The Third Annual Pet Blogger Challenge is here! I love any opportunity for reflection, especially when it comes to goal setting and, ideally, goal achieving. This took me longer than I thought it would because I realized that I didn’t have a concrete plan or set of goals, so I’m glad to have this opportunity to be introspective and think through how I’m running this blog! So, here goes…
1. How long have you been blogging and provide a link to your post from last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge so we can refresh our memories.
I’ve been blogging since June 1, 2009. I missed the challenge in 2012 because it was the same time as one of my surgeries, but here’s a link to my 2011 challenge post.
2. What do you consider the most important goals you set out in last year’s post?
I actually hadn’t set any specific goals, which is odd for me because I’m a terribly goal-oriented person. My only stated goal was to start making enough money to cover the cost of hosting and registering the blog.
3. Have you made progress toward those goals, or have your goals changed over the past year?
I sold some sponsored posts, which covered the cost of hosting. Yay! However, all this introspection about goals has inspired me to actually create some concrete goals for 2013. I’m not sure what those will look like yet – traffic? income? engagement? – but I’m excited to have something to think about!
4. How often do you post?
Since the old cancer diagnosis, it’s been about once per week. Prior to that, it was three times per week. AHA! There’s a goal for 2013! Get back on a posting schedule!
5. Has your opinion of blogging on a schedule or as the spirit moves you changed?
I’m determined to be more scheduled in 2013, just to help keep myself on track. Since I write for a living, I spend almost all day every day on my computer. Having a set schedule will help me stay motivated and focused to get posts up regularly.
If you publish on a schedule, why? How strict are you about your publishing deadlines? What do you do for inspiration when it feels like you’ve covered every topic?
If you don’t publish on a schedule, why? How do you think your decision affects your audience? How do you know when a topic is “post-worthy?”
I haven’t been posting on a schedule, but, as I said, I want to change that.
6. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? How much time visiting other blogs? Share your tips for staying on top of it all.
Honestly, over the past year I’ve spent very little time writing my blog. However, I spend a ton of time visiting other blogs. The only tip I have is to use Google Reader! It’s the only way I can track the ever-expanding list of blogs that I follow. The only thing is that it takes an extra step to visit the blog to leave a comment, which I’m terrible at doing. Another goal for 2013, perhaps?
7. How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)? Do you look strictly at the numbers, or do you have a way of assessing the quality of those interactions?
I used to check my Google Analytics obsessively, but after a while I realized those traffic numbers were less important than engagement. Are people commenting? Are there discussions among readers? Those are the questions I’m using to determine success these days.
8. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one issue you’re having with your blog, what would it be?
How to get people to take that extra step to become subscribers, whether it’s via email, RSS, as a Google Reader subscription, and so on. When I look at my numbers, I have a lot of visitors who come by a couple times then disappear. I do that to other sites, too; unless I add the subscription when I first visit, I never remember to go back and check for new posts. How can I capture new folks and get them to subscribe? Is it as easy as adding a button to each post? Should I assume those who want to do and everyone else isn’t interested? I feel like this is something I need to work on for 2013 because I think this is a number that potential advertisers want to see!
9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?
I had to set this aside and think about it for a little while, but I think I came up with three main goals for the year… Next up: Developing the strategies to achieve each one of these guys!
- Subscribers: I haven’t pushed subscriptions (reader or email) more than once or twice, but I want to get those numbers up.
- Income: I want to maintain my previous goal of earning enough via sponsored posts or advertising to cover the cost of monthly hosting and annual domain registration.
- Posting: I will post a minimum of three times per week. Wordless Wednesday counts, right?
Thanks to GoPetFriendly.com for hosting the Pet Blogger Challenge again this year! I love the opportunity to think through all these questions, and I can’t wait to read (and comment on!) everyone else’s challenge responses.
Nice to meet you. 🙂
Agree with you completely about the engagement and yes, there are many people just “net surfing” who stop by once and that’s it. Don’t know what the magic formula is, other than visiting and commenting on other blogs.
Wishing you much success for 2013 and beyond!
Cheers,
Debbie
Nice to meet you, too! Sigh. I wish we could figure out that magic formula. 🙂 Good luck to you in 2013!
First of all, we are glad you are with us in good health!
I am not sure if this will help, but in an attempt I can share with you what pulled me to your blog in the start and what made me stay. It was your passion to do something about BSL, through cards, and later by letting others share stories of their pit bulls. Although your BSL fight was what caught the eye, it was the passion in which you wrote about it, that made me stay. Just one reader’s 2 cents!
Thank you so much for the kind words. And, like you, I think it’s important we all work together and work hard to tackle BSL. I can’t wait to see what you have in the works for 2013.
I totally agree with you on your goals I think they are perfect and makes me think the same. I too have trouble with subscribers, and I feel awkward asking for them…who knows it might be that simple.
Good to know that your health is back and looking forward to connecting in 2013
I’m thinking it might be that simple? It’s worth a try! Let me know if you hit on a solution! 🙂
Google Reader – I couldn’t agree more! If it weren’t for that, I don’t know how I’d ever keep up with anyone’s blog.
That subscriber question is a good one – I’m interested to hear what people have to say about that as well.
Glad to hear your health is on the upswing – can’t wait to see what you do here in 2013. 🙂
I’m with you… and I’m excited to check out everyone else’s challenge responses to see who has a brilliant idea for the subscriber or time management issues!
Love the goals! It would brighten my day to see you show up in my feed reader more often (though, I say WW totally counts).
Email subscribers are hard! This year, I’ll be adding “bonus content” for my email subscribers…special deals on treats, bonus entries into contests etc. Having a button and making it EASY to subscribe is a huge help though! I saw mine jump up quite a bit when I added buttons to subscribe to our RSS feed and email lists.
Oooh! Great idea! That bonus content sounds like it’ll do the trick. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Hi there and fabulous to meet you! First off, sorry about your surgeries. I hope you’re are safely on the road to recovery. Secondly, a big part of getting more traffic is sharing your posts on other social networks. I know, it’s a lot of work, but the visible you are, the more people will visit and hopefully comment. Some ppl are just afraid to comment I believe. Don’t get too bent out of shape over it. I’ll be subscribing and commenting so you just added a +1 🙂
Thanks so much, Brenda! And I think you’re totally right that some people are afraid to comment. That’s such a good thing to keep in mind if it seems like there aren’t many comments coming in… people are there reading but maybe don’t feel comfortable leaving a comment. Excellent point!
Maggie! It’s always great to see you posting. I’m so glad your health is on the rebound.
As for subscribers, I’ve seen marketers add subscription signups on their About page just under a description of what on their blog will be useful for and why. It’s something to consider since an About page is typically the most read page of any website.
They also seem to have luck adding a reminder for signup under each post too – or even through a pop-up as long as it reads cookies and appears only the first time a visitor comes by.
I’ve never had luck with the end of post reminder when trying it myself, but I didn’t mix it up at all to see if different wording worked better or some altered version of the ask could be presented better visually. It’s worth revisiting though.
If you try it, let me know what happens! And I’m looking forward to more from you in 2013!
Thanks for the input, Kim. I’ll definitely give it a try and let you know how it works!
Without a doubt Wordless Wednesday counts 🙂
Thank goodness! 😉
First and foremost – I’m glad you are feeling better. Your health is absolutely the most important thing; everything else is secondary. Regarding subscriptions, I used to subscribe to several blogs by email, but I would get backed up on reading the posts and felt guilty deleting them – so eventually I unsubscribed. I also follow several blogs using Google Reader, but I also get backed up on my reading there and end up marking them as read just to clear them out. Now I catch up with my blog reading on Triberr, Facebook and Google +. It just works better for me. Good luck with achieving your goals in 2013!
Interesting, Vicki! You got me thinking about how I utilize those social tools (not very well) and how I should moving forward!
Hi, Maggie, first let me tell you how happy we are that you are feeling better and past all you went through last year. We are email subscribers and it’s nice to see your blog show up in my inbox more frequently these days. 🙂
I’m not sure at all how to get people to subscribe but I can tell you, as an email reader, it may not be in every blog’s best interest. It’s too easy to read the post in my email and even easier to not run over to the blog to leave a comment… One thing that helps is when bloggers set their emails to only contain part of the post – it works especially well with good content that leaves the reader running to the blog to get ‘the rest of the story’. (I also like Jodi’s idea of adding special content for email subscribers…)
Anyway, it is nice to have you back and feeling better. Hope 2013 continues to see your health improving. And good luck with your goals!
Very excellent point, Leslie, and one I hadn’t thought of. Yet another thing to think about… And thanks for subscribing!! I really, sincerely appreciate it!
Consider me subscribed! I actually primarily read other blogs via email after having a falling out with Google Reader several years ago. I prefer it because it makes it easier to read on my phone while I ride the bus to and from work. Though, remembering to go back and comment later doesn’t always happen. I’d also been wondering on how to increase my reader subscriptions so if I learn anything of value, I’ll be sure to let you know. All I have found so far are a lot of suggestions to run contests using email sign-ups as contest entries. It’s an idea but I don’t know if that would increase engagement necessarily.
I am so glad you are recovering and will be returning to blogging more often. Yours was one of the first I read many years ago and I love hearing your perspective. You’ve had a lot of experience with some challenging dogs and I have learned a lot from you. I look forward to seeing what you come up with in 2013!
Yay! Thanks for subscribing. That makes my day! 🙂 And thank you for the kind words. I feel the same about you and your blog!
The contest entries idea is a good one, and one I hadn’t considered. I hope that’s working well for you! I’ll keep you posted if I hit on a solution…
I’ve been to your blog several times in the past,, but it’s so nice to be here as part of the Challenge and hear your thoughts and comments. And I subscribed!
Best wishes in 2013!
Thank you so much for subscribing!! I look forward to getting to know your blog better, too!
Happy New Year!
Way to go making a standard theme look so classy and stylish. I really love how easy your blog is to read and navigate.
If you want more subscribers – ask for them. When I visit a blog and I like it, I always subscribe, but I think some of our audience isn’t as adept as we are so we have to tell them what subscribing does – I let my readers know that they can get updates directly to their mailbox! This is what I’m trying in 2013 – wish me luck!
Have a lovely year!
Thanks for the compliment, Kimberly! That’s so nice of you!
And I’m totally going to take your advice and start asking for subscribers. It seems to be the prevailing wisdom, so I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor, too!
Fantastic blog 🙂
Woo Hoo! Look at Maggie getting her goalsetting going on!
So I’ve been doing some research on creating lists as I prepare to relaunch my other blog, Hands on Home Buyer. I don’t do all these things for Something Wagging but here’s the conventional wisdom:
1) use a plugin at the bottom of every post to ask people to subscribe. I have subscribe 2 which is just meh. But I’m sure there are others out there.
2) Offer some kind of cool giveaway to everyone who subscribes–a tip sheet, a weekly newsletter, a video.
And Kristine is right, I’ve seen a slight bump when I use Rafflecopter to host a contest. But I don’t think those folks are as committed. I think your best strategy would be to ask people to subscribe more often. The folks who already love you will probably respond.
That said, it would take a lot for me to subscribe by email. I hate email and can’t keep up with it. But I love my Google feed reader.
Will I be seeing you at BlogPaws in May?
Thanks for the tips and insights, Pamela! I’m going to be testing out a few different tactics this year, and I’ll let you know how it goes.
Unfortunately, I’m not going to BlogPaws this year. My brother is getting married that weekend! I’m disappointed to miss the conference, though. I can’t wait to hear about your experience!
Sounds like a great excuse to miss BlogPaws. I hope the wedding is wonderful and you enjoy spending time with your family.
Please let me know when you work out how you’re going to manage email subscribers. I tried a few wordpress plugins but none of them actually seemed to do the job, so I removed them all and now have nothing. 🙁 So if you find something, that works, I’d love to know.
Will do, Tegan!
I use MailChimp and it’s awesome. I like that it give me the option of just pushing my RSS feed through to emails AND I have the option to send newsletters as well.
Yea – Maggie’s back! We missed you last year for the Challenge.
My suggestion to get more subscribers is to leave more comments on other people’s blogs. If they know you’re visiting them on a regular basis, they’ll want to repay the favor and make sure they’re not missing your posts. Subscribing is the best way to do that! I’m not one to subscribe via email (I always feel like I’m drowning in my inbox), but I do follow you on my Google Reader and you can use Feedburner to check to see how many people are receiving your posts via RSS feed.
Oh very cool! Google reader swamps me. I use my blog roll for blogs I want to read, then do it at my leisure. I try to add a new blog to it every couple of weeks. One day it will become truly unmanageable.
Hi: I’m happy to have found this blog, and subscribed. I have to confess, too, I didn’t know the function of Google Reader until I read your recommendation, above.
And I don’t think you should be shy about asking people to subscribe, because you have a wonderful candor that comes across in your writing, and no one would ever accuse you of being pushy!
As for advertising, I’d love to advertise on this blog. I’ll send you an email. Thanks!