Hello friends and happy Friday! I have another lovely friend to share for you from my Blogging 101 series! I sent a long list of questions out to some bloggers I admire in hopes of getting some good discussions and information going. I have not been disappointed so far!
For more from my Blogging 101 Series:
Heather is a super passionate blogger who makes me laugh and drool over her food every time I visit her lovely space on the internet. I’m so happy I’ve gotten to hang out with her a couple of times! Enjoy her lovely post!
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How long have you been blogging? Did you have any blogs before your current one?
I’ve been blogging for almost three years now (November 2010). Oh wow, it really doesn’t feel like it’s been that long…time sure does fly when you’re waxing poetic about the last sandwich you ate! 😉 I never had any blogs before…heck, I didn’t even know what a blog WAS until about 3 months before I started my own! All I know is that I was Googling a recipe for muffins one day and BAM I was smack dab in the middle of blogworld and my mind was totally blown!
What do you blog about? How did you find your “niche”?
When I first started blogging, it was mainly a place for me to share my daily eats, recipes, and horrible photography. I pretty much always kept things light-hearted because a.) I figured no one would want to read a Debbie Downer sort of blog (sorry to all the Debbie’s out there…it could be worse, your name could be Richard! ;)) and b.) I’ve always loved making people laugh. But as time went by, I grew, both personally and within the blog, and my topics (and my level of seriousness) changed. I got to a point where I was more comfortable with myself and with the blog and started feeling the need to share more. Since I “came out” in March about my problem with calorie counting, I’ve started sharing a lot more of my personal thoughts, but since I’m never afraid to laugh at myself, the jokes are still there too. I understand the idea of labeling bloggers because I know it helps readers match up with writers they can relate to, but honestly, I feel that we are forever growing and changing in our lives and it’s hard not to have that reflect in our writing. When it comes down to it, I think your “niche” should just be YOU…
As for me, I’m just a food-loving, nail-painting, furball-adopting, baby muscle-building, sometimes a little crazy (in the funny AND in the serious way) 20-something! 😉Where do you go for inspiration? Do you blog when inspired or do you blog daily?
I get a LOT of inspiration from other bloggers, sometimes from Instagram (since I’m pretty much addicted), and just from daily life. Whether it be a recipe I thought up while perusing the tents at the farmers’ market or just some thoughts I have on my mind, I feel that there is almost always something to say. For the first year, I blogged every day, but that was really hard to keep up and before long, I started feeling obligated to post. Now, I usually blog at least 4-5 days a week, but I try not to confine myself to a blogging schedule as that just creates excess stress. I think blogging should be fun and uplift you…you should never blog just because you feel you “have” to.
How do you balance your blog and your life? Do you feel like blogging/networking gets in the way of other things you want to do?
Ha! I actually picked to answer this question because I have absolutely now idea HOW I balance things! I know it may seem like everyone has everything together at all times, but let me just say that I for one do not! I work full time…and night shift at that! So when I’m not trying (key word: “trying”) to sleep, take care of my REAL obligations, and have some semblance of a life, THAT is when I blog! I used to try to do more in the way of networking/promoting my blog, but honestly, that’s not why I started KMB. I don’t really care about all that. I mean I do…but I don’t. I enjoy blogging and I enjoy the connections that I’ve made and if I can make a little money or get some free product out of it every now and then, well…that’s just a bonus. I used to think it would be SO much easier to not have to work and just be able to sit at home all day blogging and keeping up on social media…then I tore my meniscus and had to have knee surgery. I was out of work AND on crutches for TWO MONTHS! Be careful what you wish for people!
What blogging platform (WordPress, Blogger, Self-hosted) do you use and why? Have you changed from one to the other? What was your experience with the change?
When I first started out, I went with a free WordPress.com platform. I blogged on that for almost a year before I made the switch to self-hosting with Helpful Hosting. I chose to move my blog because I wanted a bit more options in the way of customization. There are SEVERAL plugins you can add to your blog when you are outside the constraints of the free account that will improve your site, help with navigation, AND with communication. My favorite of these is the “Comment Reply” plugin…that would be the magic button that sends each commenter a handy dandy little email whenever I respond to them. Best invention EVER! 😉
How do you select the companies you work with?
So yeah, it’s always cool to get free stuff, right? 😉 When deciding whether or not to work with a company that has contacted me, I do a little research first. I like to know that the company has good standards, quality ingredients, and of course a product that I think I will enjoy. Also, since I’ve gotten this question a lot over the years, I want to include that you don’t have to WAIT to be contacted by someone! If there is something out there that you love or that you REALLY want to try and then share with your readers, just go to the companies website and email them! Some key points: Be sure to introduce yourself as a blogger, tell them a little about yourself and why you would like to try their product (now would be a good time to stroke their egos a bit too! ;)), and then simply ask if they would be willing to let you try some product in exchange for a review! It’s that easy!
Would you chose a sponsored post over a giveaway and why?
I LOVE being able to review a product and then give my readers a chance to try it too, but if it came down to choosing between a sponsored post (get free product and make money) and a giveaway (get free product, go through all the tiring steps of hosting a giveaway and NOT make money), which do you think I would choose? 😉
Is there a number or limit of sponsored/giveaway posts you will do each week/month?
So as not to sound like the latest commercial for product “X”, I try to keep the sponsored/giveaway posts down to no more than two a month.
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Do you blog? Pick one of the questions above and answer it in the comments!
If you don’t blog, what is one piece of advice you would give to bloggers as a reader?
Great post Heather! As always you crack me up. Your name could be Richard. Haha. I agree with a lot of what you said. Especially not limiting your niche or feeling like you HAVE to blog all the time!
Oh my gosh Heather cracks me up!! And I have to remind myself about the whole not blogging all the time and actually blogging about what I want and not limiting myself to my “niche.” 🙂
Awesome post! I love the questions that you asked Amanda. Heather is so amazing and it’s cool to hear some of the behind-the-scenes thoughts on blogging 🙂
I’m so excited she agreed to answer all of those questions!! Love her!!
Love the post! I think as bloggers we often feel the same about no one actually reading, and wonder what our image will be of others. I know I worry that people will just see me as an elite runner, rather than a nice person. Hopefully my blog is able to show that through my posts! Love these questions 🙂 Interesting read!
You have to go to a blogger meet up or something! Blend Retreat is coming up!! 😉