How to Explain Pet Blogging to Your Relatives This Holiday Season
Recently, someone told me that “pet blogger” sounded like one of those fake jobs cited by house hunters on HGTV reality shows.
I laughed—it kind of does!—but I started thinking about all the friends and family who just don’t get blogging, let alone pet blogging. With the holidays around the corner, I know I’ll be fielding questions from relatives all season long: “So, what exactly is it that you do? Like, how do you spend your day?”
The truth is, it’s tough to explain blogging to someone unfamiliar with how the online work world works. We do so many things: We’re writers, photographers, marketers, PR pros, coders, designers, accountants, and more.
How do you distill all that while standing around the buffet table?
If you’re in the same (gravy) boat as I am this holiday season, here are some tips and tricks for explaining what, exactly, it is that a blogger does!
For the Luddite
“I own and run a website about dogs/cats/rats/etc.” For relatives with no computer skills whatsoever—I always think of my great aunt—they are usually familiar with the concepts, so simply stating you run a website and the topic is enough info to answer the basic question. I find using “website” instead of “blog” makes the connection clearly for the least-tech-savvy of the fam.
For the Mildly-Tech-Friendly
“I run a blog dedicated to hamsters/shelter pets/vet techs/etc. and spend my days creating and sharing fresh content in that niche.” Short, simple, to-the-point, and it leaves tons of room for insightful discussion. For friends and family with a little internet knowledge, they might be interested in learning more, so leave it open for follow-up questions: “What kind of content do you create?” “Where do you share your work?”
For the Super-Tech-Savvy
Have a blogger cousin or a web dev neighbor? Here’s your chance to shine! “I run a wildly popular pet blog and maintain a strong social presence. I work with leading brands and have become a digital brand myself.” This person will probably have tons of questions: Which platform do you use? How do you get connected with those brands? What did you do to grow? So, be sure to enter this conversation with a cocktail in hand or a plate of canapés and settle in to talk shop!
Regardless of your approach, be prepared for that look of surprise and the often-repeated follow-up statement: “You work from home with your pets?! You’re so lucky!”
Yes, yes we are!
Your turn!
How do you answer friends and family who are curious about your job? Do you go into detail about blogging? Or do you stick to quick, surface-level answers?
Maggie Marton serves as the BlogPaws senior editor. When not hiking with her two pit mixes, Emmett and Cooper, or playing with Newt the Cat, Maggie writes about them (and the pet industry) at ohmydogblog.com and maggiemarton.com.
Image: Alliance/Shutterstock.com
