when they return to it.
Yeah I highly doubt you should sell your own blog, especially one which you spent so much effort. You just lose your readers’ trust..
It depends. If you feel that you need your blog and your readership, never sell it, but if you believe that you’ve made everything you wanted to make and the “blog” project is comleted, there’s no sense to keep doing things you don’t really want to do, and pretend that the blog is of value for you.