blogging....

I have had some emails recently about how I grew my blog and how to get followers.  I know my blog isn't a "popular/famous" blog nor do I have thousands of followers but I do continue to get emails, unique visitors every day and my blog views every month are pretty consistent.  Although I have to say I kind of miss receiving the amount of comments I used to but the numbers don't lie, I know I still have some followers ;)  

The other morning I received an email from a young working Mom who wants to be a stay at home and she asked if I had any tips on how to grow her blog so she could potentially be a stay at home some day.  I really don't have that many tips but I do read about growing my own blog and I do have the information I've read to share with others.  

Not to long ago I read a post HERE about how to grow your blog and I think a lot of the big name bloggers said similar things, if you post about what you are passionate about, remember why you started blogging in the first place and you are consistent the readers you have will stay and you will gain more.  There are many other blogging tips HERE, she has multiple posts from big name bloggers and it's all very interesting.  Everything from how to make money blogging to how you can keep up with blogging and not let it overwhelm you.  I also read a post HERE  yesterday about blogging ideas if you happen to get in rut about what to blog about.  I know everyone has those times when they are having writer's block yet want to post.  There are tons of other posts out there about how to get blog traffic , just google it ;)  

When I used to blog more regular and read blogs my blog had many more hits.  I believe that if you read and comment on other blogs they read and comment on yours.  You form relationships/friendships with other bloggers and they keep coming back for more and you keep going back to their blogs.  When Billy used to work nights I would workout, eat dinner and then spend hours on the couch watching my favorite shows and reading my favorite blogs.  When you have an insight into someones life and you relate, you grow close,  you care for them as if they were IRL (in real life) friends.  Lots of bloggers end up being IRL friends and get together and meet even if they are across the country from each other. 

I have been in a blogging funk pretty much since having Cullen.  I very rarely read blogs anymore, I find that I always have something else to do. I miss reading and keeping up with my blog friends but thanks to social media these days such as twitter, facebook  and instagram I am able to keep up with a lot of my "blog friends" and even make a lot of new friends.  Social media is a great way to grow and promote your blog as well. When I was working full time I had a lot of down time at my job and I was able to read and comment on A LOT of blogs.  That is when I gained most of my followers and made the friends that I have through blogging now. I would also spend my entire lunch hour break reading blogs and posting.  I was into blogging a lot more back then than I am now but I am going to attempt to change some of my blogging ways.  I want to start reading blogs during "free time" which tends to be the amount of time I can manage to stay awake once Cullen is asleep for the night.  The days just fly by and I use Cullen's nap time to work out, shower and chow down a quick lunch.  

These days I love doing reviews and giveaways! I love being able to promote small and large companies and at the same time have freebies to giveaway to my readers.  I never started blogging to do this but it has been another fabulous opportunity for me and my readers.  Being a stay at home Mom with little income has it's difficulties so receiving items to review has been such a blessing.  I've also been able to start my own tiny business A.B.C. Creations which I focus on in the Fall/Holiday season and in the Spring/Summer I work in the A.B.C. Garage making furniture look pretty.

In wrapping this up, I like to think the possibilities are endless when it comes to blogging, sometimes it just may seem like bloggers are taking over the world ;)  If you are new to the blogging community welcome!  I suggest reading some of the posts about not feeling overwhelmed by the blogging world.  It's a huge one and there is plenty of room for everyone!!  

p.s. If you are a new follower here, please leave a comment!  If you have a blog I'd love to check it out!