Blogkeeping Day

Today, I decided I needed to work on my blog a bit. I made up my own word, Blogkeeping! Instead of housekeeping, which I’m really good at, I am calling this blogkeeping which I’m not good at. I’m not good at the tech part. All I know is that I love writing and I know what I do and don’t like about my blogging life. I also like for my blog to look and act like me, which could be a bit dangerous, but I do my best. I do have someone who helps me when I get in a snag and something isn’t working correctly or I simply don’t understand how something works. I can email her and she always fixes it within a couple of minutes and this is after I have tried and made mess of things. While doing some updating today, I thought I deleted an entire page, but it magically popped back up. I have no idea what that was about.

I often think I should redecorate, but right now I love how it looks. I’m not sure what the rule is on making changes of the looks of a blog/website, but, so far I’m enjoying this. My problem is I love so many things and styles that I would be changing constantly, so I would say I’m doing pretty good with keeping the looks as is for now. I did go in and delete a few things and move some of the blog topics around. My main goal is that I want my blog to be easy to get around and find things as well as be streamlined. You know, for the millions of readers I have. Yes, I’m winking as I typed that last sentence.

As I was doing my blogkeeping, I thought,” I ought to go into my MailChimp and see what’s happening. ” Now that’s a place I simply don’t understand. My head spins over there. But, I have managed to have it set up to mail out each new blog post at a certain time. When someone subscribes to my blog, MailChimp puts that contact on the next mail out of my latest post. I rarely check on it, but decided to today and I was surprised by how many new subscribers have signed up. That made me happy blogger. I thought, “I should come over here more often and see what all is going on.” So, when I saw the new subscribers I thought, (yes, I’m doing a lot of thinking today) “I ought to do a quick introduction to my new friends and give a big welcome.” Did you know at MailChimp you can design a welcome letter that would go out immediately to new subscribers? If I ever figure that out, I will do it. But, for now, this will be your welcome letter. I hope I won’t disappoint.

Welcome to all my new subscribers and those of you that have been with me for a while now and never got a proper welcome! I began blogging in 2007. I mainly began blogging due to being at a writer’s conference at that time and the main thing I heard was that I must have an online presence. This was before Facebook and Instagram were so popular. So, I began blogging a bit. I incorporated my women’s ministry work at that time and my writing and just sharing fun family things. I really enjoyed it and I loved the new friends I was making. In 2014 I made a book out of all my blog posts just for my personal keepsake. During my blogkeeping today, I deleted all those posts that are in my book up to April of 2014. Which is a pretty good thing because I got to looking at some of those earlier posts and they were pretty much you could tell I didn’t know what I was doing. The pictures weren’t that good either. What can I say, I was learning. I will probably make a new book this year. You never know when I will make one wrong move and wipe out my entire blog, so I need to have all my writing in a book for safekeeping. So, those of you that have stuck with me during those early years of my blogging, thank you! Thank you for being such a kind supporter and not giving up on me. I so hope I make it worth your time to read all my latest thoughts and that you receive some encouragement, a laugh or a challenge.

When you are on the main page of my blog, you will see a bar at the very top. That is where you can click on each tab and a menu will pop down. There is an About Beverly as well as some other items under that tab. Then on to where it says Blog Topics. If you tap that you will see a menu drop down that has a listing of all the posts that I’ve written on that particular subject. The Blog topics are the main things I like to write about. I always have something else going on in my head that doesn’t have a topic, so it is listed under the Let’s Talk link. Then you will see a tab titled Elegant Grace Image Consulting. This is something that is in the works right now. I was certified a while back as a Fashion Coach. When I am ready to launch that, I will let you know, so stay tuned. I love all things fashion so I’m really excited about it. You will also see a picture that says, Start Here. You can tap into that and read up on some basic things about my blog. There is also a Subscribe photo. If you click on that, you will see a form to subscribe to my blog and you will receive an email with my latest post. Don’t worry, I do not share your email address with anyone. So you are safe with me. You are also able to unsubscribe at any time. There is a link at the bottom of each email that says unsubscribe. You will also see a Contact Me photo. This is where you can email me with any thoughts or questions. Also, at the end of every post you will see a place to leave a comment. Should I mention I love comments? I like to hear when something resonates with someone or they have a question about something I shared. Last but not least, at the end of every post you will see a link to social media, You can share the blog post wherever if it is something you think would be an encouragement to someone. On my sidebar you will see my social media buttons. Feel free to follow me. My Instagram is on private right now, but if I suspect you are a blog follower, I will make sure you are in. I hope that helps if you are new to the blogging world or you weren’t sure what all those tabs are for.

You will notice that I do not have marketing on my blog. I have chosen not to advertise in order to make money. Although, I’ve heard that people can make lot’s of $$$ by advertising on their site. This is a hobby for me, so I’m not wanting to receive any $$$. Every now and then I might share something from Amazon and I have an affiliate link, but, I always forget to use it. On my Elegant Grace Image Consulting information, I will sometimes share something that you can purchase through Style By Color. I do have an affiliate for that as well. I will let you know when I share something that is an affiliate link.

That about wraps up all the things about my blog. If you are still reading this post, thanks! You are my favorite! 😉

So, on this Blogkeeping Day, thank you for joining me, I will do my best to give you things that encourage and enlighten us on this journey called LIFE. Let’s live each day to the fullest!

“Let all things be done decently and in order.” I Corinthians 14:40

Until next time,