BlogPaws - The Pet Social Media Resource

National Cat Adoption Month Celebrations Continue

Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

We're heavily into our month of promoting the idea of adopting a cat or kitten from your local shelter. This time of year -- actually most times of the year -- shelters are overrun with adoptable pets (not just cats) and if your family is in contemplating adding to your family with a furry family member, we urge you to check out your local shelter and adopt a fur-baby from there. 

As part of our month long celebration of kittens and cats, we continue to offer prizes that have been generously donated by BlogPaws Community Members that have partnered with us to spread the word. This week we would like to highlight the following individuals and thank them for their generous donations:

• Darlene Arden, who was a speaker at BlogPaws 2013 is donating a copy of The Complete Cat's Meow
• Marjorie Dawson will donate one of her art pieces... perhaps it will be a cat brooch! -- from New Zealand
• Carole Stevens Bibisi is donating her book, An American Bronte
• Sandy Robins is donating a book, For the Love of Cats
• Dana Gillikin is donating a set of note cards and a "very cool" cat print
• Kate Benjamin is donating cat toys

BlogPaws is also hosting its first-ever Community-only photo contest in celebration of our theme. It's easy to enter and easy to win! Check back to our blog and in the Community for how you can enter to win the prizes! Connect with us on Twitter and Facebook. 

(photo note: Last week I featured my adopted kitty, Lucy. This week is a picture of two more of our adoptees -- Parker and Clyde the Kitten) Have you adopted a kitty? We'd love to hear about it! 

Guiding Principles For Successful Blogging: Lessons Learned at BlogPaws 2013

Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

You started your pet blog hoping for... fame and glory? Recognition of your writing skills? To share the love of your particular pet? To earn money? Whatever your reason, you certainly had in mind that when you started blogging that you would be successful, right? While every pet blogger measures "success" in his or her own way, there are some steps you can take to propel your blog toward the level of success you seek.

This was the lesson imparted by Susan Getgood, author of Professional Blogging for Dummies and the vice president influencer marketing at BlogHer spoke to a crowded room at BlogPaws 2013 and imparted this information: 

Wrapping Up A Week In Blog Posts At BlogPaws

By Robbi Hess, BlogPaws Blog Manager 

As we continue our weekend wrap up of all of the good stuff that was brought to you on the BlogPaws website this week we also continue our month-long theme of National Adopt A Cat Month/Adopt A Shelter Cat Month. 

Once again our blog was overflowing with great information. In case you missed any of our posts, our Community announcements or haven't registered for BlogPaws 2014, now is the time to kick back, relax and catch up with our weekend round up. 

Part Two of 99 Things to Do Post BlogPaws Conference

by: Carol Bryant

So, did you cross any of the first 50 items we gave you to do post BlogPaws Conference? In case you missed it, we shared Part One in our “99 Things to Do Post BlogPaws Conference” post. We covered half the list and ran the gamut of actionable items one can do with the conference being over.

There are so many things you can do right now to get involved in BlogPaws, jump start your blogging passion, turn it into a career, network, connect, grow, and monetize. Without further ado, here are the next 50 things you can do right now (whether or not you attended the BlogPaws Conference):

How To Write & Publish Your Book In 90 Days: Lessons Learned at BlogPaws 2013

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

I read a statistic the other day that of all of the people who say they "have a book inside them" less than 5% of those people will actually put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard to see that dream through to fruition. For those writers that are determined to get the idea out of their heads and into the hands of readers, David Pisarra, author of What About Wally, spoke to a roomful of wanna-be authors at BlogPaws 2013 and outlined an action plan to take the book from idea to published format in 90 days. 

Here are the takeaways from that session: 

• Consider this -- if your book will be 100-120 pages long that means you only have to write about a page a day! How easy is that?