The Blog Lowdown – Hurrah For Gin

Today on The Blog Lowdown, I’m delighted to be hosting Katie from Hurrah for Gin…

Please Introduce yourself:
Hi I’m Katie from hurrahforgin.com. I live in Brighton with my husband and two young boys and I like gin and rabbits.

When did you start blogging?
The end of July last year – I just decided to start on a total whim.

Tell us a little about your blog
I try to give a very real and humorous account of parenting young children sans the sugar coating. I will be the first to admit that I have struggled with many aspects of parenting but am firmly of the opinion that if you don’t laugh about the challenges you will cry.

Who designed your blog?
Um me!

Which of your posts have been the most popular? Are there certain types that get more interest?
Posts about the challenges or grievances associated with parenting that other people can relate too. A memo. to all toddlers re. your diet has been by far my most popular followed by my letter to Postman Pat.

A memo to all toddlers re your diet
An open letter to Postman Pat

How do you promote your blog posts, and which methods do you find to be most successful?
I use twitter, facebook and I sometimes post on G+ too but often forget! Facebook drives by far the most traffic for me.

Which linkys do you most enjoy joining in with/reading?
I’ve stopped doing quite so many linkies lately largely because I’ve cut down a bit on the amount of posts I do as I was spending all my free time on my laptop! Linkies are a fab way of finding news blogs and attracting people to yours but they can also be very time consuming too what with all the commenting and replying. I love Me & Mine, The Ordinary Moments and Wot So Funnee the most.

When are your busiest days on the blog, and why? (if you know why!)
Just the days when I post something I guess! I tend to find the weekends see a bit less traffic though.

Can you name 3 things that blogging has brought you?
First and foremost a much loved hobby.
A great network of lovely blogging friends
A retweet from Kirstie Allsopp

5 tips on blogging and social mediaMy top five tips are:
1, It’s hard to build up a following when you first start out but people are not just going to suddenly rock up to your blog without any work. Get your name out there – follow people, comment on their posts, tweet them and get involved in the community. It might take a lot of effort to start with but it will pay off.
2, There is no greater compliment to a blogger than sharing a post they have written. If you read something you like retweet it or post the link of facebook. I guarantee it will be appreciated and if you are lucky they will return the favour.
3, Linkies are a fab way to connect with other blogs and encourage people to visit your own. However don’t base the majority of your blog content around other peoples linkies. It’s your blog not somebody else’s so you should be in the driving seat.
4, Work hard to build up a facebook following. Twitter, bloglovin etc are fab but you are mainly communicating with other bloggers. To get to a wider audience I find facebook is by far the best medium and it has a great potential for viral spread too.
5, Enjoy it! Don’t get too concerned with stats or rankings and don’t put pressure on yourself to post if you don’t feel like it. It should be fun, not a chore.

My Social Media Links:
You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram

Thanks very much, Katie! It’s interesting that you say Facebook, as it’s probably the area I think of least, though I know it can be great for sharing and posts going viral. I must try harder there!

If you’ve any questions for Katie, feel free to comment on this post, and she’ll pop by and check in. Next week, we will be hearing from Jess from WryMummy so be sure to pop by for that at the new time slot of Tuesday morning. You can catch up the previous posts from other bloggers here, too, if you’ve missed them.

If you’d like to feature on The Blog Lowdown, just email me at [email protected] to get involved.

To ensure you don’t miss any blogger posts, you can now sign up for my newsletter, and I’ll always include The Blog Lowdown round up in those.

Other posts you might like:

A Blogger’s Guide to Pinterest

10 Tips to Get your Blogging Mojo Back

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6 thoughts on “The Blog Lowdown – Hurrah For Gin”

  1. My name’s Katie and I love gin and rabbits! hahahahaha! What has blogging brought you? A RT from Kirstie Allsopp!! hahahaha! Oh Katie you just make me laugh! I love this series Jocelyn, looking forward to Jess’s post next week x

    1. She says is like it is! Great to know you enjoy it so much, Donna, and yes, Jess’ will be great, too 🙂

  2. Pingback: A blogging holiday | And then the fun began...

  3. What a great series – I’m really looking forward to reading more from other bloggers. Katie, I think you’re aiming for world domination next – a RT from Kirsty, on the Tots100 panel, nominated for loads of blogging awards and now this! All well deserved, of course 🙂 xx

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