It wouldn’t be a New Year without the annual Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by GoPetFriendly.com!
It gives pet bloggers a chance to look back on what we’ve done and look ahead at what we would like to do.
For those who may be visiting your blog for the first time, how long have you been blogging and what is your main topic?
2017 was my 10th blogiversary! I started my blog in 2007 as a place to do pet product reviews. It’s evolved a bit over the years and now I include featured products and gift guides.
What was your proudest blogging moment of 2017?
All of it because I actually blogged.
Which of your blog posts was your favorite this year and why?
I think this one was one of my favorite- Interactive Cat Toys – Not Your Grandma’s Cat’s Toys. I like it because it’s one of the few times this years I was able to include some educational information. And I also like it because it features my kittens. The images aren’t the greatest (you ever try to take a photo of a kitten playing with a toy? One word- blur.), but I think I’m getting better at taking photos.
In terms of your blog, how do you measure success?
I think I look at a lot of the same things others look at- traffic, time on page, bounce rate, but I also look at the fact that even with a lot of inconsistency, I’m still blogging on it after 10 years.
In what ways has your blog changed during 2017?
Physically it hasn’t. But I did decide that I would do less product reviews and more featured product posts in 2017. I will still do reviews, but it will be on products I can do an in depth review on and that generally I’ll purchase myself. The featured product posts will give me a chance to introduce new and interesting products for pet parents.
What was the biggest blogging challenge you overcame in 2017, and what did you learn that could help other bloggers?
One of the biggest blogging challenges I (always) have is actually blogging. After being at work all day and coming home to care for my crew, it was hard to get into blogging mode. In 2017, I found an accountability partner in Kimberly from City Dog Expert. We talk at least once a week setting our goals for the week, giving each other ideas and advice. Knowing that I’m going to be talking to my accountability partner has kept me moving forward this past year. I might be working to finish some goals up the night before we talk, but being accountable has been a big help.
My challenge wasn’t just due to not a lot of free time, but also trying to transition from being immersed in medical terminology all day to writing for pet parents. When I did sit down to it was frustrating because the words just wouldn’t flow. At a local conference, I mentioned this to a speaker this during one of our roundtable session. After assuring that I had a writing voice that was set, he suggested reading an author’s whose writing style I liked to help me get in a good frame of mind. I started doing to lately and it seems to be helping.
When things get hard, what keeps you blogging?
My blogging has been inconsistent over the entire 10 years I’ve been doing. I would often not post for months at a time. While there have been times I’ve wondered what life would be like if I didn’t have to deal with everything you need to do as a blogger these days(Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. It’s hard to believe there was a time when all blogging consisted of was posting and commenting.), I still keep blogging. I think the thing that keeps me going is I can see the potential it has to become something if I can just apply myself.
Looking forward to 2018, what are you hoping to accomplish on your blog this year?
Keep blogging on a regular basis and finish up some of those blog tasks I always plan to do but never get to. To help with those, I started a Facebook group, Better Our Blogs where a task is posted each week for us to work on. Feel free to join us!
In addition to what you’d like to accomplish, is there one specific skill you’d like to improve or master this year?
SEO, again. It’s always something I want to improve. I’d also like to get better at making Pinterest images.
Now it’s your turn! You have the attention of the pet blogging community – is there a question you’d like answered, or an aspect of your blog that you’d like input on? Share it here, and we’ll answer you in the comments!
I’d like to get some systems in place to make my blogging less cumbersome. What are some practices you have put in place to help streamline your blogging?
Visit some of the other bloggers in the pet blogosphere and see what they are up to!
Congratulations on your 10 year blogiversary! Almost all the challenges you mention I’ve been experiencing as well. Unfortunately, I don’t have great answers to your questions. Over the years I’ve had difficulty with consistency in blogging. I do not have systems in place and I think that’s a big reason why I’m inconsistent. You mentioned a time when you didn’t have to deal with Pinterest, Instagram, etc, but do you remember Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorat? Just quick trip down memory lane 🙂 Anyhow this year I plan on putting a full effort into my blogging so I’m hoping to have answers to all your questions by the next PBC. All the best to you in 2018!
Another thing I just recalled that you probably remember was the importance of getting listed in the two major directories managed by actual humans: DMOZ.org and the YAHOO directory. They shutdown the YAHOO directory in 2014 and DMOZ got shutdown last year.
I was in them. Honestly, haven’t thought about them in a long time. That was one thing I would do though is search for directories to be listed in.
Directories were very big back then, but a few years later Google started penalizing everyone for having too many directory listings. I submitted my blog to DMOZ, but never heard back and at the time I was looking into it YAHOO was an annual fee of $300 which I could not justify paying. I did get my work website listed in both DMOZ and YAHOO.
Thanks Colby!
It’s hard when you want to accomplish something, but it’s such a struggle. I’ll be waiting to hear what helps with your blogging and hopefully have some in place of my own.
I know Digg and Del.icio.us, though I never did anything with them. I remember people being so proud of getting to the fron page of Digg. I guess that was the equivalent of going viral on Facebook. And I had my Technorati account with blog badge proudly displayed!
Ah, the good old days.
Congrats on the 10 year anniversary! It’s impressive you’ve kept it going that long. I requested to join your FB group, and I definitely recommend Tailwind for scheduling Pinterest pins. It helps stagger pins so you aren’t having to pin at random hours to get seen. Plus, the Tribes are free to use, so other bloggers see your pins and can share it.
Thank you Natasha!
I am in Tailwind and I LOVE it.It has definitely been a help in making being active on Pinterest easier and I feel like it has really helped my site over the past year.
Can’t wait to see you in the group.
Congrats on so many years blogging! That’s a huge accomplishment even if you have taken some breaks here and there.
I also have found accountability partners/groups really helpful. I’m glad to know about your Facebook group and will definitely join.
I’m not the best person when it comes to systems and staying organized. Sometimes I work best when things are a bit disorganized, but I’m trying to change that in 2018.
Wow, 10 years! Hard to believe.
I suspect you have already implemented many of the tools for streamlining blogging tasks. It just takes a freaking long time to do blogging and support it with social media. And it can feel especially tough when you compare yourself to other bloggers with fewer animals, a supportive partner, and the ability to work primarily on their blog.
Another thing I’ve been thinking as I go through the posts in this challenge is the differences between bloggers in their 20s and 30s and bloggers in their 40s and 50s. In internet years, that’s huge.
Many young bloggers work in social media. They grew up with websites and it feels more natural to them. In truth, I love meeting young bloggers because I feel they have a lot to teach me.
On the other hand, I remember all the sites Colby mentioned and get frustrated at how hard it is to keep up with the speed of the web.
Cumbersome? Please explain.
Congrats on 10 years Dawn!! That’s a damn accomplishment!
What is currently helping me is my planner. I can jot down ideas, and when I’m feeling particularly creative, I can hammer out a few posts to save in my draft file. I like to write a post and come back to it before publishing. I also am giving myself permission not to blog (that might not be an option for you.)
Congratulations on blogging for 10 years! I have a similar problem with consistency as I too work full time, ironically as a Nurse Practitioner. I know we are not alone with fried brains at the end of the day. I think the fact that you continue to blog is an accomplishment in and of itself and something to be proud of. Giving ourselves permission to not feel pressure and enjoy what we are doing I think is really important.
I love the idea of a Facebook group for bloggers. One thing I find about blogging is that it can be quite isolating. I don’t mean that I’m not talking to people, it’s just that when I do it’s a lot more cumbersome than on other websites. They’re no instant messaging. You have to go and talk in emails or something “slow” like that. I don’t think I’m really getting to know my followers, as the way I make friends is through instant messaging. I might join you! 🙂