I’m sharing an extra post this week so I can participate in the 2019 Pet Blogger Challenge. Although I am a relatively new blogger, I still think it is exciting to look at what I’ve accomplished so far and dream about where I want to go from here. The Pet Blogger Challenge is organized by Amy Burkert of GoPetFriendly.com. I recommend you check out Amy’s blog to see all the great things you and your pets can do together.
To participate in the challenge I need to answer the following 10 questions in a blog post. Feel free to make comments.
2019 Pet Blogger Challenge
Q: For those who may be visiting your blog for the first time, how long have you been blogging and what is your main topic?
A: I have been blogging for less than one year and my main topic is dog care and positive reinforcement dog training.
Q: What was your proudest blogging moment of 2018?
A: Honestly, I think it was just having the gumption to start and to also share about my own experiences with a reactive dog. Happily, readers have been kind and responsive.
Q: What was the biggest blogging challenge you faced in 2018, and how did/will you tackle it?
A: Just getting readers consistently. Blogging, even just within the pet industry, is huge and so there are many amazing blogs for folks to read. I want to attract and keep “raving fans” by sharing amazing and well-researched content that is also well written.
Q: Which of your 2018 blog posts was your favorite and why? (Please include a link.)
A: I think it was a personal one I wrote that was pretty popular. It’s the story of how I met and fell in love with my dog. It’s hard to be personal but it was something I wanted to share. It’s called: How the dog I didn’t want became the love of my life.
Q: Which of your 2018 posts was most popular with your audience? Why do you think it does so well?
A: The most popular one so far is one called “Why E-Collars are Cruel.” I think it was popular because it shared my own experiences with using an e-collar (something I no longer do) along with recent research scientifically showing that they are cruel.
Q: Did you implement a new series, feature, or practice on your blog in 2018 that you’re enjoying?
A: No, but that’s a great idea and I think I will come up with one.
Q: As the social media landscape changes, how are you promoting your blog posts and connecting with new readers?
A: I share my posts on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I have an Instagram account but I started it as my dog’s account and haven’t yet really figured out how to use it for my business. I also include links to my latest posts in my email newsletter. I definitely need to be doing more promotions though. I need my email subscriber numbers to grow as well!
Q: Looking forward to 2019, if you accomplish only one thing through your blog, what do you hope it is?
A: Educate a million people about the power of positive reinforcement training and the dangers of traditional aversive training methods. I would love for my blog to truly start a movement.
Q: What steps are you planning to take to ensure you reach your goal?
A: Posting well-written and well-researched articles. I also intend to learn more about promoting my blog and get more involved with the pet blogging community.
Q: Now it’s your turn! How can we help? Is there an area where you could use some advice, or an aspect of your blog that you’d like input on? Share it here, and we’ll answer you in comments!
A: My two biggest frustrations with my blog are how long formatting my articles takes (and they still sometimes look a bit wonky) and getting the word out about my blog so more people can read it.
This was super fun! I’m excited to read all the other 2019 Pet Blogger Challenge posts.
I love your aim for 2019! The more people who learn that positive reinforcement is the best way to train dogs, the better!! I took a look at your shock collar post and it’s a good one. I am not surprised it did well. Nice to meet you!
Thanks, Zazie! I’m pretty passionate about being anti-shock collar and pro positive reinforcement. I subscribe to your blog and it’s the one where I found out about the challenge so thank YOU for that! I absolutely love your blog and always read your articles.
That’s lovely to know. Thank you so much for following my blog. I am really glad you decided to take part in the challenge and look forward to reading your future posts.
Thanks so much for joining the Challenge, Ruth, and welcome to the pet blogging world. Having a reactive dog myself, I’m excited to find a blog that helps people who are struggling to help their pets with this issue. It can be difficult, because many people confuse reactive with aggressive, and I used to feel terrible about Buster’s outbursts.
I have no advice on formatting posts, because my turn out looking wonky sometimes, too! But on finding readers, I can tell you that your best bet is to write quality content with good SEO and then wait. Some of my most popular posts were written years ago and it takes time to build up recognition in the search results. So don’t get discouraged! I’m writing posts now that I hope are drawing traffic in 12-24 months!
Thanks again, and all the best to you in 2019!
Thanks so much for that encouragement, Amy! I never really thought about the long term life of my posts before. We reactive dog moms have to stick together. It can be isolating when your dog looks scary or can’t play with other dogs. There’s hope and I love spreading that message. Thanks for running the Pet Blogging Challenge. It’s awesome to read the other blogs and be part of this community!
It’s a pleasure to meet you through the Pet Blogger Challenge. I’m still learning as well on how to increase my reach. The FB group has been great for that. Here’s to a great 2019.
It’s a pleasure to meet you, as well, Hannah. Thanks for the tip about the Facebook group. I’m new to that as well obviously but I will make sure to stay on it so I can learn. I’m sure 2019 will be wonderful for all of us!
I couldn’t agree more about the e-collars. (I’m a cat blogger, but I used to manage a pet retail store and people would buy those things instead of investing in high level training.) Nice to meet another New England pet blogger.
Great to meet you as well, Holly! There is so much bad advice out there on dog training it’s so hard for people to know what to do. I made every mistake in the book with my poor dog and that’s why I became an avid R+ trainer. I heard you can clicker train cats. There are even books on it. Have you ever tried it?
You’ve been blogging less than a year?! Your blog is clean and nicely laid out. Kudos! And I’m glad you took home the feisty dog. That’s hilarious.
Thanks so much, Kelley! I love writing the blog. I’m also glad I took home that feisty fella. He’s been such a joy in my life!
Love your goal. I’m pivoting my blog to be geared toward other dog people who cruise and live on boats. And I find as I leave my comfortable niche in pet blogger land I’m encountering more people who don’t understand the importance of positive training. So I’ll do my part to spread your goal to help people living on boats. 🙂
That’s so awesome, Pamela! I would think positive training beneficial to people and dogs living together on boats where there are often closer quarters I’m guessing. Definitely a place you want your dog to cooperate with you out of choice than fear! Your new focus is exciting!
I need someone like you to encourage my local dog owners to train and use positive reinforcement. Dogs are keen and ready to learn but how you train is important.
Have good 2019 and I hope you reach your one million dog owners!!
Thanks, Marjorie! Positive training is such a great way for people to bond with their dogs as well. I think it’s just a matter of education and I’m not the only R+ training on this mission so well get there!