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	<title>WIRL Project &#187; WIRL Blogging</title>
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	<link>http://www.wirlproject.com</link>
	<description>What It&#039;s Really Like.</description>
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		<title>What it&#8217;s like being a blogger</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-like-being-a-blogger/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-like-being-a-blogger/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2015 15:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Renee Guerrero]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Persistance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sharing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Write]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6423</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Hi there! I am Renee, hailing from New York, 28 years old, engaged to the best guy ever. I’ve been blogging for about two years now, at first it was for weight loss accountability, but I found out slowly, that I liked sharing my life. I never was a “great” writer growing up, I had run on sentences in anything that was written and I babbled too much. That part of me hasn’t ever changed; I still babble way too much, my sentences are either too long or too short. Luckily my fiancé was a teacher so he usually proof reads my posts if I feel that they aren’t what they should be. I work full time Monday thru Friday so my blogging day usually starts around 6:30 a.m. when I get home from the gym. If I have a post planned already, I’ll tweak things I need to or just make sure it’s ready to go and schedule it. If nothing is planned, I’ll see what’s in my notebook to write about and start brain storming what angle I want to use, I also try to use pictures to make posts more interesting. &#8230;I found out slowly, that I liked sharing my life. Before leaving for my full time job I use Hoot Suite to schedule social media shares, twitter, facebook, and google +. That helps get my posts out during the course of the day without having to sit in front of the computer and actually sending out the posts. On the weekends I usually try and do my “larger” posts, ones that require more time and concentration than just a quick 30 minute post. Another thing I leave for the weekends is taking pictures, better sunlight, and more time to take “money shoots.” I’ve learned that blogging is like a second job, it requires time, patience, persistence and good content. Even as a blogger that has been doing this for two years it’s not easy, there will always be bloggers that are better, that have more followers. The numbers they have are huge, the amounts of comments that are on daily posts are HIGH, and nowhere near what mine are. Pangs of jealousy usually sting, but I think I don’t have the patience to grow my blog sometimes; on the other hand I love writing so I won’t be stopping anytime soon.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What It&#8217;s Like To Be a Disabled Blogger</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-like-to-be-a-disabled-blogger/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-like-to-be-a-disabled-blogger/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Products/Shopping]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disabled]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[products]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[reviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6537</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many people ask me, &#8216;What&#8217;s it like to be a disabled blogger?&#8217; Well, I really don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s much of a difference between myself and a &#8216;normal&#8217; blogger. I do think I have an advantage over normal bloggers in the sense that I can mention things that most people never think of mentioning. For example, with technology, disabled people may have certain afflictions that won&#8217;t allow them to use the device the same ways an able-bodied person can. I also get to review products that able-bodied people wouldn&#8217;t have a use for. I&#8217;ve reviewed adaptive clothing and household helpers that are designed with disabled people in mind. The companies I&#8217;ve worked with appreciate my reviews because I represent the audience they are trying to attract. I enjoy my blog because it helps me connect with companies and let them know how easy their products can be used by a disabled person or if they need to redesign it. I hope I bring a positive outlook and presence to the web and my readers enjoy my content. &#160; Join the conversation! Easily contribute your story here with the tag “WIRL Blogging”. &#160; &#160; About the Author… This WIRL was contributed by Rebecca Lawson, 35, disabled with Cerebral Palsy (CP for short), Blogger for 2 years. She can be found at her website, on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. &#160; &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>What Blogging Is Really Like &#8211; Sharing And Caring</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-blogging-is-really-like-sharing-and-caring/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-blogging-is-really-like-sharing-and-caring/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 22:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Maria Magdalena]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[joomla]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marcellinamaria]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sharing and Caring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6348</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I first started blogging, I thought I should write a full story of my life. Then I thought I should write all of my thoughts. After a few years, I know that my orientation about blogging was changing! Blogging is about keeping my working portfolios. I&#8217;ve been a blogger since 2009, and now when I read my old posts, they make “aha” moments. From the old posts I know when I mastering certain knowledge and how I learned about it. Blogging is about keeping family memories. My babies photos, wedding photos, and some old photos of my parents, my house, my pets with stories that explained, that I put on my blog several years ago, keep my eyes wet when I read them! I&#8217;m the kind of woman that easily cries when something from my memories is recalled. And that feeling is beautiful, I like to remember my past, that’s why I like to become a blogger. Blogging is about learning to build a website. My first blog was built at Blogger. Then I realized that Blogger is not the right platform if you want to raise your blog and having more features. Since a year ago I switched my blog’s platform into Joomla. And now I can do so much with my blog and engage more relation with my readers. Switching the platform is easy if you hire a website expert, but not if you do it yourself. I had to learn a lot to manage my Joomla. I love to learn! So the switching was not hard, and I like to work on it. Blogging is about friendship. From my blog I made friendship with fabulous people from around the world. Initially, they liked my topic, they were interested with my experiences, then they become my friends since we were interact frequently through email or social media. I like to have friends from different places; there are so many topics that we can share, especially about the differences of our places, cultures, food, and living style. Those are my real experiences on blogging. Blogging is about more than just making money from home, if you don&#8217;t think so then you&#8217;re wrong. Blogging is also about sharing and caring.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Glamorous Life of Blog Photography</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-glamorous-life-of-blog-photography/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-glamorous-life-of-blog-photography/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 20:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kristen Miller]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Budget]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Light box]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lighting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photography]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Studio]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6419</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Let me take you behind the scenes for a few minutes at a glamorous real life blog photo shoot. I am a new blogger and I have a budget of practically nothing. I also have two small daughters, so the only time I can blog is late at night after they go to bed. Nighttime isn&#8217;t the best for taking quality blog photos, especially of food, but I that&#8217;s what I have to do if I want to be a blogger at this stage of my life. I researched light boxes online and although I found some that were relativly inexpensive &#8211; they just weren&#8217;t in the budget. So the cheapest alternative was a DIY project. I searched YouTube for DIY light boxes and learned how to make my own from a cardboard box, white tissue paper and white poster board. Here is the video I used to learn how to make this light box. I borrowed some lights from my husband&#8217;s garage and set up my &#8220;studio&#8221; in our living room. I did splurge on some natural white light bulbs at our local home improvement store. Good lighting really is the key here and regular light bulbs just give off a yellow tinge to everything. I also have a nice camera. When our first daughter was born a few years ago, we thought we would take a lot of pictures of her. And we do take a lot of pictures of her &#8211; just not with the camera. Getting a nice camera out when you have a baby or a toddler is just about the last thing on my list. Luckily iPhone cameras are very good these days. As my blog grows, getting a more professional set up is definitely on my To-Do list. But until I am consistently making money, I have to work with what I have and make do. What do you think of my &#8220;glamorous&#8221; blog photography set? Learn more about being a Practical Mommy and blogger on Facebook.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Double the Blogs, Double the Fun, Except Maybe for the Husband</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/double-the-blogs-double-the-fun-except-maybe-for-the-husband/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/double-the-blogs-double-the-fun-except-maybe-for-the-husband/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 20:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stephanie Volkert]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Food]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obsessed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photography]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Talk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6404</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m Stephanie, and I&#8217;m maybe-slightly-kind-of addicted to blogging. I don&#8217;t need, like, group meetings and an intervention or anything. I just really, really like it. I can quit anytime. I swear! (No, you don&#8217;t need to speak with my husband. Let&#8217;s just keep this between us. *wink wink*) I started several years ago, have been through three domain names as I finally narrowed down my focus, and now I have two blogs, run a wonderful Facebook group for bloggers, and contribute to several websites. “All the V&#8217;s” is my primary blog, where I share my love of photography, beauty, fashion, and writing. “Janus Lane” is a new venture and it&#8217;s where I let my creative side out through recipes, crafts, and homemaking. By the way, naming a blog is about as stressful as naming your new baby. That name is forever. I finally settled on “All the V&#8217;s” because our last names start with a V, as do our dog&#8217;s names. And one snake. Janus Lane is a throwback to a street I use to live on, so that one was actually pretty easy. By the way, naming a blog is about as stressful as naming your new baby. Blogging is a unique experience in that I never really turn “off.” I see the world in terms of, “Can I blog that?” My camera – be it my smart phone and/or one of my three digital cameras – are my faithful travel companions. My phone is filled with blogging ideas and reminders. I go through a LOT of Post-It Notes. My desk doesn&#8217;t know what it&#8217;s like to stay uncluttered. It was clean last weekend, I swear, but now it is littered with a portable hard drive, a camera, my wallet, a jar of maraschino cherries, a recipe, two picture frames, an iPod, an empty cupcake wrapper, Poster Putty, eye drops, a mostly-empty bottle of beer, my “I&#8217;d die without this” notebook, my cell phone, a syringe, and a seashell. Every single one of those items somehow relates to blogging. Except the beer. I just like beer. I started blogging because I like to talk. I like to talk a lot. It wasn&#8217;t until a few months in that I realized I could maybe make a little pocket change from it, and then I had to let go of the idea that I could have a successful blog for little-to-no investment. I had to spend money. My blog-related expenses so far this year are over $1,000. I have seen no monetary return&#8230; yet. I am hopeful to at least see both of my blogs become financially self-sufficient. I don&#8217;t see myself making six figures a month from blogging, but I do have long-term goals that are doable and probably lucrative. You have to think “big picture” if you intend to blog as a profession. It&#8217;s like choosing your major in college – there&#8217;s a lot of small goals you&#8217;ll need to achieve along the way, and you can&#8217;t slack off, but they all lead to your future. I blog full-time. I work 6-10 hours per day. I&#8217;m up between 4 and 8 am, depending on when I went to bed. I often do blog-related tasks until midnight or later. I have insomnia, so it&#8217;s not uncommon for me to be awake at 3 am, on Twitter or Pinterest, or editing photos. I&#8217;m on Pacific time, and so the rest of the U.S. is often awake before me, which means no sleeping in if I want to get in on link parties and anything else before I&#8217;m the last one to show up. The early bird gets the readers. Speaking of photos, one of the most time consuming and expensive aspects of blogging, for me, is photography. My costs and time spent in that area are higher than most, because photography is one focus of All the V&#8217;s, but any blogger that intends to have traffic from Pinterest will have to learn photography and invest in a good camera, or be skilled at finding and using stock photos. There&#8217;s just no way around it. You&#8217;ll often find me chasing the good lighting around the house so I can get the best photos. Like last week, when I set up a cupcake photo shoot on the living room coffee table. It felt a little silly, but the photos turned out great. You may be wondering what is so great about blogging. I&#8217;m wondering what isn&#8217;t great about it. There are so many things that I love about blogging. I get to interact with people from all over the world. I learn something new every single day. I have a place to share my thoughts and talents. Blogging pushes me to be the best that I can be in all areas of my life. You, the readers, hold me accountable. As long as I am a blogger, I will never stall, never stagnate, never stop learning and improving. What&#8217;s not to love about that? Speaking of that husband I mentioned at the beginning, he&#8217;s written up what it&#8217;s like to live with a blogger. Here&#8217;s his take on it: I am prepared to answer the following questions at any time, with zero stress: Which is the best tank of the Second World War? Which is better: Godzilla, or the Kaiju from Pacific Rim? How do I get a 70 ton tank across a river? (See end of post for answers.) I am not prepared at all to answer the following questions: Which of these shades of very similar/so-different-as-to-not-even-be-remotely-comparable colors is more attractive? Do you know any berries that have a really red color?  Not like, raspberry red, but really red? What do you think about hosted advertising on my blog? &#160; Needless to say, given the nature of this post and the fact that I am married to a blogger, you can guess which questions I am asked on a daily basis.  At any time, at any point, no matter if I’m on the computer, making dinner, or futzing around with my hobbies, that inquiring tone will sneak into what I’m doing and leave me to answer one of those highly crafty or bloggy questions. Not that I mind.  I actually enjoy being involved with Steph’s projects, and I’m happy she trusts me enough to ask my opinion (even if I’m totally clueless on the matter!) and I am continuing to encourage her to do more food blogging because she’s an awesome cook, and having to wait a few minutes to dig into dinner for photos is okay and worth waiting for. Being married to a blogger means you don’t really get to wander by random objects or consumables, because anything, at any time, could turn into a new project that you’ll be asked to hold up part of, or assess if it’s better THIS way or better THAT way. It means also accepting the small legion of projects in process, or the small scale disaster areas left by projects in the kitchen.  It disappears in due time, but the fact that 90% of the dishes in the house have been consumed by culinary experiments, or the dog has attempted to become entangled in wreath making materials, can occasionally be slightly trying. On the other hand, any healthy relationship includes being supportive of your spouse, and it remains a two way street for us. Just as much as I support Stephanie&#8217;s blogs and craftiness, she supports my desire to paint insane amounts of model tanks, or play board games that require four or so hours TO READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AND SET UP ALL THE THINGS before even starting play. So it&#8217;s really not at all that bad. I&#8217;m happy she&#8217;s found something she likes, and I&#8217;m happy to help her make the cupcakes she just made disappear. The occasional odd questions or requests for help are well worth that much. (1. M4 Sherman.  Not the toughest or biggest, but having a tank all the time beats having a tank sometimes. (2. Depends.  Godzilla because it’s classic, but the variety of the Kaiju beats out fifty shades of green rubber lizard monster) (3. Haha oh God that was fun times.) So there you have it, a glimpse into being a blogger and being married to one. I&#8217;m incredibly grateful to have such a supportive spouse, although he kind of owes me. He did run off to South Korea for 18 months to have fun with tanks.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>What DIY Blogging is REALLY Like: Q/A Session</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-diy-blogging-is-really-like-qa-session/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-diy-blogging-is-really-like-qa-session/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 18:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[WIRL Project]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Brepurposed]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Time]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6547</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We sat down with a successful DIY / Furniture Repurposing blogger, Bre, from Brepurposed and asked her to let us in on the insider scene of blogging. She shared her honest answers and stories below: WIRL Project: Where do you get your pieces of furniture to repurpose for your blog?  Bre: I get my pieces from a number of places! Craigslist, garage sales, estate sales, and I have my go-to thrift shops in my area that I try and hit up at least once a month. My friends and family are always on the look out for me too and have brought me some amazing pieces! WIRL Project: How long does it take to flip a piece around? Bre: The timeline is different for each piece and also depends on the type of paint I&#8217;m using. If I&#8217;m going for a distressed, shabby chic look, I&#8217;m usually using a type of chalk paint which requires minimal prep. I don&#8217;t have to sand or prime so I can just clean off my piece and get to work. The paint dries super fast too, so I could be done with paint in a day or two and then I just need to distress and seal. Sealing takes 1-3 days because you want your wax or finish to completely dry and set before you recoat. If I&#8217;m going for a more polished look, I might be using a different type of paint that requires primer. This adds in an extra step and can extend the timeline by at least a day or two. Of course there are the final touches of adding new hardware and maybe some fun paper. All in all, I would say a painted piece of furniture could take anywhere from 3 days to a week and a half. Of course that&#8217;s if I had free time every day They usually take longer! WIRL Project: What do you do with these beauties when you&#8217;re done? Bre: Most pieces I try and sell. I would love to open up my own shop one day. Of course there are pieces we keep and I&#8217;ve also donated some to auctions, etc. I&#8217;ve also done a bunch of pieces as gifts for family and friends. WIRL Project: Have you ever had an epic fail?  Bre: I wouldn&#8217;t be where I am today if I didn&#8217;t have any fails! It&#8217;s all about learning what works for you and doing a lot of trial and error. WIRL Project: Does repurposing furniture and blogging take up a lot of your time? Bre: Blogging takes up a TON of time. It&#8217;s like a second job. I was unemployed for a while, so it was my main focus which was awesome because I had the time to focus on it. Now that I&#8217;m working again, it&#8217;s been a struggle to find that balance. I don&#8217;t have all that extra time to spare and I have to manage it much better. It can get frustrating because I would love blogging to be my full time job (or owning my own shop). I know it will happen one day if that&#8217;s what God chooses for me, so for now I&#8217;m continuing to grow as much as I can and refine my skills and technique so I&#8217;ll be ready for that day &#160; &#160; &#160; Join the conversation! Easily contribute your story here with the tag “WIRL Blogging”. &#160; About the Author… This WIRL was contributed in part by Bre Bertolini from Brepurposed. She is a successful DIY blogger who likes to repurpose things. If you visit her blog you&#8217;ll find she stalks craigslist, thrift stores and friend&#8217;s basements to find hidden gems, and gives them new life. She can be found at her website, on Facebook, and Pinterest. &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>What Blogging is REALLY Like</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-blogging-is-really-like/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-blogging-is-really-like/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 16:00:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Style/Beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beauty blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beauty blogger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beginner blogger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog ideas]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Funny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leaf]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[newbie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[passion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6541</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What is blogging REALLY like? An addiction. I mean, it&#8217;s a &#8220;good&#8221; kind of addiction… but it still takes over your life. You&#8217;re out for a walk and see a cute boutique… Potential blog post? That cupcake you treated yourself to after lunch was super tasty… Blog post! A leaf falls off of a tree and lands softly on the sidewalk… YES, there is definitely a blog post in there somewhere because why are leaves falling off trees in the end of May? Time to get educated. Everything you see and do is automatically filtered through a blogger mindset – can this be revamped to go on the blog?  If you thought you were social media-addicted before, just wait &#8217;til you start a blog that you want the online community to notice. Hello, shameless self-promotion. You&#8217;ll be posting more than you ever thought you would post and doing a ridiculous amount of networking and taking sooooo many pictures because who ever thought you would have to take 100 pictures before you got that angle that&#8217;s just PERFECT? And sometimes it&#8217;s 1000 but, hey, #DoItForTheBlog. As a blogger, my head is always spinning with ideas, so much so that I could not live without a planner, and I know many bloggers who would say the same thing. Gotta write that stuff down before my head gets too full and thoughts start escaping! Blogging is way harder than people think because, if you want to excel at it, you will need skills in photography, writing (especially grammar! Like, please stop confusing your/you&#8217;re, people. You&#8217;re better than that.), business, networking, social media and so much more. I know firsthand that it can be overwhelming and I debated closing my account at the beginning, because no hobby should be this much work. I&#8217;m just not passionate enough, I told myself. But I was lying. Blogging is what I was born to do. And I haven&#8217;t even told you the best part! Bloggers (for the most part) are not all in competition with each other – they are so so supportive! Bloggers help each other out and broadcast opportunities and follow back and will definitely let you know if you&#8217;re doing a super awesome job. No cute detail goes unnoticed. So, yes, my head is spinning with new post ideas and blogging opportunities 24/7 and it takes up about 200% of my free time, but I found my passion and you know what they say (cheesy quote alert) – when you do what you love, you&#8217;ll never have to work a day in your life. Love, Erin from erinfinity.com &#160; Join the conversation! Easily contribute your story here with the tag “WIRL Blogging”. &#160; About the Author… This WIRL was contributed by Erin Hesselink. She is a beauty/DIY/lifestyle blogger from Canada and  loves to connect with people. WARNING: She think she&#8217;s pretty hilarious (direct quote from Erin herself!). She can be found at her website, on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. &#160; &#160; &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Confession: What Blogging is REALLY Like</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/confession-what-blogging-is-really-like/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/confession-what-blogging-is-really-like/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 14:30:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sara Brennan]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology/Web]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Alexa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Analytics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Link Parties]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pageviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Share]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Statistics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Traffic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What It's Really Like]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6155</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I started blogging a little over a year ago. In this time I&#8217;ve learned SO MUCH about the blogging world and I must confess, it&#8217;s not really what it appears to be.  I&#8217;ve wanted to share what I&#8217;m about to say for a long time now, but I was nervous about how others would respond&#8230;.especially since many of the reasons I started WIRL Project stem from many of these blogging secrets that many people don&#8217;t know about. I am by not necessarily a &#8220;blogging expert&#8221;, but I am an expert at sharing my thoughts and stories, so you can take or leave whatever I say. I think a lot of people will agree and be glad I shared this. Oh and if you agree or disagree, go ahead and comment below. I&#8217;m going to break this down into two parts for you, so I&#8217;m not all over the place&#8230; Part 1: What Non-Bloggers Should Know About Blogging 1.  Pageviews Matter, A LOT! Giving a blogger a click or a &#8220;pageview&#8221; is SUPER VALUABLE to them! Here are some facts about why pageviews matter (I will elaborate below): • Much of blogging is based on statistics. • Pageviews show us that other people actually care and like what we&#8217;re doing. • The length of time you stay on a site matters too! • This can get tricky&#8230; but pageviews can actually = $$$$ for the blogger! There are websites that rank blogs based on traffic (Alexa). When you are looking to set goals for your blog or to even monetize the site (AKA: make money), you will be forced to really understand your statistics and analytics. There are terms such as &#8220;bounce rate&#8221; and &#8220;session duration&#8221; which summarize how long people stay on your site or how much they &#8220;click around&#8221; before they leave. Side Note: One reason I created WIRL Project was to help bloggers to have a platform to share their work, grow their audience, and get more page views in an organic, authentic way. So, basically, if you want to show your support to a blogger or website, you should actually visit their site and spend some time taking a look at what they&#8217;ve put together. It&#8217;s super easy for you, super helpful for them and it&#8217;s FREE! 2.  We LOVE When You Comment and Share Our Posts Have you ever heard of something going &#8220;viral&#8221;? This can only happen when people love what we create and decide to &#8220;share&#8221; it with others! Most viral posts have hundreds of comments and thousands of shares. If you like something we&#8217;ve done, let us know! Even the smallest little comment means SO much to us and can set the tone for other&#8217;s to comment as well! 3.  Blogging is A LOT of Work No blogger really wants to admit this to anyone because it may sound like we&#8217;re complaining, ranting, bragging, etc. but, it really is a lot of work. To make our site look aesthetically pleasing and function properly it takes a lot of time and effort. I HATED that I had to learn about things such as plugins, widgets, and coding!! (Which is why I eventually created WIRL Project, so people could blog without all this hassle!) Then, you have to choose a niche, write great content, find an audience, and get traffic to your site from search engines or blogging communities. And you thought we just sat there and wrote all day&#8230;didn&#8217;t you. 4. Affiliate and Sponsored Posts Can Be a Load of Crap! Some people are going to be really pissed at me for saying that, but I don&#8217;t care. For those who don&#8217;t know, affiliate and sponsored posts are when a company or business pays or gives the blogger money or free stuff in exchange for them to talk about or review their products. Bloggers are supposed to disclose that they&#8217;re doing this type of post, and most of them do, so watch for this and let it be somewhat of a red flag because the blogger is basically the Sales Rep in this situation. So, if you&#8217;re looking for unbiased thought, story, or review, stay away from these kinds of posts. Let&#8217;s be honest, who is going to say something negative about a company who is paying them to promote them? It&#8217;s like the ultimate biting the hand that feeds you. (WIRL Project does not allow sponsored/affiliate WIRLS &#8211; we keep our content REAL!) 5. Some Bloggers Do Make a Nice Profit From Their Site&#8230;Most Don&#8217;t Remember how earlier I talked about pageviews and clicks and how important they are to bloggers? This is even more important to those who have pay-per-view or pay-per-click ads on their site. As a reader, you may resent the fact that you clicking on something can be putting money in someone ELSE&#8217;S pocket. It kinda makes you feel a little duped, but try not to feel this way. More than 80% of the time, bloggers who make any kind of money are just bringing in enough to stay afloat. Blogging does cost a bit of money out of pocket (domain name, hosting, web design, graphic design, etc.) so a few little clicks can be really helpful to keep the blog going! Remember: Pageviews = Traffic = Success in the blogging world!  &#160; There are a few other things I&#8217;d like to shed light on, but they may not make sense to those who do not blog. Feel free to continue reading for to hear my thoughts and the rants about the bloggy/web world. Part 2: Comments and Frustrations That Only Bloggers Will Understand 1. Link Parties I have NEVER understood the value nor have I really found any kind of long-term relationship with other bloggers in doing these. The whole concept is a little crazy to me! So, let&#8217;s get this striaght&#8230; A blogger is &#8220;hosting&#8221; a WEEKLY linky party and hundreds of people are going to go to THEIR site and &#8220;linking up&#8221; EVERY WEEK. Then, you&#8217;re supposed to &#8220;hop&#8221; around the link party and connect with the people who left their link. Seriously? It doesn&#8217;t take a rocket scientist to realize that the ONLY person truly benefitting from this linky party B.S. is the HOST(S)!!! Very few people actually visit any of the links on the site; they usually just &#8220;link and leave&#8221; (similar to the &#8220;dine and dash&#8221;) and don&#8217;t pay any attention (or pay it forward) to the other links that were shared. And then, to top it all off, everyone does it all over again next week!!! WHAT. THE. F? Sure, maybe you&#8217;ll get featured next week if you try again, but guess what&#8230;the host of the &#8220;linky party&#8221; is laughing as all 438 of you visit their site again next week and &#8220;link up&#8221; again. Are they giving you that kind of traffic in return? Doubt it. It&#8217;s all basically a scam, unless you find a really genuine, dedicated community to &#8220;link up&#8221; with &#8211; it&#8217;s basically waste of your freaking time! Whew, glad I got that off my chest! Moving on&#8230; 2. The Facebook Groups I am in a few Facebook Blogging groups that are really great in supporting me and WIRL Project. We share, pin, tweet, stumble, WIRL, support, and do all kinds of things to help each other out. But there are some Facebook groups that I have been in (and quickly left) because they&#8217;re SO ANNOYING! Sometimes I feel compelled to leave rude comment such as, You know you&#8217;re a blogger right? Not the President of the blogging world. Yes, you are the Admin of this super annoying Facebook group, but you&#8217;re ego, ridiculous rules, and obnoxious posts are down right stupid. Stop with the insanity! But, when I&#8217;m feeling compelled to do this, I choose to leave the group instead. 3. The Smoke and Mirrors (and SEO) As I said before, I have a few groups and communities I belong to and I really enjoy the people I&#8217;ve met and support I get from them. However, the blog world is a lot of smoke and mirrors &#8211; this is the reality. A &#8220;like&#8221; isn&#8217;t really a genuine &#8220;like&#8221;, because we&#8217;ve actually asked our blogging friends and communities to &#8220;like&#8221; our posts for us. BUT, we do this a lot of the time because our friends and family who don&#8217;t blog (see above), don&#8217;t understand the value of the traffic, &#8220;liking&#8221;, sharing, etc. so we need SOMEONE to help us out with it&#8230;so we turn to other bloggers who are facing the same thing. I want to express the reality of this because there are times when I see a blog with 12,000 Facebook &#8220;likes&#8221;, but their content sucks and they rarely post. This is a sign that this person is great at &#8220;buying&#8221; their &#8220;likes&#8221; and that people don&#8217;t really organically enjoy the site/content. For those of us who really work hard to boost our traffic and increase our stats, the whole smoke and mirrors thing can be frustrating. Check the &#8220;Alexa&#8221; rank of a site if things aren&#8217;t adding up&#8230;you&#8217;ll usually learn more of the truth from a third party site. And the SEO&#8230;don&#8217;t even get me started! Gearing your blog up for search engine optimization (SEO) is about as fun as poking yourself in the eye with a blunt probe! Just as you figure it out, search engines and social media sites change their algorithms and you have to basically start all over again. Do yourself a favor and outsource this hassle to someone (if you can afford it), or at least get someone to teach you the best way to manage SEO for your site. And keep in mind, a Google search may not be something that really drives traffic to your site anyway. It may be better to ditch the whole SEO crapshoot and focus on social media instead? Take a look at your analytics and make the best call based on your situation. 4. The Rewards Blogging is a lot of work (I&#8217;ll say that at least one more time before I&#8217;m done), but it is SO rewarding. The positive comments, shares, and support you get from family, friends, and fans is so humbling&#8230;people actually like what I have to say? Wow! Getting to know other bloggers and writing and sharing your inner thoughts and expertise with the goal of helping yourself and others is awesome. Hearing how you impacted someone&#8217;s life in a positive way because of something you suggested, advised, shared, or taught is the absolute BEST feeling. And though those moments may not come as often as we&#8217;d like, they definitely do occur and remind us why we started doing this in the first place, right? 5. Blogging Is a TON of Work I said this before and I&#8217;ll say it again &#8211; blogging is very time consuming and can be frustrating. I&#8217;m saying this from blogger-to-blogger because I feel your pain. Between taking and editing photos, writing great posts, posting on social media, being active in blogging communities, graphic and web design &#8211; it&#8217;s a lot for one person to handle. Not to mention, we have other responsibilities such as, being a parent, partner, spouse, caregiver, etc. and it can be really hard to balance your domestic life and your blogging life. If you&#8217;re anything like me, you&#8217;ll tell your spouse that you&#8217;ll be up to bed in 10 minutes, and it ends up being at least 45&#8230;somehow time moves at a different pace in blog world, don&#8217;t you think? Anyway, when it comes to choosing your blog vs your family, I hope you ALWAYS (or at least most of the time) choose your blog  family. The emails, updates, posts, and whatever else can always wait. But, sometimes putting your blog first means a break for you &#8211; and your sanity is what keeps your family together. Find the right mix and balance for your life, but do know that it IS alright to periodically take some time for yourself and your blog and tell your family you need some space (especially if you&#8217;re an introvert!). &#160; I wanted to share these thoughts with you because I think that a lot of people will be able to relate to what I&#8217;ve said. I also think it&#8217;s important for those who don&#8217;t blog to understand why we send emails and ask for shares. If blog outsiders know and understand a little bit of the blog world, maybe they will be more inclined to help us because they know that their efforts are actually really valuable. Hopefully this is the case. Fingers crossed! I also wanted to share this because I felt a lot of these frustrations within my first month of blogging, which is why I eventually went on to create WIRL Project. My vision for WIRL Project has always been that it would be a place or a platform where real people could read and share stories about life and what it&#8217;s really like (WIRL) in a casual, conversational way. I hated all the EXTRA WORK that came along with blogging &#8211; I just wanted a place to write and starting a blog meant SO much more than just writing. With WIRL Project, I want bloggers and non-bloggers alike to have a place to share their story without the extra hassle of setting up, paying for, and managing their own entire website. I wanted a place where the smoke and mirrors didn&#8217;t exist so much and we focused our efforts on the reason we started blogging in the first place &#8211; to share our thoughts, confessions, and stories about life. If you like and support the things I&#8217;ve said, I would highly recommend you Request to Join the WIRL Project Community. We are growing rapidly, gaining the attention of some industry leaders, and our content reaches thousands on a regular basis! We do this in the most organic, genuine way possible and hope you appreciate that. If you agree or disagree with the things I&#8217;ve said, I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below. I guess we&#8217;ll see who was paying attention. Hint: I mentioned that I LOVE comments and shares (wink, wink).]]></description>
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		<title>What It&#8217;s Really Like to be a Blogger While Managing a Career as an Attorney, Wife, and Mother of an Infant and Toddler</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-really-like-to-be-a-blogger-while-managing-a-career-as-an-attorney-wife-and-mother-of-an-infant-and-toddler/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/what-its-really-like-to-be-a-blogger-while-managing-a-career-as-an-attorney-wife-and-mother-of-an-infant-and-toddler/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 12:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[WIRL Project]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Attorney]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[photography]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wife]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6556</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We asked Jennifer Burby who is an attorney, wife, and mother, as well as a blogger at Champagne Supernova, to share her honest thoughts and stories about blogging for the WIRL Blogging Challenge. We&#8217;ve listed our Q/A session below for you to enjoy!  &#160; WIRL Project: How much time do you spend on your blog each week? Jennifer: The short answer is that I probably spend 15-20 hours a week doing something either directly or indirectly impacting my blog. The long answer is that having a blog isn&#8217;t just about writing a post and publishing it. It&#8217;s also about growing a readership, self-promotion, and connecting with your audience and other bloggers. I read somewhere that there are 153 million blogs on the internet. Readers are overwhelmed with the variety, and, in order to read my blog, people have to discover it and I have to offer something that they can&#8217;t get from other blogs. When I&#8217;m not writing and publishing my own post, I&#8217;m busy engaging in online &#8220;linky&#8221; parties, pinning on pinterest, locating and uploading news articles to my blog&#8217;s Facebook fan page, editing and adding photos to my blog&#8217;s Instagram account, and then reading other bloggers&#8217; posts and commenting on them. It&#8217;s exhausting, but necessary. I read somewhere that there are 153 million blogs on the internet. Readers are overwhelmed with the variety, and, in order to read my blog, people have to discover it and I have to offer something that they can&#8217;t get from other blogs. WIRL Project: What do you wish people who don&#8217;t blog knew about blogging? Jennifer: This is difficult. In addition to the amount of work that goes into blogging, which I detailed in my answer to the question above, I wish people who don&#8217;t blog realized that not all bloggers are self-obsessed narcissists. I think some, but not all, non-bloggers stereotype bloggers this way. In reality, bloggers just want a way to fuel their passions by highlighting their talents; whether it&#8217;s writing, making crafts and DIY projects, cooking and baking, or taking photographs. WIRL Project: Do you ever feel frustrated about blogging? Jennifer: Because I just launched my blog in January of 2015 and it&#8217;s relatively new, the answer is generally &#8220;no.&#8221; However, as I&#8217;m not tech savvy, I can sometimes get frustrated with uploading information on the blog or updating the blog site itself. I also sometimes feel frustrated by time constraints to publish a blog or events that are out of my control that preclude me from writing. For instance, sometimes I want to sit down and write a post, but then my three-year-old wants me to watch a movie with her instead. She will take precedent every time! WIRL Project: What are insider secrets you could share? Jennifer: When blogging, focus on the quality of your post, rather than the number of times you are posting. In other words, &#8220;quality over quantity.&#8221; When I first started blogging, I had an unreasonable goal of posting five times a week. Not gonna happen. As blogging isn&#8217;t my full time job and I am balancing it with a career and a family, it takes a couple days of research and being alone with my thoughts to create a quality post. Regardless of the number of times someone is posting, they aren&#8217;t going to obtain a regular readership if they aren&#8217;t posting quality material that people want to read. WIRL Project: What makes you feel like your blog is &#8220;successful&#8221;? Jennifer: Positive feedback. Even though I started my blog five months ago, I&#8217;ve already started receiving positive feedback from readers world wide who have taken the time to tell me about how they enjoy my posts. A couple months ago, a lady reached out to me concerning a post about the baby blues and motherhood. She thanked me for sharing my story because she went through the same thing and felt like a bad mother. While I would eventually like to significantly monetize my blog, receiving positive feedback has been a huge motivator. WIRL Project: What&#8217;s been your biggest blogging blooper of fail? Not finding typos until after the post has gone live. These are usually stupid mistakes or finger-slips like &#8220;want&#8221; instead of &#8220;what&#8221; or &#8220;form&#8221; instead of &#8220;from.&#8221; I fix them as soon as I see them, or as soon as someone tells me about them, and usually hope not too many people noticed them. &#160; Join the conversation! Easily contribute your story here with the tag “WIRL Blogging”. &#160; About the Author… This WIRL was contributed in part by Jennifer Burby at Champagne Supernova. She is an attorney, wife, mama, snot wiper-upper, choking preventer, baby booty-wiper, and Grand Poobah of her blog, The Champagne Supernova. When she&#8217;s not blogging, Jennifer enjoys traveling, pretending she&#8217;s a professional photographer, running, and laughing. She can be found at her website, WIRL Project, and Facebook.]]></description>
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		<title>The Mad, Mad World Of Blogging</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-mad-mad-world-of-blogging/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/the-mad-mad-world-of-blogging/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2015 10:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Guest WIRL]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[editing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[life of a blogger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WIRL Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=6357</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It has become somewhat of a whispering joke amongst family members. Oh, look at her! Maybe this is the year she gets a REAL job! The truth is that bloggers work hard —DAMN HARD — probably harder than most. We are writers, editors, proofreaders, and pimps: hustling our lives and submitting our stories for the sake of personal gain. We are also critical of ourselves and thick-skinned because we have to be, which often makes it hard to face the keyboard, but we do. And we do it all for minimal pay with little time to second-guess our strategy. We are also critical of ourselves and thick-skinned because we have to be, which often makes it hard to face the keyboard, but we do. Starting out, I had no idea what to expect —still don&#8217;t. Every day delivers a new set of skills and I take each one with pride. I have learned how to build a website from scratch, design my own comics, promote on social media, support fellow bloggers, and triple check spelling and grammar like a boss. Even so, I still don&#8217;t know it all. In the past two years, I have built a foundation for what is to come and in doing so have made friends for life. You see, blogging isn&#8217;t just another job; it is a way of being. And those of us who get to wake up every day and do it are the happiest people you&#8217;ll ever want to meet. Hello, my name is Lisa. I am a mother, writer, blogger and juggler, and there is nothing about blogging that I don&#8217;t love. &#160; Join the conversation! Easily contribute your story here with the tag “WIRL Blogging”. &#160; About the Author… This WIRL was contributed by Lisa René LeClair, who is a writer, humorist, social media junkie and, most importantly, a mother. When she&#8217;s not giggling with her pint-sized Protégé or pretending to sign autographs in front of a bathroom mirror, you can find Lisa sitting at her desk; wearing coffee stained pajamas and a shit-eating grin… Living the dream. You can contact Lisa at Lisa@sassypiehole.com.  &#160;]]></description>
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