Good morning readers!
Today I'll be asking for your honest opinions and sharing some behind-the-scenes stuff about the blog…
But first, for those of you with kids back to school recently, how did your back-to-the-routine go? Whoever warned me last week that the days would FLY by wasn't kidding.
Here's what's up today:
- Even though social media can be tricky to keep a handle on sometimes, I'm learning to love it, and here's why… Last week I got a snippy comment on one of my recipe posts, so after I replied to her, I put this up on Twitter and Facebook: “See the snarky comment #15 at this post that cracked me up, apparently I love butter a bit more than she does, LOL! https://ow.ly/6nK6U.” Before long that post went from 15 comments to 53! I love you guys – it's so cool how you always have my back. 🙂
- Yesterday I took the kids to see the West Michigan Healing Field, which honored those who lost their lives 10 years ago yesterday. That link will take you to the post at my other blog with some pictures and an awesome quote by a local fire chief.
- Wait until you see this post from Colleen, a new blogger on the Real Food scene. First you'll probably be irritated like I was by the response she got after asking her local butcher shop some questions. The gal was perfectly polite and honest, so you have to respect her for that, but it's the same old thing when people just don't GET IT, it never sets right with me. But THEN you'll LOVE Colleen's perfect response to them!! Read, Local butcher chooses factory farmed meat. (Learn more about finding SAFE sources for pastured meats.)
- Here's another post that got a bit more attention last week after putting it up on social media: “Are you in a Sex-Starved Marriage? Here are some solutions and some heart-wrenching comments from readers, too: https://ow.ly/6oG4r.”
- Please share your honest opinion on this one: Do you think I was too harsh in my response to this reader? Here's what she wrote in a comment: “I’ve really enjoyed your blog and the information you give. However, it’s difficult for me to read, since in your RSS feed, it only gives the short intro to your posts and I have to click thru to read the whole thing. Would you consider changing the settings to show the whole post?” Here was my reply: “I’m sorry, I know that drives some people crazy, but when I tried going to full posts my stats dropped & that drove ME crazy! The thing is, I spend full time hours on my blog (often more) writing posts that are free for my readers, & I barely earn a part time income from it. I only get THAT based on my stats & readers clicking in. So if all I ask in return is for you to click in if the post interests you, is that really so bad? I hope you don’t mind me putting it like that & that you understand where I’m coming from. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Stanley Fishman says
Kelly, I am so grateful to you for doing this blog. It is full of valuable information and wisdom which is very rare these days. You may not be making much money from doing this, but you are making the world better for your readers. And that is priceless.
No , you were not rude. If clicks help you, I am happy to click. I suspect that most of your readers feel the same way.
Nikki @ Christian Mommy Blogger says
Kelly, You were not rude at all in your response to her question about your feed. I do the same thing (summary in my RSS)…and even if I did not, I would not say you were rude. I believe it is a challenge to find the time to continue blogging, when the reward is not great (if we made a ton of money, everyone would do it right?). But we do find the time, and I thank you for YOUR commitment to do so! I would not be able to find the time blog AND pay other sites to read their info…who would? I would need a full time job to do that! So the fact that people do it for no charge is great and the least we can do is contribute in any way we can (clicking through to the site). Thanks for your post…I always enjoy your site.
CathyF says
I like your blog email just fine. How hard is it to click on the link to your website? (Also, I think you responded quite respectfully to your reader.) You have a great website — always interesting, always full of valuable information. My opinion? … Don’t change a thing!
Sally says
Your blog is just great! You’re information comes across with an informal quality that is easy and enjoyable to read. You’re straight forward, but not harsh or snobby. I think people who do not blog don’t know why the rss feeds come across in just a few lines, and now we are all informed.
Jenn says
Your response to that poster was actually educational to me – I’d always wondering what the logic was behind the click-throughs on RSS feeds. So no, not snarky at all, just enlightening!
Jo Schoeneck says
No, I did not think you were out of line at all in your blog response. I thought it was very well put, kind and considerate but you stood your ground. You can’t please all the people all the time but you can please some people some of the time. So be true to you and God. : )
Jen says
I love your posts, I do get it in a reader and don’t always click over if I am having a busy day or the subject doesn’t jump out at me, but I don’t mind clicking over to read the whole article when I want to, I think it’s fine 😉
Kristi says
I love your blog, Kelly! Yours was the first real food blog I found and learned so much from. I have no problem clicking on the email to get to this page. I totally understand and would do the same. And with the adds….I don’t ever see any. I have an add blocker installed on my Firefox. You could put up any crazy add you wanted and it would never bother me. They’re invisible. 😀 But I understand why you would turn some down.
Thanks for all you do! Keep on spreading the word and doing great works! <3 <3 <3
Colleen says
Hi Kelly! No, I don’t think you were too harsh with her. People who do not blog don’t understand how time consumming it can be (something I am learning). I learned a long time ago to follow my heart and my instincts as you will please some of the people some of the time, but you will never please everyone everytime.
I think you should teach a class for new bloggers on how to monetize their blogs! I’ll be the first one to sign up!
Kepp up the awesome work! We love you!
KitchenKop says
Thanks Colleen 🙂
And I actually do blog consultations and could share what I’ve learned! https://kellythekitchenkop.com/kop-shop
Kel
Wendy (The Local Cook) says
On the advertising topic . . . I thought Blogher doesn’t allow other advertising or reviews? Maybe that’s changed. I recently changed from FoodBuzz to Foodie Blogroll. But, I like promoting friends’ e-books best for advertising. Makes me feel better because I’m helping out friends plus I trust the content that’s in them. Not that I blog for money (I’d hate to break down the per hour income on THAT), but I tend to make more with a few sales than I do on network ads anyway.
Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says
Hi Wendy! From what I understand, BlogHer allows other ads, just nothing else above the fold – I didn’t quite “get” their review policy. It was worded in a confusing manner. (sorry about the repeat comment, Kelly – I forgot to click on the reply button :-).)
KitchenKop says
Wendy, now BlogHer has an easy way to take your ads off on the days you do a paid post or review.
Kel
Lori says
Personally, I don’t understand RSS feeds. I get your blog emailed to me and I have no problems on clicking it to come to your site. When my blog was active, that’s how I had the settings set. Personally, I like going to the blog site anyway rather than read it on email.
I think it’s great that you keep your ads honest!
Soli @ I Believe In Butter says
I think you were honest in your comment about only having a blurb show up in the RSS feed. I use google reader to keep my blogs together and it’s nice to be able to mark things as unread when just scrolling through to see what’s present. Then when I have more time to look, I can click on the post in question.
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy says
I get your blog through my email as well and I don’t find it inconvenient to click in when I need to. Granted, I don’t do it ALL the time, in fact, I do usually skip the Monday Morning Mix Up, your title today about needing your opinion intrigued me. So be sure to have titles to keep me clicking!! 🙂
Neeli says
Kelly,
I think your blog is great, very informative and you have a positive attitude. Some people who are real foodies can be a bit snobby and arrogant, however, I don’t get that from you. Anytime I’ve emailed you, you have always answered my questions with a kind attitude and I appreciate that. I also love the fact that you are representing people from my hometown, and it’s great to see that Michigan is on the map for real foods. I just didn’t know that we had so many real food resources before I moved away. I can’t wait to get back home where I belong. Keep up the good work.