Day 83: Wowzers!

So a couple days ago I hit 200 followers on this blog.  I was in utter shock.  I mean I remember the days when I first started blogging and thought getting to 50 followers would be killer…and then I hit 100 and was amazed.  This whole blogging thing started out as just kind of a hobby, but now has turned into so much more.  So I thought today I would post about how this all came to be.  (Oh and thanks to LemonadeMommy for being #200!)

For the first two months of Abby’s life, I just read other mommy blogs.  And then I saw that a bunch of my friends from the bump started blogging too.  So I thought, why not start another one…I’ve had 2 blogs in the past since I moved clear cross country from my family, but I never kept up with them, which is what I thought would happen to this one.

Then I started getting some followers and I started publicly following other blogs and commenting on them.  Then I realized that other bloggers had badges and I wanted one too.  I had someone make kind of a stock one for me, all whilst I started emailing other mommy bloggers for tips on how to make my blog 3 columns and how to go about advertising and such.  I really didn’t like the stock badge I had, so I went looking for someone to do another one for me and thanks to a recommendation, I found Bailey.  And I couldn’t resist going beyond just getting a new badge and decided to splurge on a whole blog design.  (I really do think that having a nicely designed blog has helped to attract more readers…and her portfolio page where I’m featured doesn’t hurt either.)

Then I listed myself on topmommy blogs and topbaby blogs, which got me some more followers.

I would also have to say that the biggest challenge for me was figuring out what my mommy blogging voice would be.  I mean, if you look at some of my earlier posts, I was kind of all over the place.  But things just started to click and I think I’ve definitely set a distinct tone and mood and theme to my blog.  (I can’t help it…I do teach writing for a living.)

Then I bit the bullet and decided to try my hand at giveaways.  For my very first giveaway I decided to contact Picky Sticky for two reasons:  (1) I purchased her product and loved it (2) She was local and a mommy and I thought it would be great to support her.  And with how popular her stuff is with new mommies, I didn’t think in a million years she would say yes, but she totally did.  This, along with several other giveaways I have done, helped me to get more followers and more publicity for my blog.  (And I know there are some of you out there who are not fans of giveaways, but seriously, who doesn’t heart free stuff?  And if it will help me to get more followers and will lead me to making new mommy blogging friends, than I will always be down….and make sure you enter the CafePress giveaway!  )

And at first, yes, I did giveaways to attract more followers and get more votes b/c I knew once my numbers went up, I would even get more followers reading my blog, and perhaps they would vote for me, which would thus lead to people contacting me to do reviews and giveaways.  (It’s really a circular thing.)  Because overall, living clear cross country from my family and close friends can be a lonely place and having more people interested in my blog and commenting with their thoughts and opinions on being a mommy is really what I love about blogging.

Something else that has helped me to get more followers for this blog is making mommy blogging friends who are willing to support me and spread the word about my blog.  (And I would have to say that there are several of these mommy bloggers who I email with and consider to be real friends and I kinda wish we all lived near each other.)  Here are some who I really have to thank for all that they have done for me…whether it be mentioning me on their blogs or guest blogging for me or tweeting about my blog and giveaways (not b/c they just want to win, but b/c they heart supporting me) or simply taking the time to respond to my emails  (and these are not all, but just a slice of the ones who have impacted me the most):

 

Leave a Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Username (required) :
Email (required) :
Web Site :
Comment :

You can add a link to follow you on twitter if you put your username in this box.
Only needs to be added once (unless you change your username). No http or @ Twitter