What You Can Expect When You Abandon Your Blog for 3 Months
So, you’re a blogger, but you missed a few posts. Maybe it was your intention to write one in the next day or two but things kept coming up. The next thing you know it’s July, the bowl of nacho cheese dip sitting on top of your computer desk is growing blue fur and the skeletal remains of your dog is standing there looking at you through empty eye-sockets with an empty food dish clamped between its jaws.
Your blog has been abandoned.
Tumbleweeds are blowing across its front page.
What happens now, you wonder. Where did I go wrong?
For me, it all began during the height of my blog’s popularity in November of 2008. I was averaging 1,500 visitors a day; had a Google pagerank of 4; an Alexa rating of 69K and my blog had been featured on CNN.
As far as blogging went, I was on top of the world.
Then I got called up for a dream job: a 12-day movie shoot in Hawaii. It was a very exciting time in my life with everything going perfectly. The scene we did took only 3 days to shoot so we had the remaining 9 days to run loose in paradise. I was having so much fun that I didn’t want to even think about writing a blog post. But, despite not thinking about it, I did manage to squeeze out a couple.
But something happened to me when I got back to California. I suddenly didn’t feel like blogging anymore. I missed Hawaii. I still wrote some posts, but didn’t put the same energy and fun into it that I had in the past.
On March 7th 2009 I posted what would be my last one for over 3 months. During that time I kept telling myself I would put up a new blog post, but I just never did it.
Only a real Sicko would stop posting but still continue to load up Statcounter every day in order to watch the slow, mewling death of their blog, but that’s what I did.
I watched it burn.
Oh, the humanity!
My visitors evaporated to a trickle; Google pagerank fell to 3; Alexa skyrocketed and is still rising–I’m expecting it to get over 300K before it starts to come back down again.
On top of these disappointing stats, I also lost my footing in BlogCatalog‘s Humor Directory. I had one of the highest ranked non-sponsored blogs in the humor section for a solid year–frequently at the very top! A week ago I checked and found Dead Rooster buried on page 6 (on a happy note, though, a quick check this morning revealed it has jumped back onto page 1–probably because I finally updated my blog 
).
Entrecard recently deleted my account with no warning and with it went my over 100K of advertising points. I want to be mad at them, but the fact is, I am to blame. I abandoned my blog. It’s my own fault.
I know that Dead Rooster will recover, mainly due to the friendship and support of my fellow bloggers at BlogCatalog and HumorBloggers.com (many have already visited, left comments and sent emails of encouragement. Thanks guys! You’re the GREATEST!).
Now, where was I…
Photo credit: Chris Todd
Dead Rooster is the online home of 
I sympathize with you. I went from blogging almost daily to a couple times a month. I just didn’t seem to have the time. I only recently have some regular posts since I had a bit of free time and stockpiled some content. However, I still don’t get the slew of comments i once did.
Life happens.
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William McCamment
reply on June 27th, 2009 4:34 am:
Join me in rising from the dead, Jinksy! Arise!
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Welcome back! Looks like this dead rooster is alive after all.
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William McCamment
reply on June 26th, 2009 4:00 pm:
Yes, a marauding dead rooster is once again unleashed upon the earth.
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So, does that mean I can deactivate the tumbleweed-blocker now?
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William McCamment
reply on June 26th, 2009 4:03 pm:
Deactivate at your own risk! You wouldn’t want to get one of those things in your eye…
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i got a terrible snake bite from checking out your blog in Google Reader a few days ago. You may want to to ground maintenance sooner than later.
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William McCamment
reply on June 26th, 2009 5:24 pm:
Oh, great… now I’ve got snakes running around here! LOL (snakes? RUNNING? I am so smart).
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…and now you just expect us all to come running back, just like that?
Okay.
(welcome back…)
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William McCamment
reply on June 27th, 2009 4:39 am:
Haha! Thanks, Doug!
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Someday, I hope to have the numbers you had at your lowest point. I’m a sponsor on humor-blogs who will never make it to page one. My Page Rank of 3 won’t budge.
Maybe the bots abandoned you for a while, but we never did. I look forward to reading your work whenever you want to post it. If you’re not feeling the urge right now, I can wait.
PS–Congrats on the dream job you had. Hawaii sounds great.
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William McCamment
reply on June 27th, 2009 10:57 am:
Thanks Kathcom! I really appreciate the kind words.
Hawaii is such a paradise; I could live there–easy.
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Luckily for you, I was following you on Twitter. Otherwise, I never would have returned. I already had ditched you in my reader. Sad but true….oh, wait, this is about YOU. Hey, welcome back, William! YOU were missed! Can’t YOU feel the love?
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William McCamment
reply on June 27th, 2009 11:00 am:
I know! I really was lucky you were following me — it feels so great to have all these friends out there!
Thanks UFR!
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It’s the perfect time for the rooster to crow. The old hens cackle and the chicks to peep in chorus … blog on, blog on with hope in your heart … lol
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William McCamment
reply on June 27th, 2009 4:50 pm:
Thanks again TT!
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So he’s Not Necessarily Dead Rooster Just A Bit Stunned?
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William McCamment
reply on June 29th, 2009 7:33 pm:
Partially decomposed?
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Sonuvabitch..so you aren’t DEAD after all.
Welcome back Willie!
p.s. if you are that ashamed of Ferraris and/or tumbleweeds I’d gladly take either one or both off your hands. =)
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William McCamment
reply on June 30th, 2009 9:33 pm:
Static! My old chum!
A Ferrari packed with tumbleweeds is on it’s way to your door!
Good to see you man!
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Static
reply on July 2nd, 2009 11:23 am:
Hey good to see you too!
Wait..you can see me? OMG I knew I was being watched!!!
**smashes webcam, stumbles and crashes out front door**
AHHHHHH!!!!!!!
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Static
reply on July 2nd, 2009 11:25 am:
p.s. thanks for the Ferrariweed.
Static
reply on July 2nd, 2009 11:26 am:
p.s.s. just let me know which poses I’ve done to earn the Ferrariweed could also earn me a spot on The Soup. kthxbye!
Dead lives!
Welcome back!
My cousin once lamented to me that she was mortified that she had to give up the Lexus and drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee due to hard times. I had a 6-year-old Honda Civic. Want her number?
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William McCamment
reply on July 8th, 2009 1:13 pm:
Thanks Deb!
Actually, I kind of like that Infinity G Hardtop Convertible. I want one of those!
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