Encouraging Bloggers ~ Variety Is The Spice Of Life

 Welcome back to the Encouraging Bloggers series - Part 4!  I hope you've found a few encouraging words along the way!  Be sure to check out the Intro, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 if you missed them.  Bloggers and readers - you're all welcome to join in to get and give encouragement!

Some bloggers have a clearly defined niche and even know what it will be before starting a blog.  Others find a niche after blogging for a while and realizing that they want to focus on one area.  But then some of us, like me, never do find a niche for our blog.  We don't fit or "belong" in just one category.  There isn't really one clear focus - a mish-mash of life in general (I referred to my blog early on as a variety show) and yet each blog has a unique feel to it.

Do you have to have a niche to be a successful blogger?  Do you feel stressed when you can't exactly categorize your blog?  Do readers gravitate more toward blogs in niches because their interests might not match all of the subjects on a nicheless blog?

It's great to have a niche if you know clearly what you want your focus to be, whether it's a food blog, photo blog, decor blog, ministry blog, etc.  But if you don't feel like you fit into just one category or don't want to be limited to writing only certain types of posts - stay nicheless.  You can have a successful nicheless blog.  There are lots of nicheless blogs out there!  Don't look at it as a bad thing - look at the positives. 

If you are nicheless, you can post on a variety of subjects whenever you feel like it (within reason anyway)!  Don't fret over not focusing on one category - you can be a food blog one day, a photo blog the next, a comedy blog the next, and on and on.  There is so much freedom in that!  Focus on subjects you enjoy and don't worry about how big or small your audience is.  Wouldn't you rather have a smaller audience of readers that all enjoy your blog rather than a large audience that includes some readers who really don't care about your blog one way or the other?

There is something more important than a niche.  It's your "voice."  A niche may bring a reader to the general category of blogs, but what will draw her into one specific blog and make her decide to return?  It's the voice of that blogger.  It can take a while to find your voice and sometimes it will even change.  Finding and understanding what your voice is on your blog can help you settle into a comfortable rhythm that doesn't require a niche.

Your audience responds to your voice.  If they like it, they'll be back even if you occasionally post some things they're not interested in.  Your voice helps you make connections online just like your conversations help you make connections in real life.  If you're unsure of what your blog voice really is, take a step back, go to your actual blog page and read random posts from the last couple of months as if you're a brand new reader.  Perhaps with a clearer focus on your true voice, you'll find it easier to make new blog connections and gain readers.

Whether you have a niche or not - find your voice, or find it again!  Be you, but be the most authentic you and don't be afraid to show how you are unique (and beautifully and wonderfully made!).  If you do find a niche - yay for you, but don't be afraid to step outside the box and mix things up a little.  There are no real rules in the blogosphere.  And remember, if there were no variety among blogs, then the blogosphere would become boring!

Be encouraged friends!  Lift up those voices and blog!  :)  Don't forget to check out the list of blogs from last week (at the bottom of the post) and go encourage somebody new!  If you know of any posts encouraging bloggers, please share in the comments.  If you're on Twitter, feel free to share some bloggy encouragement using the hashtag #encouragingbloggers - see you there! 

Do you have a niche?  Have you found your blog voice?  What brings you to a blog initially?  What brings you back to a specific blog again and again?

Have a wonderful day friends!

Encouraging Bloggers ~ Money Can't Buy You Love

Welcome friends!  This is Part 3 of the Encouraging Bloggers series (feel free to read the Intro, Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them).  You can join me whether you're a blogger or a reader and whether you could use a little encouragement or want to share a little encouragement!

If you have a blog, it's going to come up.  Money.  Should I spend money on my blog?  How much should I spend on my blog?  What's the best value for my buck?  Will spending money on my blog help it grow?

Spending money on a blog is not necessarily a bad thing!  First, if your blog makes an income then it's easy to justify some spending as it will pay for itself.  But what about blogs that don't make money - like ministry blogs, family blogs, or hobby blogs?  Hobbies do cost money.  It's not unusual to spend money to do the things you love to do.  If your hobby/creative outlet is crocheting then you'll be buying yarn, crochet hooks, patterns and more.  If your hobby/creative outlet is scrapbooking then you'll be buying books, stickers, pens, accessories and more.  Ministries and families cost money too!  So I do think it's OK to spend some money on a blog as long as you're being reasonable with your budget and doing it with your family's support.  But you can have a blog - and a great blog - without spending any money at all!  They're all over the blogosphere!

How much money you should or shouldn't spend on your blog is something you have to determine.  I have spent very little money on my blog.  I get so close to paying for a fabulous new and organized blog design, but then when I see the price and realize I could get a cool new steam mop for my house instead, I back away - LOL!  If you want to spend money on your blog (domain, design, move to Wordpress, link-up system, giveaway item, etc.) because you know it will improve it, it will make you happy, and you have the income for it - that might be money well spent.  If you want to spend money on your blog just because "everybody else" is doing it, you feel pressured, and you think you won't be a successful blogger unless you do it - it might be better for you to reconsider.

What blog improvements are the best to spend some money on?  What's the best value?  Again, that all depends on your blog since each blog is unique.  I think domain names are a good buy as you can get them very inexpensively (small annual fee) and people can find your blog a little easier.  However, I've seen so many successful bloggers who still use "blogspot" or "wordpress" in their web addresses that I'm not totally convinced buying a domain name is absolutely necessary.  Somebody told me once that I should definitely buy my domain name because "they" would take me more seriously.  Hmmm...not the best thing to say to a slightly rebellious gal - who are "they" and why do I care what "they" think and what if I don't want to be taken more seriously??!!  LOL!

I like the idea of spending a few dollars on a blog design if you really can't handle doing some designing yourself and you can find a very reasonable price.  But there are so many great free designs available that it is not required to spend a penny!  I know my design could use some freshening up - but at the moment it's completely free.  My template and background are standard Blogger designs (you can customize the colors) and I designed my header using a simple photo collage in Picnik.  While you don't have to spend money on your blog design, you should definitely put some effort into it - it does have some effect on readers and whether they will return (note - not all readers have the same tastes so you'll never make everyone happy with your design choices!).

Spending money on your blog will not necessarily bring great growth and lots of new connections.  Sometimes it seems that way as we hop from blog to blog or see people talking on FB and Twitter about the latest and greatest things they've done with their blogs.  But can spending the money on your blog really buy you love?  Not always and not always the lasting kind of love you want!  You could spend money on items to give away on your blog (though you can even do that for free by helping promote your favorite business) and gain new followers, but will they stick around?  You could spend money on a fancy new design and then discover that many of your readers preferred the old one.  You could spend lots of money, follow all great advice, do everything "right" and still not experience blog growth because it's not God's vision for you at this time.

If you are truly trying to make your blog the best it can be, it starts with you, not your money.  Blog growth starts with writing good content, showing your personality in a sincere way, and making the effort to connect with your audience.  Focus on that first and then decide if you really need to spend money on your blog.

Have you spent money on your blog?  What has been the best value for you?  What expense(s) have you regretted?  Have you ever felt pressured to spend money on your blog in order to be "successful?"

I have stopped by some of your blogs and they're wonderful!  Don't feel pressured to make changes if it's not in your heart to do so!  Blog on friends!!

**I would love for us to be able to encourage each other!  I'm going to list the blogs of all the bloggers who have commented on the Encouraging Bloggers series so far.  Please take a few moments to find a new one, stop by and share some encouragement!  If you need a little bloggy encouragement and would like your blog added to the list, just leave me a comment and let me know.**

Have a terrific day friends!


Make a new friend today - stop by one of these blogs and share some encouragement!

~ Homesteader's Heart
~ Joyful Hearts and Faces
~ She Thinks Too Much 
~ Here's My Cup Lord
~ Triple Braided
~ The Magoos News
~ Fill My Cup...With Beauty
~ Sunnyside Fun
~ The Tablet of My Heart
~ A Walk Along The Way
~ Eight Acres of Eden
~ The Cozy Nook
~ Busy Lil Homemaker
~ Splashin' Glory
~ My Freshly Brewed Life
~ Sweet & Savory
~ A Heart Surrendered

I'm Still Here - Really!

I know I haven't had a post since last Thursday, but wanted you to know that I am still around and plan to have a new post tomorrow (Thursday) for the Encouraging Bloggers series!

I have been trying to adjust to a new busy season as I am a homeschooling mom for the first time in my life!  And I'm homeschooling a 7th grader who is a little caught off guard by the greater difficulty of the subjects as compared to elementary school.  At the same time, we are running around to a few extra classes and hubs and I started a new diet that involves more food prep on my part and I'm still trying to find time to work out 5-6 times a week!  Don't be impressed - I'm normally a bit lazy so this is all good for me, but it will take some adjusting - LOL!

I hope to get back to more regular posting once we settle into a rhythm here (Um, that will happen, right??).  I hope all is well with all of you - I know you are busy too!  Take a deep breath!  Now, on to the next thing!

Have a wonderful day friends!!

Encouraging Bloggers ~ One *Why* Or Another

Welcome to Part 2 of the Encouraging Bloggers series!  You can read the Intro and Part 1 if you missed them.  You're welcome whether you need some encouragement, want to spread some encouragement, or just want to see what goes through the minds of bloggers!

I'm sure that you have an idea of *why* you blog.  Some of you may have just a general idea, and some of you may even have it stated in a mission statement for your blog. But is your why good enough?  What about that other blogger's why?  Is it better?  Should you change your why?

I've mentioned before that comparing blogs is a little like comparing apples and oranges.  So the why's of blogs will all be different - and that's a good thing!  Your why is just right for your blog and is just as important as that bigger blogger's why!  It's OK if your why does not involve fame and fortune or building a brand.  Nothing wrong with those why's!  But other why's are great too and keep the blogosphere community going. (Oh dear, you are going to be so sick of the word why by the time I'm done - LOL!)

Can you state your reason for blogging in one sentence - right now?  Do you have to have a reason, a why?  You can blog without one, but you'll lack direction and purpose and I predict that you will eventually become dissatisfied with blogging.  Maybe you had a reason when you started, but it's become jumbled or unclear as you look around the blogosphere and think that your reason isn't important enough or big enough.  Maybe you lost track of it as you tried to keep up with all the latest link-ups, social media updates, and posts telling you what you need to do to be successful.  Maybe the reason you had in the beginning doesn't match up with what God wants your reason to be now.

I lost track of my why more than once (I'm not even certain I have it clearly in mind right now - I write these posts for me too you know!).  And I've taken big blog breaks more than once because when your why isn't clear, it all starts to feel like treading water.  I even "quit" last year as many of you know, but came back just 4 months later.  I definitely lost readers and connections, but had to do what I felt led to do at the time.  Sometimes it takes stepping away to clear things up.  If you feel clearly led to step away, then do it.  Just make sure that it is because you are being led in that direction and not because you feel like people aren't paying enough attention to your blog or don't appreciate your work because they don't leave comments or don't take you seriously because your blog is small.  Search your heart carefully before you write a farewell blog post!

If you need to find or redefine your why, try looking at your own blog!  Look at the posts you wrote during your first month of blogging - what were they about and do you still like them?  Look at the posts you wrote when you started gaining a few followers - did they change and are they better or worse than your beginning posts?  What posts on your blog are YOUR favorites - whether or not they got comments?  Start there rather than looking at what posts have been the most popular with your readers - you want to make sure that you are being true to YOUR why and not adopting a why that some of your readers think you should have.  Let comments determine what subjects readers respond to and use that to inspire your writing, but don't let those comments exclusively determine your blogging vision.  Remember, the readers who comment are only a portion of your audience - the people who read and are affected by your blog!

Don't compare your why to everybody else's - you are unique.  Your why IS good enough!  It IS important because it reflects you!  The blogosphere would be boring if everybody had the exact same reasons for blogging.

I feel like I rambled a bit today, but I hope you find the encouragement that you need!  If you have written or found a post that encourages bloggers, please share the link in the comments.  Lord willing I'll be back next Thursday with another Encouraging Bloggers post.  Feel free to share this post or put the above button on your blog if you know of bloggers that need some encouragement.  And if you're on Twitter, share some encouragement and use the hashtag #encouragingbloggers.

Be encouraged and blog on friends!  Have a fabulous day!

Oh - and you get a bonus encouraging virtual hug if you can tell me how many times I said "why" in this post - LOL!  :)

Got Doilies?

At the beginning of Summer, I wanted some fairly simple decor on my dining room table.  I was tired of greens and pinks from Spring.  I saw this great idea on Pinterest to use doilies as a kind of runner on the table.  But who has a bunch of doilies laying around??

Oh that would be me!  My Dad (yes, my DAD) crochets doilies all winter long when he's stuck in the house more and watching TV.  He makes beautiful doilies and gives lots of them to me!  I've showed some of them before:

I had a stack of recent doilies from Dad and gathered them up to put on my table - I love how it turned out!

And in the center, a very simple display with cards and a pen so my family could write their favorite Summer blessings, fold the cards up and put them in the jar.

Dad even got to see the display when he visited and he really enjoyed seeing his doilies used in this way!

Do you make doilies?  Do you use doilies in any displays in your house?  What's your favorite table centerpiece?

Have a great day friends!

Need A Last Minute Dessert?

If you've ever needed a dessert for company or even just family without any time to bake something or put together anything from a recipe - you might want to try this!

Stop over at Pennies and Blessings and I'll give you a quick dessert idea using ingredients you probably have around the house!

Have a great day friends!

Encouraging Bloggers ~ A Blog Is A Blog No Matter How Small

I had hoped to post this earlier today, but hey - it's still Thursday on my side of the country!  :)

Welcome to the Encouraging Bloggers series (read the Intro here)!  You're welcome here whether you're a new blogger, an "old" blogger, a thinking-about-starting-one blogger, or a reader of blogs!

I had a different topic in mind today, but felt like I should talk about this one first instead.  Let's talk about having a small blog.  Let me say that ALL blogs are actually small blogs if you think about it.  What???  You can always find a blog that's bigger than your blog.  Even the blogs that you think are big look at other blogs and think the same thing.  It's all relative.  I have a small blog, but to the brand new blogger with 2 followers/subscribers - I seem like I have a big blog.

What we tend to forget is that how big or small our blog is does not determine how important we are as bloggers.  Yes, blogs with bigger numbers have more opportunities as far as making an income or offering giveaways or even having a platform to use for a cause.  But don't be fooled by the numbers.  A big blog might have hundreds or thousands of followers and subscribers, but what really matters is how many of those "numbers" translate into relationships.  Relationships and connections are more important than rapidly increasing subscriber/follower numbers.  In fact, if you experience blog growth that's too fast in too short a time, you won't be able to establish the relationships needed to build trust with your readers.  You may end up feeling overwhelmed or like you missed something along the way.  I'm not saying that rapid blog growth is a bad thing!  What's important is the way that you handle it.

We work hard on our blogs and a good-sized base of readers helps us feel like what we're doing is worth our time.  There is nothing wrong with building and growing your blog!  But don't let that be the only thing that defines your blog.  What makes a blog a blog is YOU!  You are the writer.  You are writing for an audience.  If your audience is 1 or 1000 - it should not affect the way you write.  Your audience wants to hear from you.  Your audience likes you!  And even if there are members of your audience that do not or cannot clap (comments) - they may still need or want to hear from you.  If even 1 person is affected by what you write (causing them to think or smile or cry or take action), then isn't it worth it?  Do you really need the numbers?  How many people read your blog that aren't even signed up as followers or subscribers?  I have several and those are just the ones I know about because they've mentioned it in real life.  Comparing your blog numbers with other blog numbers might not be as accurate as you think - your audience is bigger than the numbers show! 

Comparing ourselves to other bloggers can be a good thing.  We find new blogs to read.  We link posts and make new relationships.  We get new ideas to improve our blogs.  Then we start looking at numbers and start thinking that maybe we're doing something wrong.  Comparing your blog numbers with that "big" blog's numbers is like comparing apples and oranges.  Your blogs might even be the same age and about the same topic - still apples and oranges!  Have you compared snowflakes?  Each one is unique just as each blog is unique.  Don't worry about the numbers - they just represent your audience.  No matter how small your audience is or how slowly the members trickle in, they all deserve your best "performance."

The Lord blessed my blog with slow growth - just what I needed!  No temptations to do big things that might cause me to neglect my family.  No obsessions with always trying to bring numbers up.  No feelings of not being able to step away from the blog when needed.  Did I accept that from the beginning?  Certainly not!  I fell into the numbers game and I have compared myself to other bloggers many a time, wondering why I wasn't growing as fast.  And in the beginning my goal was growth to a certain point so I could then decide what I really wanted to do with my blog.  Once growth was no longer my goal, I was a bit lost and struggled with what to do with my blog (and still struggle as you may have noticed).  Numbers don't mean what they used to for me and now my focus is more on rebuilding relationships and connections.  I want my blog to feel small - no matter how big the numbers get (don't worry, they're not gonna get that big - LOL)!

Be encouraged my small-blog friends!  Small blog or big blog - both have an audience and both are important!  When you have the chance to meet somebody that you feel is a "big" blogger - I want you to hold your head up high, shake that person's hand, and say," It's so nice to meet a fellow blogger!"

Do you feel you have a small blog?  Do you find yourself comparing your blog to "bigger" blogs?  Are you too concerned with growing your numbers?  Non-bloggers, do you pay more attention to the subscriber numbers of a blog or the messages in the posts to determine whether or not you will return?  Do you read some blogs that you have not subscribed to (or publicly followed)?

I would love to hear your thoughts and any encouraging words for friends with small blogs!  If you know of a post with some good insight on the subject, feel free to share the link in the comments.  Please share this post with any bloggers that need a little encouragement and feel free to post the button on your blog.  I plan to continue posting this series on Thursdays, Lord willing.  If you're on Twitter, share some encouragement for bloggers and use the hashtag #encouragingbloggers !

Have a fabulous day friends!!

Encouraging Bloggers - Back Next Week

I haven't been around the blog much the last few days - I'm currently visiting my Dad!  I had hoped to schedule the next installment of Encouraging Bloggers, but never had enough time and don't have enough time today to get it posted as I'm without my computer.  I will post the first part of the series (read the Intro here) next Thursday!  Thanks for your patience!

In the meantime, a great way to encourage bloggers is to leave a comment on a post!  So many of us are busy and only have time to read posts in readers.  I encourage you to take a few minutes over the next few days and leave comments on some blog posts.  Comments help a blogger to feel like their words are "heard" and appreciated.  Try stopping by a blog you haven't visited in a while and just say hi or comment on a blog you regularly read to let the blogger know you are still there!

If you're on Twitter, share some encouragement for bloggers and use the hashtag #encouragingbloggers !  Let's spread a little love and encouragement throughout the blogosphere!

Have a terrific day friends!  See you soon!