Pet Blogger Challenge

Hi everyone. I am taking the Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by GoPetFriendly . But first a Stinky update. She didn’t want to eat on Saturday which I know could lead to a lot of problems. I had medicine left from Lucy so I gave her a dose of mirtazapine (( 1/8 of a pill). After a while, she did want some food, not as much as usual, but she did eat few times. It made her very loopy though and I feared we were going to lose her. I am going to call the eye specialist Monday morning and explain that we can’t wait until Friday and see if they can get us in sooner. I am very scared for her so please keep praying and purring.

Pet-Blogger-Challenge

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 1 year and 7 months. My blog is about the life my husband and I share with our 14 cats.

2. What is the one thing that you accomplished during 2015, either on your blog or because of it, that made you most proud?

In 2015, I was able to spread the word about kitties in need and I know some of my readers donated to help. I am proud to be part of such a caring group of cat lovers.

3. Which of your blog posts was your favorite this year and why? (Please include a link.)

Phoebe’s posts are my favorites ( she gets more comments than I do too). My favorite would be when she started The Sisterhood of the Traveling Bikini:

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?

I join every hop and blog sharing post that I can. This has helped me find more blogs to read and brought me more readers.

5.Which of your blog posts got the most traffic this year? Why do you think it was so popular? (Please include a link.)  Goodbye My Sweet Lucy was the post with the most traffic. We had to say goodbye to our 16 and a half-year old kitty, Lucy. She was a big part of the blog and always willing to wear costumes and hats for photos. She clearly touched many lives and everyone gave their condolences. The blogosphere is like a family and very supportive especially during times like that.

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 read well over 100 blogs/ day and they are all unique in their own way which makes me keep coming back to them. Here is the link to my list of favorites : https://15andmeowing.com/blogosphere/   ( they are not in order of preference)

7. What resources do you rely on to enhance your technical, writing, photography, social media, or other skills that improve your blog? I read the blog Mostly Blogging for tips. I would love to improve my technical skills on WordPress, but haven’t found a place to do that .

8. What is the best piece of advice you can offer other bloggers?

If you want people to care about your blog, you need to care about others’ blogs too. I know many people have full time jobs in addition to blogging, but you should at least try to write a comment once a week on all the blogs you read or people won’t know you are reading their blogs.

9. What is your vision for your blog in 2016? Do you have specific goals?

I want to make money blogging so I can donate it to my weekly ROAR. I have 2 children’s picture books written based on our cats that I would love to get published as well which would be sold through the blog. My biggest goal is to figure out how to get my blog posts to the people that signed up for it in their email.

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 would love to know how to get my posts to people’s emails: I paid for Mailpoet and they tell me my server is blocked and I need to pay ( in addition to them) for another service like mailchimp. I don’t want to have to pay twice and I am afraid to lose all the information when I try to move the email addresses to the other account.

 

 

 

34 comments

  1. I’m sending lots more purrs for Stinky! I enjoyed reading the answers to the challenge, and I really hope you get the emailed posts issue worked out.

  2. So sorry to hear Stinky wasn’t eating…..is her eye still looking bad? We’ll keep praying for her – hope this morning she has an appetite. You did a great job on the challenge – I can’t imagine following 100 blogs a day though like you do! That’s amazing……we in fact are constantly cutting down the number of blogs we follow so my Mom has time to do things other than be on the computer! HAHAHA Please let us know about Stinky……..sending POTP.

    Hugs, Sammy

  3. Good luck with your goals for 2016. Mom didn’t know about Mostly Blogging and is going to check it out. We think your blog has become popular and successful in a really short amount of time, and we wish you continued success and best of luck in finding a publisher for your books. Check with Summer’s mom, Janiss Garza. She may be able to help you out. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

    1. Thank you and I wish you much success with your blog too. I know you already have a big following, but more followers is always good.

  4. Well lots of things awnty Ellen. furst of course you know we luv you and yous bloggy and furmily. Second WordPress has tons of help articles and videos. Just go to da help link and type in da thing you need help wiff. And of course you can always ask mommy. Ifin she can help she will. Second, we get yous blog posts via email, so weez not sure who isn’t or why. And weez sednin’ purrayers fur you all ’bout Stinky.

    Luv ya’

    Dezi and Lexi

    1. I am glad you get my blog in your email. And thank your Mom for the offer to help, I may call her one of these days when I am not as sad. XO

    1. Thank you , I need to look into that. I thought I had feedburner, but I don’t know if it is activated.

  5. Mee-you Stinky pleeze try to eatss!! Yur makin Lady Ellen a nervuss wreck! An us too an all thee bloggers….
    Ladymum told mee that Nylablue started on 1/8 Mirt an then a 1/4 an then a 1/2 an shee wood get so-o loopy….doin ‘zoomie zoomiess’ an growlin at thin air an falling over even! LadyMum had a fit with wurry an emailed Docktur Dave an hee said her ree-action was normal…shee wished shee had known that inn thee beeginnin! Mirt iss an Aunty-depressant fur Hu’manss what werkss on katss fur appytite….with side effectss it seemss….
    Mee an LadyMum sends <3 LUV <3 an POTP to Stinky <3
    ***paw kissesss*** to mee Purrincess Phoebe all so xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    Siddhartha Henry

    1. We only used the 1/8 of a pill. That does sound like it is too strong for kitties to get that reaction. XO

  6. Excellent post on how to blog. Once again, I’m so very sorry Stinky had to cross the Rainbow Bridge. Our hearts are breaking for you. We know what it is like to lose a fur baby. They are like children to most of us. I have leaky eyes just thinking about you and Stinky. M sends big Hugs.

    1. Thank you for caring so much. My heart is broken and I will always miss Stinky, Lucy and all the others that I had the gift of sharing my life with. XO

  7. Minko tried that drug once too…and no change to his appetite, but oh how it made him crazy. Two doses and never again.

    We are so very sad for you on the loss of your dear Stinky. Its so much harder when you didn’t even have much time to prepare your heart for it, either.
    Sending tons of hugs and comforting purrs.

    It was great to read all about your blogging experiences and purposes. We have not been doing it very long either, but we just are still doing it for pleasure and sort of like a diary of our lives.

    1. Thank you, it is hard when you are not expecting it, but I am thankful that I got to be with her at the end, that is a gift. XO

    1. Thank you and I am glad it is FINALLY coming to your email. I don’t know how it got fixed either, but I am glad it did. I am glad Mostly Blogging is of interest to you too. And thank you for all you do too.XOXOX

  8. Thanks for helping kittens in need. Before we started the blog we used to foster dogs and puppies for a local rescue organization. It’s always great to read everyone’s answers to the PBC as this is my first time reading about Mostly Blogging and something I’m adding to my resource list. As far as your question goes if your interested in using Mail Chimp only for your email list you should give them a call about transferring your email addresses. Email services like Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, Aweber, etc are very strict, but at my day job we spoke to a representative at Mail Chimp and he allowed us to import our very large email list into our Mail Chimp account. Hopefully that helps. Good luck with everything in 2016!

    1. I am gad you found Mostly Blogging helpful, I love that site. Thank you for letting me know about MailChimp. Good luck to you in 2016 too!

  9. HI!
    Thank you so very much for the shoutout! I am getting traffic from your site today! I truly appreciate the exposure and the kind words.
    I am planning to put it on my About page under ShoutOuts and link to you.
    By the way, I read your post. I use the free version of MailChimp, and it suits all my needs. No need to pay!
    If you, or your readers, are interested, I am putting the finishing touches on my MailChimp service which gives one-on-one coaching for how to set up MailChimp and use it to capture Emails. I can also show you how to send a Welcome Email to your MailChimp list which includes a free Click to Tweet. In this way, you can use MailChimp to get exposure on Twitter.
    At any rate, thank you again for the kind mention in your article. Did you read Caren’s comment? It seems thanks to you I have a new subscriber. Truly, thank you for your thoughtfulness.
    Janice (from MostlyBlogging)

    1. I am glad you got some traffic from my shout out- you deserve it. 🙂 Thanks for the offer of how to send a welcome email, etc. I will contact you about that soon.

  10. You read 100 blogs a day? Do you take time to eat? To Pee? lol Wow. Congratulations on all your accomplishment over the past year and with you the best for 2016. Peace

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