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Plan Your Strategic Blog Categories

Written in: Mar 2020 🠆 Updated in: Mar 2020

Hey! I'm Christina

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Want a successful blog?

Woo hoo! You should get a message from me soon (check the dirty spam folder if you don't see it. I look forward to getting to know you!

Want a successful blog?

Let me send you the checklist I go through for my clients so you can do a DIY blog audit, for free and make sure your blog is going to help you achieve your goals.

It was so fun working with MaryAnn at @thebeachhou

It was so fun working with MaryAnn at @thebeachhousekitchen on her new site! She's a great lady with a great blog and some plans for 2022 that I'm really excited to see happen.

Let other people find the bugs first and be safe w

Let other people find the bugs first and be safe with your business. Always wait until there's a .2 or .3 at the end of the version number when they will have fixed the big bugs that could impact your blog.

Do you do a word of the year? I didn't pick one fo

Do you do a word of the year? I didn't pick one for myself this year, but this is my goal for YOU. There are a couple of big ideas we're working to help more of you do more of these things, in an even bigger way. Can't wait to share more! 😁

We said goodbye to our best boy and sweetheart Ros

We said goodbye to our best boy and sweetheart Roscoe this weekend. I knew it was going to be hard, but you still can't really prepare for it. Just working really hard to think clearly today. It's kinda like half my brain is missing, after such a good friend being faithfully at my left leg for 12 years and now he's not.

We had a going away party with his sister and best friends last week (if you ever need pupcakes, @themindfulhapa has a recipe that they go crazy for! And I'm super grateful my picky eater thought they were the best thing I ever gave him--or that he stole right off the plate because he knew it was his party and he could get away with it.). He always seemed to know what was happening and why, all the way to the end when he laid down for the doctor and wanted to comfort *us*.

Dogs are the best. 💕

(Pics from most recent, to laying so patiently through the Macy's parade in NYC, to puppyhood at a friends.)

What's your hobby? (And first, please excuse my ba

What's your hobby? (And first, please excuse my bad photography.🙈) Don't forget to share yourself with your readers. A personal connection with your readers can be so helpful for your long-term goals of helping more people with your blog. Share one of your hobbies with them once in a while. Also share one with me here, I'd love to read about it!

One of mine is 1/12 scale miniatures. Interior design + before-and-afters + TINY THINGS! Yes, I know it sounds lame, but it's worth being picked on for having "dollhouses" because if you love interior design like I do, it's so. much. fun. This was my mini Anthro-style boutique--only 10" tall. Even the working, arched double doors were made from scratch.

Do you write like you talk? When I started my own

Do you write like you talk?
When I started my own blog 9 years ago, as I sat down to write the first post, I decided to purposefully write like I talked instead of using more formal and proper writing. And I'm so glad I did. It's such an easy way to make your blog feel more personal and make your visitors feel like they're hearing from an actual person instead of a corporation.

If you're not sure, read your last post aloud. Is it something you would actually say, the way you would say it?

Yes...I KNOW...SEO... Just make sure to keep it balanced. And don't forget, Google itself wants you to write like a human being, for other human beings.

It's good to think about where you started once in

It's good to think about where you started once in a while.

In Feb of 2016, I started Meyne, selling pre-made WordPress and Blogger themes for small businesses. But after having been a blogger myself since 2011, that was still where my heart was. So the focus shifted to blog designs, where I could help very cool people who have created their own careers and are earning a living doing a very fun (and deceptively hard) job.
Meyne has come a long way and gone through so many changes/new ideas/bad ideas/fun ideas...you know, everything that comes with a business. But the best part is all the great people I've gotten to work with and be a part of THEIR businesses. 🥰

When your reader reaches the end of your post, tel

When your reader reaches the end of your post, tell them what to do next. They will follow instructions more often than we usually realize. Need some ideas? ☑️ Save it on Pinterest
☑️ Sign up for your newsletter
☑️ Follow you on Instagram
☑️ Buy a product (yours or an affiliate)

Whatever your CTA is, just make sure you make it EASY for them to do it.

In WordPress, you can easily add some text to the bottom of your posts, with an image if helpful, and then give the box a colored background to make it stand out.
P.S. Many food bloggers have the Instagram call-to-action at the end of a recipe ("Did you make this..."). And that's totally fine, just make sure it's the action that you really want your readers to take. Also ask yourself if they're even doing it. If they're not, you might want to trade out that call to action for something that will get your blog more results. Don't waste their precious attention span!

We launched! I’m sure you all know Erika @thepan

We launched! I’m sure you all know Erika @thepancakeprincess, she has such a cool and unique blog. She puts in SO MUCH work to bring bake-offs of all the popular recipes of the world together so that OUR job of picking the RIGHT recipe will be easy. I. love. her. blog. And was so excited to get to be part of re-designing it so we can all get the most out of her years of hard work and baking. Go straight to thepancakeprincess.com to check it out!

Still just showing your latest posts on your homep

Still just showing your latest posts on your homepage? I’m talking TODAY about what you should show instead if you want more subscribers and a lower bounce rate in my talk for the Blogger Breakthrough Summit (over 700 bloggers signed up to watch! 😱). You can still watch for free if you sign up now. Link in bio! Or go to meyne.co/summit and see about a special bonus I'm offering if you buy a pass. 😃

If something you're doing isn't working, don't jus

If something you're doing isn't working, don't just keep doing the same thing with more intensity. I want to share something personal to help you do hard things so you can grow your business. (And if you're a blogger, of course, your blog is your business.) Sometimes, the things we're doing just aren't working. And sometimes when they're not working, we get stuck in this really crappy cycle of:
--> not being able to do all the things you "need" to do for your business --> feeling guilty for letting things slip --> pushing harder because you're not making enough money to justify working so many hours (common with blogging!)
--> letting even more things slip
--> wanting to quit
--> starting over

Sometimes working harder is not the answer. Sometimes we need to stop and change something. But knowing what and how is almost impossible if you're trying to figure it out on your own. So please reach out and get help if you're stuck. Join a mastermind, start a mastermind, hire a coach, email another blogger or business owner and open up, find local peers via the #risingtidesociety
If something isn't working, don't just do the same thing with more intensity, stop and get help. *And then DON'T FEEL GUILTY about making the changes you need to make* (this is where I was stuck for a YEAR--don't do what I did). Now is the perfect time, in so many ways, to start growing.

P.S. After 5 years in business, I finally got real photos taken by the super sweet @kimpawlowski (also found through the @risingtidesociety!)

It's coming soon--like next week! (assuming I can

It's coming soon--like next week! (assuming I can get all the tech figured out, that is)--with totally doable action items each week to help you level up your blog and incorporate strategy into your design.

Working with food bloggers does have its down side

Working with food bloggers does have its down sides...I can only take looking at *so many* cookies in a day before I have to go get one.

We got back from beautiful Canada last week! Not c

We got back from beautiful Canada last week! Not caught up on work yet. Not even close. I might need another trip now... 🤪

Last week, the wonderful, wonderful Cynthia at @tw

Last week, the wonderful, wonderful Cynthia at @tworedbowls and I launched an all new blog design for her. She had some great ideas about how she wanted her new home page instead of just the most recent posts and it was so much fun bringing it to life for her.

"The difference between an adventure and an ordeal

"The difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude."
.
This week has been a roller coaster here (the old wooden kind that's usually more painful than fun). Here's to an adventure-filled weekend! 🥂 😁 .
📷 @nate_dumlao

I've mentioned before that we have a dog sitting b

I've mentioned before that we have a dog sitting biz on the side (because who wouldn't want to get paid to work with a cutie patootie like this in their lap?). Sammy was our very first client 2 years ago. Long-term clients are the best (in both businesses)! ❤

If you're like me and have trouble sticking to a d

If you're like me and have trouble sticking to a daily schedule or limiting the amount of time you spend on something, you might need this too. This little thing is pretty amazing.
It's a super simple timer. If you want to limit, say...social media time to 15 minutes, just flip the cube so that "15" is on top and it starts counting down.

WAY better than using the phone for a timer. And it's cute!

Beyond code and website building, interiors are an

Beyond code and website building, interiors are another passion of mine. We are currently restoring an MCM (that we still can't believe we own). The only room that's close to finished so far is the bedroom. The rest of the house is a fun work-in-progress (usually fun...sometimes just a whole lot of mumbles and grumpiness).

GUYS!!! Say "Irish wristwatch." Out loud...right n

GUYS!!! Say "Irish wristwatch." Out loud...right now. .
What actually came out of your mouth? 😂😂😂
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For me it was *repeatedly* Arsh Wishwash. 🤗 Happy Friday! 📷 by @brigittetohm

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