Once you’ve started a blog, how do you keep it going? What can get in the way of posting regularly? The majority of the survey respondents (59%) admitted they didn’t update their translation and/or interpreting blogs at least once every six weeks. In this fourth and final part of the results, we’ll gain some insights into why some bloggers find it hard to publish posts frequently.

The most obvious and most frequent explanation for not writing more often was time constraints.

Because I’m busy with work, and I tend to spend at least a day on any blog post. I like to ensure everything is edited to perfection, covering an issue from multiple sides in a clear way. That takes time.

I closed my blog since I had no time to update it regularly – I am updating my Facebook page daily though and I write articles on LinkedIn.

I’ve not blogged or participated regularly on social media, in a long time. Overdose. Time consuming. What “free” or “available” time invested in other professional or personal activities – time always being an oh so precious commodity…

It seemed like a good idea to write a blog but I don’t schedule in the time to do it regularly. I should… and I still have a few ideas running around my head which I will eventually get out there!

I deleted it already because I wanted to do too difficult posts and was too time consuming.

But perhaps not having enough time is just an excuse for what one respondent confessed:

Laziness, mostly.

A second popular reason was feeling that everything has already been said, or that they no longer have anything to say, making blogging about translation and interpreting a rather pointless exercise.

I started writing a blog but I quickly realised that everything I could write about had already been done, usually by more experienced/better translators, and I wasn’t adding anything to the discussion. I stopped after my second post and deleted my blog for this reason, but I have contributed guest blogs.

I got burnt out from blogging in the last couple of years and felt that I didn’t have anything interesting to say.

 Blogged for five years but have run out of steam. Focusing more on actual translation work. Also very little to discuss that is new.

Some are not sure that blogging is worth the effort in terms of seeing a return on the investment of the time it takes to write a post.

Uncertainty about usefulness vs effort.

And for one respondent, the reason for not updating their blog regularly was all three.

First of all, time is too short, secondly, I’m not sure how it will help my business (‘preaching to the choir’), and thirdly, it’s rare I come up with a topic that hasn’t already been done (to death, in many cases).

Other bloggers write sporadically because they only post something when inspiration hits or they really want to say their piece about a particular topic.

I only post when I have something that I feel is worth writing about. The last entry is about 14-15 months old, but don’t give up on me yet. […] I have other writing projects unrelated to translation and blogging, so perhaps that sometimes crowds out potential blogging ideas, but in my mind I still like to keep the option of writing more blog posts open.

My life runs on interests other than blogging. I love writing for my blog (focused on clients, not translators), but working on my PhD studies/thesis and on some projects leaves me with little energy to update my blog. I just write a posting when I am ready to do it, not when others consider it regular or occasional posting.

I only update when I have something truly unique to add to the giant wall of text that is the internet.

Mainly because my inspiration was usually a discussion elsewhere, and such discussions now occur less often. And the novelty wore off 🙂

If attracting readers is not the incentive for blogging, then there’s no need for regular updates.

 I never seem to get round to it. My latest blog was simply to show my writing style to potential clients so I didn’t have any ambitions for it.

One newcomer to the profession has decided to learn more before writing about their experience.

I’ve been specializing as a translator and started wondering whether I really had something to say as a beginner. So, for now, I’m mostly reading and learning in order to prepare more meaningful content for my blog.

A few respondents mentioned that events in their personal lives have prevented them from blogging. These included their own or a family member’s illness and disagreements with colleagues. On that note, I found it sad to read the following:

I try to update my blog once a month, but I have recently felt disheartened and have a fear of being ripped to shreds by certain other translators, which puts me off from finishing some posts. 

I think the results of this survey have shown that blogging about translation and interpreting, whether for colleagues or clients, can still be a worthwhile activity in certain circumstances. Bloggers also have many reasons for continuing to write ranging from highly personal to purely business. As I said in part 1, blogging is certainly not dead yet. But as the novelty of blogs has worn off and readers have other social media outlets to fill their time, they have become more selective about what they read. Since readers are no longer tolerant of the same subjects rehashed for the umpteenth time, bloggers need to think of new ideas to attract their attention and perhaps accept that readership figures will drop.

And although I was flattered to read that some respondents only follow my blog and no others, I’ll leave you with this final quote to encourage you to dip into some of the many other blogs out there (you’ll find a long list in my blogroll).

Each blogger provides readers with a unique perspective, so it’s key to vary the blogs I read.

Explore this blog by starting with the categories page., which includes a section on all the surveys I’ve run.