12 years, 3 months ago-
Posts
-
-
Hi Yall,
I’ve had my blog for a couple of years and I was wondering how everyone deals with possible burn out? Most days I love doing it but others not so much. I was thinking of possibly expanding my concept to keep it fresh but I feel like there’s not much, other than recipes, I can do with the ‘doggy dessert chef’ idea. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas for me? They would be greatly appreciated. Woof!
Doggy Dessert Chef -
Hi!! Ohhh I feel your pain! I have been blogging for slightly past 2 years myself and for some unknown reason I started a second blog this past April.
My problem is I have ideas, it’s just having the TIME…and sometimes I feel so stressed.
I think your concept is great, to make it easier on you do you ever have your readers submit recipes? That would give you a break from having to write all of the time…or do you talk about certain products, or vitamins that dogs need? I have to admit I am unfamiliar with your blog. I need to go and check it out.
-
-
I dont get burnt out, but I run out of time ha ha, working a full time job out of my home (no less) a Dog’s Journal tends to get pushed back as it is not the primary job.
I also think that my problem was I put to much on myself to write alot, so my husband and I have backed off and now post twice a week, but have others (who love their dogs) share their misfit adventures. Currently we are writing our posts over the weekend and will schedule them out so if the week gets crazy- the site is still getting attention.
Yesterday I just got t shirts (d-shirts as I call them) for my dogs as “Official” barkers and they are super cute, and will be writing about that (as we are going to be giving those to our other writers as appreciation in helping us) in addition to other fun t-shirts, & accessories to come about.
I’m gonna have to check out your recipes for my boys 🙂
-
um, i’m sort of in love with your blog. i might have some ideas 🙂 would love to chat further theorganicdog@yahoo.com
-
-
Thank you for visiting my blog and I do like you suggestions, maybe my issue is more stress related .. some times it does seem like I have an overwelming amout of stuff to do!
Caren Osrin Gittleman said:Hi!! Ohhh I feel your pain! I have been blogging for slightly past 2 years myself and for some unknown reason I started a second blog this past April.
My problem is I have ideas, it’s just having the TIME…and sometimes I feel so stressed.
I think your concept is great, to make it easier on you do you ever have your readers submit recipes? That would give you a break from having to write all of the time…or do you talk about certain products, or vitamins that dogs need? I have to admit I am unfamiliar with your blog. I need to go and check it out.
-
How did you move away from dong all the writing yourself? Was it a slow process, did any of your readers seem to mind?
(I’ve alway wanted to make shirts for my boys, something labeling them as my sous chefs.)
Brit Springer (A Dogs Journal) said:I dont get burnt out, but I run out of time ha ha, working a full time job out of my home (no less) a Dog’s Journal tends to get pushed back as it is not the primary job.
I also think that my problem was I put to much on myself to write alot, so my husband and I have backed off and now post twice a week, but have others (who love their dogs) share their misfit adventures. Currently we are writing our posts over the weekend and will schedule them out so if the week gets crazy- the site is still getting attention.
Yesterday I just got t shirts (d-shirts as I call them) for my dogs as “Official” barkers and they are super cute, and will be writing about that (as we are going to be giving those to our other writers as appreciation in helping us) in addition to other fun t-shirts, & accessories to come about.
I’m gonna have to check out your recipes for my boys 🙂
-
-
It started out that we wrote from the view point of our dogs (Leo and Jaxson) when they did something foolish. They both have very different personalities, so the writing started out being different right out of the gate. When I showed it to some family and friends – they loved the concept and asked if they could write once in a blue moon on the site.
After that, it dawned on us that maybe we should open it up to other “dogs” and their adventures as the readers are already seeing different writing from a total of 4 dogs (at that point). So we completely revamped the site to match that theme. We are also will be slowing adding reviews (but written from our dogs’ view points). With the newly revamped site we have some long term goals/ plans that will slowly roll out in the next 3 – 18 months. Just last saturday we were at a gallery showing off A Dog’s Journal’s Little Free Library as a way to (advertise) share our website AND promote reading. This will most likely be installed at a local vet or Dog park for all to see and be filled with books about dogs for viewers.
Another thing we have been actively seeking a vet to write health relating topics (and call him “Doc” naturally) to write about health concerns in Dogs (I can but it would be better from a real vet then me researching the topics (as I have written one or two due to Jaxson’s health concerns/issues)
There is a fill in form on the site for those that want to write with us (and that seems to have attracted a few barkers). Our newest writer has her own dog blog but she likes that she can write from “their” point of view while on her blog she writes from the human’s point of view (kinda cool approach) and we do actively link back to her blog as she does for ours.
Hope that helps 🙂
Doggy Dessert Chef said:
How did you move away from dong all the writing yourself? Was it a slow process, did any of your readers seem to mind?
(I’ve alway wanted to make shirts for my boys, something labeling them as my sous chefs.)
Brit Springer (A Dogs Journal) said:I dont get burnt out, but I run out of time ha ha, working a full time job out of my home (no less) a Dog’s Journal tends to get pushed back as it is not the primary job.
I also think that my problem was I put to much on myself to write alot, so my husband and I have backed off and now post twice a week, but have others (who love their dogs) share their misfit adventures. Currently we are writing our posts over the weekend and will schedule them out so if the week gets crazy- the site is still getting attention.
Yesterday I just got t shirts (d-shirts as I call them) for my dogs as “Official” barkers and they are super cute, and will be writing about that (as we are going to be giving those to our other writers as appreciation in helping us) in addition to other fun t-shirts, & accessories to come about.
I’m gonna have to check out your recipes for my boys 🙂
-
Ohhhh I soooo know about the stress! I was feeling it HUGELY in October…I was blogging every day which is not something I ever wanted to do. I have started cutting back to less than 7 days a week (somewhere between 3 and 5 days a week is best for me).
I also use “Guest Bloggers” . It is a HUGE help! For issues that I am not an “expert” in I like to turn to those who know more than I do rather than using Wikipedia or something. Often I will choose other bloggers. It gives them exposure, gives the blog another “voice”, readers tend to like it, it adds variety. It is a trick I learned both through BlogPaws and “ProBlogger” and is utilized often by the “big boys”. It has been a Godsend in many cases!
Doggy Dessert Chef said:
Thank you for visiting my blog and I do like you suggestions, maybe my issue is more stress related .. some times it does seem like I have an overwelming amout of stuff to do!
Caren Osrin Gittleman said:Hi!! Ohhh I feel your pain! I have been blogging for slightly past 2 years myself and for some unknown reason I started a second blog this past April.
My problem is I have ideas, it’s just having the TIME…and sometimes I feel so stressed.
I think your concept is great, to make it easier on you do you ever have your readers submit recipes? That would give you a break from having to write all of the time…or do you talk about certain products, or vitamins that dogs need? I have to admit I am unfamiliar with your blog. I need to go and check it out.
-
You may want to check out the Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by GoPetFriendly.com and WillMyDogHateMe.com. It’s a great way to focus on what you have done and would like to accomplish with your blog – plus it gives other people the opportunity to respond to some of your questions or concerns.
The Pet Blogger Challenge will take place on January 10th. Each blogger answers a standard list of questions (depending on whether they participated last year or not). You can find the questions on the December 20th post of either GoPetFriendly.com or WillMyDogHateMe.com. Hope that helps!
-
I hear ya! When I started blogging my plan was to mostly share recipes, but I can’t imagine trying to write (and test) enough recipes to keep a blog going! We write one per week for our Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop (which we would be thrilled if you wanted to join in!), but other than that, now we try to focus on something other than recipes. We started blogging about general doggy related subjects a few times a week, but I definitely want to get back at my core purpose of food & nutrition this year.
You posted a “Things I’ve Learned” post earlier this week, you could definitely build on that. Cute one liners about baking for your dog. I do something similar where I feature one thing I love about mine and the posts can be really popular. I love the simplicity and that on the days when I am feeling really burnt out, it only takes a minute to throw a “You Had Me at Woof” post up.
I’m just working on an idea for a Blogger Challenge, if you might be interested in learning more and maybe co-hosting, I’d love to chat with you about it. Your blog would be a really good fit! You can e-mail me at kolchakpuggle (at) gmail (dot) com, if you want to learn more.
Jodi – Kol’s Notes
-
-
Thank you for the link, I saw it last year as well.
Vicki Cook said:
You may want to check out the Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by GoPetFriendly.com and WillMyDogHateMe.com. It’s a great way to focus on what you have done and would like to accomplish with your blog – plus it gives other people the opportunity to respond to some of your questions or concerns.
The Pet Blogger Challenge will take place on January 10th. Each blogger answers a standard list of questions (depending on whether they participated last year or not). You can find the questions on the December 20th post of either GoPetFriendly.com or WillMyDogHateMe.com. Hope that helps!
-
Very good idea, thank you. Do you find that your readership drops off when you cut back on your updates?
Tegan Whalan said:
I’m by no means an expert, but I find that when I’m having a tough spell, I commit to writing just one good quality post a week. Normally, this gives me enough ‘space’ without totally neglecting my blog, and from there I’m often able to re-engage once I’m feeling the spark again.
-
The ‘Things I’ve Learned’ post was my first attempt to put something up other than recipes and I’m very happy that it’s been well received (and very popular) so I’ve got more planned and some other fun things coming.
My concern is that there are so many wonderful ‘dog blogs’ out there, like yours!, that I’m not sure if I can jump into that and be successful. Your blog has such a fun and personable style and frankly .. I’m pretty boring! lol It’s just a little intimidating …
I do love your recipes and I link to them on my facebook page all the time, and I sent you an e-mail. Woof!Jodi Chick said:
I hear ya! When I started blogging my plan was to mostly share recipes, but I can’t imagine trying to write (and test) enough recipes to keep a blog going! We write one per week for our Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop (which we would be thrilled if you wanted to join in!), but other than that, now we try to focus on something other than recipes. We started blogging about general doggy related subjects a few times a week, but I definitely want to get back at my core purpose of food & nutrition this year.
You posted a “Things I’ve Learned” post earlier this week, you could definitely build on that. Cute one liners about baking for your dog. I do something similar where I feature one thing I love about mine and the posts can be really popular. I love the simplicity and that on the days when I am feeling really burnt out, it only takes a minute to throw a “You Had Me at Woof” post up.
I’m just working on an idea for a Blogger Challenge, if you might be interested in learning more and maybe co-hosting, I’d love to chat with you about it. Your blog would be a really good fit! You can e-mail me at kolchakpuggle (at) gmail (dot) com, if you want to learn more.
Jodi – Kol’s Notes
-
I think in order to maintain decent blog traffic a minimum of 3 posts per week is required…at the end of 2011 I was posting virtually 7 days a week on Cat Chat and close to that on Dakota’s blog, that was waaay too much and I was stressed to the max. Now I am committing to 3 days per week for each blog and reserving the extra days to use if something comes up that I feel I MUST blog about.
I find that what makes my blog traffic drop is NOT visiting and commenting on other blogs. I try to visit and comment at least 3 days per week as well which eats up A LOT of time (a minimum of 2 and a half hours each day). In my opinion visiting and commenting on other blogs is imperative.
Doggy Dessert Chef said:
Very good idea, thank you. Do you find that your readership drops off when you cut back on your updates?
Tegan Whalan said:
I’m by no means an expert, but I find that when I’m having a tough spell, I commit to writing just one good quality post a week. Normally, this gives me enough ‘space’ without totally neglecting my blog, and from there I’m often able to re-engage once I’m feeling the spark again.
-
My traffic would drop, I’m sure, but I don’t think it actually puts readers off. I think they’re more likely to read and enjoy one good post a week than several posts written with a grudge. 😉
Personally, I follow blogs with good content, and I rarely look at how often they post… Actually, blogs are more likely to annoy me by posting too much and flooding my Google reader.
Doggy Dessert Chef said:
Very good idea, thank you. Do you find that your readership drops off when you cut back on your updates?
Tegan Whalan said:
I’m by no means an expert, but I find that when I’m having a tough spell, I commit to writing just one good quality post a week. Normally, this gives me enough ‘space’ without totally neglecting my blog, and from there I’m often able to re-engage once I’m feeling the spark again.
-
I feel the same way. I read blogs in my reader so I don’t really notice their post frequency. Some of my favorite blogs, don’t post on a regular schedule. I wish they post more often, but I eagerly await when they finally do.
My goal is to post 3-4 times a week to help me stay in the routine. I can get side tracked pretty easily, so I need routine.
Tegan Whalan said:
My traffic would drop, I’m sure, but I don’t think it actually puts readers off. I think they’re more likely to read and enjoy one good post a week than several posts written with a grudge. 😉
Personally, I follow blogs with good content, and I rarely look at how often they post… Actually, blogs are more likely to annoy me by posting too much and flooding my Google reader.
-
I have had mine since 2007 and gone through burn out many, many times!
When I have it I usually take a break from blogging, get out and do something more physical (like working out, or doing crafts that I enjoy). I also hang out more on Twitter when blogging gets boring.
And I think that you can do whatever you want with your site too by the way. Keep recipes as part of it of course, but you could expand it to other dog topics that interest you. Good luck, I hope you find a way to make it fun again because I like your blog! 🙂
-
Some times it is best to just get away from the dang computer!
Aimee Gertsch said:
I have had mine since 2007 and gone through burn out many, many times!
When I have it I usually take a break from blogging, get out and do something more physical (like working out, or doing crafts that I enjoy). I also hang out more on Twitter when blogging gets boring.
And I think that you can do whatever you want with your site too by the way. Keep recipes as part of it of course, but you could expand it to other dog topics that interest you. Good luck, I hope you find a way to make it fun again because I like your blog! 🙂
-
-
you are most welcome!! Glad to help!
To answer your question, well logically yes the “hits” would drop on the blog because there wouldn’t be new content every day, but, that being said, I think some people are more likely to visit because it is so overwhelming to get around to all of the blogs many days, so if someone posts less it is easier not to miss some valuable content.
I find what makes my blog traffic drop is when I don’t have time to comment on all of the blogs that I would like to. That affects me worse than anything!
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.