5 Things I Learned from BlogPaws That Improved my Blog

I had never considered starting a blog until I published a book, which needed an “official website” to go along with it. And believe me when I tell you it was a lot harder than I thought! Initially, I intended my blog to be a continuation of Lola’s diary, chronicling her and Lexy’s daily activities, and after seeing what other people were doing with their blogs I wanted to take mine to a different level. But my blog wasn’t getting much attention and I didn’t know how to improve that until I joined BlogPaws®. 

This post is sponsored by the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about how BlogPaws helps educate and inspire pet influencers but Lola The Rescued Cat only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article.

The more I got involved with the BlogPaws community, the more I realized a successful blog is more than just posting a photo with a story to go with it.  My cats are cute;

- but that wasn’t enough to draw traffic to my blog. 

Five Things I Learned from BlogPaws that Improved My Blog

• The importance of SEO. When I first heard SEO mentioned, my response was “huh?” I’ve since been working on using better keywords, headers, lists and bullet points; which I’ve found make the post “easier on the eye.” 

• Optimizing images. I had no idea that Google relies on Alt Text.  I didn’t even know what Alt Text was! I was also keeping the original image name, such as IMG30045 instead of making it relevant to my post. 

• It’s all in the numbers. Analytics? Page views? Engagement? I had no clue this was important. Now that I’ve learned more about this I’ve found that my most popular posts are not the ones I thought would draw the most attention. 

• Promote, promote, promote! To quote Carol Bryant  I was a “one and done".  I wrote a post and moved on to the next, not realizing the power of social media. I also was unaware there were apps and websites that allowed me to pre-schedule posts! 

• Write evergreen content. This is the piece of advice that I feel made people notice my blog more. This type of content not only broadened my audience but inspired me to take my blog in a different direction. 

BlogPaws has also educated me on how to write a quality blog post, what brands look for, social media tips and tricks, the importance of a good “About Me” page, and has also provided numerous resources. I'm not perfect in all of these points, but I try my best to remember a lot of it when I'm writing a post. 

BlogPaws = Friendships 

If someone were to ask me what my favorite thing about BlogPaws is, my answer would be the friendships I have formed. Thanks to BlogPaws, I was introduced to a wonderful group of like-minded people. I was very nervous going to my first conference in Nashville in 2015, but when I arrived I was so appreciative (and delighted) to be welcomed by the cat community with open arms. 

Photo credit: Paula Gregg from Sweet Purrfections. 

I was never alone, and I never felt like an outsider. 

Over the next year my relationships with the other cat bloggers strengthened, and in 2016 in Phoenix it was like seeing old friends. I was happy to welcome first-time attendees or new bloggers to the conference and enjoyed making them feel welcome. 

Emily of "Kitty Cat Chronicles" and me at the Lucy Pet Products booth.

In a sense, bloggers are competitors with one another. However, within our community we are supportive and helpful, sharing information and resources. We also bounce ideas off one another, looking for – and appreciating – input and feedback. 

The support doesn’t end with the “business”. There is ample encouragement and genuine caring for personal triumphs, difficulties, losses, illnesses and anything else that happens in our lives. A bad day can be turned around by a visit to our group. 

Over the past year, I’ve been participating in BlogPaws boosts and Twitter chats as much as I can, which has allowed me to form relationships with other pet bloggers as well. I’m looking forward to Myrtle Beach in May to meet them in person. 

There is so much more to BlogPaws than the technical piece. There is camaraderie with other pet lovers that many of us don’t find in our day to day lives. It's a nice escape at the end of a hectic day.

Are you a member of the BlogPaws community? What have you learned that has improved your blog?
Dawn

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogPaws. The opinions and text are all mine.