Last year my inclusion in the Kidspot Voices of 2014 Top 30 Personal and Parenting blogs was a surprise. I didn’t realise what an honour and achievement it was to be recognized in the top 100 blogs in Australia.
And I honestly believe others didn’t think my blog belonged in that top 100 either. You know why? Because when the announcement was made about which blogs made the top 100, many bloggers tweeted how their favourite blogger was in the top 30 and none of them mentioned me.
I felt like a fraud. I was a bit disheartened.
I read blogs from other bloggers writing about their disappointment of not making it into the top 100. And their disappointment was valid. I understood it. Blogging consistently over a long period of time is hard yakka. We all want to be recognized for the work we put into our blogs.
But when I read these blog posts about disappointment, it felt like another stab to my soul that I wasn’t meant to be in the top 100 and there were much better bloggers than me who should have been included.
After the hype of the announcement and my disappointment of others not recognising my inclusion I silently celebrated my nomination with my family. For me my nomination was the answer to my prayer of where I was to focus my ambitions after closing our family plumbing business to raise my little family.
I then prayed I’d make the top 5 because when I saw the prize of a writing contract I thought how cool would that be? A plumber writing for an online home interior publication? It sounded like the perfect job for me.
I didn’t make the top 5. In a way I kind of knew I wouldn’t make the top 5 and in hindsight I was thankful that I didn’t have the added pressure of writing posts for judging right before Phoebe’s birth. The top 5 well and truly deserved their top 5 status.
What I did do though is take advantage of the sponsor challenge posts that had opened up to me. I signed up to review and write about Olympus and Garnier. When the Healtheries opportunity came through I signed to do the challenge right on the deadline. The Olympus and Garnier posts were hard work. Trying to blog with a newborn baby during sleeps and between feeds was full on. The amount of work these posts took made me hesitate about doing the Healtheries challenges.
Thank goodness I agreed to take part in the challenge, because not only did I discover a new healthier snack food for my girls, I also won, which has been a huge blessing to my family and my blog.
The Kidspot Voices of 2014 Gala night is one of the highlights of my blogging career to date. I got to hang out with some fabulous bloggers and I did not expect to walk away with two awards. But I did. And you could too.
I read Em’s blog post about whether to nominate her blog to Kidspot Voices of 2015 and it was a great post because a lot of bloggers have been asking the same question. So I am going to answer it for you.
You’re crazy not to nominate yourself for Kidspot Voices of 2015.
The nominations and awards are not about the number of votes/nominations each blogger receives. It’s about putting forward your blog so it is included in the mix of blogs that are to be judged. You need just one nomination to be considered being placed in the top 100.
This year it’s not only blogs that can be nominated. Those that blog via social media are going to be included in the mix too. There may be a bigger pool of talent to judge, but it’s great that those who have developed a following online via their social media accounts can be recognized.
There’s no time like now to nominate your blog. Here is the link so you can make sure your blog is on the list to judge. Nominations close on the 27th April.
And while you nominate yourself, why not nominate another blog you love reading and EMAIL them to let them know. Receiving a comment or email from someone telling you they’ve nominated your blog is encouraging and always well appreciated.
I know my blog is in the pool to be judged because Jacob nominated me. And the reason he nominated me is because ‘he digs me and my words’. He’s a sweetheart and I dig him back.
It’s important to mention too that blogging is not about awards. It’s lovely to be recognized, but even better knowing your words are helping someone else. Your motivation for blogging should always come back to love.
What do you think about Kidspot Voices 2015? What’s stopping you from nominating your blog? What’s your ultimate blogging dream?
I’m linking up with With Some Grace for Flog yo blog Friday.