Life as a blogger can be a little hectic. You're constantly trying to juggle your personal life with blogging duties that never seem to end. There are posts to write, recipes to test, pictures to take, hundreds of photos to filter through and edit, copious social media accounts to maintain (which is a huge time warp), html to tweak, newsletters to send, networking to do, and the list goes on.
I don't even have kids (i.e. way less responsibility) and sometimes I want to pull my hair out maintaining my blog. To all the SAHM & full-time working mom bloggers out there: you are amazing.
Some of you only have an hour or two a day of free-time to dedicate to your blog. Usually super early in the morning, late at night, or during nap time. Yet you still manage to run your blogs like it ain't no thang. If you didn't know it already, you're an inspiration!
So, amidst this never ending cycle of creation and editing, there are three things that will cause a blogger to slow down and take notice:
- a heartfelt comment or email from a reader
- a huge surge in traffic
- their blog's anniversary
The absolute best thing about blogging is positively impacting someone's life. That's why we do this in the first place. To speak to others. To each and every one of YOU. Otherwise, we'd just write down our thoughts in a journal.
A close second to that is experiencing a huge surge in traffic, which is essentially your blog reaching hundreds, if not thousands of new folks.
That said, if you're the type of person who silent stalks a blog for months or years without leaving a comment, I encourage you to speak out! Your message will literally make that bloggers day. I promise.
Can I make a little confession?
My blogiversary was actually August 16th. (Whoops.) In the past month or so I've re-incorporated healthy habits like soaking in the sun, cardio, strength training, and reading back into my life. Between that and my new essential oils group on Facebook, I completely forgot about my blog's anniversary.
Sometimes life takes precedence. One cannot sit in front of a computer screen all the time. (Right?)
But I'm here now, acknowledging the two year mark of my blog's creation. I can't believe it's been that long.
I love what I do.
It gives me the freedom to use my voice and creativity. To hone skills involved in cooking, photography, writing and, social media. To reach out to other like-minded folks like you all. To make a small mark on the world.
A Two-Year Blogiversary Giveaway
As a sincere thank you to all my new and returning readers, I'm hosting a giveaway for one of my favorite kitchen items: a cast-iron pan.
One of my most popular posts, how to cook the perfect steak in a cast-iron skillet, is focused around this essential kitchen item.
Other recipes on my blog that involve a cast-iron skillet (just to name a few):
- cast-iron chicken pot pie with a puff pastry crust
- cast-iron chicken pot pie with a cheesy garlic biscuit crust
- cast-iron baked peach chicken
- banana applesauce skillet bread with apple chunks & flaxseed
- how to make homemade corn tortillas with masa harina
- pan-fried asparagus with grass-fed butter and parmesan
It truly is one of the best work horses of my kitchen, which is why I want to give one of you a chance to win your own!
Instead of the skillet I normally use, I wanted to give one of you lucky readers a 3 quart cast-iron combo cooker, which has a lid that doubles as a skillet. I think it's so neat!
Click here to check out the prize on Amazon.
How to Enter to Win the Cast-Iron Combo Cooker
1. Subscribe to The Rising Spoon newsletter and verify your subscription. If you can't see the entry form below click here to subscribe.
Subscribing to my newsletter means that once a week (twice at max) I will send you my e-newsletter via email. It's comprised of my recent recipes and posts, and occasionally notices about giveaways and sales on products I use and love. I NEVER spam or share email addresses!
Use the form below to sign up:
2. Complete the mandatory skill question in the rafflecopter widget. Don't worry...it's only a basic question to prove you're human!
3. Leave a comment below telling me one thing you would make if you won the cast-iron combo cooker.
Use the rafflecopter widget below to confirm these entries and unlock more!
Note: If you can't see the rafflecopter widget below, click here to see the widget and enter now.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
UPDATE: And the winner is...
Susan H. K. (email: kanari...1703@gmail.com)
Please email me at elainanewton[at]therisingspoon[dot]com with your full name and mailing address within 48 hours (1 p.m. CST Sept 12, 2014) to claim your prize!
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GOOD LUCK! And if you have any questions, please leave a comment below or email me at elainanewton [at] therisingspoon [dot] com.
Rules: Giveaway ends September 10th, 2014 at 12:01 AM CST. Open to all The Rising Spoon readers. Winner will be selected by Random.org. I will announce the winner on my website within 3-5 days of the giveaway ending. After I've made the announcement on my website, the winner has 48 hours to email elainanewton [at] therisingspoon.com with their full name, mailing address and phone number before their prize is forfeited. The product offered for the giveaway is free of charge, no purchase necessary. Once claimed, the prize will be shipped directly from Amazon.com to the winner; however any further exchanges or refunds are the responsibility of the winner, not The Rising Spoon. If the winner lives outside of the United States, they will instead be emailed an Amazon.com gift card equal to the amount of what the prize is selling for at the current time. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Amazon, and Lodge are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this giveaway, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information and use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.
The photograph used in this post was originally taken by Kelley Bozarth. I obtained it via Unsplash and am using it via this creative commons public domain dedication.
The photograph used in this post was originally taken by Kelley Bozarth. I obtained it via Unsplash and am using it via this creative commons public domain dedication.
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