When You Don't Know What Direction To Go In With Your Blog

If you’re working hard to build and maintain an online presence through your blog, social media and perhaps your newsletter, I know it gets challenging. But there are a few core things I think we need to believe in, in order to create a purposeful online presence that still delivers impact. One of these is having a clear direction.

But what if you lose your direction?

Let me just say that by direction, I don’t mean your big goals. I don’t mean you have to head in the direction of turning your blog into an income stream, because I seriously don’t believe any blogger should be made to feel like they need to do that. When it comes to your direction, I mean what you blog about and why you blog about it.

The reason for why you’ve chosen the direction you have comes from way more than just reading advice and trying it out. It comes from your own unique purpose, listening to your gut and ultimately understanding your why. Why you started blogging in the first place and why you continue to do so. So when we lose our direction we lose our why.

I lose my direction recently for ABOH, but I found my way back in a stronger and better way. So today, I wanted to share some things you can consider if you’ve lost your own direction and are wondering where to go.

Silence the noise

Spending too much time reading other blog posts not only gives us less time to create our own greatness, but it also affects our mindset. Our decisions are affected by others and we lose purpose for our work, meaning we lose direction. After trying to understand why I became lost in my own online presence, I realised the main reason was because I was listening to too much noise. I was signing up to every newsletter, reading every post under the sun about certain topics, trying out strategies I didn’t 100% believe in, and this all led to me losing my online identity. I was relying so much on other ideas and words to inspire me, that I was actually left feeling deflated and confused.

But once you realise this, it’s a game changer. You don’t have to actually take action when it comes to finding your direction again. It’s all in your mind. Once you realise you’re consuming too much of the noise, you can switch it off. Don’t read posts that don’t inspire you. Don’t read posts that don’t get you to think creatively. You don’t want to be told the answer – you want to figure it out for yourself.

The main core of ABOH is to inspire. So now, I only consume what inspires me. Continue to read what you love and implement what you believe in. Other bloggers can be great inspirations for creating your own ideas. But too much of it and the spell becomes muddled. You end up with a presence that isn’t you, which means your community is affected too. When you silence the noise and focus on you, you might find that’s just what you need to get back on track.

Get rid of the idea that you should be doing certain things

A lot of people believe there is a perceived idea of what they think they should be doing for their online presence. I hear people say, well I know I have to do this, this and this to get to X.” But actually, you don’t have to feel that way. You know why you feel like this? Because there are so many people online making you think this way.

Let’s use an example. So many people have blogged about the best times to post to social media. Infographics have been created and studies have been carried out, all coming to the same conclusion. But why should you be made to feel like you have to post to Twitter at certain times, when you can create a posting schedule completely unique to you?

This example breaks away from the idea that there are “rules” in blogging. When actually if you get rid of the idea that you need to be doing certain things, you end up setting your own rules that no one else can follow. Creating your own rules means you’re creating your own direction.

Identify and move towards your own goals

Six figure businesses, the four hour work week, do what you love and love what you do – it’s all getting a bit tired now, don’t you agree? If you listen to all the noise and follow certain rules, then you may as well be chasing the same goals as other people. But what if one of those is reaching 1000 Twitter followers and you know realistically, it’s not an achievable goal yet? I’ve been talking to a lot of friends in my community and lately I’ve realised that we’re all chasing different goals and aspects of fulfillment.

If you want to get to 10,000 blog followers, go for it. But don’t undermine yourself if you’re nowhere near that. Your goal might be to inspire people – so how many of your 10,000 followers do you think you’d inspire? I’ve always believed having a smaller, more loyal community always beats having a big one that doesn’t listen to you.

Pushing through to reach your own goals means you’re being true to you and your direction. Don’t make yourself fit around all the general advice out there if it doesn’t fit with you. That won’t help you reach your goals. Following your own path will.

A Final Note…

Give yourself permission to get rid of the general ideas out in the blogosphere, silence the noise and be true to your why. Get back on your unique direction and don’t let the pressure of others change your mindset. Set your own rules and make your own path. Who is there to stop you? Who’s there to tell you otherwise? Who’s there to tick a box? There’s just you. So if you’re following your own direction, then you’re giving yourself the power to be more. Remember that your blog is your own – nobody can ever change that.

Have you ever felt lost with the direction of your blog? What do you do to get back on track?