Oh My Dog!

Last week I shared a little Pet Blogging 101 primer, which covered 5 things I wish I had known way back before I started this blog.

In that post, I mentioned a part two was coming… and this one builds off of part one with a little caveat. Instead of 5 things I wish I had known, today I’m sharing some hard truths about this industry, some realities about pet blogging that make this niche extra challenging. Let’s dig in, shall we?

1. Pets die.
   Sigh. It’s something I never, not for one second, considered when I started my blog. Chances are, if you’re a pet blogger who hits a decade at the keyboard, you will have said goodbye to a pet along the way–your own, or a beloved pet of a pet-blogger friend. {{As an aside, if you’re thinking about launching a pet blog,my advice is to name and brand it around you or a theme rather than a specific pet. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but I’m actually forever grateful I didn’t name my site, like, EmmettandLucas.com or something.}} When a pet passes, it’s devastating. The grief process is hard enough, but when you add being a pet blogger on top of it? Whoo, boy. When Lucas died, it took me a very long time to come to terms with his loss, and this space was abandoned. The result, of course, is that when I came back to it ready to tell our stories again, more than a third of my traffic had disappeared. I’m 100% OK with that, of course, but that’s just the reality. When Emmett died, I just couldn’t even fathom what to write at all, and then Violet was born, and again this space was abandoned. When I finally came back to it again, another third of my traffic was gone. And, again, I’m 100% OK with that because I needed that time. But, as far as making a living in this space, well, see last week’s post. The numbers matter. All that said, it doesn’t even begin to approach the actual grieving of the pet, which happens in a somewhat-public manner because–if you’ve told your stories well–lots of other people love your pets, too. You have to really, really love what you’re doing in this space to accept this fate and still move forward.
2. The pet industry lags behind.
   I’ve been immersed in the pet industry since 2010. I’ve attended countless tradeshows, conferences, and events. I’ve interviewed probably hundreds to pet product manufacturers, trainers, vets, and so on. My biggest takeaway? The pet industry is always behind. Many product makers don’t have a functional website, let alone social media channels. Most of the major publications have barely adopted a digital presence. The only industry segment that truly seems to “get” the importance of being online, of having a social presence, of having a functional website, of having relationships with influences is pet food. That’s it. One of the biggest tradeshows in the world didn’t even have a hashtag until this year. All this makes it exceedingly difficult to form partnerships with brands we love because many of them don’t get the value of connecting through an influencer to their audience. It’s frustrating, sure, but not insurmountable. {{As an aside to this point: While this is frustrating, and now that I’m back to freelancing full time, I’m considering ways I can help pet industry brands overcome this misunderstanding and fear of the digital space with some service offerings to help them thrive online! I’m SUPER pumped. More to come on this one! 😉 }}
3. It’s not always about what you want it to be about. (And that’s actually OK.)
   You launch for a reason. You want to share cat training tips or you want to share fear-free practices for veterinarians or you want to tell stories about your star agility dog. Whatever the reason, you started your blog to share that topic. Over time, though, you have to be open to evolving. You just have to. You’ll build an audience who loves your pet, and maybe they love reading about cat training but are desperate for cat grooming tips. Well, maybe it’s time to add a category to serve that audience. While you never, ever want to try to be all things to all people, blogging isn’t always about what you want it to be about… sometimes it has to be about what your audience wants, and that’s OK. It’s still you. You can still branch out and explore and grow and learn and evolve, while remaining true and authentic to you and your initial purpose. Frankly, bloggers who desperately try to cling to what they’ve always done or what they’ve always covered are rarely able to make it in the long run because blogging isn’t about you. It’s about your audience. Serve them, and you’ll find long-term success.
4. The best tech is the one you’re going to use.
   I stressed about having the right equipment and software early on because I thought if I had this or that, I’d do better. Well, of course, the pricey editing software sat, unused, in a corner of my hard drive until that computer died because I didn’t need it, nor did I want to invest the time in learning it. Whether it’s Mac vs Windows vs Chromebook or Photoshop vs Canva or a DSLR vs your phone vs a GoPro or whatever… it doesn’t matter. The best tech–and the only tech you should invest in–is the tech you’re going to use. The end. I recently/finally ditched my heavily-laden laptop with a ton of software I never used for a simple Chromebook because I do literally everything online. It’s been perfect, minus one baby-spilling-coffee incident that did, thankfully, get repaired. (In case you’re curious, this is the one I’m using and loving now–and, yes, that is an Amazon affiliate link–and while it was a bit more than I wanted to spend at first, it’s proven its worth because it’s SO LIGHT that I can carry it in the baby’s diaper bag when we’re out and about, and it adds almost no weight! And it starts up in a couple seconds!) Bottom line: Don’t feel like you need to keep up with every blogger who buys the latest-and-greatest tech. Figure out what you’ll truly use, and just invest in that.
5. We love, love, love our pets. Not everyone loves us for it.
   Everyone on the internet has an opinion, and some of them aren’t so kind. Fortunately, most people keep them to themselves. Unfortunately, some people don’t, and it’s those unkind comments that seem to make the most lasting impact. I don’t think this is unique to pet blogging. I think this is an internet thing. Trolls are out there, and they are mean. You love your pet more than anything, and you strive to do your very best for your pet every single day. You write about some of your efforts and share it with the world. Welp. The reality is that someone somewhere will pop up on your site someday and tell you, “You suck.” Maybe not in such a succinct phrase. Most trolls like to expand upon that simplicity with more elaborate insults. I’ve had some doozies over the years, and I have a pretty thick skin for that sort of thing. (Honestly, John gets SUPER DUPER riled up, way more than I do, whenever someone writes something mean!) It’s unfortunate. It’s unkind. We should all strive to do and demand better from each other. But, go into it knowing you’ll probably be insulted, and it’s easier to take when it happens.

For some of these points (like, of course, #5), every blogging niche probably experiences something similar to some degree. Many, though, are unique to pet blogging and are unfortunate, hard realities of working in this particular space.

Of course, the flip side to all that is…

We’re writing about pets!

There’s literally nothing better to cover, imo! They’re there for us day in and day out. We strive to provide the very best for them. At the end of the day, there’s nothing I’d rather spend my time writing about than the furries that come in and out of my life. I’m not sure any other blogger out there gets as much joy and fulfillment from writing about their subject than pet bloggers!

OK, so after parts one and two, what questions do you still have about jumping into the pet blogosphere? Or, if you’re a longtime pet blogger, what would you add to this list? Any specific challenges you’ve faced being in this niche? 

Finally, if you’d like to dig much deeper into blogging and tapping into your authenticity to grow a thriving, profitable blog, check out my eBook, Authentic Blogging. (It’s 20% off right now with that link!)

OhMyDogBlog.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. 

About 10 years ago I had an idea for a blog.

I dove in (on Blogger), started creating posts, figured out how to add images, jazzed up my copy, and… waited…

I had three readers in total: my husband, my MIL, and my coworker who was also launching a blog at the same time.

Over the course of the next year, I acquired a handful of readers. I got my first angry-troll email. I updated my design. Then I got bored. I ran out of ideas. There was a huge lull in posting. Then fits and starts. Then I just closed up shop. I couldn’t sustain it because I was uninspired. I launched a blog because I wanted a blog, not because I had an idea for that blog. So, it failed.

By the time I launched this blog in summer 2009, I had learned that the first thing you need when you start a blog is {{insert drumroll here for major truth-telling}} a TOPIC!

If you landed here from a Google search, I imagine you want to start a blog, and you want it to be about pets. That’s awesome! Congrats! I can’t wait to read it!

BTW, if you’re trying to figure out how to start a pet blog <—– start there. Then come back to today’s post!

Now that I’m coming up on 10 years of blogging–9 here–I thought I’d pull together some thoughts about what I’ve learned over the last decade. I figured I’d share five things I wish I knew before I started this www. (Note: This is just  part one! I tend to get wordy, but if you have any questions at all about blogging’s ins and outs once you finish reading, leave ’em in the comments here, and I’ll add those to part two. Or three. Or a Facebook Live. Whatever you guys need!)

Pet blogging 101, aka 5 things I wish I knew before I launched:

1. Don’t over-analyze or overthink or obsess. Just work.
   Blogging requires a ton of behind-the-scenes work, and it’s easy to let those details pile up and bog you down. Should I edit my photos in Canva or should I invest in Photoshop? What should my content marketing strategy be? How should I manage my editorial calendar? Which plugins do I need? Does this post hit my ideal SEO terms? etc. etc. etc. until you’ve spent a ton of time doing everything but blogging! I lost a lot of time trying to figure out lots of things before I actually did the work. Just start. Just work. Then, adjust and tweak and research as you go. As Marie Forleo says, “Everything is figureoutable.” It just doesn’t need to be figured out before you start working. Stop analyzing; start working.
2. The huge successes you see in blogging or on Instagram? It took a LOT of effort, plus some lucky breaks.
   Sure, an overnight success can happen. Just not often, and what a waste to pin your dreams on being amazing with little effort. There’s that whole saying about not comparing your beginning to someone else’s middle, and it rings especially true for the digital space where people curate exactly what they want you to see. You can rest assured that there is a whole lotta toil behind that star Instagrammer’s perfect pic. Same thing with the blogger who landed the book deal. It takes loads and loads of hard work, so instead of lamenting about not making progress, focus on what you can do to affect your long-term success every single day.
3. You probably won’t turn your blog into a full-time gig, but you can turn your brand into a sustainable business.
   Here’s a super-zippy primer on how bloggers make money:
   – Sponsored posts or collaborations: These can come in through a network like BlogPaws or Bloglovin’ or they can be sourced through a pitch from the brand to the blogger or the blogger to the brand.
   – Affiliate relationships: A brand can come to me and say, “Hey, if you promote our awesome dog product, you’ll get commission on every sale.” Same thing for Amazon affiliate links, Etsy affiliate links, etc. It takes a great big audience to be able to sell/earn much. I think Amazon has like a 1% average (for every 100 folks who click a link, only one person actually buys something). And, the rates are low, like a few cents to a few bucks. (Feel-good tip: If there’s a blogger you love and you’re going to purchase something on Amazon or Etsy, head over to her site, click one of her product recommendations, then go make your purchase. You don’t have to buy the item they recommended or even add it to your cart… they get credit for the referral.)
   – Ads: You know the drill on these, and since most people have ad blockers these days, bloggers aren’t earning much this way.
   – Products: Books, ebooks, T-shirts, mugs, online courses, mastermind groups, membership sites, webinars, speaking gigs, spokesperson gigs, etc. THIS is how many bigger, successful bloggers are making their living. They’re not just relying on their URL to generate income but branching into relevant, related products. <— THIS is where you can turn your brand into a meaningful business.
4. The only truism in digital is that nothing ever stays the same. Get ready to adapt and change, like, every day.
   Whether it’s Facebook’s algorithm, Google’s mysteriously magical search formula, GDPR (look that doozy up if you haven’t heard of it yet), a WordPress update that crashes your site, Pinterest terms changing, etc. etc. etc. the digital landscape changes every single day. It makes perfect sense, too. The comparison I like to make it when this country was being built roads were installed, towns cropped up, infrastructure started to link the disparate areas, laws were established on the federal and local level. Well, the internet is a country being built. Just because we use it SO OFTEN (like, all day every day), we forget how young the internet actually is. Of course things are going to shift. Of course things are going to change. Of course rules that don’t make sense will be stricken and replaced with new rules that may, one day too, be stricken. I wish someone had clued me into this reality before I started blogging because I totally took the internet for granted a decade ago.
5. You need to be a Jack (or Jill) of all trades, but don’t be a master of none. Pick a couple and nail ’em. I wrote a post on my freelance site about how bloggers need so many more skills than “just” writing or “just” photography. You need those skills, of course, along with a basic, passable understanding of HTML and SEO and marketing and editing and design and social media, among probably many others. No one can master all the things it takes to run a blog. So, pick a couple. Master those. Then get by with the rest or hire someone who can help you. Spending hours and hours and hours watching how-to videos on YouTube or reading tech tutorials to figure out one little thing might not be worth your time if you can get a tech guru to complete the fix for a reasonable fee. Figure out what skills you want to nail. Nail ’em. Workaround the rest. My example: photography. Not a skill I have, and I have no interest in getting a camera to figure it out… so I do my best with what I have, and I’m going to be hiring a photo-genius friend to batch edit some pics for an upcoming project. Time and sanity saved!

As promised: wordy! 🙂

Really, though, I feel like those are five truths that unfolded for me over the 10 years since I first said, “I want to blog about my dogs,” that would’ve been helpful to know up front!  

For those of you who are blogging veterans, what would you add to this list? What is a truth you learned since you launched your site?

For those of you who are new or who are thinking about launching, what other questions do you have? Anything I can clarify or expand on? 

See ya next week for part 2!