Blog

Anyone who has ever researched traveling with a pet has probably come across the website GoPetFriendly.  They have been around for nearly a decade providing pet owners with lists of hotels, restaurants and other pet friendly tips.  I discovered they have an annual Pet Blogger Challenge. While I have been blogging for a long while, it wasn’t till this past year that I have taken on the mantle of ‘pet blogger’. So here we go.

1. For those who may be visiting your blog for the first time, how long have you been blogging and what is your main topic?

I started blogging Jan 2011. Initially it was to replace sending out emails to friends and family about our travels.  It was also a way to share my photographs which are mostly shared on WolfHarttImages.  This past year I decided to really get serious and get focused.  I moved from a free WordPress site to a self-hosted site and niched down.  Have Dane will Travel is a place for information about Great Danes as well as our travels and adventures with our Danes.

The Have Dane will Travel motto is “Happy Dog, Happy Life”.   If your dog is happy and healthy then your life has to be happy too.  The current site went live August of 2018.

2. What was your proudest blogging moment of 2018?

I think the hardest, most time consuming, task of the year was going back through all my older posts and making them SEO friendly.  It not only improved my posts but now I can write a post which will get a green light from Yoast SEO analysis from the start.  It is a little thing, but it makes me happy. 

3. What was the biggest blogging challenge you faced in 2018, and how did/will you tackle it?

Getting the word out and building an email list has been the hardest challenge.   To do this I know I need to stay focused and post consistently as well as leverage social media sites.  I also have realized I need to be patient.  It isn’t going to happen overnight, hunker down and do the work.  I try to remember the advice that Corwin Hiebert gave, “Be consistent even when it seems no one is watching”.

4. Which of your 2018 blog posts was your favorite and why?

The Great (Dane) Escape was my favorite post.  It has always been a funny story to tell and I had never gotten around to writing it down.  I still laugh about it when I see the scratch marks down the side of our trailer.

5. Which of your 2018 posts was most popular with your audience? Why do you think it does so well?

My most popular post, or page in this case, is So you want a Great Dane?.  I hope the reason it is doing well because it is a cornerstone content for my site.  All dog lovers are welcome but Have Dane will Travel is Dane-centric.

6. Did you implement a new series, feature, or practice on your blog in 2018 that you’re enjoying?

A long-time topic in my head and on my blog has been traveling to National Parks and Monuments with your dog.  We always run into people who say “we left our dog at home because they can’t visit…”  insert whichever park we are currently at.  Sometimes that is true but not always.  I had the idea many years ago to centralize dog and park information and even created a rating system for quick reference.  Now it is much easier to find that information than it used to be and but I still want to share our experiences and I try to make every other post one about the parks which we have traveled to.

7. As the social media landscape changes, how are you promoting your blog posts and connecting with new readers?

Pinterest has been my first big push.  I’ve re-vamped and re-branded my Pinterest account and started getting consistent, need to get back to being consistent.  Even with the small changes I made it provides the most referrals to my blog.

I also need to leverage Instagram better by being more strategic and of course, consistent.

8. Looking forward to 2019, if you accomplish only one thing through your blog, what do you hope it is?

The big goal for my blog is to be profitable.  If I can have a location independent income then we can be out exploring more with Martok.

I also want to see more Great Danes out enjoying the world with their humans.

9. What steps are you planning to take to ensure you reach your goal?

Create content, share content… repeat.  To get better at using a planner to keep me on schedule.  My word of the year is “engage”, which applies both with readers and other pet bloggers. To learn more about this world of pet blogging.

10. Where I could use some help …

Spreading the word.  Being held accountable to my schedule.