Welcome to what will now be our Annual Boston Terrier Dog Blogger Journey.
Last year we joined other Pet Bloggers in the annual Pet Blog Hop. I forgot that we did it until our friend Colby with Puppy In Training nudged us that it was that time of the year again. If you haven’t heard about it read more on his blog.
This is a time of the year all pet bloggers answer the same questions. It’s a great way to get to know each other and also to reflect on the year.
So without further ado we share our journey with you:
Colby
January 20, 2020YAY, I’m glad you joined the journey! Wowzers! $1,200 – $3,500 for a sponsored post! That’s amazing. I asked for $4K from the last brand that approached me and I was shot down. Honestly, I’m not interested in doing sponsored posts.
Yep, it’s all about the video in 2020! I think we’re on the same page when it comes to what we need to get done this year. More content, more video…
Regarding your WordPress question: Fantasktic did my migration and fixed my WP site when it was hacked, but they seem to be only advertised as a migration site. Also, Grayson Bell from iMarkInteractive always gets high marks in our Mediavine group. I’ve chatted with him, but never used his services so I can’t really vouch for him.
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 20, 2020Thank you Colby. I think it’s because of the IG that I get those rates. Otherwise I’d be in the $300 range for blog only. Thank you for the tip on Grayson Bell!!!
Colby
January 20, 2020One other thing I just thought of that interests me and might interest others. Can you tell me a little about Project 24, your thoughts on the program, and if you think it’s worth investing in the course?
Thanks! And I hope you have a great 2020!
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 20, 2020On Project 24 – I stalked their YouTube for almost a full year and then one day they had a lady talk about how she grew her gardening blog based on the lessons and I pulled out my wallet and signed up.
What you get in the group is a very supportive group of bloggers so you pay for the community and the details not given in the free videos. Which … you could probably figure out … but for me as a beginning blogger I thought it was worth my investment to save time. They have a very practical way at looking at keyword research. For the first time I wasn’t overwhelmed and I was able to grasp the concept and apply it.
I think that was the main appeal for me – their ability to distill concepts concisely.
I get a full year’s membership and it will expire in August I don’t think I will renew. Just like anything now I need to execute. I just need to sit myself down in the chair and write.
Cathy
January 20, 2020I just joined Project 24 but haven’t had time to delve into it yet. But I have watched their videos for years.
I know a lot of people use Grayson Bell from iMark Interactive for WordPress stuff.
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 20, 2020Thank you for that tip on Grayson Bell. On Project 24 – I signed up in August and it’s a really supportive community and helps to keep each other accountable. Glad to see another pet blogger in the group!!!
Bren
January 20, 2020Thank you for sharing your journey. I am learning more and more about sponsored posts as I go along. I wish I could help with the programming end. I was very lucky to have that feature included in my theme as an option. No programming needed. However, I am still learning how to use Instagram to increase my traffic. I love your website and really enjoyed this post. I will definitely have to check out this project 24.
CVarol Bryant
January 21, 2020Hannah, You are so talented and I loved getting to know you better in this blog post.
For starters, thank you for being a kind person and always willing to lend a helping paw. A paw-fect example is your volunteerism with DWAA as Instagram Manager.
Like you, I am going to incorporate more video into my posts. I also like following your training sessions on IG with your Bostons. I am a firm believer in trick training for dogs for so many reasons. As the dog mom to an 11-years-young Cocker, I am learning some new stuff from you!
Finally, thanks for being in our book in 2019. Your contribution is valuable and appreciated. Here’s to a prosperous or is that paws-perous 2020!
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Maggie Loves Orbit
January 21, 2020Hi Carol,
Every year I say “omg I learned so much more” lol and I feel as if I am learning more day by day. I read your interview today about not spreading your self too thin – I think I try to do everything so I have trimmed off some activities to focus more on the things that matter the most to me.
Thank you again for including me in your book. I actually get messages from people now who have read it and are starting out their blogs.
Here’s to a great 2020 for all of us.
Irene McHugh
January 21, 2020Hi Hannah! First, you’re the reason I’m a Project 24 addict now. Seriously, every Monday I’m sitting down opening the YouTubes looking forward to their unique blend of wisdom & wackiness. I’m glad their membership has helped you.
Looking forward to more content about Maggie’s reactivity. Lizzie can be super reactive too. Reading about other people’s successes is always helpful. I was actually thinking about your pack the other day. I’ve seen your pack walks on Instagram and read your thoughts about how helpful they are. Recently, Lizzie was in two different dog classes concurrently, so she got to know two different groups of dogs, and I think that helped her tremendously! Looking forward to seeing your content and your two cuties this year!
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 21, 2020Hi Irene,
I’m so glad you like the class too. It’s so funny I also look for their videos first thing every Monday. And did you see they are going to “sell everything” so that they can be “starting again with us” which is commendable.
Reactivity is such an interesting thing. I feel in a way I’ve not been speaking “dog”… Maggie really does try to talk to me I just wasn’t listening lol. We are progressing in the right direction – baby steps. Hope that Lizzie and you can also navigate this area in the right direction too.
Kris
January 22, 2020Hi, As a new blogger it’s great to meet you and all the fellow pet bloggers. I believe pet people are the best kind?I loved reading your blogging Journey. I also have to say that I too watch income school on YouTube and I just recently bought his book work energy which I’m loving lol. My English bulldog dog has his own instagram @sonnyboybowties I’m not sure if I follow you but I look you up.. I also signed up for your tips so I’m looking forward to that..Have a great 202
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Hi Kris. I will look up your bulldog. YES pet people are the best kind and pet bloggers are even better. There’s a true kinship and community with pet bloggers because we all respect and support each other. Here’s to a great 2020 for all of us.
Carol Lowbeer, Mom
January 23, 2020Hi Hannah, I enjoyed betting to know you a little through your blogging adventures. You have such a firm focu you are bound to succeed. I love the first line of your post and your sensitive description of your dogs. Thanks for sharing your adventure!
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Hello Carol. Thank you so much for stopping by and your words of encouragement. Last night I was about to go to bed and I had a draft blog article started so I just sat down and wrote it. Went to bed super late but … happy I wrote. Now I just have to keep writing lol. Here’s to a great 2020.
Lindsay
January 24, 2020Hello, so glad you joined the blog hop. Congrats on a successful 2019! Your blog looks so clean and nice with beautiful photos. I like your point about not writing for search engines and being real for people with real emotions they can connect with. I struggle with that some but I know my best articles are the most personal articles.
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Hi Lindsay. Thank you for stopping by. I noticed that when I do internet searches and click on articles I can tell the difference between those that are written by content houses … they feel so impersonal and then I love those that have that personal touch. Here’s to a great 2020 for all of us.
Candy
January 24, 2020Hi Hannah!
First off, I feel like I need to run and look up Project 24 after reading all of these comments haha.
I’ve loved watching our blogs grow together. I feel like I have learned so much about social media from you! Every time you write about Instagram etc I run to read the blogpost.
For WordPress help, I have been working with a woman I met through Fiverr for awhile now. She is an expert on the theme I use, so I’m not sure if she’d be helpful for other themes, but she’s fantastic and it’s worked well for me so far.
I’m so impressed by what you’ve done with video so far. I want to get more into it, but I’m afraid to add to add another thing to my plate! Decisions, decisions.
Here’s to a great 2020!
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Hi Candy! I have loved seeing your blog grow as well. I feel as if last year we both said – ok we need to really focus a bit more lol. I know you’re going to keep growing. The video is so new to me. One of the things I’m learning is to just jump in the pool and try. Even if the video is very short – it does actually add to the blog post. I started to observe my own behavior and how much I myself love to watch video so I thought why not dabble and start somewhere. Thank you for stopping by and here’s to a great 2020!
Angela Schneider
January 24, 2020Nine articles in 30 days is pretty impressive! I struggle with four sometimes. It’s great that you have the discipline to just sit down and do it.
For your Instagram issues, I see you’re using an Elegant theme with one of their Hero plugins. You might try uninstalling the plugin, purging your cache and reinstalling it. If that doesn’t work, I’d reach out to Elegant support and give them hell.
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Hi Angela. Those 9 nearly killed me lol. It was supposed to be 30 in 30 days but … I needed sleep and life was still going on. Thank you for the tip on the theme. I will follow up on that!
Jessica Williams
January 24, 2020I’m super impressed with how much you and Colby are charging for sponsored posts. I have nowhere the following on Instagram you have, and I know that plays a big part in your pricing, but I can see Iv’e been charging too little. I don’t particularly want to do a lot of sponsored content but would love to find 3-5 brands to really invest and built a relationship with me. Preferably, one that would lead to working together on an ongoing basis or an annual repeat.
Good luck with everything this year. I know you will go far! 🙂
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Hi Jessica. Yes those rates were because of our Instagram and came via third party agencies or via the brands. They really value that audience. That said these campaigns are one offs and don’t happen too often. I have had some companies approach me for long term partnerships but … they are kibble companies which … we don’t feed. Anyway after spending time with you and Colby and watching your blog grow it’s apparent to me to work on a long term content strategy and truly be of service to the community we talk to. Thank you so much for stopping by and here’s to a great 2020.
Kimberly Gauthier
January 25, 2020Happy New Year!!! Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s always interesting to see what other bloggers are doing to compare notes. I’ve been rethinking doing sponsored posts and have turned down many over the past six months. As you stated, it only works when it’s a good fit for the brand. For me, I only like to work with products that I would continue to use with my dogs after the sponsorship ends – sadly, that’s not many.
Thank you for sharing your story.
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Hi Kimberly. Wow thank you for stopping by you have no idea how many of your articles I’ve read as I had questions about my dogs. Our sponsorships came to us through Instagram and the blog article would be a value add. But I don’t like the idea of having to wait to be paid and watching more established bloggers like yourself I’ve come to realize I need to focus on the long term plan to write, generate content, and if all goes well add something like mediavine. Also on the sponsored content, it’s hard to work with most companies because my dogs are not easy lol. I can’t work with any dog food brands because I feed home prepped fresh meals so that puts me out with any of the kibble brands that pay a lot. And then I only will work with companies that I would be buying anyway.
Thank you again for reading and here’s to a great 2020.
Dawn
January 26, 2020Were you the 1 who mentioned Project 24 in one of the pet blogging groups? I’ve been watching their videos ever since! Can’t wait to hear about your results!
With everyplace we can be it’s easy to get distracted and spend more time on another platform besides our blog. Did Instagram help drive snd traffic to your blog? I’ve tried being on there but I just don’t have enough time to really use it the way you need to to develop a following so I’ve kind of abandoned it.
Wish I had a developer recommendation, but I pretty much DIY my site. Hope you find someone who can help!
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020I’ve mentioned Project 24 in several of the dog/pet groups. I consumed the content on youtube for almost a year before I signed up. If you’re a fairly strong writer, I think that you don’t need to sign up for the class. I was still floudering around trying to understand SEO and content strategy that it helped me and I am more a beginner blogger compared to a lot of those that have been doing this longer. As for IG it’s very short term traffic. When I link to it – basically it’s like an email blast to notify my readers of the article but… they still have to click through, read it share it and come back to it. For what it’s worth even though we have a big IG I feel I have more opportunity blogging so I’m shifting my efforts there. I still post to our IG but I’m just posting video and whatever I feel like. I used to spend hours on photos and editing for that “post” and now I realize if I have that much time I should blog. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Debi @ Rescue Dogs 101
January 26, 2020I think your focus on reactivity and allergies/health is super important. Our Ginger struggles with allergies and it took a lot of research along with trial and error to find what her triggers are. She is on a very strict diet, but has been symptom free for over a year.
So many dogs have struggle with reactivity in one way or another. People need help understand the why and how to help their dogs.
Sorry I can’t help you with the WordPress/Instagram issue. I’ve pretty much given up on Instagram, can’t gain traction on it without spending so much time on it. I too have heard great things about Grayson Bell, but never had to use his services.
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 26, 2020Thank you. Yes reactivity is more common than people talk about. And thank you for the feedback on Grayson Bell.
As for Instagram – I’m on it and after almost 5 years I wish I spent that time on the blog instead because with IG you do a post and after 4 to 5 days traffic practically stops to the page and you have to keep feeding the beast whereas with the blog I write today and it keeps getting found later =)
Barbara Rivers
January 26, 2020Hi Hannah, so nice to have found out about your blog – I also went ahead and checked out your IG profile. I saw that video of you dancing with the pups, lol! Very cute.
It’s good to hear that you started cooking for your pups. The right kind of nutrition can be such a game changer for sure. I’ve been feeding my guys raw since 2015 now and will never go back to highly processed dog food.
Much blogging success in 2020!
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 29, 2020Hi Barbara. I look at those little brown balls and wonder how anyone can think it as food. I actually went from kibble to raw but for some reason my two didn’t do well on it. We were on it for a year or so. Orbit was actually weaned onto it. And then we went to a holistic vet who did a detox and then suggested I start cooking. Well they cleared up and I haven’t made a change because I’m afraid for their old problems to come back. That said they do get RMB and they get air dried treats and chews from Real Dog Box which is closer to raw than it is cooked. I think at the time they broke out it was chicken they had a big problem with. Anyway thank you for stopping by. I love what you’re doing to promote fresh eating. Here’s to a great 2020.
Bren
January 26, 2020I love how you described the bouncy stage! I think I am living that now trying to focus on the direction I want my blog to go. I also love your passion for helping others to fully understand the Boston Terrier breed better and the importance of responsible breeding/breed preservation. I will definitely have to check out the project 24 plan. I can see you being very successful this year with your goals. As for Instagram, I am still trying to figure it out because I do most of my work on a desktop. Your far beyond my skill level on that one. Thank you so much for sharing your story! It was truly motivating and inspiring for a newbie like myself. Your journey helped me see some light at the end of my blogging tunnel. Keep up what you’re doing! Truly amazing work! And the best to you in the coming year!
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 29, 2020Hi Bren. Thank you kindly. If it makes it easier for you and prioritization I’d spend my time on the blog before Instagram. I wish I knew that before but hindsight is 2020. Best of luck in 2020 and thank you for stopping by .
Erin Sullivan
January 26, 20209 articles in 30 days, wow! I usually have to make myself take a break so I don’t get too burnt out. Hopefully you can write 52 blogs in 2020! I try my hardest to be consistent, but I ended up taking a break for Christmas. Good luck! 🙂
Maggie Loves Orbit
January 29, 2020Hi Erin – yes that was a crazy challenge. This year I’m dialing it back so I don’t burn out either lol. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Emilia
February 2, 2020I’ve been following Income School on YouTube too – Their approach to keyword research makes so much sense.
I’m super not a fan of video but I guess I definitely need to figure out how to work it out (preferably without putting my face on it.)
Maggie Loves Orbit
February 21, 2020I love how simple Income School presents things. I’m also camera shy but I have done a few where it was just my voice and I filmed my dogs and narrated. It seems to be easier that way =)