Old School Blogging: What it is & Why I’m Doing It

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Stern Woman BloggerPhoto Source

I’ve been blogging for a little over two years now.  In that time I have learned a lot {and still have a lot to learn}.  Recently I’ve made a decision though to go back to Old School Blogging.  What is old school blogging, you ask?  Let me give you my definition:

old school blogging= blogging about what you love and enjoy just because you love and enjoy it, and doing it to serve others by sharing your knowledge and expertise.

Blogging has become this game of likes and follows.  Anyone can set up a blog, which is great, but what people used to have to work hard for, there are now many ways to cheat the system and I don’t really see how it’s helping anyone.

It used to be that a person started a blog with an idea and shared the blog with their friends and family.  If their friends and family really liked what was on said blog they would share it with their friends and so on. And that’s how a blog’s readership would grow.  As an added benefit the blog naturally used key words that would begin to show up on Google searches and drive even more traffic from those looking for that specific type of content.

Now days a blogger has so many ways to cheat the system to get likes and follows.  Recently I have seen bloggers hosting giveaways with multiple bloggers for a large prize and the whole purpose is to boost their numbers. And it works.  They get lots of followers very quickly.  Which is great but they aren’t real followers in my opinion.  I know this because I have done plenty of giveaways in the past {and I love to do giveaways for my followers} and I always gain new followers with them.  I even advertise these giveaways because I feel it is my job to get the company I am working with as much exposure as possible and I really enjoy sharing a company or product I believe in. However, many of the new likes and follows I get from giveaways aren’t true followers. In other words they didn’t “like” me because they really liked Mommy Kudos or sign up for emails because they can’t wait to read the next post.  Lot’s of them aren’t even in the demographic for Mommy Kudos.  When I did a giveaway for moms to do something nice that is taking care of themselves I had plenty of men commenting because the giveaway was in the form of an Amazon.com gift certificate.  I’m pretty sure these guys aren’t becoming loyal Mommy Kudos Fans {smile}.

I understand the appeal for bloggers to boost their numbers with joint giveaways or blog hops or asking other bloggers to follow you for return follows, however I’ve decided that for me and Mommy Kudos that I am going to refrain from these things from now on.  So what am I going to do? And what ways will I choose to get more exposure for Mommy Kudos so that the right people know that I’m here and what I’m about?  Let me share:

Giveaways

I’ve decided to limit the giveaways I do on Mommy Kudos.  I’ve been doing a lot {too many} and they are a lot of work.  They take up a bunch of time that I feel could be better spent on great content {this mom of 6 has quite a lot to share}.  I will do giveaways when I feel like it is a really great product that I don’t want you to miss.

Joint Giveaways for Followers

I simply will not do these unless it’s for a company that I am working with in conjunction with other bloggers that I really believe in and want you to be aware of.  I will not do one just to get a bunch of quick likes and follows.

SEO

I am loving learning about SEO {Search Engine Optimization} and am thrilled that there are ways to get key words about the things I write about to show up closer to the top on search engines.  I will pursue this method of gaining readers because I feel it is a great way to bring my content to those who are truly looking for it.

Community

I am so thrilled at how blogging and social media has allowed me to meet some incredible people that I have developed relationships with and now consider friends.  I will continue to build my community and reach out to other bloggers and online friends. I feel that any platform I have is so that I can serve others with the knowledge and abilities that I have been given.  I want to serve others by promoting other bloggers and companies that I believe in.

Content

Like I said above, I believe my platform and blogging is a way for me to serve you and because of that I want to share what is on my heart, what I have learned that may help you and resources that you may want/need to have.  This is pretty much my mission for Mommy Kudos.  To serve you.

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So how about you? I know it can seem like a sloooowwww climb when you are a smaller blogger and it’s really tempting to work the system to get followers quickly.  What are your standards for yourself in gaining a readership?

If you want to learn from some great bloggers about building your readership {most of them did it the old school way} then check out some of my favorites:

Blogging With Amy – her site will will help you start your own blog or website. She also shares tips, tools and tutorials that will help you improve the one you’ve got.

ProBlogger – Ways to make money blogging

SavvyBlogging – Lots of tips and advice

SITS Girls – Tons of tips and support for bloggers {great place to make friends too!}

 

Filed Under: Blogging Tips

Taking Care of Yourself Tuesday: Learning to Say No & Priorities

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Welcome to Taking Care of Yourself Tuesdays! Today we are discussing learning to say no to people and having priorities:

Sometimes you just need to say NO. But saying no can be hard when you are a mom and worse if you are a people pleaser.  The reality is, though, that you can only do a few things well in this life and the rest you will have to give whatever you have left over, which might not be much. There are good things in life and then there are great things.  If we really want to live meaningful lives we should focus on doing the great things.

No. No. No.Photo Source

Now, don’t get me wrong, doing laundry and cleaning toilets can be a part of a the great things. I am not saying that the mundane things in life aren’t worth the effort. I am really hoping to encourage you to examine your life, what you spend your time on, and eliminate those things that are stealing your time from the truly worth while things. If you are a mom, then the mundane things are part of your great things!

Think about it. Your children are watching you.  They see your no’s and your yes’s. They are learning from you what is important and what time should be spent on.

 

So how do you manage your yeses and noes? We’ll let me give you an example:

My kids like to ask for things on the spur of the moment (heading to a movie with a friend, a new pair of shoes, a toy they can’t resist) but there’s something we have in our family called a budget (perhaps you have one too?).  I learned a neat little trick once from an older, wiser woman and that is to say something like “I’d love to honey but let’s see what Mr. budget says.”  This way “Mr. budget” can say yes or no according to what is true about what is in our budget. Mr. budget gets to be the bad guy sometimes.

The same thing can be applied to your time.  You can budget your time with your priorities.  Make a list of your top priorities in life.  Mine is something like this:

  • God
  • Marriage
  • Kids
  • A Healthy Lifestyle for Myself & My Family
  • Taking Care of Our Home {Making it a place of beauty and peace}
  • My Calling
  • Friends/Family

I can then insert into each category the ways I will spend my time to keep these things priorities. Anything else can only be added and done if these things have been done.  This helps you to focus on the great things and when someone asks you to do something you can assess whether or not it fits into your priorities and if it is going to hinder you from getting the things higher up on your list done.  You can say “My priority list doesn’t have room for that right now.”

Sometimes you have to say no to yourself and not just to others.

 

Don’t let spur of the moment ideas take you off on tangents unless they are part of your priorities. If you make an effort to do this then you will find yourself doing the really great things in life and it will get easier and easier to say no to things, even the seemingly good things.

Do you ever struggle with saying no?  How do you manage your yeses and noes?

Filed Under: Mommy Tips Tagged With:

We Love Springfree Trampoline & A {HUGE} Giveaway {$1,899 value}!

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What kid doesn’t love a trampoline?  I know I enjoyed jumping on a trampoline as a kid (still do).  But moms have all kinds of things to worry about with trampolines right?  They have springs that can pinch you or that you can fall through.  The nets that are made to keep you inside the trampoline can have hard metal bars that if you jump into them it could really hurt. And those are just  a few of the safety hazards.

I had all of those excuses for not getting a trampoline even though I knew a trampoline would be a lot of fun for our family.  I knew my kids would love to jump on a trampoline and share it with friends but the idea of them getting hurt kept us from making the investment.  Then I heard about Springfree Trampolines.  This changes everything!

We visited the Springfree showroom here locally in Texas and were amazed from the moment we saw these very different looking trampolines.  There are absolutely no springs!  The mat that you jump on goes all the way to the edge and, just as amazing, the net that keeps you on the trampoline will hold you in if you fall into it.  There is nothing hard on it to injure yourself.  So as long as you are being smart about how you jump the risk of injury is almost none.

My kids were thrilled to spend about an hour and a half trying out each of the different sizes of trampolines (there’s one for just about every sized backyard).  They had so much fun and got in some great exercise!

When our trampoline was delivered to our house (the S113 square) the kids wanted it set up right away.  We probably should have paid for the installation because we couldn’t get it up soon enough for them and it was a lot of work.  It did take a good bit of time to get it set up.  My wonderful husband worked on it and got a kind neighbor to help (thank you!).

We got the trampoline set up just 5 days ago and my kids have been jumping on it every free moment they have had.  We had to have them jump one at a time and count to 100 jumps or 3 minutes max each just so they wouldn’t argue over who’s turn it was.  The first night I didn’t get to go on the trampoline until the little kids had gone to bed but then I went out, just as the sun was setting, and I got a great workout jumping for only 15 minutes.  I was winded and tired after that and am excited to use the trampoline as a way to workout from now on.

If you’ve ever thought about purchasing a trampoline but hesitated because they aren’t safe then you will want to consider the safest trampoline available: a Springfree Trampoline.  You can learn more about them by watching some quick videos on Youtube and by following Springfree on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

And… I have great news! Springfree is giving away the same trampoline we have!! You could win a Large Square Springfree trampoline worth $1,899 by entering with the Rafflecopter entry form below (if you are reading this in email click over to the site to enter). Enter and share with your friends!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dislosure: Springfree provided my family with a trampoline for free to review in exchange for this post.  The opinions shared in this post are my my own and are honest.  I love to share with you what me and my family enjoy!

Filed Under: Giveaways, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

What Moms Love Weekly

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What  a busy week I’ve had.  We had something at our kids school just about every day/night this week! Whew.  I am SO glad the weekend is coming. Oh, and we got our Springfree Trampoline set up yesterday.  My kids have not. stopped. jumping!  I had to wait until they went to bed to have a turn.  It’s so much fun!!

This week I’ve been loving seeing hard work pay off, big brother loving on little sister, watching my kids make new friends, making cookies together, and FINALLY getting this potty training thing mostly done (can I get an amen?)!

How about you? What are you loving this week as a mom?

Here are some fun finds this week that are worth checking out:

1. Shutter Huggers– What mom couldn’t use some help getting the kids to look at you while you are taking pictures?  These Shutter Huggers and a great innovation to get little ones attention.  They even have a black and white dalmatian that would work well for the tiniest babies since they love to look at black, white and red.

2. Kidorable Rain Gear- Kidorable makes rain gear that is… well, adorable.  Boys will love this Dragon Knight raincoat, umbrella and boots and girls will twirl for the ballet themed rain gear.  My 3 year old is begging me to get the whole ballet set for her.  I’m thinking this will be a perfect birthday gift. It’s one part practical rain gear and one part dress up. So fun!!

3. Oogaa Mealtime Set– Who hasn’t played airplane coming in for a landing with their baby while feeding them? This cute set of a train spoon, a plane spoon and a bowl are all made of silicone.  That is genius for little ones because it is soft, won’t corrode or deteriorate like plastic, and will not support the growth of fungus, mold or bacteria. Little boys and girls alike will enjoy using these playful sets at mealtime.

4. Crocheted Key Ring Toy by Your Mom Designs (aka my super creative & talented sis)- I’m loving the bright colors on these and think they’re great for babies.  They would make a perfect shower or baby gift! These key ring toys are easy to hold, a unique texture, safe for chewing and easy to care for. Each disc/key is about two inches across and perfect for little grasping hands. Also check out her colorful nesting bowls that are loads of fun for little ones!

Have a WONDERFUL week!

Filed Under: What Moms Love Weekly Tagged With: ,

$15 Girls Dresses & $10 Boys Tops from Tea Collection

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How does $15 dresses and $10 boys tops from Tea Collection sound? Be sure to check out Tea Collection’s Facebook page and vote for your favorite girl dresses and/or boys tops. Once an item has received 1,000 Facebook Likes, it will go on sale–$15 dresses and $10 boys tops! I voted for some of my favorite ones like the Painted Vines Dress for girls and the Agung Polo for boys. Vote for your favorite girls dresses and boys tops to be sure that your favorites go on sale. Have fun Liking and don’t forget to check back for the sale!!

Filed Under: Deals
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