BlogPaws

Getting Your Paws On The Ground For Networking

Guest Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

When I got Henrietta, one of my main reasons for getting a high maintenance pet was that I was going to be self-employed, working from home, and could have a dog of my own that I wouldn't have to leave home to fend for herself while I went to my day job. 

It has worked out well, other than her extreme separation anxiety on the days when I do leave the house... which leads me to the point of this piece. How often do your feet hit the ground at networking events? Do you think that because you're a pet blogger or pet writer, you don't have to go out and shake hands and meet and greet? You're wrong! If you want to gain a following, be known for who you are and what you do in the pet blogging realm, you need to go to networking events. Yes, I know you can network from the comfort of your keyboard, but you truly need to shake hands, build your brand, and put faces with names. 

Blogging For Beginners: Finding The Time

Guest Post By Blog Manager Robbi Hess

In a perfect world we'd have time to lounge around all day sipping coffee and eating chocolates waiting for the muse to come, tap us on the shoulder and offer us a good idea to write about. Unfortunately, for writers if you wait for the muse to come, you'll never get any writing done. I've found you have to wrestle your muse to the ground and drag the ideas out of her. 

One of the best ideas my muse ever gave me was to put an editorial calendar into place. Sure, the time you take putting together an editorial calendar is time you could have spent writing a blog post, right? Perhaps. But consider this: if you don't put together a calendar for yourself, chances are you'll be sitting and staring at the screen hoping that an idea will fall into your lap. Believe me, in my years of writing it rarely happens. 

Book Review: Dog Cancer Survival Guide

Guest Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

The Dog Cancer Survival Guide by Dr. Demian Dressler, DVM and Dr. Susan Ettinger, DVM, dip. ACVIM (ongology) was provided to me to review and it was certainly not light reading -- in either material contained within or in sheer heft. It was, however, a comprehensive guide on not only what to do to help your dog -- and your family -- cope with this devestating diagnosis. 

The book is divided into five sections: 

1. My Dog Has Cancer, Now What?
2. What You Shoudl Know About Dog Cancer
3. Full Spectrum Cancer Care
4. Making Confident Choices
5. From The Oncologist 

So Much Social Media, So Little Time

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

I was at a Chamber of Commerce meeting today and Anthony Kirlew did a 10-minute presentation on social media. One of the questions raised was, "How do I keep up with ALL of the social media sites that are out there?" Good question, right? 

Unless you have unlimited amounts of time, you can't possibly keep up with it all. I swear that at least once every couple of weeks I am being invited to yet another social media site. I have my pet blog community of which I am a member, then my professional sites (LinkedIn) and Google+ in addition to Facebook. Add to the mix, a Baby Boomer site that invited me, Pinterest, Branch Out, my PoolInfo Site community, Twitter... the list goes on. Sure you can get yourself a HootSuite account and schedule all of your updates automatically rather than going to each site individually. I am not a fan of pre-scheduling, but it does have its place. 

Blogging For Beginners: Editorial Calendars

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

In my last Blogging For Beginners post, I posed five questions you needed to ponder before adding your voice to the blogging conversation. If you hadn't answered those questions, you should pop over, take a look at them now and jot the information down. 

To truly be a success in blogging -- or as a writer in general, in any medium -- you should have a notebook or document on your computer in which you answer these questions and use that notebook/doc as a gathering point for all Blogging for Beginners-related info. 

I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that you've answered the five questions posed and now you're wondering... now what!? Well, the "now what" is to start blogging. Okay, you aren't confident enough to do that so you should at least make yourself an editorial calendar. Yes, you heard me right, an editorial calendar.