I personally know the dogs instagram account (@spaniellife) is flying compared to my personal one. I enjoy sharing content over their and the response I get back is so engaging and exciting compared to my own instagram community.
As a lifestyle blogger, my blog has changed through the years, as you would expect with anything over 6 and half years.
It's certainly now where I want it to be, having a large portion of "dog friendly" but still keeping parts of myself shining through. After all, it is a lifestyle blog, and I'm able to show case my life in the best way with Stephanie Dreams.
I do wonder if a side dog blog would work, but I am so happy with blog and it's content at the moment, I see no reason to change. And although it's such a mix of Disney and dogs (the best things in life!) I'm sharing it as an online diary, like it's always been.
I am thankful we're seeing more fine dog blogs, such as Alfie Bear and Honey I Dressed The Pug, these blogs are what I love to read.
I thought I'd share some tips from the blogging world if you're looking to start are own blog, either as a mixed topic blog or a complete dog blog. It's best to be prepared to make sure you're proud of what you're putting online and your readers enjoy your content too:
Post
However many posts you decide on a week, it's really important to keep a constant schedule. Your readers don't want to see 3 posts one week and then not hear from you again for a month. I personally try to post 1-2 posts a week, this allows me on my quiet weeks to find content and still be able to share with you.
Images
I want to see large and clear images, preferably that are your own and not stock photos or stolen from Google. This makes everything a bit more personal, as well as looking great.
Layout
There are so many themes and layouts, but it's important you get the right one. Don't over fuss things and take away from the main content, but make it inviting and exciting to grab readers eyes straight away. I like clean and fresh, however I love adding elements of personal touches, like my header and showcasing my instagram on the side bar.
Content
Open your field up to what you'd want to read yourself. Even with a "dog blog" you can still cover so much. No one wants to just read about reviews, they want to see what you get up to, your holidays, your favourite walks- as well as the things you wear or collars and leads you're loving right now.
Be Realistic
Blogging has hit the world by storm, bloggers are now famous and even bringing out their own beauty and lifestyle ranges [hello Zoella!] However you need to start your blog for the right reason. Getting "freebies" will not help your passion or keep your little piece of the internet alive, you wanting to share your life and adventures of your pooch will.
Read other blogs
I think this one is so important! How do you expect to get support and love, if you don't show that yourself. I am always on the look out for new dog blogs I love, it's great for inspiration and supporting others is so important and something the blogging world lacks more and more of as more and more blogs are made.
Be professional
There may come a time where brands do want to work with you, although you should never expect this, you should always be prepared for what you can offer. As I've mentioned, there are lots of blogs out there, so what makes yours different. What can you offer to the brand? If your stats aren't very good, what other things do you have to show for them to pick you. Remember this is work! Work with only the brands you love and want to showcase and do the best job you can do at it. It's not a walk in the park for a free collar or lead, it's putting your blog [and your own brand] out there, showing you can work with amazing companies.
Also don't be offended if they do ask for your stats or follower counts, after all they have to do the best for their business by picking the best. Remember blogs such as blogger and wix domains won't have their own DA, meaning some companies won't work with you.
Be Social
Get on instagram and twitter to have a chat. Of course you can share you blog links and photos there too, but make sure you're engaging and chatty to people you love and accounts you follow. People will then be more interested in looking at what you have to offer and following along.
Remember you're not going to get all the love, followers and readers thrown at you. It's about giving and sharing the love with others too.
Remember to share your links on your blog and vice versa, when I find a blog I adore I need to know where I can follow it on instagram and Twitter to- for me, it's the whole package.
Get Creative
For an extremely un-creative person, my blog and photography is a huge way of expressing this, and I totally love doing it. I love working with a brand to put together a great blog post, or having a great photo session with the dogs to share on our instagram. Stand out and show what you're about, how you make the post yours or photo work liking is up to you and we can only do our best, but it's great to put our whole best into that.
