After more than three years of blogging, I’m still so curious about how other bloggers do what they do. So, I asked five popular (design & DIY) bloggers five questions that I’ve always wanted to ask.
I'm lucky to have lots of readers, PR people, designers, real estate agents and various "anonymous tipsters" who send me story ideas every day. I have more than I could ever use. My biggest challenge is to keep up with all the email that comes in and sort through all the potential post ideas to choose which ones to focus on. I have about 35-40 drafts I'm working on at any given time. I decide what each week's posts are going to be ahead of time so I know which ones to finish and get ready. Now and then I post something on a whim but most of the time it's all planned out!
My blog focuses on the transformation of our 80s house, so my posts center around those projects and ideas. Occasionally an impromptu post idea will pop in my head, but usually they are planned in advance, based on my completed projects. That helps keep me organized and my scattered brain focused!
I'm definitely a blog post planner. Or maybe I should say, "I prefer to be" because it doesn't always happen. I'm more relaxed when I have things scheduled or planned out in advance because that's just my nature. I recently created a blog binder and it's really helping keep me organized. I write down blog post ideas so I can refer back to them when I need to and when I'm stumped, I turn to Pinterest, go to the bookstore and browse around, or look through magazines.
I am a bit of both. I keep a list of blog topics that I want to address based on reader feedback, inspiration found or projects we have happening. Sometimes life happens and it sparks a new reason to have a last minute post so I switch things up. Up until very recently I didn't plan out my posts, I would just think in my head about what I could write about each week, but then I would find my blog sitting post-less for a day or two at times. Now that I have implemented my Blog Planner, I have been better about scheduling out topics and having a plan for the blog. It feels great!
I am a total whim blogger. For example, I may be making the kids their school lunches, switching the clothes from the washer to the dryer, and think, "hey, I should do a post on decorating with plates!" Then, the kids go hungry and they have nothing to wear to school because the laundry isn't done, and I have 45 plates arranged on the floor while I am off to look for my camera.
Keeping up with all the comments and questions not only in my inbox but on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., is tough. I try to get through as many as I can before bed at night but I always wake up to a full inbox again the next morning. Wish I had an answer for this because it's a constant struggle! I know some bloggers have hired Virtual Assistants to handle it, but I'm kind of a control freak. I'm sure I'd still want to see all the email and tell the VA how to answer each one anyway. Ha.
I appreciate people taking the time to email me or comment on my blog, so I make time to respond to their questions. Having a smart phone makes all the difference in the world for me, because I can check in whenever I have a free moment, no matter where I am. As for all the emails from companies, while I'd love to check-out each and every one, I've learned to set better boundaries for myself and kindly decline if the opportunity isn't applicable to my blog.
It's so hard! When I first started blogging, I not only responded to every comment, I visited that person's blog if they had one. I met a lot of blogging friends that way and I'm so glad I had the time to do that back then (I wasn't working and my son was just a tiny baby who slept a lot). Now, I respond to comments in the comments section. I actually prefer that now, so that other people can read my return comments. About once a month, I try to go through and clean up my email and respond to specific questions I may have missed.
The OCD in me has a hard time not replying to an email, but there are times when I just need to pick my battles. Unfortunately, as my blog grew, so did the number of questions, emails, inquiries, etc... I started out by creating separate email boxes for a few of the email types {advertising/giveaways, reader spaces, etc...}, and I also hired on an assistant to help manage some of the bulk. I do make sure I read every. single. comment on the blog and Facebook, because my readers come first and foremost. :) I also thank technology for making it easy to respond to questions on the go.
I really do read every single blog comment~I love them. Well, some of them. The anonymous not so nice people should just go away. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Didn't their mothers teach them that? I TRY really hard to reply to all my emails, and I apologize if you have emailed me and I didn't get back to you. In my defense, I probably had some plates to arrange or laundry to do.
Blogging started as a fun hobby that made my day job more bearable. Then, when it took off, my blog made it possible to quit that day job that I hated so much. I will always be grateful for that! Being able to write about my favorite things every day is a dream come true.
I love the sense of community and camaraderie with other people who share the same loves and passions as me. My online friends love paint, fabric, glue guns and transforming old things like no other friends in my life...and they love talking about it (my husband really appreciates not being at the receiving end of my curtain debates!)! Sharing these obsessions with people who feel the same way, has given me so much confidence in the choices I make for designing our home.
I have met two of my closest friends through blogging and lots of peers that I admire so much and really enjoy. That's better than I could have ever imagined.
The sense of community. I live in the middle of nowhere, and have days where I don't see anyone beyond my family {since I work at home}. I have so much fun building relationships and connecting with so many amazing and creative folks around the blogosphere. It has also been incredible to reflect on the opportunities that have come from a daily job that rocks as much as blogging does. From working with Better Homes & Gardens to other national publications and television productions, I never would have imagined any of it to be possible a few years ago.
The best thing that has come out of blogging is the friends I have made. Some I have been fortunate enough to meet in person, some we just exchange emails. If I really like you, we text! :)
Dealing with negativity. I'm a positive person and like to surround myself with positive people. When you're on the Internet, you can't control who visits your blog and leaves comments. The bigger my blog gets, the more negative comments and emails I have to deal with. But the majority are positive or could be classified as "kind criticism," which isn't personal or nasty, so I take the bad along with the good. Some days are easier than others, though. You wouldn't believe how much angry "hate mail" I got when my story about House Hunters went viral over the summer. It was crazy!
My least favorite thing is when people ask questions in the comment section, but have no way for me to contact them with an answer! It leaves me feeling like a jerk, so I even wrote a post about how to fix it!
Not being able to respond to all comments or questions and the pressure I put on myself to post daily with good photographs.
The haters. I know we all deal with them, but I have never understood why someone would come to your personal space and criticize. It is just not my style. I love when my readers can offer a helping hand, as my blog is just as much about my personal growth and learning as it is about sharing ideas and inspiration, but there is a right and wrong way to go about it. Over time, I have gotten better at dealing with the here and there hurtful comment, but I would be lying if I said they don't still hurt each and every time.
Uh, honestly stuck on this one. BORING, I know, but I really can't think of anything.....
I turn on my computer and start working at 7 each morning and try to turn it off by 11 (although I'm guilty of going past midnight when I have a lot to do). I'm writing on and off all day. But my "power hours" are in the morning before lunch and at night after the kids are in bed.
I don't have a set time for writing posts. It's whenever I have a break at work, in the evenings or on weekends. If I'm not able to get one written by my normal posting time, I just skip that day. Even though blogging is so time consuming, I don't want it to feel like work, or leave my family feeling neglected because of it.
Now that I'm working part time, I'm posting in the daytime and nighttime, but typically, I take photos on the weekend and write up my posts at night after my son goes to bed.
It shifts depending on where I am at with our daily schedules. Now that all my kiddos are in school full time, for the first time ever, I have found it best to wake up and start writing in the morning. That allows me to spend time with my family in the evenings, which is when I used to try and post. If I have somewhere to be, I will try and schedule out time in the week to pre-post so I still have something new go up almost daily.
Typically I write my posts in the wee hours of the morning before my family is up. I sit with my cup of coffee and my Mac and TRY to be creative. If I am doing a post on a tutorial or diy project that takes a little more time, I usually do those the night before the post.
Okay, I lied. There are actually six questions.
I remember how exciting it was to discover a few other "house bloggers" who were newbies like I was in 2008 (there weren't many of us then, believe it or not!). Two of them stand out in my mind because I featured their projects early on: Nesting Place and Young House Love. It's been great seeing how successful they've both become over the years. And I still read their blogs every day!
I can't even remember what I did online before blogs...but I remember thinking I'd hit time-wasting nirvana with Young House Love and I Suwannee. Then it just snowballed and my blog reading is now wildly out-of-control!
It is probably no surprise, but I first found Young House Love when searching for a DIY idea about three and a half years ago. I remember the night I found them, and sitting in bed reading old posts until dawn. I continued to read it for a couple of weeks, and started finding a bunch of other great blogs to follow! It was the best thing that ever happened to me, as I was doing daycare full time and decided that starting up my own blog would be a huge mommy sanity saver and a creative way for me to share my love for organizing and DIY.
Sadie Olive!!! I didn't even know what a blog was, but I saw hers listed in a magazine and looked it up. Love Sara and her home, and I have been fortunate enough to be about to see it in person. It is gorgeous and Sara is the sweetest person!
This was so much fun! Thanks to these fab five for humoring me. Maybe I’ll do it again soon…
