Saturday, January 10, 2015

Pet Blogger Challenge 2015


Hey you guys! I decided to take the Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by gopetfriendlyblog.com!
All I have to do is answer some questions about my blog. I thought this would be great since I am just starting out.



1. How long have you been blogging? And, for anyone stopping by for the first time, please give us a quick description of what your blog is about.

I have been blogging since November 2014, so not too long at all! I mostly do pet product reviews, such as treats, toys, accessories, anything pet related!

2. Tell us one thing that you accomplished on your blog during 2014 that made you proud.

I actually started it! I had been thinking of doing one since around April 2014, but my health was making it so that I couldn't do anything. Starting in November I have had a bit more energy and I decided to start The Chesnut Mutts!

3. What lessons have you learned this year – from other blogs, or through your own experience – that could help us all with our own blogs?

I have learned that if you have an instagram account, it is better to space out your posts maybe every 2 hours at least, so as not to overwhelm everyone. I started doing that I have gotten a lot better response.

4. What have you found to be the most successful way to bring traffic to your blog, other than by writing great content?

So far, I have gotten the most views from Linky posts. The second most effective way is through twitter.

5. What was your most popular blog post this year? Did it surprise you that it was your most popular?

My most popular post was my ImmuneIQ review. This was my first review, so I like to think that people were interested in seeing what I was all about.


6. What was your favorite blog post to write this year?

My favorite was the Full Moon Jerky review! Jada loved it and we found our favorite treat! We also got noticed by Full Moon with it, so that was nice as a starting blogger!

7. Has your policy on product reviews and/or giveaways changed this year?

No, I haven't really made a policy yet. I probably should..haha.

8. If you do reviews, what do you find works best, and what doesn’t work at all?

Not sure yet! But I do know that everyone loves to see Jada's happy face!

9. If you don’t do reviews, is this something you’d like to do more of? What hurdle is getting in your way?

I do reviews, but I would love to be contacted by more folks to review!

10. What’s your best piece of advice for other bloggers?

Do what your heart tells you to do! I have always been pretty iffy with writing, but I have made myself blog because I want to share my opinions with other people.

11. What goals do you have for your blog in 2014?

I want to be contacted by more people, try to do more blog posts close together, figure out how to do tabs/pages, maybe do a giveaway, and get Bailey to do photoshoots more. Lol.

12. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one challenge you’re having with your blog, what would it be?

My blog design! I feel like it is lacking a bit. I want to draw my pets rather than just have a photo. I also want to add more color, maybe sage green and chocolate brown. Not sure how to make that work with my black and white logo :)


 Thank you for a great start and I hope to bring you more great content this year!

17 comments:

  1. First of all, nice to meet you and welcome to the wild world of blogging. If you are like the rest of us, you will test new designs, until you find what you love. It will come together.

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  2. Congrats on your new blog and best of luck!

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  3. I have no idea what options are available for designing blogger sites. In WordPress we can apply lots of themes. But my advice is to check out lots of other blogger blogs and steal, steal, steal. :)

    Mary's right. You have to experiment.

    Great start on your blog. And you probably will want to start thinking about your review policies. I get approached to review things I absolutely don't agree with and would never use (like shock collars) and I like having the PR tab to point folks to.

    Good luck in 2015.

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    1. Thank you Pamela! Yeah I have been studying other people's sites, and I am trying to get some ideas. The policy thing is something I have been thinking of a lot lately. Maybe having a set price for a review.

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  4. Welcome to pet blogging. My experience with starting a blog was a bit opposite of yours. I did it on a whim and had no idea what I was getting into (gave it zero thought). I have grown so much as a person and dog owner since becoming a part of this community. It's amazing.

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    1. Hehe. I had been doing reviews on my personal facebook page and I thought that a blog would be a lot better place for them.

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  5. Welcome to blogging! There's nothing that says you can't change your logo to suit a color scheme you prefer ;-) Be flexible and you will eventually settle on a design that makes you happy.

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    1. Thank you Taryn!
      I am working on a new design now. Hopefully it will work out. Lol

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  6. Hi there! Welcome to the blogging world! Now following your blog and social media accounts!

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  7. I think getting started is a huge accomplishment! I wanted to start blogging when I first brought home my guide dog puppy, but I didn't get my first blog post up until 6 months after I brought him home :(

    I'm not too sure about Blogger, but if you want to do it yourself you may have to learn a little bit of HTML and CSS to make major changes or look for some templates that better suit your needs. I'm on WordPress and their are thousands of free themes as well as paid.

    Good luck with your blogging this year!

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    1. Thank you! I have chronic migraines and have been out of work because of them. I thought blogging would be a great idea to get into something that I wouldn't have to worry about if I feel bad one day and have to stay in bed. So far so good. I'll have to look into WordPress. I went with blogger because I was already familar with it and didn't research any other sites.

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  8. I use blogger and I like it. The presets are pretty good and it's easy to navigate. My favorite part is that my android phone is also Google-based so I can import import pictures and sketch out posts on the go.

    One observation: The black font on the brown background is difficult to read on the computer, and impossible on my phone. I would suggest you tweak the layout to make it easier for your followers to communicate with you.

    Best of luck. LOVE the rats! I look forward to your next post. -- K

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    1. Hi Kelley!
      Thank you for telling me about the text situation! I didn't realize that the post footer background will also be the background of replies :D

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  9. Thanks for joining the Challenge, Abby, and congratulations on starting your blog! It looks like you've already accomplished one of your goals, because I'm seeing sage green and chocolate brown - and it looks great! The only tweak I would suggest is to change the text in your replies to the comments to white. I think it would pop off the sage green background better than the black text does. Best of luck to you!

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