I Took The Pet Blogger Challenge 2016!

It’s time for my favorite challenge of the year. The Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by Amy from Go Pet Friendly. I love this challenge and look forward to it ever year and this will be our 6th year taking it! Wow. 6 years! That’s hard to believe!

Let’s get to it!

1. How long have you been blogging? And, for anyone who is visiting for the first time, please give a quick description of the subject of your blog. I have been blogging for almost 6 years. It all started on 04/23/2010. My blog is about a little bit of everything but it is mostly consists of stories of Sherman and Leroy.

2. What is the one thing that you accomplished during 2015, either on your blog or because of it, that made you most proud? Continuing to blog. It’s been a struggle the  last 2 years and so I’m happy to still be here doing it. 6 years is a long time and we’ve lost many great bloggers over the years so to still be here with some of the veterans makes me proud.

3. Which of your blog posts was your favorite this year and why? (Please include a link.) It has to be The Newf of Sleepy Hollow. I always have so much fun with our Halloween posts and since we took the previous year off because Leroy was recovering, this year was extra fun.

4. A common theme from last year’s challenge was that many of us wanted to increase the size of our audiences. Whether or not we intend to monetize our blogs, it seems we’d all like to reach more people. It feels good to know that we’re connecting with others, sharing a laugh or supporting a cause, and it’s motivating to see those numbers grow! What is one thing you’ve done in the past year that has brought more traffic to your blog? Growing my Instagram account. I’ve been able to connect with a lot more owners share a love for giant breed dogs. I also doubled our pageviews in 2015 and I believe that was due to a few evergreen posts that I wrote.

5. Which of your blog posts got the most traffic this year? Why do you think it was so popular? (Please include a link.) The post that had the most traffic for me this year was So You Think You Want a Show. Here’s 9 Things You Should Know. 

6. What is one blog that you read religiously – other than your own – and what makes you such a devoted reader? (Please include a link.) I can’t narrow it down to just one. There’s just too many. I follow blogs that I can relate to and ones that make me smile.

7. What resources do you rely on to enhance your technical, writing, photography, social media, or other skills that improve your blog? I’ve been reading a lot of good articles from ProBlogger lately. They seem to help me stay focused. BlogPaws is helping me greatly with social media and  Instagram has given me many ideas for pictures.

8. What is the best piece of advice you can offer other bloggers? Be careful of blogger burnout. I think it happens to all of us at some point in time and when it does, step back and take some time off. Your blog won’t go anywhere. I’ve done it many times and  always come back stronger and with a clearer head. If the blog stops being fun for me I have to step away and regroup. I highly recommend it.

9. What is your vision for your blog in 2016? Do you have specific goals? I want to continue to attract more readers which is one of the reasons for starting Barks n’ Brews. This may help me reach a different group of dog/beer loving people. It may also help me build locally.

10. You have the attention of the pet blogging community – is there one blogging challenge you’d like help with, or one aspect of your blog that you’d like input on? I really want to get a monthly or weekly newsletter together. I’ve had a Mailchimp account for months but have done nothing with it. Is Mailchimp a good route to go? Any advice on creating a newsletter? What works and what doesn’t?

Thanks again to Amy for hosting the Pet Blogger Challenge!

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