Tuesday, August 12, 2014

How do all you bloggers/writers who are parents do it??

When I started this blog I also started a fun Facebook page to promote the blog and hopefully get more people to visit here.  It was my hope that someone or a bunch of someone's would find something I wrote interesting, fun, witty or even educational.  

 I didn't realize how much work keeping things alive on Facebook would be.  Trying to entertain an audience of people who have, 1. been doing this a whole lot longer than I have, 2. Have way more of a following than I, and 3. Obviously better organized than I am because they always seem to have something new and fresh to post and I am over here just trying to keep up. 

 It is overwhelming and I applaud those women (and men) who are stay at home parents of kids younger than mine, some work a job outside their home as well and still find time to post and blog.   I do not know how you all do it!!  You amaze me.   You all still have time to "pimp" other peoples pages and share pages.  For me that seems to take a long time.  It could be that I just don't know how to manage my time or able to multi task quite as good as I thought I could!!   How do you do it?   

I wish someone would share their secret with me because I just can't seem to move past a certain number of "likes", and I don't seem to get any comments here either.  Now I must say this,  I am not ungrateful at all for those who do read my blog and comment on my FB page, I have just noticed in the past few weeks that life has just really gotten so busy that the only way I was going to get any time to write was if I woke up in the middle of the night and lost out on the precious few hours of sleep I get each night.  

   I don't even know if anyone will ever read this but I had to say just how impressed and envious I am of those of you who do so much and still find time to blog, manage a Facebook page, raise families, work jobs and all the other things you do!  

I raise my glass to you all, and I hope one day to be able to be just 1/10th the blogger/ writer you all are!!   

4 comments:

  1. You are right! It does take A LOT of time. Time that you are not compensated for monetarily and time away from the family that you work so hard to blog ABOUT! LOL But I have a few tricks up my sleeve ;)
    1. Schedule your posts. You can schedule them for MONTHS in advance if you so choose. I jot down the funny stories when they happen and then type them in at night, after the kids go to bed, and schedule a couple per day.
    2. Pick some games or themes that you can repeat every week. (and schedule in advance! But not until you see if they pick up steam) Like how I do LMS every Monday.
    3. NETWORK. That is HUGE for growing your page. "Friend" other bloggers and scratch each others backs, so to speak.
    4. Encourage comments by asking questions. At the end of your blog, pose a question for your audience and ASK them to comment. Same for FB posts, give them a "reason" for commenting by asking them for their advice, what they would have done in your shoes, or other such stuff...
    5. Find a schedule that works for you. Obviously, put your family first. This is just a fun hobby. In the end, how many people like you or follow your blog/page doesn't REALLY matter. If you can only post 2-3 times a week, that is ok! Just use those couple days to schedule things throughout the week!
    6. COMMENT BACK to those who took the time to comment. That makes them feel good and then they will continue to comment and come back, building a steady "following"! Even if you only do it the couple days a week that you find work for you :)
    6. Stay true to yourself and post for you. The people that enjoy you, find their way there. And when you stress out over it, it kind of loses it's steam. Don't be afraid to "take a break" if you need one.

    P.S. I work too. And have 4 kids. It's a lot to juggle! It all falls together. And my husband gets pissed at me sometimes because I do my facebookin' and blogging at night when the kids go to bed and he doesn't always get all the attention he wants! LOL Good luck to you! Stick with it and you will find a rhythm that works for you AND your family! :) And thanks for linking up on #BlogDiggity! (that is ANOTHER great way to build up your blog and network!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for the tips. I know once my oldest gets moved into her own place things here at home should become less hectic so that is really going to help free up some time to get some things written and posted more often. Can I ask how to schedule posts ahead of time? I am still so "green" and such a "newbie" at it all I just don't know how it all works. Thanks again for all you have done and continue to do for and with all the other bloggers out there too!! HUGS

      Delete
  2. I agree with EVERYTHING DQM replied to you. So there's no need for me to repeat it all. LOL! Definitely USE THAT SCHEDULER! I've always written in a journal & I carry it with me to jot down ideas/stories I can use on my page/blog. If "writing" isn't your thing, get a recorder. I have both. Don't be overly concerned about Likes. Instead, build a relationship with the "faithful few." It's great to have a lot of Likes but quality is much better than quantity (in my opinion). Word will spread about you as you interact with your "friends/followers" and with OTHER pages. Find your rhythm and don't stress over this social media stuff. Unless it's paying your bills or providing for your family, (although fun) it's not worth it. I took a break for a while because life was kicking my butt. Then I came back when I was ready. Do what YOU need to. And of course THANK YOU for sharing with BlogDiggity!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much for commenting and like I commented to DQM, Hopefully things will get quieter around here so I can spend more time doing what I have longed to for so long. I need to just stop worrying and have fun....I tend to do that with things sometimes. It is a deficit I have that needs to be corrected. Thanks for sharing me and for commenting!! :)

    ReplyDelete