Chilihead over at Don’t Try This At Home has asked us to share our blogging stories today and I couldn’t resist the invitation. She’s given us a list of questions exploring how we got into blogging, what we wish we had known when we started, etc. Be sure to hop on over and visit the people who’ve linked up. It’s always fun to find out where fellow bloggers are coming from and how they view blogging.

Here are my answers:

How did you start blogging?

I’ve enjoyed reading blogs for years, particularly author/writer blogs like those of Lisa Samson, The Master’s Artist, Brandilyn Collins, and Mary DeMuth. The thought of having a blog of my own appealed to me for some reason, so I thought I’d give it a a try. Callapidder Days is actually my third blog (I think). I had started two others — basically as “online journals” — and quit them almost as soon as I started them. I had no idea what to write, or why I was even doing this. Wasn’t it just as easy to put my thoughts in a Word document?

But in March 2006, I was at it again, creating a blog, giving it another go. And this time it stuck.

Did you intend to be a blog w/a following? If so, how did you go about it?

No, having a following was definitely not my intention when I started blogging. I really just wanted a place to record my thoughts and the cute things my kids did and an opportunity to practice writing. At first, the only person who even knew I had a blog was my real-life friend, Dianne. She’s been consistently blogging for three years, so as soon as I figured I’d give this blogging thing another go, I let her know. Then another friend, Jennifer, told me she was starting a blog, so I told her about mine too. Wow — two readers! Soon, I somehow stumbled across Shannon’s Works-for-Me Wednesday and before I knew it, I had discovered a whole community of bloggers. I started visiting blogs and getting visitors at mine, and I have to admit that I loved feeling like I was connecting with bloggers and that a few more “someones” were interested in what I was blogging about.

Over the last year, my thoughts on having a “following” has gone through phases. For a while, I really wanted to reach more readers. I would obsessively check my sitemeter and technorati stats, I joined tons of memes, carnivals, etc. But it all got to be too much. So more recently, I try not to think much about whether or not I have a following. I love that so many have enjoyed the reading challenges I’ve hosted, but mostly because I like “meeting” other bloggers who love reading. And while I always enjoy when readers share their thoughts in my comments, I’ve tried to let go of the idea that “more comments = I’m a successful blogger.”

Don’t get me wrong, though. I still love knowing that people consistently read my blog and I still love that someone besides my husband gets a kick out of my posts now and then (and my husband has to, because that’s part of his job description). I just try not to obsess over the “following” thing, because that gives me a headache.

What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?

Continuing on the above thought, I think I’ve come full circle. I primarily blog to record thoughts, impressions, lessons learned, and stuff about my kids. I blog to make sure I write, at least a couple times a week. I blog because I enjoy it. (And yes, I think I also blog to occasionally make someone laugh, think, smile or think, “Oh yes, I’ve been there too.”) So according to those criteria, yes, I’ve been successful.

In addition, I’ve enjoyed encouraging others to read by hosting reading challenges and book giveaways, sharing books with all of you through an occasional book review, and bringing attention to family games through game reviews. While none of those are necessarily primary goals I hold for my blog, I enjoy them and consider those areas to be “successful” as well.

Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?

My focus has expanded, I suppose, to include the areas I mentioned above (encouraging reading, games, etc.), but I would say that the basics have stayed the same.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started?

Blogging isn’t all-or-nothing. When I started, or more accurately, when I discovered the “blogging community,” I put all kinds of pressure on myself to post daily, and to try to come up with fun, exciting, humorous, thought-provoking, or simply genius posts all the time. I thought I needed to visit every person out there, leave comments everywhere I went, and answer every comment left on my blog, etc., etc., etc. Whew! That could be a full-time job! But I thought if I didn’t do all that, I wouldn’t be a “successful” blogger.

I’ve learned that blogging can fit into my life different ways at different times. Right now, I don’t get around to other blogs quite as often and when I do, I don’t always have time to leave comments. But that’s okay. I post silly things. I post inane things. I post pictures of my kids purely to make their grandparents smile. And all of that is okay too. Blogging is wonderfully adaptable, and you need to make it fit into where you are now. Most of all, there’s no pressure to be a super-blogger. Just enjoy it.

Do you make money with your blog?

Not really, although there have been some pretty nice perks. I do have an Amazon Associates account, so if anyone purchases a book through a link on my blog, I make a few cents. I think I make about $2/month. Not exactly a thriving income.

But even better than making a few bucks, have been the books, etc. that have come my way. I’ve received a number of books (usually for review) — and free books in the mail are always welcome at this house. I’ve also received a few games from Gamewright (also for review), a bottle of Clorox bleach, and a package from the Lysol company with enough Lysol products to sanitize our house several times over (and they also included a complimentary box of brownie mix; along with books, chocolate in the mail is always welcome). So the free stuff has definitely been cool. While I wouldn’t want to get so many things that all my
time was taken up with posting reviews, etc., I have appreciated the opportunity to spread the word for products and authors that I use and/or enjoy.

Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?

Yes, and yes. Immediate family (both my husband and 8-year-old) and extended family (from in-laws I’ve never met to cousins I haven’t seen in 13 years) have all been known to stop by my blog. Many of them read it consistently, even if they don’t comment. I’ll often get verbal comments later, such as, “So, is L. at home eating the carpet today?”

This family-reading-my-blog stuff is not of my own doing. In fact, I’ve been excessively shy about telling people about my blog. But Chad told his mom about my blog one day and word spread through his (large) family rather quickly. My mom enjoys reading the blog too, and has been known to pass the address on to various and sundry family members. So word has spread much further than if the publicity plan had been up to me. I like that they read, because I think it lets them see a different side of me. Now as for what they think of that side…well, you’ll have to ask them.

What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?

1. Don’t try to be all things to all blog-readers. If you want your blog to be primarily for updating far-flung family members about what’s going on in your life, go with it and don’t worry about the other stuff. If you have a knack for the funny but can’t come up with something profound to save your life — probably because the whole family just got over 2 consecutive bouts of the stomach bug and your kids just flushed your driver’s license and your rare $250 tropical fish down the toilet (so he could find Nemo) and you’re running in survival mode most of the time these days — well then by all means, stick with the light stuff and don’t concern yourself with deep bloggy ponderings. Your blog is just that — your blog – and it should be something that you enjoy and value. So decide what you want from your blog and aim for that — nothing more, nothing less.

2. Check out a website that will answer your many questions about blogging. Two that I can recommend are Blogging Basics 101 and 5 Minutes for Moms’ new About Blogging feature. I wish these resources had been around when I started (or that I had stumbled across one like them). I figured most of this stuff out through trial and error, Google searches, and collaboration with friends, but you have the advantage of having all your questions answered in one place.