Happy National Pie for Breakfast day, everyone! I hope you all are celebrating bounteously, and had a good Thanksgiving, despite the COVID restrictions.
Thanks to Megan for tagging me for this award! (Apparently November is awards month somehow? I've gotten three this month!) I had never heard of it, but I really enjoyed her post, and I'm excited to share more about why I started this blog. :)
(Why. Was. This. Intro. So. Awkward. The end of the quarter is killing my brain, sorry guys. I wrote the bulk of this post earlier, so I promise the rest of this post will not be this bad.)
(Why. Was. This. Intro. So. Awkward. The end of the quarter is killing my brain, sorry guys. I wrote the bulk of this post earlier, so I promise the rest of this post will not be this bad.)
Praecepta
1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog in your award post. (Thanks Megan!)
1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog in your award post. (Thanks Megan!)
2. Post the award banner somewhere on your blog.
3. Share the reason why you started your blog.
3. Share the reason why you started your blog.
4. Share two pieces of advice that could benefit new bloggers.
5. Nominate a maximum of fifteen other bloggers.
6. Tell your nominees about your award post so they can participate!
Why I Started Bookshire
There are two easy answers:
1. My family was tired of hearing me rant about books, so they suggested I get a larger audience.
2. I was bored because of COVID.
But the longer answer is that I had been following the book blogging community anonymously (without commenting!) for over a year. I thought that I could totally have a fun and unique book blog of my own, which would have the added benefit of letting me engage with other bloggers. And also stop irritating my family with book rants. So I did some brainstorming, and wrote up a couple of sample posts, then set up the blog! Because I already was familiar with the bloggers I had been following, I was able to connect with the blogging community really quickly once I started blogging, which was a great blessing.
My Two Cents...er, pieces of advice
1. I was going to say "Don't be afraid of other bloggers", but Megan took that one, so...Try new things. A lot. My most popular posts have not been the ones where I'm reviewing a book (like I thought I would mostly be doing on here when I started the blog, haha), they've been "Good, Better, Best", and "In Defense of", "Catholic Liturgy Week" and my posts for Hamlett's Tolkien Blog Party. None of those were things I had even thought about doing when I started the blog...but they've sparked a whole bunch of new ideas and directions for Bookshire! And if something new doesn't work out, just shrug your shoulders and try something else!
2. Plan your posts at the beginning of the month. I always make all the blank posts I'll be using for a month in Blogger at the beginning of the month, complete with any framework I'll need (rules and questions for tags, categories of discussion for reviews). That way then I can work on them as I have time throughout the month, whether it's five minutes before I start my homework, or thirty minutes during a boring Zoom meeting. :) Then I can simply schedule the posts as I finish them, and usually by the middle of the month, they're mostly done. (This isn't always true. October, notably, had me working all month!) I know this isn't for everyone, but I've found it really helpful in keeping on top of things.
My Nominees
Three is a good number. *nods*
What's been your most successful post/series? Did you plan for it to be that way? What other things would you like to see on Bookshire?
I love hearing how bloggers get started.
ReplyDeleteThat's how my most popular posts have been, too. I never expect them to be, and then it's like, "Wow, really?" Xd.
And those are great tips.
Me too!
DeleteHaha, yeah I guess we just don't have a great grasp of our audience yet. XD
Thank you!
Thanks for tagging me! Yeah, planning posts has been SO helpful for me. Granted, I don't always go by it, but just having a layout is great. Your advice about trying new things is something that I need to hear because I always get nervous about going out of my comfort zone. Happy first day of Advent! (I don't know if I've ever said that before, but it doesn't seem too weird. XD)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I break my own rules too, sometimes, but having them there is nice. I'm glad that piece of advice was helpful! Happy first day of Advent to you, too!
DeleteOh my goodness, I LOVE the idea of planning all your posts out at the beginning of the month! I currently have 30 drafts in varying stages of rot lying somewhere in my wordpress folder, and I desperately need to clean it out and start fresh. XD I'm also the world's WORST organizer, so planning out my blog posts is something I've been trying to do--and failing at, of course--for months. XD
ReplyDeleteI also adore the try new things bit! I definitely agree that it's my more random topics that get the most interaction with readers, and that's always super fun to witness.
Doing it has been really helpful! Of course, that doesn't mean I don't have my rotting posts as well...perhaps they shall be published someday, perhaps they won't. XD 'Tis the tragedy of having too many ideas. But yes, I would definitely recommend the planning out approach, if you can make it work for you. :)
DeleteThank you! Isn't it funny how we carefully write our 'on theme' blog posts...and then it's the one random one we throw in that gets the response? Maybe it's because *we* have more fun with those...
Fantastic tips! I need to start planning out my posts more.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAgh you did it yay! This was SO much fun to read. I love how you were following book bloggers before you jumped into blogging yourself. :)
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm so glad it was fun to read! It was definitely a good thing to do to learn a bit about what I was jumping into. :)
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