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Pet Blogger Challenge

My Tail Hurts From Wagging So Much is participating in a Pet Blogger Challenge hosted and promoted by GoPetFriendly.com and the blog Will My Dog Hate Me? The idea came about after Amy at GoPetFriendly.com wrote a blog post about being bullied by the blog – very similar to the journalism idea of always finding a way to “feed the daily beast” and put out a paper every day.

The challenge was that pet bloggers from across the world would answer these simple questions about blogging to get better insight into the pet blogging world and evaluate goals.

So, here are our answers:

1. When did you begin your blog? We started blogging here Jan. 8, 2010. You can read our very first post here. 

 2. What was your original purpose for starting a blog? It was really just a joke. A month after I got Toby his first trip with me was to Lake George to look at houses. A month later he was kayaking with me and two months later, my 7-month-old puppy was traveling with me to Maine, hiking in Bar Harbor, snuggling up in hotel beds and shopping in Kennebunkport. I’d always take pictures and put them on my Facebook page, and people would always tell me Toby needs his own blog, Disney show or Facebook page. Someone actually commented once that he had more of social life than them. So, after last New Year, I decided, why not try it – it could be fun

3. Is your current purpose the same? If not, what’s different? If so, how do you feel you’ve met your goals? Yes and no. We are having a lot of fun doing what we are doing, but I never intended to participate in blogger challenges, attend the monthly #pawpawty to help raise money for homeless animals, stay awake for 24 hours as part of a Blogathon to raise money for charity, attend pet writer conferences instead of journalism conferences, review pet products, write about pet trends instead of celebrity gossip and change the focus of my career.

Did I meet my goals? By accident, yes – but not specifically for the blog. I finally found something I really love to do. Now the challenge is how to make money at it. 😉

4. Do you blog on a schedule or as the spirit moves you? If the former, how often — and what techniques do you use to stick to it? If the latter, do you worry about… well, whatever you might worry about (e.g. losing traffic, losing momentum)? I used to blog whenever I felt like it, and thought it had to be these long, specially crafted posts that needed to be perfect. As a result, it meant less posts, because I was always so worried about what to write about. But, then during BlogPaws someone said something to me that really hit me. It went something like this: The writing on your blog is great, but you need to post more often.

Ding, Ding, Ding! Well, duh! No one only wants to hear from you once a week or once every two weeks. Why bother following something. So, even if it’s something little, I try to blog everyday or every other day during the week and update our Facebook page at least daily, even on the weekend. Sometimes it’s only a picture, other times it’s a written post — but I try to do it as often as I can.

Do I worry about blog related things? If you know me, you know I worry about everything, so yes. Unlike most bloggers I’m not a numbers freak. For me, quality is more than quantity. I worry about comments and creating a conversation. I can have 5,000 followers, but if they aren’t talking about me and interacting then am I really doing a good job? [I preach this to all classes and seminars I teach, as well as businesses I work with in my ‘regular’ job]

5. Are you generating income from your blog? If so, how (e.g. sponsor ads, affiliate relationships, spokesperson opportunities)? If not currently, do you hope to in the future — and how? Not really. I belong to several affiliate networks, sell products on an amazon store and OpenSky, but so far no money. I did privately sell one ad for something like $50, but that was it. But, by writing this blog and as a result learning as much as I could about social media, I did get a job working in social media. The skills I need for my job, I would’ve never had the opportunity to learn if didn’t start writing my blogs.

In the future, I hope spokesperson opportunities, as well as hosting, TV, book and writing opportunities, do become available for both My Tail Hurts From Wagging So Much and my other blog The Adirondack Chick. But, while I’ve been a journalist for 10 years, I haven’t really been doing *this* for every long, so to quote a recently read tweet, “It takes 10 years of work to become an overnight success.”

6. What do you like most about blogging in general and your blog in particular (bragging is good!)? I LOVE connecting with other people from all over the world. When I get a comments from people I’ve never met, it makes me so happy – someone is taking the time to read my work and liking it, too! I also love writing, as well as having editorial control to write whatever I want without someone telling me how stupid it is or sending me an e-mail in all capital letters belittling me and my writing [yes, I’ve had some pretty terrible bosses in my journalism career].

To be specific about this blog, I love the diversity of it — one day you may find a product review, the next a fun photo, the next travel safety tips for your pet… well you get the idea, there are unlimited numbers of topics I can write about, so I’m not pigeon-holed.

I also love pet bloggers – they are so supportive and don’t really look at people as competition, but instead fellow writers working toward similar goals.

7. What do you like least? That I can’t pay my mortgage and do this full-time! And, that to be successful at this, you constantly need to promote yourself — which I don’t mind, but worry my friends are getting sick of hearing about it.

8. How do you see your blog changing/growing in 2011?
In the next few weeks we will have a completely redesigned website! I’m so excited about this! We also hope to do more to help homeless animals, product reviews, pet trend stories, teach people about how much a pet can add to your life, make some money doing this and just keep learning. I’m also planning on starting a radio show on BlogTalkRadio, as well as an interactive show on Vokle. The problem…is finding the time.

18 thoughts on “Pet Blogger Challenge

  1. It sounds like you have a very exciting year ahead of you! A redesign is very brave. I am envious of your skills.

    Glad you took up the challenge! It really is all about the wonderful people, isn't it?

  2. Hey,

    It's great to connect with you……really looking forward to your redesigned site, I did mine about a month ago too….:)

    I get your point on not having enough time, I have that problem too, I'm always having so much fun……but that's good too….

    Snoopy 🙂

  3. Wow, you've got a big year coming up – good for you! I can't wait to see the redesign. Thanks so much for participating in the challenge!

  4. I love the story of how your blog got started. Toby sure does get around! It must be nice but I'll never know. Having a Newfoundland, 60 pound hound and two cats makes things a tad conspicuous. 🙂

    Looking forward to the big reveal! New design is like a wardrobe change. Nothing feels better sometimes!

  5. Time..the magic ingredient I think all of us full-time workers, part-time bloggers wish for. I may have to sleep less. Really enjoyed reading your answers. Nice to meet you.

  6. lol…ah, yes, "find the time"…I think all bloggers are struggling with the same! And especially you, you're ambitious!! It's great to meet you, looking forward to reading your posts!

  7. At first I was terrified by a typo–you stated your first post was in January 2011–and I was flabbergasted by all you've accomplished with your blogs in just a few days. So I went to that first post and found it was actually from January *2011* and I went "Whew!"

    Then I looked around your site a bit more and was still flabbergasted by all you've managed to accomplish so far.

    Glad to meet you here and look forward to the new look.

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