Pet Blogger Challenge Jan. 10It’s been a long, strange year — and by strange, I mean terrible. The worst of all the unpleasant events that 2013 brought was having to say good-bye to Frankie, my first and only dog and the inspiration for this blog.

One of the few things about which I have no bad feelings, however,  was my decision to return to pet blogging. The degree to which I have been holding things together is a tribute to the support I have gotten from the pet blogger community, including my readers.

At the same time, I have been facing the question of where to go from here. Can I continue pet blogging without a pet — at least for now? What exactly would a petless pet blog look like?

So when Amy Burkert of GoPetfriendly.com asked me if I wanted to co-host the Pet Blogger Challenge with her for the third time — she hosted it solo last year — I decided to say yes. It’ll give me an opportunity to think “aloud” (writing is the best way for me to organize my thoughts), to find out what other pet bloggers have been up to, and to learn from the rest of you, as usual.

So… are you in? If so, grab a badge (I’ll put the code below) and answer the following questions on your blog on January 10. It’ll be a blog hop — a handy-dandy way to find out who else is participating and to draw new readers over to your blog. A Linky list will be available here on Will My Dog Hate Me that morning at 12:01am,

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1. How long have you been blogging? And, if you’re stopping by for the first time, please tell us why you started blogging and give us a quick description of what your blog is about.

2. Name one thing about your blog, or one blogging goal that you accomplished during 2013, that made you the most proud.

3. When you look at the post you wrote for last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge, or just think back over the past year, what about blogging has changed the most for you?

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

Alternatively, if you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one challenge you’re still having with your blog, what would it be?

5. What have you found to be the best ways to bring more traffic to your blog, other than by writing great content?

6. How much time to do you spend publicizing your blog — and do you think you should spend more or less time next year?

7. How do you gauge whether or not what you’re writing is appealing to your audience? And how do you know when it’s time to let go of a feature or theme that you’ve been writing about for a while?

8. When you’re visiting other blogs, what inspires you to comment on a post rather than just reading and moving on?

9. Do you do product reviews and/or giveaways?

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

If not, is this something you’d like to do more of? What hurdle is getting in your way?

10. When writer’s block strikes and you’re feeling dog-tired, how do you recharge?

11. Have you ever taken a break from your blog? How did that go?

Have you ever thought about quitting your blog altogether? What makes you stay?

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

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Don’t stress — and don’t be afraid to ask for help! If you have any questions, Amy will be glad to answer them (just kidding,  though Amy is more likely to give you the right answer to tech questions, whereas my specialty is angst).

And do please spread the word. Misery loves company. This is far more fun when done with blogger friends.  We encourage you to put the badge on your blog by using the code, below.  If I can do it, so can you.
Pet Blogger Challenge Jan. 10

Pet blogger challenge badge code:

[stextbox id=”grey”]<a href=”https://willmydoghateme.com/pet-blogging/pet-blogger-challenge-round-4″ target=”_blank”><img class=”Pet Blogger Challenge Jan. 10″ src=”https://willmydoghateme.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/PBC.jpg” border=”0″ /></a>[/stextbox]

22 thoughts on “Pet Blogger Challenge: Round 4!”

  1. Oh, I’ll be in for sure!

    And I believe you CAN have a pet blog without a pet. There are A LOT of issues that you deal with after a pet passes away that are worth sharing. There are also a lot of things that you can have an opinion about related to pets regardless of whether you have one right now.

    1. Oh, good, I’m glad you’re in! And thanks for your support. I do have a lot of pet-related opinions that will likely need an outlet…

  2. We have never participated in the Pet Blogger Challenge but are looking forward to being a part of it this year!
    Be a blogger without a pet? Most definitely!
    You have valuable knowledge and can continue to be a voice for all pets while sharing your thoughts and opinions and providing comfort to those pet moms and dads with important questions.

    Looking forward to January 10th
    CK and Jozi

  3. Your Frankie is and always will be so precious. My Buster went to Heaven in May, on his birthday. Why? Is it some sort of cruel way of making a statement? I’ll never know.

    1. I’m so sorry about Buster. That does seem doubly awful, to lose him on his birthday. I suppose we all celebrate and mourn our beloved pets at the same time. That’s a particularly cruel reminder of this.

  4. So excited to read about this again. I participated last year and got some helpful tips! This is such a great idea, I can’t wait.

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