Just as I thought that my future in blogging is for naught, I got nominated for Sunshine Blogger Award.
I want to thank my fellow blogger, Nicole Emanuel of keepcalmitslife.org, for nominating me in this prestigious award. It is truly an honor, and I hope I can keep up with the expectations of my peers in the blogging community.
What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?
The Sunshine Blogger Award is an award given by bloggers to certain individual peer bloggers who are creative, inspiring, and an all-around outstanding model in the blogging community.
RULES IN NOMINATING PEER BLOGGERS FOR THE AWARD:
- Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.
- Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
- Nominate (at least) 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
- List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and on your blog.
Now, to answer the questions of Nicole Emanuel of keepcalmitslife.org. (Questions are typed verbatim).
If you had a do-over would you change your niche?
Answer: Hmmm…maybe, maybe not. My niche is about family, lifestyle, and relationships. Under those topics, are more sub-topics that I can write about. Therefore, I would like very much to stick with it. But, I realized that I might need to niche down more than what I have now. So, maybe I will tweak it just a little bit to be more focused.
What was the reason you started your blog?
The main reason I started my blog is that I wanted it as an outlet for me to share my personal experiences, my opinions, and my thoughts about anything and everything about the many facets of life.
What social media platform do you feel most supported in?
Because a lot of my friends and family are on Facebook, I feel that it is the social media platform where I am getting the most support. However, as I am gaining more engagement in Pinterest (although Pinterest is more of a search engine than a social media platform), I think I am also gaining support from it, too.
What has been your biggest blogging win?
The biggest blogging win for me is the everyday engagement of different people reading, following, liking, and commenting on my blog. It means so much to me that people who do not know me are taking time to read my blog.
When did you know you wanted to finally start your blog?
I have wanted to create my blog for some time now. But I was afraid of making a mistake or not being able to sustain it. After about 2-3 years, I finally decided to start it at the beginning of this year (2019). I knew it was the right time because I was equipped with more understanding of how it works, and I had more time on my hands as my children are now more self-sufficient.
What one thing gives you the most inspiration in your writing?
My family is and will always be my inspiration. My children, most notably, are my motivation. I draw strength from them, and they are always the reason for everything that I do in life.
Where do you do most of your writing?
I do most of my writing on my head (not literally, of course). It is usually at night, before I go to sleep, that my mind goes wild with ideas of what to write. Then, in the morning or whenever I have the time to begin writing, I do it directly into my MS Word on my PC located in my room.
How did you come up with the name of your blog? And Why?
I read somewhere that in choosing a name, you either choose a name that will describe your niche immediately or a name that is descriptive of the author or blogger. By naming your blog with something that represents the author or blogger, he/she won’t have a hard time changing niche because there is no need to be changing the name of the blog. So, after listing all possible names for my blog, I finally settled for My Shades of Emerald. I used “My Shades,” to mean, the different “aspects,” or “facets” of me. And, I used Emerald, which is the English version of my legal name, Esmeralda. Therefore, “My Shades of Emerald,” the different facets or aspects of the life of Esmeralda.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to new bloggers that you wish someone would have given you?
I wish that I was given notice that blogging is not easy, and it has many other things that I need to know. I knew it wasn’t easy, but I didn’t think it was very time-consuming. Therefore, I will let the would-be bloggers know that.
Did you start your blog to make money, or was this part of a hobby?
The main reason I started my blog is to have an outlet or platform to share my thoughts, opinions, and life experiences. But, as I was going through the process of creating my blog, I found out that I can make money out of it. It was an appealing prospect to do what I like doing, which is to write and to make money out of it. It was like hitting two birds with one stone. So, why not?
If you could arrange a blogging conference, where would you host the event?
London, England. The ambiance in London is so motivating and moving. I would want a low-key conference where the mood is mellow, heart-warming, and awe-inspiring.
Just as I love to write my blog posts, I also love reading other people’s blogs. I will read mom blogs, business/shopping blogs, Do-It-Yourself blogs, Inspirational blogs, etc. There are many bloggers out there who write great posts, and I always look forward to reading them and being inspired by them.
So, here are my nominees for the Sunshine Blogger Award:
CONGRATULATIONS!
Now, here are my questions for all of you:
- What is your first name, and what does it mean or why were you named as such?
- Who is a famous person you would like to meet and why?
- What do you regret in life?
- What is your blog’s niche, and why did you choose that niche?
- Do you think your niche represents you, and what you know?
- What do you think is your best blog post? (Link the post here).
- Have you thought of giving up blogging?
- What social media platform do you use? Is it helpful?
- Do you want to make money blogging? Or, have you made money blogging?
- Do you blog full time or part-time?
- How has blogging changed your life?
3 Comments
Erica (The Prepping Wife)
Thank you so much for nominating me for this award, Esmeralda! It is such an honor, and I will be posting my response later this afternoon. It is such an honor that you took the time to recognize my writing and highlight it. You’ve made my day!
Esmeralda Munoz
You are most welcome! You deserve it! Keep on blogging!
Betty (Thekingsdiadem)
Hi Esmeralda,
Thank you for nominating me for this award. As soon as my response is ready, I will inform you.
Love your blog by the way, it makes it easy to relate when you wrote that you would love a meeting with bloggers in a heart-warming environment.