One of the biggest challenges your blog faces is staying active. When creating a blog is so easy to do that everyone and their grandma has one, what leaves many blogs abandoned by their owners is the pressure of constant updating.

Let’s face it – blogging takes some work. It’s sort of like having a pet – it needs to be fed and loved, or chances are you won’t have a pet for very long.

So what can you do to keep your blog from becoming yet another black hole in cyberspace? Here are some suggestions.

1. Make blogging a habit.
If you find it hard making time for blogging, write it into your schedule. Let’s say Tuesday mornings are usually slow at work – take this time every week to write a blog post. This way, you have the rest of the week to come up with a subject, and your readers know when they have something new to look forward to.

2. Update regularly.
You don’t have to write every day, but if you blog less often than once a week, chances are your readers will go elsewhere.

3. Read other blogs.
Are you having a hard time coming up with subjects for blog posts? Read other blogs in your field and join in on the discussion. Whether you agree or disagree with other blog writers’ posts – write responses in your own blog.

4. Have a couple of posts ready before your blog goes live.
If you are one of those people that don’t perform well under pressure, this takes away some of the initial stress about blogging. Writing a few posts that don’t get immediately published is a good way to find your writing style and pace. It also gives you something to show your readers right away, once you decide to announce the blog to the world.

5. Invest in your blog.
If you use one of the many free blogging platforms out there, chances are no one will get hurt if you suddenly get lazy and stop blogging. But with a self-hosted blog where you pay for hosting, you actually have something to lose by not blogging. Paying a small fee for having your blog up and running – usually no more than $10/month – is more likely to keep you on top of your blogging.