Being a blogger is a rocky experience. It is humbling, too. I pause often to remind myself of how far I’ve come, and then I compare it to how far I still have left to go to reach ‘wild, crazy, someone actually noticed my blog‘ success.
I’d say that I’m a hobby blogger, because, so far, that’s my real status. I don’t have ads on my blog, I don’t sell things, I don’t really have much to say that anyone ‘needs‘ to read.
(but…you should keep reading…tips to come below…)
My blog is mostly just me (duh) and the daily ramblings that I do for my sanity’s sake. I enjoy writing posts and taking photos to share. Blog writing and photography have revived my quirkiness. I’m thankful for that.
But…there’s more, I must be on to something…not sure what yet, but its something.
I was almost famous one day since I started tracking my stats.
Pretty awesome right? Just look at it…amazing, right?
One GLORIOUS day – a month ago!
See…what a cool trend I’ve got going, eh? (Who in their right mind shows their real readership trends…now, that’s gonna make you famous, Jeez!?)
What happened after the big day of fame?
Well, as you can see above, my blogging stats went back to normal. Or steady. I remind myself – steady is a good thing. Once my stats spiked, it made my normal steady trend look puny. Oh my, that’s a reality check if I’ve ever seen one!
Yippee…go me!
Wait…go back…what happened on the big day? What did I do differently that day to see such a huge spike in my stats?
My tips for a successful blog post
Blog Title – “How to know when you’re ready to go gray” – apparently that title hit a cord for people who are thinking about going gray. The titles I choose, always make a difference in readership. “How to” or “How” titles are more popular.
Share it on multiple social sites – I shared that post on Word Press Daily Post Prompt, Pinterest, Bloglovin’, Facebook, Google +, and Facebook Gray and Proud Private Group Page.
Photo – the feature photo was from my Gorgeous Grays Pinterest board. I took a screenshot of the photos that had my (.gif) photo thinking it would be safe to use since I was in it.
I later found out that there were two other people in the screenshot I shared on the post who are also part of the Gray and Proud group. They saw themselves in my post, and then shared it or told their friends about it, so more people read the post.
And then more people commented on that thread on the Facebook page, and the number of reads of the post went sky-high (mind you, that is only compared to my normal readership).
So yeah, I was so excited.
I grabbed my husband, pointed to the computer monitor, and said, “Honey…look at my stats, I’m flabbergasted…I don’t know what to say…I wonder what happened!?!”
“Wow, that’s really nice, Hon. Congrats…” (He, gave me a congratulatory, aka, obligatory hug, and walked out of the room; he knew, it was a fluke no doubt.)
Feeling all full I myself, I got even braver after that. A Facebook friend who saw my post, suggested I submit it to Huffington Post.
So I did that.
What? Am I delusional? Yep…suddenly, out of the blue! Weird, eh? If nothing else, I’ve learned in my blogging experience that:
“If you’re not willing to put yourself out there, you’re not going to get anywhere fast.”
I told myself, “Go ahead, try new things, be brave, and see what happens.” The worst that can happen is someone will say, “No, thanks.” Or they won’t read it and will just discard it – people do that all the time.
But…not everyone gets invited to interview at Huffington Post. I took a chance and I did!
Here’s proof.
Here’s the real deal – take a closer look – notice the dates and timing of invite? I sent Jamie the email on Friday. She responded to me on Monday, inviting me from Wisconsin to New York City for the in-person interview, the very NEXT day! I sat there staring at the screen…wondering…realizing quickly that…hmm…that isn’t going to happen now, is it?
Nope, not a chance!
There was no way I was going, unless I was suddenly rich, famous, and owned a private jet. I sure didn’t have time to set up a GoFundMe page on my lunch break either. So I emailed her back my “thanks, but no, thanks” reply.
And so folks, that’s how I was almost famous one day.
What did I learn from those fleeting moments of fame? It’s rocky being a blogger. To grow my blog readership, I have to share something of value with my readers. And, I’ve learned it is a lot of work.
But dammit, it is fun for me and I still enjoy showing up every day.
And, if you’re a fan of my quirky ramblings, I’m so incredibly thankful for you. I show up (here, not in Manhattan at Huffington Post) for you, too. THANK YOU for stopping by to read my posts, I appreciate YOU!!
I’d love to hear your words of blogging wisdom! Go ahead, share away!
Post inspiration – #SoCS – so far
I seem to notice my stats spike when I respond to a Daily Prompt or “LIKE” a bunch of prompts from their home page. 🙂
Thank you, Heather, I appreciate you sharing your tips!
You are hilarious! Even the best blogger has lows if they don’t write daily. Like you said, it’s a trendy thing. LOL! I loved this! 🙂
Thank you :-)! Posting frequently helps, thanks for sharing your tips!
LOL! No problem. 🙂
How exciting! Too bad it had to be face to face interview. Technology is a wonderful thing. Huffington Post should use it.
Thank you, it was exciting. That’s exactly what I thought too, :-)!
I had one day like that as well. But I didn’t submit to huffington post, darn it. lol! I love your blog, and when I hit comment on the first page and click, it lands on your photo going back and forth, I love it. Thank you Shelley.
You’re famous too!!! I love visiting your blog, too!! Thanks for sharing this blogging world with me :-)! Happy Saturday to you!
I admire that you contacted Huffington about your blog post and congrats on having such a marvelous blogging day. I’ve never thought to submit anything to HuffPost, but I guess I’m happy to be the “hobby blogger,” as you call yourself. Sometimes I check out my stats, but most often I stay away because I don’t want the stats to change the way I feel about my blogging on any given day. I simply appreciate having fellow bloggers like you come by and comment.
Thank you, Mary. Your words of wisdom are perfect! I appreciate hearing from you, too! I hope that flu bug ditches you soon so you’re ready to jump on that bike with the warmer spring weather!!
Their loss, Shelley. Their readers would have loved it!
Just know that if that offer is ever repeated and someone says come to New York (City) for an interview, I have a spare room and a new subway nearby. My only requirement: you must bring at least one cat.
Aw, thank you, Ellen. Your support means so much to me! We’ve never traveled to NYC before, oh…you’re so sweet to offer! I’ll let you know if they ever give me a chance again!! I’d love to see the view from your window that you’ve been sharing on your blog. I’m so happy to see you add pictures. 🙂
It’s funny when the stats thing goes way up, like it does sometimes, seemingly for no special reason. I had one the other day, too. Very cool to see! Then it was back to normal the next day. Love how you write about it! 😉
Thank you. Congrats on your day of spikes too! Thanks for stopping by to read, I appreciate hearing your thoughts!
Now that what I call an honest post and yes we all those spikes now and then and at least you took a shot.
Yes, very true! Thanks for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts! Happy blogging to you :-)!
Happy blogging!
I loved reading this! Those blogging moments are SO exciting. Thanks for sharing yours with us.
What an inspiring post! I love your easygoing and honest voice about the ups and downs of blogging. And congratulations on your popular post and invite from Huffington Post!! Whoa, that would have sent me over the moon and probably a congratulatory trip to the mall to get a pretty headband or something. 🙂
Thank you! It was an exciting moment for sure! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate hearing from you!
That’s exciting! Too bad such short notice. Maybe next submission will be to something closer, or not requiring a face to face.
Thank you! Yes, closer to home is nice. I do post for our local Chamber of Commerce, so that’s fun too. Thank you for the read, and for sharing your comments!
Nice to get a big spike of hits 👍. Personally I rarely look at hits or likes, as I wrote on a previous blog post “Why do you follow me”, the issue for me is comments rather than hits or likes. Same as you I blog for fun and its engagement that keeps me going with 3-4 people who regularly exchange views. Reblogging of someone’s post helps too because it spreads that persons post around a new set of followers. I do this fairly regularly but in 12 months I think only two people have ever reblogged one of my posts!
As always, Dr. B, I enjoy hearing from you and your perspectives. I’ve never tried the reblogging…guess I better read up on how to do that! Thank you for the hot tip, and THANK YOU for stopping by to read and share your thoughts. I do appreciate you, your blog, and your wisdom!
Thank you, very kind. Reblogging is easy, find someone’s post you like, look at the bottom of it amongst like buttons etc, tap it, write your own introduction and press go. Try it with my Epicurus book review to follow up your own?
You’re welcome! I gave it a whirl, hope it worked!!
Wow, Shelley! Anyway, it’s the Huffington Post loss. They don’t know how a great blogger you are. Why can’t they just interview you through online? There are so many apps for video calling.
Thank you, Winnie! I know, right! I guess they just wanted locals to respond. 😉
It’s my pleasure, Shelley! 😊
I am learning alot from you Shelly. As a new blogger myself this is helpful. Thank you!
Thank you, glad you’ve found the info helpful! Keep on keeping on :-)!