Lessons Learned From A Medium Sized Blogger

Today I am sharing some blogging lessons I have learned along the way these past 2 years.

I truly no longer consider my place in blog land as 

a small time blogger but, I also don't consider 

myself a big time blogger either.  

I'm not sure I will ever think of myself as big time anything 

(unless we are talking about my comfy pants?).

All I do know for sure is, I love blogging and I enjoy 

answering questions and helping out other bloggers 

on the ins and outs of blogging as I know them. 

That being said, I thought I'd share a list of 

tips and tricks that have worked for me. 

**Disclaimer - Your mileage may vary. 

I, in no way, consider myself an expert**

1. If someone tells you blogging is really easy, don't believe them! 

Oh they will smile and nod knowingly as they tell you this.

Blogging does take time out of your day!  Sometimes hours.

Depending on your niche, this does not even include setting up, crafting, cooking, taking photos, editing those photos, etc.! 

I seriously have no idea how there are so 

many mommy bloggers that post EVERYDAY!

I work full time, have no children at home and I can 

barely keep up with posting 3-4 times a week. 

2. Blogging is not easy but it is so rewarding!

3. You meet the most incredible people Blogging! 

People you may never meet in person but are the sweetest, 
most giving people you know.

4. It's not hard to be kind. Simple things that take zero time out of your life like, retweeting a new link party, or leaving a 

kind comment for someone that has worked so hard on a project. 

Really, it's not hard, and your heart is fuller because of it.

5. Reply to every comment on every post left on your blog. 

To me it's just common courtesy. I usually respond by email, although,
I have heard it is better for SEO to respond in the post itself. 
It's your choice how to do it, just do it is my advice.

Plus, many times, it leads to more emails and a 

deeper connection with new friends!

6. Don't be afraid to ask another blogger questions. 

(and that includes me!!) 

Not once have my silly little questions gone unanswered! 

The blogging world is full of wonderful people, 

eager to share their knowledge. 

I love to help my friends, you, out!  

My thought on this is, we are all in this together. 

Whether it be how to link up to a party to 

how to make some money blogging, 

ASK! 

We were all newbies at one point and I, for one, 
am tickled pink to see your blog become a success!

7. It takes time to find your blogging voice. 

When I look back at some of my very first posts I think, wow, 

that is not the real me talking at all. 

It took me several months to settle in and write like 

I really talk and think. 

For better, and for worse LOL, this is me!

Just be genuine.  If you have to work at it, it shows. 

It should just flow easily.  

Here's a trick to help you out if you are having a hard time finding your voice.

Next post you write, write it as though you are talking to me.

Just you and me buddy, just sitting there sipping tea, 

coffee or a cocktail, and you are sharing the story of how your recipe/ craft/ DIY project, whatever came together. 

I will bet you will see the difference :-)

8. It's okay to have a writer's/ crafting block. There have been WEEKS 

when I had nothing left in me. My creative muse had taken some time off. 

I had nothing else to post. 
It's okay! 
I realized it gave me time to visit all of you and get inspired again! 
You are my muse!

9. If you want your blog to grow, Get Out There AND Work It!  

Treat your blog like a business. Advertise it. Get it seen!
Link up to every relevant blog party you can find. 
(find my list of blog parties I link up to here.)

Make to sure to leave relevant comments on others blog posts.
Purchase or swap ad space with other bloggers. 
Make that investment in your blog.
Offer to do guest posts on other blogs.
Offer guest posts on your blog.
Get business cards made up.  
I have run into people while thrifting and have actually handed them my business card so that they can visit my blog and see what I have done to turn that less than beautiful find into something pretty.

Make sure you have a pinboard on Pinterest just for your blog 
and pin your own posts to it.
Build up your social media presence!  

Do you have a Facebook page set up for your blog??  

If you do, do you post on it consistently?  

How about Twitter?  Home Talk?  Google +? 

Do you belong to any blogging groups aka tribes on Facebook?  

How about Pinterest Group boards? 

One thing I have learned is, at a certain point, 
your blog will take on a life of its own.  
It will become a brand. 
In the world of blogging I am no longer just Kathe, wife and mother, 
I am Kathe With An E. 
And, I'm pretty darn proud of that! 

10. "Oh, I am going to leave a comment on this awesome blog post and it has word verification aka Captcha! I just love that!" said no one ever. 

Say you've created something, a first of its kind, taken awesome photos, written THE best post of your life and your page views are through.the.roof! 

But, only 5 or 6 people have commented. 

Chances are you have word verification set to "on". 

Please Turn It Off. 

It's frustrating and, most people just walk away if they see it. 

Yes, you may get some spam comments.  

I have noticed that most of the spammy comments I get are on older posts so, I simply turn off comments on older posts.  

It has eliminated 95% of the spam I was getting. 

Don't know how to turn Captcha off? 

Check out Shannon from Fox Hollow Cottage's post here to learn how http://www.foxhollowcottage.com/2012/02/how-to-remove-word-verification-from.html

11. I seriously do try to reply to every single comment. 

But there are times I can't because you have no-reply comment set up. 

If you have left me a comment and I didn't respond you are probably 
thinking that I don't care about what you have to say 

and thought about my post. 

That's so not true! 

I really really do and I want to thank you! 
But, I can't. 

You may not even realize it's set that way. 

I've heard rumors that if you use Google+ it actually resets it 

without you knowing it! 

So, go check out Amanda's post at City Girl Gone Coastal 

and make sure you can get email replies
http://citygirlgonecoastal.blogspot.com/2012/06/noreply-comments-adding-email-me-to.html

12. My final lesson learned, I love blogging and I want you to love it too.
Blogging has seriously changed me and my life. 

#1 was blogging is hard and, it is but, it's a good hard, if that makes sense. Blogging has enabled me to meet, virtually and even in person, 

some pretty awesome people from all over the world.

People that are so sweet that they bring tears to my eyes

just thinking about them! 

Blogging has also made me think outside the box and 

has enabled me to grow personally creatively. 

I want to keep learning and creating! 

I want to meet more of you because of my blog, because of your blog and, someday I want to meet you in person! 

I want to be able to personally thank you with a big hug, because, 

you have taught me something along the way. 

Click here to see where I may be partying this week. 

AND

Don't forget to come by on Tuesday's

for my link party.

You're Gonna Love It - Week 65

I'm keeping it short and sweet this week friends.

Packing for the move is in full force and,

it's the end of the month so work is busy.

I will keeping the parties alive each week but,

I will not be blogging on a regular schedule until

after the move when,

I will be sharing all of the fun of making it into OUR home as well as

decorating for the Fall and Winter holidays!

Last weeks most viewed link came from my buddy Sarah

from House Crazy 

Sarah shared her story and photos as she house peeped her way

through the Blue Mountains of Ontario.

Don't know what a house peeper is?  Go visit Sarah for her definition!

Be sure to grab an I've Been Featured button Sarah!

Now, on to party #65!!

Feel free to link up anything you have created.

Recipes, decor, crafts, written or photographed.

Anything you are so proud of

you just gotta share it with others.

I will reserve the option of deleting

any post that I do not feel fits the

theme of my blog. 

Please limit your link ups to

just 2 or 3. 

I love to spotlight

some of my favorites on my

Facebook page and pin them to my 
You're Gonna Love It Tuesday board on Pinterest so,

be sure to follow me there too!

As always, you don't have to
be a follower
in order to link up.
 I want you to follow
Kathe With An E
because you want to.
Not because it is required.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin 
Or sign up to receive my updates by email.

 I would also love it if you would link back

in some way so that others come and party with us.
Either grab the party button
or add my blog link
to your post or on your
  blog party page.
But again, it's not required.  

I ask that you please 

DO NOT link up

giveaways, Etsy shops or anything for sale.

Save those for the first Tuesday of each month

(NEXT WEEK!)

when,

Anything Goes!

Please remember, this is a party

so, after you link up,

mingle around 
and visit some of the other party guests.

*By linking up your post, you are giving Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

Be sure to stop by and visit these other great linky parties this week!

 

  

 This week’s party is sponsored by:

 Did you know that you can earn money blogging about brands you love?

You Blog, You Profit! Click on the Icon Above to Sign up for SocialSpark today!

Bloglovin & Pinterest Blog Hop

Welcome to Bloglovin' and blog hopping Thursday once again!  We are so happy to be joining together to bring you the  Bloglovin' Blog Hop to help grow our blogs.   It's always a great idea to have many ways for friends to follow your blog.  Each week we rotate one other social media to follow.  This week we are adding your blog and Pinterest along with Bloglovin'!  Friends can hop on over to visit your blog.    A huge thank you to everyone who joined us last week.  We hope you made some new friends! 

Please follow each hostess, and leave us a comment so we can return the follow!   Please follow your hostesses and visit other at least 3 or 4 other links!  

We would love to feature a co-host each week, so please send one of us an email if you would like to be a co-host.  We would love for you to join us!

Please link up your bloglovin' follow link.  To find your URL, just click on your follow by bloglovin' button.  Copy and past the URL link.  That's all there is to it!  

Thank you so much for joining us!  We hope you make many new friends and followers each week.  

Not mandatory, but we would love for you to share our blog hop button.    That's a great way for us to all gain new friends. 

                                      Hostesses:

                                                          

Becky @ Your Modern Family                            Doreen @  HouseHoneys  

                                                                       

                                          

 Kathe @ Kathe with an E                                      Kathy @ Life on Lakeshore Drive     

                                               

Suzan @ Simply Vintageous                                     Tammy @ One More Time Events   

Home Depot Rubbermaid All Access Containers

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Home Depot & Rubbermaid, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #AllAccessOrganizers  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

It's no secret we are moving to a new home soon.

It's also no secret that I am short.

I was born short and have stayed short my whole life.

I have come to terms that, as I age, I will get even shorter LOL.
Because I am vertically challenged, 
I have difficulty reaching items on the higher shelves.
It sometimes becomes a seriously dangerous problem.

With this move I have already been setting some goals for the new home:
I will keep items at a reasonable level so that I can reach them easily and safely and, I will start, and stay, organized. 

Thank goodness I was selected to be involved with this campaign with Home Depot and Rubbermaid, so that achieving my goals should be that much easier!

Here is just one of my nemeses:

The main coat closet.  
We will have one exactly like it at the new house.

Check out my feeble attempt to "organize" the light bulbs and our winter hats and gloves in shoe boxes.
Who's your favorite creative crafter?  Yeah, wasn't me that day LOL!

If I needed to replace a 60 watt light bulb or grab a pair of gloves

I was usually thumped on the head by a stray bulb or hat.

Seriously, not safe at all.

When I saw the Rubbermaid All Access Containers at Home Depot I knew they

were made just for me!

Rubbermaid All Access Containers are so perfect for any type of organizing. 

I got one small and one large. 

I love that they open from the front as well as the top.

The NEW All Access™ Organizers 

feature an

    innovative, clear drop-down door 

making it so easy to open when they are stacked on top of each other.

Also perfect for what I had planned!

First, I slowly took everything off the shelf.

I also dusted the shelf and, I took this photo after but, I dealt with more cobwebs.

(remember the BIG one I showed you when I cleaned my bedroom closet?

Imagine 5-6 just like it in this closet.

Goal #3: Dust closets more often)

I then placed all of the light bulbs, loose and those still in

packaging, in the large container

And all of our winter hats and gloves in the smaller container.

Thereby eliminating 3 useless and unattractive shoe boxes!

Now, I can easily see what I need and, I can just pull open the 
front door of the container

and, have easy access to what I want whether it be in the top or bottom bin!

And, because they stack so nicely, I can keep them on the floor

of the closet and not risk a concussion just to get a pair of gloves!

Once we get moved, my plan is to get more of the smaller bins.

Just like the label says, the possibilities are truly endless for organizing closets, laundry rooms, craft rooms or anywhere storage is needed.

What about you?  

Do you have a challenging organizational story to share?

Be sure to check Out Rubbermaid and Home Depot on 

Facebook for more storage and organizing ideas!

 I would also love it if you would link back

in some way so that others come and party with us.
Either grab the party button
or add my blog link
to your post or on your
  blog party page.
But again, it's not required.  

I ask that you please 

DO NOT link up

giveaways, Etsy shops or anything for sale.

Save those for the first Tuesday of each month
when,

Anything Goes!

Please remember, this is a party

so, after you link up,

mingle around 
and visit some of the other party guests.

*By linking up your post, you are giving Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

Be sure to stop by and visit these other great linky parties this week!

 

  

 This week’s party is sponsored by:

 Did you know that you can earn money blogging about brands you love?

You Blog, You Profit! Click on the Icon Above to Sign up for SocialSpark today!