Going pro!!!

"I probably won't get read by anyone. This will just be for me. I should use every foul word each time I write just because I can!"

Those are just a couple of the things that I said when I decided to start a blog. I honestly never thought it would have this much success. It has been a whirlwind success! I owe it all to you,  my readers. It is amazing how much love I feel. I don't use every foul word because my mom is reading this and I really don't need a lecture on how I have a potty mouth, I already know it exists.

Yesterday I spoke about how important it is with any business to network and I need to reiterate that. It is extremely important! Your best marketing will be referrals. We always hear the bad on the news but who do we hear the good from? Friends and family. If someone truly loves something,  you're going to hear about it. I will always rave about a delicious cookie. I believe in honest reviews. I've received a lot of constructive criticism since I started my blog. I listened and took it all in to consideration. I have tweaked and revised posts many times before I hit publish and sometimes even after. I'm my worst critic.

A few months ago, my friend Joanna at Motherhood and Merlot, teamed up with Lauren at Twin Tested, Pin Approved to start our blogging tribe. We have women from all walks of life who have been writing for different amounts of time. It has been the best resource for all of my questions and concerns. We are all so supportive of one another in everything we do. There were times I was about to shut down my blog because I just couldn't take that it wasn't going anywhere but they pulled me away from that.

I wrote this post about getting back my confidence after having my daughter and a few of the members shared it. That's what I needed. They were so moved by my honesty and knew so many other women needed to read it. Emails began pouring in about how much it helped other women and my page views sky rocketed! It was amazing to watch.

Success should not be determined by comparison to others but by your own opinion of yourself. I know most people don't think getting a hundred plus page views per day is success but for me in this stage, it's absolutely huge! I love getting texts from friends and family saying they loved today's post. Believe or not but I am really a private person, even in my own family. So to share what I do about my life can be really challenging at times. Honesty is what I believe brings so many of you back.

I have finally made the leap to having a self hosted blog. I am working on writing professionally some day. So in the meantime, I will do my best to keep the laughs rolling and the crazy glass full.

*Alyssa*