When in Doubt, Blog Blog Again: Pet Blogger Advice

by: Carol Bryant

How many of you know who Gilda Radner is? She was one of my
favorite comediennes and in her book, It's Always Something, she ended with
this story.

In fact, these are the last words of the book, probably the last words of any
kind of a "performance" that she ever did. Dibby was her
housekeeper/nanny with whom she was very close. Gilda wrote,

When I was little, Dibby told me a story about
her cousin who had a dog – just a mutt – and the dog was pregnant. I don’t know
how long dogs are pregnant, but she was due to have her puppies in about a
week. She was out in the yard one day and got in the way of the lawnmower and
her two back legs got cut off. They rushed her to the vet who said, "I can
sew her up, or you can put her to sleep if you want. But the puppies are OK –
she’ll be able to deliver the puppies. Dibby’s cousin said, "keep her
alive." So the vet sewed up her backside and over the next week that dog
learned how to walk. She didn’t spend any time worrying; she just learned to
walk by taking two steps in the front and flipping up her backside and then
taking two more steps and flipping up her backside again. She gave birth to six
little puppies, all in perfect health. She nursed them and then weaned them.
And when they learned to walk, they all walked like her.

That story touched me deeply and it continues to resonate even all these years later. It never fails to make me smile. Perhaps you are grinning or wiping a tear away right now, too.

What this story teaches me now, as it did when I first read it, is that we should never give up. We never know who our words are impacting and where that impact will lead.

Pet blogging is a lot like learning to walk by following the leader: We look to those who are our peers, attend BlogPaws conference, connect year round on social media, and attempt to make a permanently archived mark in the world.

So what about doubt and if what you write really matters? We all have those pangs of "who cares" and self doubt now and then. Using Gilda as my inspiration, and perhaps now you can, too, remember, if you promote a blog post properly, you might be teaching someone, somewhere something that can change the life of their pet.

Personally, there is no greater reward for me than to hear from a reader who says that something I wrote changed what they feed their dog, where they go on vacation, or even more recently, the career they wanted to pursue in the pet industry.

So tech advice and SEO aside, ROI and social media metrics pushed to the corner for a break, here are 10 things you can do when you are in doubt and wonder if pet blogging is making a difference. They are, quite simply, 10 of my favorite quotes. I refer to them often and a few are housed in permanent frames in my office. Take from them what you will and feel free to add a few to the mix.

10 "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"- Eleanor Roosevelt

9 "The only logical reason why people can't talk behind your back is because you're already ahead of them." – Author Unknown

8 "It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my
heart with them, and every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a
piece of their heart. If I live long enough all the components of my
heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are."
– Anonymous

7

6 If you want something you've never had, then you've got to do something you've never done." Anonymous

5

4 "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right." – Henry Ford –

3

2

1 "The person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new." – Albert Einstein-

On that note, our early bird pricing ends today – be motivated and be on track with us: Be at the BlogPaws Conference in May of 2014:  http://registration.blogpaws.com/