Anyone who has been blogging for a long time knows that when our lives change often times so does the focus of our blogs. I know many bloggers who have been through this or are currently going through this right now (like her, her, her – awe hell the list could go on forever so I can’t possibly list all of you!).

This very blog has been through some of it’s own transformations in the 4 years I have been writing here. Back in the day the whole point of starting this blog was for marketing my business, then the economy slowed and so did my business sales. The focus shifted to me writing motivational articles and informative/ how to articles as I worked through a period of personal growth. Then I began writing sponsored posts for a while as I worked to monetize my blog and further my writing efforts.

Now I am more of a daily life blogger sharing all that is my life, honestly and sometimes boringly. Personal blogging is not only a venue for self discovery but as a blog reader I’ve found that it is also a comfort to find others who are or who have been in our same position.

This brings me back to the article I read that caused the revelation. It was a great read so click on over there and read it real quick! It said:

“ministry of mediocrity” – helping others by showing our real selves.

Yes, at times this blog is mediocre with it’s talk of poo and zits and other life events. I know we have enjoyed many dramatic – non boring things like the stove fire, the moldy basement issue, N’s job saga and moving cross country but the goal with this blog was never to impress anyone as I am sure you have already determined.

I think there is real beauty in realness which is why my writing style is the way it is now, it is also why I deeply love reading so many of your blogs. So much of society is about putting on your best face, we go around trying to make the best impression at work and at get-togethers. Soon life becomes this huge facade of us putting our best self out there which is fine but it also fuels the unattainable idea that we should all be perfect and “shiny” as the above referenced post puts it.

Bottom line is none of us are perfect, we can all try and try to convince others that we are but what if in doing so we forget to love and nurture ourselves, imperfections and all? I mean if we are so ashamed of the imperfect sides of us how can we truly love and accept ourselves? I guess that is why I am so open and real about things on this blog, ugliness and all.

So now I am taking an idea from Teeni and calling on my readers to help me come up with a new tag line for this blog, that reflects this idea. Also, feel free to chime in on this topic. I would love to hear your thoughts.

The post Blogging the real me to make you (and me) feel better. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

| motivational living | living more simply and naturally |

If you are writer that feels your article would be beneficial to my readers you can submit your on topic article by visiting the appropriate submission page for the particular category. If you are looking to draw readers to your own site that is related to these posts you may consider hosting one of these compilation articles on your own blog. If you are interested please let me know and I’ll arrange it!

The post Write for a blog carnival or read what others have written. appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

• The Ethics of Writing Sponsored Posts & Getting Paid to Blog – The ethics of sponsored posts and/ or paid links often get overlooked and ignored by the average blogger.

• Make money writing blog posts– I am experimenting with payperpost.com. I have been trying new ways to earn money writing. I would love to be able to write articles and focus on my online business all form the comfort of my home.

• So You Have a Blog and a Dream – How Do You Get There? – You have your blog and your content and you want to make money with your blog. Wondering what is next? find out how to make your blog valuable and profitable!

• Real Rank- New way to rank your blog-Did you know that a new ranking system just for blogs is live? It’s called RealRank…

• Audio ads on your site, New money making idea– Lots of people are making money with their blogs or websites. Whether it’s adsense pay per click, affiliate sales marketing, paid posts or other advertising people everywhere are making money off their websites. I just learned of a new way for site owners to monetize their sites…
• Blog carnivals, a new way to gain readers and links– Occasionally I will post a compilation of several articles that touch on motivational living or on living more simply and naturally. I enjoy reading what others have written on these topics…

• Gain readers by joining the “ireply” movement– There truly is more to blogging that the obvious posting aspect of it. While I was learning about new ideas and trends in the blogosphere I found The iREPLY movement.

• Lost your page rank? Do you write paid posts or do you pay to have others write about you? Did you know that many bloggers who get paid to blog are suffering from dramatic page rank drops? Do you know why? It is because of google’s rules about “passing page rank” through paid links.

• Useful tools for a committed blogger– Are you a committed blogger? I remember someone referring to blog upkeep as “watering the blog” to keep it growing and healthy.

I am a member of webrings other communities like these:

The post Blogger Resources appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

This blog was born in January of 2005 but has since evolved quite a bit. In the beginning I was writing motivational articles and informative/ how to articles now I am known to write about almost anything that happens that could amuse, educate or support others in their own life journey. However, the future focus will likely be about how we are sustaining our family via a self sufficient farm life.

Life has dealt us some adventurous cards, that is what makes this blog such a hit. In the past we have enjoyed things like stove fires, house floods, mold growth, near death car trouble, we’ve moved cross country in an RV with 8 pets and 4 people, we’ve almost been attacked by a bear while camping. We’ve even traveled two states away to birth our children in the elusive green minded community, The Farm in Summertown, TN and shared their homebirths here on the blog (See Everly’s Birth Story: Born at The Farm and Adalyn’s Live Streamed Birth). I also had my third child, a son, in and Indiana hospital.

We are jokingly called hippies in polo shirts because we are very eco minded and sustainability focused, basically of the hippy mindset but we don’t look the part. Sustainable living is a major passion of ours and each year we inch closer and closer to living our dream. We have a zoo of pets who keep us on our toes a sprawling urban garden/ homestead in the middle of Evansville, Indiana, backyard chickens, turkeys and we have many more adventures to endure as we inch toward our ideal lifestyle, one homesteading undertaking at a time. One day, someday, we’ll have our own farm. We are farm bound now!

Thank you for visiting my blog and learning more about me! I hope you will bookmark this page or consider subscribing to my feed so you can stay in the know about new posts and adventures.

I try to post often and I really look forward to getting to know my readers through the comments they leave me. If you need to contact me leave a comment or email me with the info below and I’ll do my best to respond. I hope you found what you were looking for today and that you return soon. Have a great day!

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