My Lifestyle Blog, a 10 year-ish anniversary

In 2008, our president met a lead gen guy who professed the success of blogging content for inbound leads to our agency website. He then came into our office to do a day of immersion; teaching us the ins and outs of blogging, curating content, using social and digital and how to keep the content train humming. I left feeling overwhelmed and inspired. I saw a future where brands could engage one on one with their consumers in a more intimate way. I also realized that our small shop (10-12 people at the time) didn’t have anybody to really take this on for ourselves. So I dove in. I’ve always believed the best way to learn something is to do it.

Thus began my journey as a food and lifestyle blogger. Over the years the site has evolved as I have. Luckily, my love of food, gardening and crafting never gets old, so it is easy to have new content to share with my readers. I also learned how the social landscape works, how other brands create influencer programs, how video has become a major revenue & engagement generator, how Pinterest is still a great way to drive site traffic, how Google algorithms work, etc. I’ve also learned how to deal with creepy trollers, deflect criticism with aplomb and grace, how some followers can revive your trust in humanity, and how your voice can make a big difference.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a social/digital agency unto myself. It takes a village! But from being in the content trenches I understand how to take a big brand idea and guide it through the social and digital channels for engagement. It makes me a better agency leader, a better partner to our clients and a much better creative director.

As far as the blog itself, my journey has earned me a pretty decent Klout score, almost 4,000 Pinterest followers, new monthly influencer requests, a Starbucks brand ambassadorship for two years in a row, a highly ranked Epicurious contributor and some extra spending money for a couple extra holiday presents. Not bad for an ‘Ad Broad’!

Want to visit?

http://www.urbandomesticdiva.com/

https://twitter.com/UrbanDomsticDva

https://www.youtube.com/user/Florac1