Today on The Blog Lowdown, I’m delighted to be hosting Louise from At Home With Mrs H….
Please Introduce yourself:
My name is Louise and I live in rural Greater Manchester with my husband and two boys who are in year one and year two at school.
When did you start blogging?
I began my blog, At Home With Mrs H in May 2012. It has finally formed into its current state after name changes, which lost me followers I think, and the various reasons I started it in the beginning. I used to take part in regular craft events selling some things I made, but I never earned much money and had the time possible for it, so I decided to spend the time I did have making things for myself, friends and family. It evolved into me just liking the idea of rambling on about stuff as opposed to my Facebook page which I had at the time. I deleted my account last summer and I sooo do not miss it! I prefer that people visit and interact with my blog, even though my traffic numbers are low, instead of a Facebook account where I seemed to get so wrapped up with the lives of people, who frankly, I didn’t want to bother with.
Tell us a little about your blog
I love sharing my baking, I get withdrawl symptoms if I don’t bake regularly, and making projects and just chatting about things which interest me.
Who designed your blog?
I designed my blog! It is not a professional blog in that I don’t earn any money from adverts or anything as my visitor numbers are not high enough for that. I guess it is a bit rough around the edges and sometimes I am so desperate to share something I have done or made that I make a little mistake and have to go back and do some editing! I change things here and there but am a bit scared that I will lose everything if I change the back ground or anything!
Which of your posts have been the most popular? Are there certain types that get more interest?
I have had some really successful posts and these were, I freely admit, mainly promoting somebody else! I took part in a blog hope for Ruth Clemens, she of The Pink whisk blog and Great British Bake Off fame, promoting her new Creative Eclairs book. I LOVE Pretty Nostalgic magazine and when they were in a spot of bother recently I did my bit to encourage support for them and then I was a guest blogger on Dormouse And The Teapot a blog which is run by a friend.
How do you promote your blog posts, and which methods do you find to be most successful?
As I said, I don’t have a Facebook account but I do have a Twitter account and tweet when I publish new posts.
Which linkys do you most enjoy joining in with/reading?
I don’t do linky tools or anything. I suppose I just rely on “tweet of mouth” which is fine by me. I have enjoyed Twitter much more than Facebook and discovered some wonderful blogs and correspondents.
When are your busiest days on the blog, and why? (if you know why!)
I don’t really have busy days with my blog because I just post when I think of something, have made something I would like to share or have something that I feel somebody might enjoy reading.
Can you name 3 things that blogging has brought you?
I enjoy blogging because the people who read and comment on my posts do so because they take the time to read and look at what I share so I guess the first thing it has brought me is the act of sharing interests. Secondly, blogging just gives me the chance to write, which I have always enjoyed doing now and then. I also feel interacting with other people through mine and their blogs definitely inspires to make and create different projects and find outlets for my creativity.
My Top Tips for Bloggers:
As for top tips with blogging, I think you just need to enjoy it, if you are not writing a blog to make money it can be a real fun thing to engage with. If I am including a piece of writing in one of my posts I always write about something I am interested in then I feel the passion shows in my words. Don’t feel pressured into writing about anything political, there are plenty of other platforms for that kind of thing.
My Social Media Links:
You can find me on Twitter and Pinterest. Hope you have had fun learning a little about my blog and maybe you’ll visit when you have chance to sit down with a brew and slice of cake some time.
Thanks very much, Louise. You’re so right about sharing interests, too – I’ve found many a kindred spirit through blogging!
If you’ve any questions for Louise, feel free to comment on this post, and she’ll pop by and check in. Next week, we will be hearing from Tanya at Mumaleary so be sure to pop by for that on Tuesday morning. You can catch up the previous posts from other bloggers here, too, if you’ve missed them.
If you’d like to feature on The Blog Lowdown, just email me at [email protected] to get involved.
To ensure you don’t miss any blogger posts, you can now sign up for my newsletter, and I’ll always include The Blog Lowdown round up in those.
Other posts you might like:
A Blogger’s Guide to Pinterest
10 Tips to Get your Blogging Mojo Back
It is lovely to read about someone who enjoys blogging for the most sincerest of reasons. These people always remind me to just enjoy blogging and stop worrying if anyone is reading!
Totally agree with Holly. Refreshing to read about someone bloggingfor the joy of it (and having the courage to get off Facebook!). Am reevaluating my own blogging and it is good to read about a real diversity of blogs (not just those focussed on promotion)!