The Sunshine Blogger Award

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on the links and make a purchase, I will receive a small amount of commission. I’ve been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by Alexandria Brown of The Cloud Traveller! Thanks to Alexandria for the nomination. I’m super excited because these kinds of awards are always fun to blog about.

Rules of the Sunshine Blogger Award:

1. Thank the Blogger who nominated you for the blog post and add their link to your post.
2. Answer the 11 questions which your nominator asked you.
3. Nominate up to 11 new bloggers for the award and write them 11 new questions for the same.
4. Let your nominees know that they have been nominated.
5. List the rules and add the Sunshine Blogger Award in your post.

Nominees:

I would like to nominate the following bloggers. Some of them I’ve been following for a while and enjoy their content. Others I have newly discovered. Please do message me to let me know when your own Sunshine Blogger Award posts are up.

1. What Abigail Says
2. Half-Arsed Crafts
3. Purple Spark
4. Wanderwoman Adventures
5. Melissa Verwey
6. Willow Peterson
7. Cape Town Up Close
8. OxGadgets
9. Finding Abundance
10. The Words I Would Say

Here are my answers to Alexandria’s questions.

What do you love the most about blogging?

I love having a platform to say things that might make a difference. For example, last year I wrote a post about suicidal thoughts (dark topic, I know) and somebody got in touch to say that she knew how I felt and how it was good to know that even people who look like they have it all together are struggling just like everyone else.

What is your Blogging Inspiration?

My son. One of the reasons why I want to keep a record of my life right now is so that he had something to look back on when he grows up.

What would be your favourite country you have visited?

Without a doubt it is Cyprus. I would move there if I could.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

The ability to increase blog views and/or the ability to sell my books. Some days I get so few hits and sell so little that it feels like those who are successful are superheroes. In the more traditional sense, probably super strength.

What is your favourite social media platform to use?

I would say at the moment it’s Instagram. I’ve been so fixated with Twitter for the last ten years that I ignored a lot of the others and now I’m starting to get to grips with Instagram I’m really enjoying it.

Any suggestion for improvement in my blogs?

I would love to see a sidebar with some posts in it. I had to scroll to the bottom of the post I landed on to get to anywhere else on the site and I think a sidebar with some suggestions of popular posts might encourage visitors to stay on the site longer. But your site is awesome! I love the fresh, clean look it has.

If you could give advice to other bloggers, what would it be?

Be more personal. The blogosphere is such a cynical place now. It’s all about who can get the most hits and how much money we can make. I’m old-school. I started in 2005 and I remember when it was just about sharing news and stories with friends. I miss that.

What do you do to promote your blogs?

I talk about them at every opportunity. It sounds really simple but word of mouth is still, hands down, the best publicity.

How long have you been blogging?

Since 2005, so 13 years.

Share a memorable experience from blogging.

I once went to a blogging event in Edinburgh. It was my first one and I was so nervous. I was told in the email I received to print out my ticket so I did – I tend to follow instructions. When I got there, the guy who was welcoming bloggers was like “Oh, you printed out your ticket in the old fashioned way. That’s so cute!” That made me feel like enough of a fossil but when I sat down and got out my notebook and pen to take notes, this girl (who, funnily enough no longer blogs) made a joke about my notebook and pen being “So 1990s.” Then I heard two men in front of me discussing the fact that there was a lingerie blogger there, but they weren’t sure who since nobody looked like a lingerie blogger. I was mortified and left at the first break. I haven’t gone back to another blogging event and have kept it all strictly as a virtual experience.

What expectations do you have for your blog over the next 5 years?

Well, my ultimate goal is to reach 5000 page views per day. I’m still a long way off that and I’m not really sure why I want to reach that goal. I think if I make my blog the best it can be and grow my site, it will translate into book sales, which is what I really want. I am a writer, after all. If I make money from the blog and have some nice experiences in the meantime, that would be awesome.

My Questions For the Nominees:

1. What made you start blogging?
2. What was your first blog post about?
3. What’s your favourite biscuit/cookie?
4. Who would be your dream interview subject?
5. Who would play you in the movie of your life?
6. If you could visit any country, which one would it be and why?
7. The world is ending and you can only write one more blog post. What is it about?
8. What tips do you have for me on how to improve my blog?
9. Who would be your dream brand to work with and why?
10. Which is better: having a niche or having no niche?

I can’t wait to read everyone’s answers and congratulations to everyone for being nominated for this award!