Between the Lines Blog Series week two-

Welcome to the continuing blog series, Between the Lines, bloggers age 50 and older you should be following. The “boomers” ( baby boomers -that’s me) born between 1946 and 1964 are the largest growing population in America. According to a recent study* baby boomers are the most talked about generation in the country and 78% of them are online! The Between the Lines (pun intended) blog series features bloggers of a certain age who are making their mark in blog land.

A blog series can’t be successful unless everyone participates. I invite you to join me and tweet, pin , share and do all of the other goodies you can to spread the word of this valued, sometimes overlooked, group of tremendous bloggers. Then all you have to do is click on each of the blogs on the list below to discover their blogs and get to know just what a blogger of a certain age has to share. In the interest of full disclosure, as you know, I am a blogger age 55 and you can find out about me HERE.

Get to know these fabulous bloggers and meet even more here every Tuesday for the next 9 weeks. Send a little comment love their way too. Comments are like hugs. At the end of the series all of the participants will ask me questions!

Meet Devon blogger at Living The Life You Choose. She is committed to sharing the joys of ageing and has changed direction a bit although she still shares fashion posts, you will always find her sharing her true authentic self. I asked Devon, blogging takes a lot of time, how much time do you spend blogging.   The short answer is probably “way too much” because I absolutely LOVE blogging! I used to write in a diary when I was younger and moved to journals when I was older. I have boxes of journals that I wrote when I was in my 40’s — mostly filled with my dating woes — all about my love life and the difficult choices I made. To me, blogging is the next step. Sort of journals for the electronic age. Not sure I would have been brave enough to share my thoughts and feelings online back then. As I re read my entries I often cringe. I have certainly matured from the person I was then.
I am always thinking of topics and I look at everything that happens as a possibility. I can hardly wait to begin a new post about something that I just learned about or a subject or thought I want to share. I can write for hours and hours and late into the night. I do not claim to be a great writer but blogging is very therapeutic and healing for me although many of my posts remain as drafts never seeing the light of day (thank goodness). Writing a post and hitting the “publish” button are 2 entirely different things!
I write to share my knowledge, to help and to inspire others. Communication is a two way street and there is nothing more gratifying to me than a comment from a reader responding to a post.
What was the last game you played? The last game I played was “Cards Against Humanity” Nothing better than a group of friends, a little wine and a good game of cards!

Meet Kathi blogger at Feathering My Nest, Kathi is a Christian faith based blogger who shares some wonderful family time posts and gardening posts too. She likes classic movies and I believe one of her top ten movies is Alfred Hitchock’s “Rear Window. Once you visit her blog you will  realize you would love to have her as a neighbor.

I asked Kathi Do you use a captcha for comments? (captcha is an acronym for “Completely Automated Public test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”) Katie, I think I do use captcha. When people leave a comment they are asked to check a box that says, “I am not a robot.” I put that on because I was getting a lot of spam. This seems to have stopped it. What is your favorite indulgence? My favorite indulgence is sipping coffee with a chocolate treat, out in the springtime sunshine while enjoying my flower garden. Or, the same as above only earlier in the day, no cookie, just the coffee, my Bible, and having a quiet time of prayer and reading.

Meet Diane, blogger at Mamal Diane Keeping Life Simple. She is a kind and thoughtful blogger who shares a bit of everything on her blog. Living green is dominant part of her keeping life simple philosophy . Crafts usually involve her grandchildren and she shares recipes that are healthy and clean. She has been married to her best friend for over 30 years. Diane loves to spend time outdoors, she is always ready for a hike or picnic. I asked Diane when you write a post what call to action do you want from your readers? It depends on what the blog post is about. Usually I would hope to get a comment or a click on a link. Sometimes my call to action is something as simple as leaving my the reader thinking more about that particular subject. When was the last time you danced?  The last time I danced would be about an hour ago, that is if you mean dancing in general. I am always dancing around. I love listening to music and no one who knows me would be surprised if I start dancing. If you mean dancing in a dance club we went dancing about 6 weeks ago with another couple. My husband tries to take me dancing a few times a year, it’s not easy staying up that late anymore. 🙂

Meet Linda blogger at Boots Shoes and Fashion. Linda is a fashion interview blogger. Each week she shares interviews, style tips and helps you to make an informed decision regarding style. I asked Linda Which social media platform drives the most traffic to your blog? StumbleUpon! That surprised me at first, but that is what comes number one on the list combining all my figures over the last 2 years and more surprising is that I only heard of StumbleUpon at the end of 2015 but now I stumble regularly! It is very, very closely followed by Facebook and then Twitter, Pinterest & Google + .

If you could have an all-expenses paid holiday/vacation where would you go? This is a difficult question for me as there are so many places on my bucket list vying for first place. It’s a toss up between: (A) a grand tour of the whole of Australia – especially covering Uluru (Ayers Rock) which is my husband’s no 1 wish, Kalgoorie & Walpole in Western Australia where my cousins live, and Sydney, where we have mutual friends. And (B) touring Churchill, Canada photographing the polar bears and a pit stop to Iceland & Greenland too!!

Meet Karren the blogger at Oh My Heartsie Girl, she shares wonderful creative ideas, crafts, tutorials, recipes, family and stories. Her attitude is bright and cheery. She shares two link parties every week. Karren loves gardening and sharing recipes too. Her favorite is baking yummy treats. Her blog is all about being frugal, sharing ideas, recipes, gardening, product reviews that are home related, giveaways and contests too. She is adding more posts about fashion. She enjoys all aspects of fashion and styling., from hair to shoes, clothes, jewelry, accessories, purses.

I asked Karren  What have you found to be the most challenging aspect of being a over 50 blogger?

I started blogging as a way to share my hobby for my jewelry creations and an etsy store to market bracelets I made but as the time passed I found that I had other things I wanted to share like recipes and gardening. So I think for me over the years blogging has been a transition and finding a niche, which is ever changing. There are so many facets of blogging when first starting out, how to build a blog, learning what drives a blog, how to develop a community of followers, at first I was not thinking about who would read my blog, I think it was just for me to express my creativity.

And then I found there were others who would ask for help and then it became a desire to learn and then teach others along the way. I have never been afraid of a challenge and so learning all aspects of blogging is fun for me and at the time I was also learning about computers and how they worked. So like many I was self taught by finding tutorials on how to blog and what blogging was all about. I wasn’t sure I liked the first blog I built, so a built another and another, about 12 for me. I had one for fashion, one for cooking one for everything and of course the first about jewelry designs. And as time went on I found I loved working with other women bloggers to help encourage them with their blogging skills.

I would hold online classes to teach them how to build blogs, share what I had learned, trouble shoot and often making graphics and banners for their blogs. So the whole blogging experience has given me so many ways to express myself and to connect to women, because I love to help.

The challenging part of being a blogger over 50 is the energy it takes to stay on top of all the changing technology, social media and topics to write about. {That is a whole other post.} But it is fun to find other blogs that are of interest to me for so many reasons, I have met some of the most amazing women of all ages and look forward to many more relationships and building camaraderie with more wonderful women!

I hold 2 weekly linkup parties, Wonderful Wednesday and Friday Features, where each week I like to feature bloggers that have visited from the previous week and invite you to stop by and share your blog. it is a fun way for me to meet other bloggers and learn from them.

Blogging keeps my mind on its toes with all it has to offer and I look forward to seeing what else is possible!!

When was the last time you saw a sunset?We live in the desert and have beautiful sunsets all the time, so the last beautiful sunset was just a few days ago. They always fill the sky with such amazing colors but when the sky is pink and blue at the same time, I call that Sky Blue Pink! Mother nature has a way of expressing herself with a beautiful palette of colors. Oh and our sunrises are spectacular.

And now I look forward to getting to know others of “Between the Lines” with Katherine’s event. What a great opportunity for us to have our blogs showcased with so many wonderful women. It is an honor and a pleasure.

Meet Tania blogger at 50 is Not Old, Tania  enjoys sharing fashion that with appeal to women of a certain age. Her fashions are a wonderful mix of classic and trendy. She combines affordable pieces and always presents herself on the outside as she feels on the inside.I asked Tania, How often do you post, or do you find it is better to post randomly?
I post daily. When I first started blogging last September, I was all fired up, and blogging daily was easy. As time progressed, coming up with new material every day got harder and harder. So, I made a decision to not post on Sunday, I would observe this as a day of rest. However, that did not last very long. I was missing an opportunity to reach out to people in an inspirational way. I now post 6 days a week about my outfits, and 1 day on an inspirational subject.

How many pairs of shoes do you own?
I have NO idea!!! I have quite a few, more than my space will allow. So, I pack them up by seasons and put them away in storage. I haven’t brought in the spring and summer shoes yet, so I can’t get a real count. I will tell you this, after Saturday I now have three more than I did. Lol!

Meet Carol blogger at Facing 50 with Humour , Carol was among some of the very first bloggers I met in blogland. She is filled with happy and truly will have you in stitches. Her clever wit can be enjoyed by any age, well adult age. Carol writes regularly at the Huffington Post.

I asked Carol, How do you deal with anonymous comments? Do you post them or delete them and why?
It depended on the comment. If they were comments that clearly were trying to link to the blog to sell something or were downright rude, I used to delete them when I used Blogspot as my platform but since I swapped to WordPress it automatically throws them into spam which is fine except occasionally, I have to check it hasn’t thrown away a bona fida comment.
When was the last time you blew a bubble with your gum?Haha! I am such a kid at heart. I usually scoff copies amounts of jelly sweets rather than gum but you can bet as soon as I get a piece of gum and torment it for a few minutes, I’ll blow a bubble and invariably have to scrape it off from around my nose.

Meet Liz blogger and Lifestyle Coach at Elizabeth Applegate, she is a transformation life coach who specializes in helping you navigate life transitions with ease and to celebrate your life.

I asked Liz What you have learned about SEO? Since I’m in a saturated online market of life-coaching, I’ll be honest in that SEO isn’t something that I’ve really focus on right now. Most of my traffic has been brought in through “inbound marketing”, my content, social media sharing and word of mouth. I am sure that many blogging experts just let out a gasp of disbelief but in finding my own online voice, I knew that I needed to choose what was important to me and not focus on the “extras” that would drag me down.

That’s not to say that I don’t pay attention to keywords but my focus is more around reoccurring themes that I see in my clients. So my greatest tool for SEO is listening and picking up phrases that are used often. Instead of looking for a keyword, I use what’s called “long tail keywords” which basically is a phrase that someone would be searching for. There is a great explanation of this approach on Moz here: https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo/keyword-research

I do use Yoast, a powerful WordPress plug-in that helps me to focus my keywords in the appropriate places. I appreciate the “stoplight” visuals that let me see right away which post structures are set up correctly for SEO.

What was the last gift you received? I turned 50 on April 4th and my husband threw a big party to celebrate. I had new friends and friends that I have had for over 20 years show up and celebrate with me. It was so thoughtful and fun…I didn’t have to take care of anything! My oldest son even flew in from Seattle as a surprise. Everything that went into that celebration meant so much to me. Anytime I can have my family around is the very best gift that I can ask for.

Meet Tracy, blogger at Turn Around at 50 Life threw a few curve balls her way and she hit them out of the park. Through her blog she encourages others in similar circumstances to turn around too.

I asked Tracy, have you learned a bit of tech lingo since becoming a blogger? “A bit of tech lingo” is an understatement! I considered myself pretty tech savvy in my previous management life but was surprised how many blogging/tech-like terms I had never even heard of before. Luckily, in my case, the learning has been pretty organic. Blogging is very hands on so when you are ready for the next step, you search out the answers you need and apply them accordingly. I also find that I am so excited to learn it that I don’t find it a chore at all. When was the last time you cried happy tears? The last time I cried happy tears was seeing my daughter perform in a school play in February. I literally cannot control myself when either of my daughters are on stage, whether it be performing in a play or singing at church. In fact they tease me relentlessly about it and threaten to not allow me in to certain events because I will distract them! But the tears are most definitely joyful and full of my pride and love for them.

Meet Yvonne, blogger at Stone Gable. She and I have been bloggy friends for several years. She is a dedicated blogger who consistently shares things we all can love. She is a faith  blogger and is Living by Grace, as she continues to strive to live a positive and purposeful. Her vignettes are legendary and she has a keen eye for home styling. Once you see her list of diy tutorials you will feel the skies open and angels sing. (wink)

I asked Yvonne, what is the one thing that helps boost your readership and why? There are so many things that can boost readership, but I think the number 1 thing I try to do is build a StoneGable community. It’s really not a strategy to boost readership but it does! Instead, it comes out of a heart of wanting a real relationship with my readers.

Every post, tweet, facebook shout out, Instagram and pin I do with my readers in mind! I genuinely love and care about them and I think they can feel my affection for them coming through each post. I want my readers to feel welcomed and I want them to say, “Wow, Yvonne must have created that post just for me”! I LOVE that!

I want to be my readers best cheerleader! The one who says, “Give it a try, I KNOW you can do it”!!!! And, “YOU GO GIRL”!

I think my readers feel like I am a friend, a sister, mom, aunt or next door neighbor. I love to get their honest comments and emails and hear what they are thinking. I

What television show makes you stop, sit down and watch? This is such an easy question to answer! Fixer Upper, of course!!! Doesn’t everyone love Chip and Joanna and their amazing home transformations! I don’t know what I like better… Chip’s antics, the relationship between Chip and Jo, the inexpensive price of housing in Wako, the happy tears of the new homeowners, the overall transformations or the one-of-a-kind details!

Fixer Upper was made for me!

I think my Bobby is very much like Chip! Do you know my Bobby can be just about as funny and ornery as Chip? Yes, I could see him doing so many of the shenanigans Chips does! And it’s f-u-n living with a man like that!

I think there is a great lesson to be learned for those of us over… er… 50 from Fixer Upper! Fun, style, panache and loving our homes should not stop as we age! I’m watching Fixer Upper because it inspires me! I watch it because I love love love home decor. I watch it for ideas! This is my wheelhouse!

We, those a little more mature, might need “readers”, and take a pill or two , and ache just a little more than we used to. But we also have a wealth of knowledge to call upon and probably have more time to spend and might have more disposable cash than we did when we were new homeowners.

We should be keeping our homes as fresh and young at heart as we are!

Google Study*, CNN*

It is a pleasure to highlight all of the lovely bloggers in the Between the Lines blog series .

If you miss any of the bloggers of a certain age posts, you can catch up HERE