Staying motivated in a saturated industry
sneak peak: in an increasingly over-saturated industry, staying motivated can prove tricky; here are my thoughts on what we can do about it
When blogs first started being written, they were few and far between. Also - importantly - they were weird, different, unusual, ~other~. Now, they're popular and pretty standard and just about everyone either writes or has written one or at least knows a whole lot of people who do. (If you're reading this, hello, I can be someone you know who does.)
I think that's great, and I'm all for people writing and sharing and generally having a creative outlet. I even wrote a post on how to start a blog, so if you're considering it, have a read!
The saturation of the industry or the blogging world or whatever you want to call it is undoubtedly a positive. It's a sign that people have three things: something to share, a desire to share it, and time and means to fulfil the desire to share it.
What's not so great is the effect of that saturation. This boils down to the original motivation for sharing online in the first place, whether that's on a blog or through video or on a social media platform. It's very easy to feel frustrated by the saturation and the sheer number of fellow creators all trying to do something very similar to you.
For this reason, there are squillions and zillions of abandoned blogs floating around on the internet because their authors got fed up of trying and trying and not being one of the lucky few to make it big. The solution? Remember why you started.
Motivation, motivation, wherefore art thou motivation?
(I know wherefore actually means why, just let me have this please)
When you begin to stagnate, it's because you're not getting the same joy you once did from creating. Maybe you did manage to make it into something bigger, perhaps earning some income from it or turning into a side hustle, but did that bring more pressure? And did that pressure shift the focus from inspired, enthusiastic, constant creating to a slog, something on the to-do list, a daily grind?
It happens all the time: sport is a hobby, then you start to compete and suddenly it's all a bit more stressful; musical instruments are fun, then you start doing exams and it's just another subject at school; a creative outlet is just that, an outlet, then you turn it into your life and you don't really have a creative outlet any more. It's only natural that if you take something you love and turn it into a routine, after a certain period of time, it can (not will, can) become less enjoyable.
Oh there you are motivation, how nice to see you again
It's not about stopping or changing what you're doing, it's about changing your approach and remembering why you're doing it. Are you writing a blog because you want brands to send you freebies? Or are you writing it because you love to write and you want, in any form you can, to be a writer?
Putting the emphasis on yourself rather than on everyone around you can and will change your mindset. Who are you creating for? There's only one answer that will really stay the course - yourself. If you're creating for anyone other than yourself, you will eventually get bored. However, prioritise number one, and you can watch how the motivation just keeps going.
I would write this blog even if nobody was reading it, and I know that for a fact because for a very long time that's exactly what I did, keeping it secret and not breathing a word to anyone, hoping that people would just stumble across it. Obviously that's not how it works, and they didn't, but I kept writing anyway. (Although saying that, most of the posts from that time have since been reverted to draft because it was in this blog's less-than-riveting days of moisturiser reviews and the like because that's what I thought blogs were for.)
This isn't so much a one-stop shop for how to un-stagnate in a saturated world; it's more a collection of thoughts on why industry saturation isn't so awful and what we can do as individuals to make it easier for ourselves.
It's also a reminder to myself, as much as anything, that I have my little patch of the internet and if I just want to write then I can just write, because the love of writing was what made me start this and it's what has kept it going for the past six (SIX !!!) years.
Everyone has a different measure of success, and I think that to be doing something however long after you started it and still enjoy it is a pretty good one to go with.
 |
| this guy would probably get pretty motivated pretty quickly if he saw a squirrel |
When blogs first started being written, they were few and far between. Also - importantly - they were weird, different, unusual, ~other~. Now, they're popular and pretty standard and just about everyone either writes or has written one or at least knows a whole lot of people who do. (If you're reading this, hello, I can be someone you know who does.)
I think that's great, and I'm all for people writing and sharing and generally having a creative outlet. I even wrote a post on how to start a blog, so if you're considering it, have a read!
The saturation of the industry or the blogging world or whatever you want to call it is undoubtedly a positive. It's a sign that people have three things: something to share, a desire to share it, and time and means to fulfil the desire to share it.
What's not so great is the effect of that saturation. This boils down to the original motivation for sharing online in the first place, whether that's on a blog or through video or on a social media platform. It's very easy to feel frustrated by the saturation and the sheer number of fellow creators all trying to do something very similar to you.
For this reason, there are squillions and zillions of abandoned blogs floating around on the internet because their authors got fed up of trying and trying and not being one of the lucky few to make it big. The solution? Remember why you started.
Motivation, motivation, wherefore art thou motivation?
(I know wherefore actually means why, just let me have this please)
When you begin to stagnate, it's because you're not getting the same joy you once did from creating. Maybe you did manage to make it into something bigger, perhaps earning some income from it or turning into a side hustle, but did that bring more pressure? And did that pressure shift the focus from inspired, enthusiastic, constant creating to a slog, something on the to-do list, a daily grind?
It happens all the time: sport is a hobby, then you start to compete and suddenly it's all a bit more stressful; musical instruments are fun, then you start doing exams and it's just another subject at school; a creative outlet is just that, an outlet, then you turn it into your life and you don't really have a creative outlet any more. It's only natural that if you take something you love and turn it into a routine, after a certain period of time, it can (not will, can) become less enjoyable.
Oh there you are motivation, how nice to see you again
It's not about stopping or changing what you're doing, it's about changing your approach and remembering why you're doing it. Are you writing a blog because you want brands to send you freebies? Or are you writing it because you love to write and you want, in any form you can, to be a writer?
Putting the emphasis on yourself rather than on everyone around you can and will change your mindset. Who are you creating for? There's only one answer that will really stay the course - yourself. If you're creating for anyone other than yourself, you will eventually get bored. However, prioritise number one, and you can watch how the motivation just keeps going.
I would write this blog even if nobody was reading it, and I know that for a fact because for a very long time that's exactly what I did, keeping it secret and not breathing a word to anyone, hoping that people would just stumble across it. Obviously that's not how it works, and they didn't, but I kept writing anyway. (Although saying that, most of the posts from that time have since been reverted to draft because it was in this blog's less-than-riveting days of moisturiser reviews and the like because that's what I thought blogs were for.)
This isn't so much a one-stop shop for how to un-stagnate in a saturated world; it's more a collection of thoughts on why industry saturation isn't so awful and what we can do as individuals to make it easier for ourselves.
It's also a reminder to myself, as much as anything, that I have my little patch of the internet and if I just want to write then I can just write, because the love of writing was what made me start this and it's what has kept it going for the past six (SIX !!!) years.
Everyone has a different measure of success, and I think that to be doing something however long after you started it and still enjoy it is a pretty good one to go with.
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