Last week I decided to celebrate my 5 year blogoversary by opening up an Ask Me Anything post and gathering your questions about blogging (and other areas of life). Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment!
Now on with the questions:
Brooke asked:
1- How do you get out of a blogging rut? Great question! I have been there so many times! One suggestion is to read other blogs. Not to copy posts but sometimes they can help get your wheels turning. Another great option is to utilize Pinterest! There are tons of pins that include post ideas! You can take a look at my blogging pin board for ideas! Another great choice is to take the Content Brew class offered by MomComm! During this course pick up so many great tools on planning content and creating a content calendar for months in advance!
2-do you ever get disappointed if a blog doesn’t get as many comments as you feel it deserves? There are definitely days where I get discouraged when traffic is low. Especially when its a post I’ve really put my heart and soul into. I also get discouraged knowing that I’ve put five years into my blog when I see someone who has three times the traffic and they have been blogging four months. The numbers game can steal the joy of blogging if you aren’t careful. I often have to step back and remind myself of the perks of having a smaller blog, like having the opportunity to know a lot of my readers on a personal basis. I also came to the understanding that being a patient blogger, my content is directed towards a certain demographic instead of a “mommy blogger” where her content will be directed to a wider audience.
3-If NCIS never existed, what would your favorite show be? I was a die-hard CSI fan for the first eight seasons but once Grissom left I lost track which also happens to be around the time I noticed NCIS so if Gibbs had not come in the picture, I maybe would have kept up with CSI.
Cheryl asked:
How do you keep on keeping on when it feels like the body’s winning? This is a tough one. I have most definitely struggled with this one both in blogging and in all areas of life. I think what it has come down to is cutting myself some slack and giving myself a little grace. If I am exhausted (either mentally or physically or both) instead of pulling out a half-thought out post because I feel like I have to post, I cut myself some slack and tell myself that skipping posting all together is better than throwing crap up. I’ve also come to the same place at home as well. I would rather skip cleaning for a day if the choice comes down to spending all my energy cleaning and then not spend time with my family or skipping cleaning and use that energy for family time. Does that make sense?
Katie asked:
What do you suggest is the best way to start conversation with someone with a chronic illness? In your comment you stated that “How are you?’ was out as a conversation started but I would have to disagree. I think its a fine way to start a conversation as long as you are will to hear something more than “fine” and are genuinely concerned about his or her response. Its the times that “How are you?” becomes an automated response that it can be a problem. I know that I’ve been asked “How are you?” before and responded “awful” or something similar and gotten the generic “that’s good” without a second thought and that hurts because it shows a lack of concern. You also mentioned starting with a compliment and the only warning I would have there is to avoid anything along the lines of “you don’t look sick.” I think the main thing to note is that most people with chronic illness are people first and wanted to be treated as such. Rest Ministries (which is a great ministry) has some great references such as When A Friend Has a Chronic Illness: What to Say, How to Help as well as 52 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend. Hope you find these useful!
Thank you everyone for taking time to leave your questions! I love doing these types of posts! If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
