2020 was a year of ups and downs.
When it started, I was so optimistic.
I was able to work extra overtime at work and was working on my blog(I find winter to be my most productive blogging period.). It was going to be a year when I finally got ahead.
Yeah. 2020 had other ideas.
I am luckier than a lot of people in that I got to stay working at my job. I lost my OT, but my job was safe.
But 2020 still wreaked havoc.
I lost 2 friends and a relative to non-COVID issues. I lost my cat Bitsa, my guinea pigs, Diva and Eurwheeka, my chinchilla, KeeKeeDee, and my dog, Mellie.
I also lost my motivation to blog.
But it’s been coming back. I got a part-time job to help fill in the finances.
And I got Gusto.
He is now a 7-month-old part-color standard poodle. A dog I wanted for years and waited almost 2 years for him to be born once I was ready for another dog. He’s a big goofy, happy, easy-going dog and my hope is to do some different dog sports with him. I’m happy to be thinking about training and being active with my dog friends again.
With 2020 behind us, I can feel the optimism creeping in for 2021. Like a lot of people, I think I’m wary of putting too much faith in it yet. But I also want to be positive and excited for the possibilities 2021 brings us.
Part of looking ahead is looking back. The Pet Bloggers Journey hosted by Puppy in Training gives us a chance to do that by answering some questions that reflect on our year in blogging and look to the year ahead.
My answers are below. You can check in with other pet bloggers by visiting Puppy In Training to see the participants.
When did you begin your blog and what do you currently write about on your blog?
My blog first started out as Pet Product Review in 2007 and became PetFaves in 2011. I write about pet products that may be useful or fun for pets and their people.
Name one thing about your blog, or one blogging goal that you accomplished during 2020, that made you most proud.
My blogging has been on and off through the years and my traffic really showed the effects. My goal this year was to increase my traffic and I did!
I made a point of writing more posts like How to Control Dog Hair in the House that provided helpful information for pet parents that helped. It was also nice to see older posts finally start to rank in search.
Pinterest was a big traffic driver at the beginning of the year, but like a lot of people that traffic dropped off (Did you see the same?). Luckily, search traffic picked up to make up for the loss.
Which of your 2020 posts was most popular with your audience? Why do you think it does so well? My posts tend to take a while to stew before picking up traffic. My top posts for 2020 were older posts:
I do have a few posts I wrote this year that I am hoping to see grow over the next year.
What was the biggest blogging challenge you faced in 2020, and how did you tackle it?
Motivation.
I was so motivated at the beginning of the year. Then COVID and politics pretty much killed it.
And I’ll be honest, I didn’t tackle it. And I don’t feel bad about not tackling it. I spent time working in my garden. Playing in the yard with the dogs. With everything going on, it felt good to do “simple” things.
My motivation is coming back especially after see my traffic grow more at the end of the year.
Tell us one thing you learned in 2020 that can help us all become better bloggers.
I got nothin’.
I did attend a couple of online summits, but there is SO much repeat info out there and everyone seems to be writing about blogging as a business that I think I’ve heard it all.
My advice is to find those that are doing something you’d like to do with your blog, but maybe in another niche and follow them. Learn from them.
What are your top three goals for 2021?
My goals are probably the same as last year-
Continue to increase my traffic (come on baby. Momma wants to get on Mediavine.)
Get more print on demand products uploaded (I do my own designs so this take some time.)
Get my email list going ( I know I really, really, really need to do this. So why is it so hard?)
In the perfect world, where do you see yourself and your blog 1 year from now?
My goal is to make an income from my blog so 1 year from now I’d like to be making a decent side hustle income.
If you had a $1,000 to spend on your blog how would you spend it?
I would LOVE to have someone tweak my blog under the hood to make it faster and more streamlined.
What is one skill you’d like to learn or improve in 2021?
Writing and publishing good posts faster.
I’m always amazed how quickly some bloggers can put out posts while I’m over here… Day 5-still writing, Day 6- add external links, Day 7- images. I do work a full-time job, plus a part-time job, but taking a week plus seems s-o-o-o long for getting a post out.
Any tips to share on how you do it?
If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one challenge you’re having with your blog, what would it be?
I think getting inspiration from other niches is important. What courses, bloggers, or Youtubers that aren’t in the pet niche do you follow to get blogging inspiration?
I think we all feel unmotivated sometimes. I do. Sometimes for weeks, sometimes longer.
To answer your question, I had to really think about this because most of the blogs or channels I follow are in the pet space. But one blog I really like is about running. Here is the site: https://relentlessforwardcommotion.com/
The author does a good job balancing her personal experiences with evergreen topics people will always be searching for. Her posts are entertaining and consistent. I try to create articles that.
Pinterest is having like… a moment. You are not alone in inconsistent traffic this year. I don’t think Pinterest knows what it wants to be or who it wants to serve and not only is its own traffic suffering, as is all of our referral traffic.
As for how to post faster? I use planner pages to map out posts in advance, so when I sit down to write it’s fast and easy. Since it’s analog, I can pull out the book in any free moment and put a minute or two in here and there.
I mentioned this on my blog, I still think of PetFaves.com as your new blog. When you said you changed the domain in 2011 I was floored! I’m a slow writer. My only tip is to get help with parts of writing that are slowing you down. Towards the end of last year and this year I’m working with other writers (friends and family) to try and get more content out on the blog.
I stared following Jennifer Maker Marx several years ago when she had a small crafting blog. She was in a course I was enrolled in at the time and she was posting talking head videos in the private FB group of her blogging journey. A few years later she has a huge crafting blog and sells blogging courses as well. Her blog is jennifermaker.com.
Thanks for participating in the Pet Bloggers Journey again this year. I hope you have a great 2021!
I must say I am very impressed with all you have been able to accomplish on your website. I know this year has been hard for many. For instance, I was frozen in time and fear when the pandemic started. Glued to the news and neglecting my blog. After that passed I was able to get back on track. It actually helped me escape all the politics and chaos going on in our perfect world! I have been struggling this past year trying to monetize my website as well. I do however follow someone out of the pet blogging niche and found them quite inspiring. Alex and Lauren are the co-founders of two six-figure blogs and have been featured on Forbes, Yahoo! Finance, and others. Last year, more than 5 million people read their blogs. They are very transparent and have some great tips to keep you on track. https://createandgo.com/blogging-success-phases/ As a final note: Thank you for sharing your experience and congrats on your new furry loved one! Absolutely adorable! I wish you the best in this coming year! And looking forward to seeing what this new year brings for you!
I’m so sorry to read about your loss. It also seems like you did have some good news with your new pup that came home to you. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m going to read your article on subscription boxes as I’m always on the look out for new ones. .
I enjoyed reading about your journey and your blog. congratulations on Gusto! Great name too for a sweet dog. What jumps out at me is the catchy NAME of your blog…Petfaves. I mean it’s just MADE for product reviews or featured products or something along that line. Its a great name. The question is, is that what you want to do???? If so, that name will be a great bonus. Or are you more leaning in the directions of your designs? Those are important questions to get the answers to in focusing what direction you want to take! I’m sure with your writing skills (I enjoyed this post very much) and those questions answered, you will forge ahead in 2021. Have fun with Gusto!
That’s the best takeaway I have at the moment….
I think all of us struggled in 2020. It was like every day in March, there was one more thing changing. Schools going online, businesses closed, etc. It was hard to stay focused, say anything about spending a lot of time on a blog, which takes mega time. I would say consistency in your schedule will help you turn around posts faster. And there’s no reason to try to get more than one post a week, as a lot of traffic is generated from old posts. Good luck, and hope 2021 is a better year for all of us.
As someone living in New Zealand I have managed to ‘avoid’ a lot of the worst of COVID so far but I have friends worldwide and can empathise with your lack of motivation. The world has been overwhelming HELP!!!
Keep going with the designing and share that stuff on social media. Go for it!!
PS I love Gusto he looks totally the most gorgeous dog ever (only don’t tell my cats I said so!!!)
What a great question. Like you, I really like to gain inspiration from people outside of the pet niche and I follow a lot of people on YouTube just for this case. I won’t share the channels, because I don’t know if you’d like them, but I will share that I began watching videos in niches that I enjoy. For instance, I love makeup so I began following makeup artists. I love Real Housewives, so I began following videos on that topic. And I love movies, so I follow a lot of people in that niche as well.
One main thing I learned is the importance of a detailed blog post. Now I’m going through my old content and rewriting and republishing blog posts at least once a week. It’s been eye opening.
I’m so sorry to hear about all your losses. Losing someone is never good, but that’s a lot for just one year. But you also had a win with your new puppy. He’s beautifu!.
I also saw a decline in Pinterest referrals but it seems to be getting a little better this year. Never lose hope!
I don’t have much time to read other people’s blogs too often but I sometimes watch the Income School guys on Youtube.
Thank you for sharing your journey
Bonnie
Pinterest was one of my biggest traffic sources for my other blog for a few years and suddenly that’s dropping. There’s been a lot of talk about the change in algorithm and how we can shift our efforts to maximize it which I am starting to do now – so, I guess I’ll see in time whether that works or not. That being said, this has pushed me to focus on SEO even more than I have in the past as that is still driving traffic to both my pet and non-pet blogs.
If you’re looking to improve on your Pinterest efforts, I highly recommend Ell Duclos’ course ‘Pinterest with Ell’. Following her recommendations is what built my Pinterest before the big shift. Now, she’s overhauled the course with the new algorithm in mind so I went back through it again (you have lifetime access to all updates) and I’m making changes to follow her new recommendations. I’m really looking forward to see if it’s going to pay off for me the way that her techniques have previously.
You have been blogging a long time and I love following your journey. I used to take forever writing blog posts. The longer ones with more research still take me time, but I now outline, fill out what is required for each section and then go to it. I do all my subheads and get all my links and photos ready. There is a good video from the Income School guys on their Youtube channel for that.
Keep up the great work. I can’t believe you live close by. We need to have the doggos meet up once COVID is gone!