When I Started Blogging…

Beginner bloggers often dive into the blogosphere, not knowing what to expect, then are overwhelmed with the amount of resources available and information that “must be learned.” When I first started blogging, I knew there was a lot to do to catch up to the many lovely blogs that I suddenly noticed circulating all over the internet. Parent bloggers (blogs created by parents) had beautifully designed backgrounds, headers that stood out, and front page information on search engines that I had not paid much attention to before.

The competition became endless!

When I started blogging…

I had the idea that my blog was going to be unique.  It wasn’t until I’d written 242 blog posts when I realized there was something wrong.  I had very little readers.  started looking around found an entire community of parent bloggers who talked about every random parenting issue you could possibly imagine.  There were blogs about pregnancy, toddler issues, education, life-coaching, you name it!

Mine was not unique at all! In the midst of it all, I saw bloggers with hundreds of followers, mass numbers of comments, each one with their own unique versions differentiating their blogs from the next.

Being that I love the word “unique“, I ventured off to find out how I could group all these wonderful bloggers together. After a lot of networking, researching, and trials and errors of blog designs, I created voiceBoks, an online community, where parents can gather and voice each other’s thoughts, opinions, and help one another out. Of course it isn’t completely unique because there are many other sites that gather blogs of similar genres, but it at least allowed parents to have a place they can feel welcome.

I knew that seasoned bloggers were much too busy as it was to spend any time on my little ole site. So I target new bloggers, who had similar fears and thoughts that I did. Together, we grew and learned how to deal with struggles that many beginner bloggers had. We fed off of each other, asked questions, and solved them together. I spent a great deal of my first year doing endless research, reading, and helping other bloggers with technical as well as some business issues they might have had. And being a first time mother, I also knew how important it was to manage my time wisely and work as many hours as I could, when I could.

Every avid blogger strives and wishes for that “big break.”  It is possible, but it comes with a lot of hard work and being able to understand what it takes to get to that point of interest, where others will start to listen to what you have to say.  For the moment, your blog is like a “needle in a haystack.” It’s amongst millions of other blogs around the world that need to have a certain level of “rank” before it can be found.

As I searched through the web, I found many posts and even published books that helped me find answers to certain questions. However, there were no books that actually helped me to the point, where I felt as though I was really getting somewhere without having to get diverted into another area.

Many bloggers walk the same line and go through very similar journeys. Many of them who thought they could never be as “technical” or even know how to do simple tasks like creating a blog button, would get excited when they found out how to do it. So why wasn’t there a book written out to help these beginner bloggers?

There were tons of books that claimed they were targeted towards beginners, but once you start reading, you realize that the lingo isn’t anything you’re familiar with at all, because you really ARE a newbie.

In March of 2012, I connected with one of my favorite bloggers and asked her if she would help me write a book about blogging that was written so that any beginner could really understand the different areas of blogging and social media without having to feel like they were struggling with more technical vocabulary. Our goal was to help those who really know nothing and teach them with very easy, step by step instructions that even a fifth grader could understand.

A year later, March 24th, 2013 to be exact, The Blogger’s Survival Guide was published by Wayman Publishing, who had enough confidence in us to actually create a self-help category amongst their published pieces. In addition, Angela Santomero, known for the creation of the popular Nickelodeon show Blue’s Clues and PBS shows Super Why! and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood also loved the idea and created the foreword for the book stated, “Lexie and Becky are giving you the keys to the kingdom by writing this no-nonsense book about the tools of the trade, their tricks and tips, and insights from all of their years in blogging.”

I invite you to reduce wasting your time and blog more efficiently by grabbing a copy of “The Blogger’s Survival Guide” now. There are previews available on Amazon if you’d like to see the format of the book for yourself. You will find information that you may not have known before, and step by step details with images of helpful tips to social media and blogging success.