My 5th Blogiversary

For my Day 5 blog, it’s almost the continuation from yesterday’s blog. http://themarthareview.com/things-that-come-in-fours December 25, 2014 was when I started The Martha Review and this past December was my 5th “blogiversary.”

Even before blogging, my motto has been “If you want to explore deeper oceans, you first have to leave sight of the shore” because there are so many challenges and opportunities in the world whether it be in our business or everyday life.

I had been dabbling on a writing site called Bubbles where you joined, wrote a blog and other members would visit and like the blog. It was fun, very laid back but it was the beginning of something I didn’t realized I would enjoy so much. Bubbles closed down after a short time but I had already been bitten by the blog bug. I was also reviewing products and would post them on my walls. It was on December 25, 2015 while mentioning to my grandson that I was thinking about starting a blog for reviewing when The Martha Review was born. He helped me set up my blog, we came up with the name and I was on the way to having a home from my reviews!

In the beginning I had one category, Product and Book Reviews and that kept me busy. But me being the type that enjoys helping others, I soon added a few other categories. One was Helpful How-To’s and another was Helpful Money Saving Tips. Since I enjoy saving money whether it be at the grocery store, using coupons or looking for sales, I love to pass this on to others. What better way to reach them with my blog! I was keeping busy with my categories but it didn’t take long to add Fun Earning Online since I belong to a few money earning sites. Throughout 2015 it seemed like I kept coming up with ideas and adding more categories.

I love sharing photos so My Photography category was born along with Healthy Living and Wellness. One of my top categories is In the Kitchen where I share some delicious and inexpensive meals and recipes.

I not only liked writing but I wanted to learn more about blogging and hopefully be able to pass some of what I learned on to others. I’m the type where I learn by doing and search for the answer or solution until I find it.

I enjoyed writing in 2015 but in January 2016 was when I found the Ultimate Blog Challenge and took my blogging to a whole new level. Up until this time I was only averaging about 35 blog views per day and ended the 2015 year with 12,625 views. I was quite happy with that since I really didn’t have a plan and sometimes i didn’t even know what I was doing!

Once I joined the Ultimate Blog Challenge you might say my blogging life changed big time! My total views in 2016 almost doubled from 2015 and as the next 4 years came around my stats just kept increasing between 2,500 to 3,500 annually.

I am enjoying writing blogs about lifestyle, foods, gardening, helpful tips and of course sharing my photography. My latest two categories that were added are Alex’s Articles written by my granddaughter and the other is Lia’s Likings The Baby Blogger. Lia is Alexandra’s 16 month old daughter and she started “blogging” at about 6 months old.

Lia reviews some cool baby products and toys but she also now has a Friday Story blog topic. I enjoy taking the photos when Lia and I are doing a project and turning it into a blog about Lia’s Likings. This is one of my favorites from Lia.. http://themarthareview.com/little-girl-in-the-window/

Alexandra writes many health related and real life topics that touch the heart and she had top views on two of her blogs last years. http://themarthareview.com/howd-you-pick-that-name/ http://themarthareview.com/mixed-blessing/

I look back to December 25, 2014 and how excited I was to start my blog and then fast forward to 5 years later where I’m even more excited to still be learning new things with blogging and helping other bloggers in little ways.

One challenge that I hope I can complete is to take the Twelve Day Countdown blogs that I wrote about my great granddaughter Lia just before her 1st birthday and turn them into a book to give to Lia when she turns 18 years old. I will be 88 years old when Lia turns 18 so I need to get working on this challenge soon. Each blog highlighted her first 12 months. I took all 12 and put in one blog so I can have them all in one place for my readers to view by the months. http://themarthareview.com/from-birth-to-a-year-old/

I wrote this blog before the daily suggestion came through but the topic fits right in! The suggestion is to give your best tip on the subject you are writing about. My tip would be…. if you have dreams and aspirations about anything that interests you, follow them. I started my blog when I was 65 years old and as my motto says, “If you want to explore deeper oceans, you first have to leave sight of the shore.”

So it’s HAPPY 5th BLOGIVERSARY to THE MARTHA REVIEW! I can’t wait to see what the next 5 years will bring.