Pet Blogging For Fun And Profit

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

By now everyone
realizes (I think!) that blogging is not a fad that will fade away. If anything
it continues to evolve especially as many bloggers have started vlogging (video
blogging) in addition to their written posts. A blog puts a human face on a
product or service and gives your readers insight into who you are, what you do
and why. A blog lets people get to “know, like and trust” you and helps the
small business owner (which if you’re a pet blogger, that’s what you are) build
clientele and set themselves apart from the crowd.

Your blog is your
brand. Using that as your jumping off point… what will you blog about? What
topics will you cover? How will you approach your blogging? What will you do to
bring quality content to your readers on a regular basis? What’s in it for me?
That’s what your readers will be thinking every time they grace you with their
presence. Make certain you make their time worth their while. Here are some
items to keep in mind when you’re blogging:

• Front of mind should be… why are you blogging? Each time you put
  fingers to keyboard this thought should pop in your head. You are blogging to
  share useful, interesting information with your readers.
• Who are your readers? If you don’t know who’s reading you, you can’t
  determine why they’re reading you. Are they coming to you for humor? How-tos?
  Expert interviews? Breed specific pieces? Tailor your posts to your “ideal
  client.”
• Who do you want to read your posts? Perhaps you started out
  blogging with the idea that “I just want to blog.” That’s fine, but if you’re
  evolving your skills, talents and connections in the pet world you may want to
  step back and ask yourself who you want your ideal reader/client to be. Once
  you determine that you can start gearing your posts toward that audience.
• Leave the sales pitch at home. Set up your website in a way that
  if a reader is interested in knowing more about you, he or she can search your
  other pages and find out who you are, what you do, and what you sell. Don’t
  blog about items you’re selling. If you’re writing a review on a product that
  you love, by all means make certain you note whether the item was given to you
  for free or whether you purchased it yourself.
• Make your readers happy by adding hyperlinks. Show link love to other
  bloggers, link to sites you love, links that highlight what you’re writing
  about.
• Spread the word about your blog posts. Take full advantage of your
  social media to announce when you’re posting a new blog, BUT don’t use your
  social media pages to only announce blog posts. Remember, be social.
• Appearance matters. First impressions count in life and on your
  blog. While you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a website or blog,
  you should make it be easy to navigate and more importantly, your blog posts
  should be free of grammar, spelling and punctuation errors.
• Sprinkle in keywords. If you want to be known as the Poodle pet
  blogger, or the social media pet maven, use key words that get you found
  online. If you have a location based business make certain that location is
  mentioned. For example, Ohio pet supply store.

Remember, practice makes perfect and chances
are your readers will forgive you a poorly placed comma or a spelling error,
but make certain you give them high quality content – content that makes you
stand out from the crowd.