Blogging Tips – What I Wished I Knew When I Started Blogging – Alison from Oopsey Daisy

October 6, 2011 by 6 Comments

Hello friends!

My name is Alison, and I blog at Oopsey Daisy.

I am thrilled to be here at Tara’s place today. I know Tara in real life because we are some of the very few craft bloggers from Colorado. Isn’t her entire series genius?! I love reading other bloggers’ advice!

No doubt about it, I am completely BLESSED to do what I love.

I actually get to wake up each morning and make stuff… and then share it! I have the opportunity to connect with other creative minds. I am so blessed, and I tell myself this every day. But I am still no expert. I am learning new things each day. Today, I am sharing what has worked for me. So this is me on my soapbox with some of my best blogging tips!
Being a blogger is like being a juggler. We do so much more than write blog posts. We reply to e-mails and write comments. We build friendships and alliances. We promote each other. We tweet, we facebook, and we stumble. In our spare time, we pin. We attend blogging conferences. We participate in tweet chats and skype groups. We link up. We take a few pictures and then a few more pictures. We advertise and negotiate. And somewhere in the mix of all that, we try to find some time to create!
Find balance.

I am a stay-at-home Mom for my 2 1/2 year old son. My husband travels frequently for work, so I cherish my free time. Since I began blogging, I promised myself that I wouldn’t blog while my son was awake. I saved all of my blogging activities for naptime and bedtime. Of course my goal is not always practical. But for me, I try to always be a Mom first and a blogger second. I do my best to avoid mother’s guilt by managing my free time wisely. I plan my time carefully. I plan my blog posts carefully–almost a month in advance. I know precisely what I plan to do for each day’s naptime and bedtime.

But true confessions: I seem to pull out almost of my blog posts last minute around 1 AM!

No one will magically find your blog. You simply have to put yourself (and your links!) out there. This takes a bit of work on your end. I attribute most of my blog’s early growth to my participation in link parties. I regularly linked up to every link party that I could find, and this introduced other bloggers to Oopsey Daisy.


True confessions: When I began blogging, I was afraid to feature others. But I learned that connecting with other bloggers will only help your own blog to grow. When I started my Wednesday’s Wowzers weekly feature, I was pleasantly surprised that I often gained support by featuring others’ work. Readers love seeing new ideas, and they will appreciate your good taste. What goes around comes around! When you feature another’s work, they are more likely to remember you and pay it forward.



This is something I feel so strongly about! Comment love is a powerful thing. I remember all too well the excitement of receiving a new comment on a project I was so excited about. I am SO grateful for every comment!

It just seems that the more positive vibes I send out in the blogging world, the more positive vibes come back to me. I have created strong friendships with many other bloggers simply by leaving comments on each other’s posts.



Here is the big question: The moola! I just recently decided to begin pursue sponsors. For me, it is a very delicate balance between making my blog my own and not becoming too commercial. Honestly, I started my blog pretty innocently. I just loved blogging. I wanted to create and share with others. I would definitely recommend blogging with this perspective. Of course a little compensation definitely helps out! (Especially when justifying blogging to my husband!) But find a good balance, and be sure you love blogging no matter what the payout might be!


I truly believe that as a blogger, you can make Facebook and Twitter your best friends. I think of Facebook as a way to show some personality to my readers. It’s a fun way to connect with my readers in a little more personal way and have actual conversations.

Twitter is a perfect way to connect, interact, and network with colleagues. As much as I wanted to avoid this latest social networking fad, I have found it to be invaluable. When I have blogging questions, I run to Twitter and find bloggers who are more than willing to help.

It’s not fun, but there are certain legal issues I encountered on my blogging journey. Did you know that FTC rulings have required us to have a disclosure statement if you work with sponsors for reviews or giveaways? This was news to me! So I have a disclosure statement now on my blog. You can find out what information you need to include in your own disclosure here.

I also encourage bloggers to have a copyright visible on their blogs! Unfortunately, having a copyright to protect my work has saved me time and time again. There are several free ways to add a copyright such as My Free Copyright.

 

It can be easy to compare yourselves to others. Resist obsessing over the stats. Just remember that no one else can be you. Find you what makes you unique as a blogger, and go for it! Then go for it!

Good luck!!
Tara, thanks for having me!
********
Thank you, Alison!
This is some serious meat and potatoes!!!  Pardon the cliche, but I think you really answered a LOT of questions that a LOT of us bloggers have!!!
Thank you so much!!!

 

PLEASE VISIT THE PAST GUEST POSTS IN THIS SERIES: 

 

{my post}

 

 Bev from Flamingo Toes

 

Alison from Oopsey Daisy 

 

Denise from Denise Blooms

 

Carissa from Good and Crazy 

 

Lara from Less Cake {more frosting}

 

Allison from House of Hepworths

 

Mique from 30 Days

 

Steph from The Daily Blarg

 

Lindsey from The Pleated Poppy

 

Holly from 504 Main

 

Steph from Somewhat Simple

 

Kami from No Biggie

 

Jessica from Allora Handmade

 

Jamielyn from I {heart} Naptime

 

Megan from The Tuckers Take Tennessee

 

Amy from the Idea Room

 

Stacy from Not Just a Housewife

 

Mark Montano from TLC

 

Becca from Blue Cricket Design


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© 2011 – 2012, Tara. All rights reserved.

Filed Under: blogging, guest blogger, what i wished i knew when I started blogging Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Comments

  1. Alison says:
    October 6, 2011 at 11:51 am

    Thanks SO much for having me, Tara!!

    [Reply]

    Reply
  2. Daria says:
    October 6, 2011 at 7:55 pm

    You captured the spirit of supporting others & building relationships very well!

    [Reply]

    Reply
  3. Maureen says:
    October 8, 2011 at 12:19 am

    What wonderful advice! Thank you so much for sharing :)

    [Reply]

    Reply
  4. Brian D. Hawkins says:
    October 9, 2011 at 9:55 am

    Great tips Alison, especially “Be Yourself”. I love the About Me page on Oopsey Daisy. A lot of bloggers can learn from that kind of openness.

    [Reply]

    Reply
  5. Angela B says:
    October 12, 2011 at 11:33 am

    I am just starting out, like only weeks in. This was incredibly helpful. Thank you!

    [Reply]

    Reply

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