So before I get into the questions Katherine asked me, I would like to answer the general question "What is it like being a blogger over fifty?" Difficult, would be my answer. People in my age group or older are not as active in social media so it's hard to get over fifty readers. Most of my readers are in the 20-40 age group. Although I'm happy the younger crowd supports me, I also find that so discouraging, because I really want to connect with women my own age. But even over-fifty bloggers don't seem interested in me. I don't know why. I'm not sure if it's a competitive issue, or if over-fifty bloggers just don't spend as much time on social media as their younger counterparts. My main motive in participating in this series was not to promote my own blog, but to meet other over-fifty bloggers my own age and develop new relationships. I'm sad to report, that has not happened yet. But it is early in the series, so I'm going to stay positive and hope that changes soon.
So why then do I blog? This is an issue I come across quite frequently on many blog posts. Most people I believe start blogs with the wrong motive: to make money. This ultimately ends up in disappointment because they can't understand why their blog is not as successful as someone else's blog, and they begin to get discouraged and quit blogging. Of course, money and free gifts is a fun plus to blogging. But the main reason I blog is simply because I ENJOY IT. I absolutely love to write about the things I love:
My Family
My Travels
My Hobbies
My Home and Garden
Recipes
Beauty
and
Fashion
If no one, and I mean NO ONE ever read a single blog post, I would still be writing. It is my on-line journal that chronicles my life. It is a creative outlet for me. It is very therapeutic for me to come here and write about my life. It is a place where I can go and share my thoughts and my experiences. I just love it.
But I also love how easily I can share these experiences with others. I love that my children, friends, and extended family that live far away can pop over and see what I/we've been up to. I love that technology has advanced so much that I no longer need to pay extra money to get reprints to send photos to grandma, and she can now just view our photos and stories over the Internet. It's a way to stay close to people that live far away.
Now every week in this series Katherine asks the over-fifty bloggers two questions as a way to get to know them a little bit better. These were my two questions and how I answered them:
Question 1: How many categories do I have on my blog? Do I use more than one for each post?
Good question, as I think some new readers get confused about what my blog is all about. I consider myself a LIFESTYLE blogger. I have seven categories on my blog: Fashion Over Fifty, Crafts, Travel, Gardening, Home Decor, recipes, and Beauty. I follow a strict blogging schedule so that if a reader is only interested in one category they can visit my blog just on the day that features that category. For example, readers who are interested in Travel, will visit my blog on Wednesdays when I do a Travel post. My blogging schedule is always listed in my sidebar. If I don’t have anything new to share on that day, I just won’t do a post.
Do I use more than one category for each post? Rarely, and only then when they overlap because of my lifestyle. One example would be that when I travel I tend to dress very fashionably, so I use those travel occasions to create interesting photo backdrops for fashion posts. Another example would be my gardening posts. I love to visit botanical gardens when I travel so I share those on Sundays when I do a garden post.
Question 2: Do I have a pet?
Yes, but only one, a cockatiel named Emery. Plus a koi pond fish that lives inside an aquarium in my house…if you count him as a pet. I love animals, and I use to have a lot of them. At one time I had two dogs, one cat, two finches, a parakeet, a cockatiel, and a lovebird. I have a special fondness for cats and birds. One by one, all my pets passed away over the years, and I just never got new pets. I would love to get another cat or a lovebird but we decided we travel too much now and it’s too difficult to have any more pets.
I hope you have all gotten to know me a little bit more through this post. If you have any questions at all that you have always been "dying" to ask that you would like to know about me, please feel free to ask in the comment section below.
If I can answer it, I will! I also have an "About Me" page, you can find that by clicking on the tab at the top of this post. There you will find a general summary of me and my blog that covers different things that were not mentioned in this post.
Now be sure and visit the other over-fifty bloggers being featured today and show them some support!
Have a Great Day! Amy
