Bonjour, Blogger! Michelle

Name: Michelle
Age: 37
Location: Essex, UK
Blog URL: The Purple Pumpkin Blog

What is your blog about? My tag line is: Cook, Craft, Create, Connect – I am a lifestyle blog, writing about photography, travel, food, crafts, family, parties and more!

Is this your first blog? No, I’ve had blogs in the past – I had one on LiveJournal about 10 years ago, but didn’t keep up with it. I started several blogs to do with weight loss, but they fell to the wayside, and I had one for my wedding preparations too. They’re all now defunct and I blog solely at The Purple Pumpkin Blog!

When did you start your current blog? I started this blog in November 2011.

What made you do it? I had been doing a lot of reading of blogs and had wanted to start blogging again, but this time, do it properly and commit to it.

What was your first blog post about? My first blog posts were about a Halloween dinner party that I held, which was called ‘Better Late Than Never’ because we actually had it a few days after Halloween.

What do you think is the most useful tool to you as a blogger? My mind! It’s where my ideas come from :)

Do people in your “real life” know about your blog? Indeed they do –  to a degree, I can transfer the skills I have with blogging to help my clients with their own blogs and websites (I’m a website designer)

What has been the one thing (blog post, project, etc) you’ve been really proud of? It would be so hard to pick one thing, I’m proud of so much that I do on my blog – it really is my passion! My Project 365, where I take a photograph every day for the year is something I’m very proud of. I’m in my fourth year of doing the project, and have seen my photography come on in leaps and bounds over the years. I’m also proud of any posts that do exceptionally well in social media. My most popular post is my husbands 40th birthday!

Where do you see your blog in a year? Still going strong, with lots more information added. I see my blog as a place for others to get inspiration and ideas and I hope that it continues to do that.

What do you wish you knew when starting your blog? I wish I’d known that there was a huge UK blogger community! I really had no clue, and thought I was a little British fish in a huge sea of American blogs!

What do you wish you know about now? Can’t think of anything!

How do you keep motivated to post? I’m always thinking – I probably over think! Because I take a photo a day, I blog about that, offering tips and ideas with the photo as well as a bit of a back story to it. I work seasonally and around family celebrations and holidays, so generally always have something I could be blogging about!

Anything else you’d like to add? I’ve been shortlisted in the Lifestyle category in the UK Blog Awards 2014 which is a huge achievement for me and I’m so proud that my blog made it through. My advice to anyone who is starting to blog or thinking about it, is this: Always blog for you, what you enjoy writing about – if you force it, you’ll lose interest!