Celebrating 1 Year of Inconsistent Blogging!

Its already been a year since I wrote my very first post Hello! What Niche? on April 1st and my follow up post the next day with No April Fool Here... wow. What momentum I had... blogging daily.

Another %&$! Social Media Network?

Just when I thought I had a handle on all the "major" social media sites, here we go... 

Hello Bloglovin!

 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I've been seeing links and buttons for this site on almost every blog I've ever read, even before I became a blogger myself. It's about time I joined! 

~ Let the Following-Love begin! ~  

Where's the Momentum..

Ugh... 6 months ago when I started this blog I would stay up all night just to write a post knowing I had work the next day. I was excited and motivated and losing sleep didn't matter.

But sleep deprivation catches up with you and suddenly you find that its been 3 days since your fingers have been near a keyboard and you haven't even been promoting the last post you wrote on social media like you should.

You go from 2-3 posts a week to maybe 1 post a week to hoping that you get a post up. Then in walks the guilt, stage left.

Lets not forget about the dreaded question.. What am I going to write about?! As a blogger, we know that quality content is key if you want to keep your readers- reading. Your blog is nothing without content. For those of us who don't have a niche, this can be an even bigger issue.

What will my next post be about? Should I just review a product? Maybe I should make something, cook something, or buy something and tell people how I did it... Is this a blog or an online journal?
To monetize or not to monetize... that is the question (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

If you have felt this way about blogging or you feel this way now... know that you are in great company. It doesn't make you a bad blogger, its just like anything else you do in life. Don't force it. When it's suppose to happen, it will.

                                                                                           God ~ Love ~ Beauty
                                                                                                   Madame Dream

Liebster Award #2 - Still Honored

I've been nominated for my 2nd Liebster award by Michelle from Mom on the Moon! Very exciting. This must be what it feels like to be a two time, Emmy or Grammy award winner. My 1st Liebster Award came after just 26 days of blogging. You can check out my acceptance speech here: Honored to be Honored- Liebster Award

 Thank You for the nomination Michelle. 

I've been writing...

It's been 3 months since I posted my very first blog post - Hello! What Niche? and its been a cool journey so far. I've reached several milestones in this short time...

Honored to be Honored - Liebster Award

I am truly honored by this award, especially after only 26 days of blogging. Honestly, I had to Google to find out what a Liebster Award was, that's how new to the blogging world I am. With that said...

Steps to mic with award in hand*

I would like to first give thanks to God because without him this would not have been possible. I want to thank my parents for making me who (the blogger) I've turned out to be. And most importantly, I would like to give a special thanx to Ms. Avie T. over at All Things Avie for the nomination. I am humbled.

Music begins to play, Applause*

Here Are The Rules:

Own It! Getting a Custom Domain

I can OFFICIALLY say I have a ".com" now! Drum rolll pleaseeee.......

MadameDreamer.com is born!  

Beyond excited and very proud. I used GoDaddy.com to get my custom domain name. I kept my hosting at Blogspot (yes, that is an option). I would encourage anyone who is serious about blogging to get a custom domain simply because it means you own it and it's content can go where you go. 

Adding my custom domain to my already existing blog on blogger was seamless and I could not have done it without the guidance of a tutorial I found while researching custom domains called HOW TO SET UP A CUSTOM DOMAIN IN BLOGGER by Dana Fox. 

This tutorial could not have been any more precise (can't you tell by the title...). The author goes through every step on both GoDaddy and on Blogger and includes screen shots, what more could we ask for. Oh I know... COUPONS! So not only does she show you how to do it but she provides about 12 coupon codes that can be used on GoDaddy to get a discount. >>>>> Coupons Here! 

I was able to use the one for 30% + Free private registration. Well, whats private registration? Glad u asked... Basically there's a site called WHOIS that registers owner information for websites, this information is available to the public. Includes things such as your name, address, email, etc. So in order to keep the stalkers away, I opted for private registration. Also, you do not need to pay for hosting if you already use blogger. 

If you are blogging for business or just personally why not customize it. Make it your own and something you are proud to share with others. 

Huge thanks again to Dana over at icanbuildablog.com! Her blog has quickly become one of my guiding lights on this journey. Click the link above to check out her blog, follow her, pin her... you're sure to learn a few things. 

Do you have a Custom Domain? If so, show it off below, in the comment section. I want to hear from you... 

Madame Dream

God~Love~Beauty

No April Fool Here

Oh, what a day!

What a way to kick off the month. New blog, so much to learn so much to do. Lets get right to it..

The research continues. So the blog has been created, templates set, layout adjusted, background and colors tweaked, so now what? How do we get people to see all the hard work I'm putting into this? How do I share my content with the world?

Time to promote my blog! Some call it marketing, some call it submitting. The way I see it, its a coming out party for your blog. Its your way of saying Hey! I'm here. Read this!

Hello! What niche?

Hello!

Today is day #1 in the blogging world for me and I am beyond excited! This is something I've wanted to start for a while now but had no idea on how to go about it. I've heard so much talk about "picking a niche". What will your blog be about? Hmmm..

Am I going to blog about the places I like to eat, the cute clothes I find while browsing online, or maybe do reviews on hair products and makeup? Oo, maybe I can blog about shoes or give relationship advice. How about all celebrity news or current events.. blogging about the next gadget to hit the market might be a good one. With all these ideas swirling around in my brain, here's what I decided:

I AM:

• a Woman
• a Daughter
• a Sister
• a Friend
• a Child of God
• a Girlfriend
• a Bestie
• a Auntie 
• a Nurse
• a New Yorker

...Just to name a few... and some where in all of that there's a niche! It's called LIFE! In all of that, there's happiness, there's tears, there's love, there's defeat, there's joy, there's celebration, there's pain, there's truth, there's accomplishments, there's fun. One thing I know about life is you don't have all the answers. 

In doing my research, you know- "how to start a blog".. "whats the best type of blog".. I discovered that the direction of my blog is known as the "lifestyle" blog. I also discovered that this particular format is often considered to have no real direction or focus and may not have a defined audience. 

All I can say is I'm up for the challenge! There is growth in the journey. One thing that this blog will be is an ongoing conversation, a forum, a platform for my readers as well as myself. EVERYTHING I post will be up for discussion, opinions, yayys or nays. There will be long posts, short posts or sometimes just a picture. I'm looking forward to all that will be shared, learned and debated. 

Thanx for reading and Welcome to the journey~ 

Madame Dream

God ~ Love ~ Beauty

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