These last few months I’ve been relearning that blogging is always much more fun in community!
After neglecting my blog for nearly three years, I decided to dive back in. After our big move from California to Minnesota, blogging is one of those things that got lost in the shuffle.
Better together!
These past few months I’ve been having a blast writing, reconnecting with old blog friends, and making new ones. Link parties or link-ups have been one great way of doing this. So, if you are one of those amazing bloggers who host a link-up each week, a huge thank you for what you do! You can find a list of some of my favorite link-ups here. Oh, and if I missed you, just let me know and I’ll add you in right away!
As you can probably tell by my recent posts, I’m still trying to find my blogging rhythm. I still post more randomly than I’d like and I don’t always stay on theme. In other words, my posts tend to jump from one topic to the next, to the next. Not that this is wrong, but it isn’t as focused as I’d like it to be. So, in addition to leaving a favorite blog post or two, I’d love to learn from you!
- How do you find your blogging rhythm?
- Is it important to stay on topic with a series of blog posts?
- What’s the most valuable blogging lesson you’ve learned this year?
I’d love it if you’d drop your favorite tip or two in the comments below!
Happy Friday Blog-Party #1
- This blog-party is open to everyone. Over the past few months, I’ve met some incredible writers who blog about faith, family, relationships, and even crafting, fashion, homeschooling, and DYI. So why leave anyone out? Blogging is way more fun with friends. So it doesn’t really matter what topic you write about. You’re in, and we’d love to have you share your post!
- Add 1-2 of your posts (old or new) by clicking the blue button below (It’s easy). I’m learning that old posts need love too. If you’ve been too busy to write this week, I know what that’s like. Simply pick a favorite old post to share.
- For every post you leave, we’d love it if you would comment on someone else’s post (or two or three). This is an excellent way to make new friends, cheer other writers on, see what fellow bloggers are up to, and blogging within a community is simply more fun. There are no rules on who’s post you should comment on. Just click on the ones that resonate most with you.
- Finally, we’d love it if you’d grab a button for your site or add our blog to your link-up list. We intend to host every Friday and keep the link-up going all week long. You can find a list of some of our favorite link-ups here. If you’re looking for more places to share, be sure to join in these too!
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That’s it! Now it’s time to share you amazing work. We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to!
– Jed and Jen
I had wondered what happened to you all since I hadn’t seen anything from you for such a long time until you commented on my site a couple of weeks ago. I’m glad to hear you’re back. Blessings to you both!
Congrats on hosting your own party! I’m linking up with a poll for WHAT’S ON YOUR THANKSGIVING MENU? Let’s see what dishes everyone serves.
Hey Dee, what a great idea for a Thanksgiving post! And thanks for joining in the link up!
So, you ask a lot of questions that have taken me years to figure out ;). I’ve discovered that having a plan actually makes it easier to write consistently. I never have to sit down and say, “I should write something. What should I write?” In December, I come up with a rough outline of what I’d like to write for my Inspire Me Monday link-up. These are ‘Self-Care Sunday’ posts, and they always come out on Sunday afternoon. These are long-form posts that Google likes to reward with traffic (if I do my SEO homework correctly).
I almost always have a Book Talk Tuesday post on Tuesday afternoons where I review books I’ve read (most of them are new or yet-to-be releases that I read through NetGalley).
In May I started a podcast, and read somewhere that Tuesdays are a good day for podcasts, so I schedule those for Tuesday morning (I also didn’t realize what I was doing…and that I’d need a little blog post to go with each one 😉 ). Those are about 300 words–the minimum needed according to Yoast.
And I often post on Thursday nights as part of the Five-Minute Friday twitter party and blog link up–we chat on Twitter for 45 minutes and then get our weekly prompt and write for 5 minutes and post it.
You get the picture ;). I write better when I have a plan, and I’m almost done writing/producing all my content for December (and I finished with November two weeks ago). If I have a theme for the year (last year it was goal-setting), it makes it easier to sit down one afternoon and do keyword searches for SEO and headlines. Once I have those two things nailed down, it’s like getting a writing assignment from my English teacher (wait, I AM the English teacher 😉 ).
SEO is the thing I’ve learned the most about in the past 18 months. SEO can make all the difference in blog traffic from organic searches–which really increases my reach. I hope this helps :).
Anita, thank you for this. Wow, you are on fire! I’m impressed with your blog planning and all the writing your doing. And to be a month ahead in content is huge. I’m learning about SEO, slowly but surely. It’s fun to see visitors from search engines on the site. There is definitely a lot more to SEO than I initially realized. Thank you for the thoughtful feedback and confirmation that I’m on the right track by diving into SEO.
Now, if only I could get that planning down 🙂
Just found your blog – thanks for hosting the party. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Now off to visit some of the other bloggers at the party!