Sorry to be so MIA this week, I’d been helping my sister in caring for our great-aunt who was ill and she passed last Friday. Despite us expecting it, it came much quicker than we anticipated. That combined with a couple of other things has had me down in the dumps and struggling to string a post together. I’m not sure at this point what my blogging schedule will be, but hopefully will be able to sort things out pretty quickly. I do have a couple of ideas/posts/and a new product review in the pipeline, so I basically just need to get my shit together.
Please, somebody pull her head out of her ass and give her a good smack. I’d do it myself but as she loves to point out, I’m missing the opposable thumbs.
Last week I promised I’d get more into the Engaging your Reader topic. Since the topic is lengthy and the comments are amazing, I’m breaking this out into two posts. Next week I will tackle the rest of the topic.
I’ve included the outline I published last week, as well as relevant comments. I hope that most of these are self-explanatory, but I’m including my thoughts in parenthesis. On the chance that they aren’t clear, please, please leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail. 🙂
Keep Content Relevant to Your Mission Statement
- A blog about training dogs should have posts about training dogs. (For instance you wouldn’t include a post about your local outlet mall and the Coach purse deal you got.) 🙂
- Product reviews should have relevancy to your mission statement. (Your mission statement says, The Good, the Bad and the Oh My God of Living with Dogs and you do a product review for tampons-that my friends is funny, but it’s a no-no.)
Paved by Paw Prints said, “What you said, about keeping content to your mission statement, is really good. I have a variety of dog-related posts planned but I think I might need to consider what the main focus of my blog really is.”
I think that was the hardest thing for me. Because my blog is mostly stories about my dogs, how do I define it? I still don’t know that my tagline is just right or that people who land here for the first time really know what this blog is about. I feel like, “The Good, the Bad and the Oh My God of Living with Dogs” is really a blanket statement. It might be time to narrow my focus down.
Write with authenticity
- Use words you would typically use in conversation.(For instance, I swear (A LOT) in real life. I finally stopped fighting it and use it in my posts. Does it offend some people? Perhaps, but I’m being true to me and who I am and I hope that comes across.)
- When sharing facts, link back to the source. (When you are writing about an illness/training product/supplement you want to make sure to give people the opportunity to research the topic themselves. It also shows where your source came from.)
Write about topics that instill passion in you.
- Passion shines through in your writing and people will connect with your passion. (When you are writing about something you are passionate about you choose words that express emotions. This is what helps you connect with people.)
- Editorial calendars are useful in scheduling posts and jotting down ideas for future posts. (I use an editorial plug in (WordPress Editorial Calendar) which was great when I was scheduling posts for Nashville. The drawback to the plug in is, you need to keep your eye on it, because you actually put the post in the calendar. If you are using the calendar just to store ideas, you could inadvertently schedule a blank or incomplete post. I also have a paper copy of my editorial calendar and use that for posts that might be further into the future. It also allows me to make notes, or jot down ideas and if I don’t use them I can transfer the idea to a different month.)
- Bookmark blog posts that touch your heart so you can use them in the future. (These I’ll put in a draft form in the backend of the blog. I use these sometimes when I am looking for inspiration or a topic to post about or need it as a point of reference.)
Taryn said, “One of the reasons I blog is to have some place to log my agility progress.”
Excellent Taryn! Because you love agility so much that shines through when you talk about it. Not only are you sharing your passion with others, you are documenting your progress to look back on at some point.
Taryn also said, “One of the key things that brings me back to a blog over and over again is humor. If someone can make me laugh/smile consistently, they get my vote! I try to reciprocate as much as possible.
I like to use humor in my posts. I do this for two reasons. One being if I didn’t laugh about some of the shit my dogs do, I’d be in tears all the time. Two I think people in general relate to humor. One problem I have is sometimes I write something I think is funny and people get all Sirius in the comments. But then again, my humor is sometimes unique.
Emma said, “We try to keep a basic schedule so readers know what to expect and when to expect it, but we like to use variety in our schedule.”
I think schedules are good, especially when you are producing a daily post and you are very wise to use variety with that.
And just because it’s a nice comment. 🙂
Lauren Miller said, ” I also love your blog because when I read it, it DOES feel like we’re sitting down with a cup of coffee and just talking.”
Thank you Lauren. I really want people to feel comfortable on this blog and know it is a place to feel loved and supported. 🙂
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Great post! I’m glad you’re talking about engagement because I know I struggle a little with it and I’m so glad to learn more! 😀
I’m really sorry to read about your Great Aunt! 🙁 ~hugs~
I swear A LOT too, so maybe that is one of many reasons why I love your blog!
Very informative – I will definitely keep all of this in mind for future posts!
I’m sorry about your great aunt, will keep you and your family in my prayers x
Hi Y’all!
I love your sense of humor. My Human sorely needs your sense of humor! Can you teach her?
I’ve found, since my blog is a diary of my daily adventures and non-adventures and sites I see…it has changed and the purpose has changed over the years. Now that I’m older it is less about training and more about what I see and do.
I’m a big help to my Human finding birds and other critters. Like a search dog, I sit when I spot something.
Y’all come on by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
I agree with Lauren. Your blog is cozy and familiar. The dogs’ commentaries crack me up. Those deadpan faces and wisecracks – hilarious.
I like humour in posts! Though I don’t do it well myself. Haha!
So sorry about your great aunt. Take your time and get back when it is right. We love reading your blog. When we see all the new blog posts in the morning, yours is always one of the first ones we choose to read as we know it will be something fun or funny!
Great post! So very sorry about your aunt. Whether expected or not, it always hurts.
Since my blog is more photographs than words (except for the Weekend Report), I don’t worry too much about what words I use. But do do find myself filtering out a few curse words here and there. My blog is a bit more censored than my mind 😉 Maybe I should drop the reins once in a while!
So sorry for your loss. Sending sympathy and hugs. Great tips and I agree with Lauren that when I read your blog I feel like we’re friends sitting down for coffee and catching up 🙂
Your tips have really been fantastic!!! Thanks so much for sharing them! And btw, it’s funny….I have followed your blog pretty much since I started my own – I also swear a lot….but I just cannot find it in me to put it on a blog post. The weird part is, is that when I read it here at your blog, I love it!!!! As Lauren said, it is just like having a conversation with a close friend or something. I admire you for being able to write what you feel so well!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
So sorry for your loss. Hope that the pups are giving you lots of extra lovin’ this week.
These are great tips! I’m in the process of a mission statement overhaul right now, so that’s great stuff to keep in mind!
Personally, I think your tag line is perfect — “The Good, The Bad, and the Oh My Good of Living with Dogs” told this reader right from the start what it was about. And I love reading your stories about the crazy things Sampson and Delilah do. Part of the charm of your blog is the way you weave the story into and around their antics and your love for both of them. And, as Lauren said, it does feel like we’re enjoying a cup of coffee or glass of wine together.
In closing, let me express my condolences to you and your sister(s?) and Mom for the loss of your great-aunt. A loved one’s passing is always difficult on us no matter how long we’ve been expecting it.
Geez I hate when the autocorrect changes the correct word!! Glad you know what I meant!
There are times when I wish my dogs were as funny as Delilah, but not many of those times. I would rather read about dogs like her on your blog and live with my settled, boring dogs.
Sorry to hear about the passing of your aunt. i don’t like death.
I think I have a pretty good sense of humor and I try to use it in my posts some. But a lot of times I think no one gets it! If someone actually comments “that was so funny”, I’m thinking “yes, someone finally got my sense of humor!”. 🙂
Yours comes through quite strongly, and you always make me laugh!
PS, I am very sorry for the loss of your great aunt.
I love your blog! You are a true example to follow in blogging and in so many other things too! I read your posts via e-mail pretty much every day, so even though I’m not stopping by, I’m following you! 🙂 But I so appreciate this post, and its good and timely reminders for me as I continue to struggle with keeping my blog going.
And I’m sorry about the loss of your Aunt. I hope you and your family are finding comfort from your memories, and from one another…
You use a calendar? OMG I have been doing it all wrong. Sometimes I have ideas for posts and other times they come as I am writing.
Such an informative post! I think authenticity is so important and it always makes me smile when I meet someone and they say I am just like how I am on the blog because that is exactly what I want it to be like!
Sending you ginormous hugs because I know you need one 🙂
This was a great post! I use google calendar for my blogging (as well as other stuff, I have 4 calendars going right now) I’ve also started uploading my pictures and putting them in blank posts to work on at later date when I have nothing to write about.
Sending you a hug, sorry to hear your a little blue. If i can do anything!!!
So sorry to hear of your aunt’s passing. Life can hand us interesting curve balls for sure and disrupt our grooving mojo. Paws crossed that things level out for you soon. BTW, loved the post-it’s so you and that’s what us readers especially enjoy. So give those two adorable pooches a big ear scratch from me and Sam and take a big deep life-affirming breath and know the sun will shine again soon. 🙂
I bookmarked this story, looking forward to more hints for my own blog. Dang, I keep forgetting to link back to the source of facts (or theories) I find. Good reminder, thanks!
I’m sorry to hear about your Great Aunt. Sometimes we all need to take a moment or two for ourselves, even if we do nothing at all. You’ll get your mojo back very soon! 🙂