In Jennifer Lopez's defense I don't think that is her real but, if it is, you go girl! Sorry for the silly pic, I always like to have at least one picture in my post, I had nothing for what follows, so I created this fun graphic on Picnik.
I received an email letter recently from the lovely Rose at A Rosie Sweet Home. She had a few questions about blogging. She is not alone, I receive requests for tips on blogging often (not sure why, I am by no means an expert) but I have learned some things along the way. So I thought I would answer the questions she had for me in a post, so that others can benefit. Seriously I had no clue what I was doing when I first started blogging. However there are a few things I know now that I wish I had known when I started out. My blog grew very slowly the first 6 months or so of blogging because like I said, I was clueless. Let's see what I have learned along the way. Below are Rose's great questions and my answers:
bacontimewiththehungryhypo 
WOW! Love this- and loved all the questions and answers! Awesome Post right here! Lots of useful information so thank you Rose and Mindie!
Thank you for taking the time to write these tips! So helpful. I love being a new blogger, and the challenge of learning to navigate the world of blogging is my favorite part:0)
Mindie, this is great. I wished I would have known a lot of this stiff in the beginning too. Now that I've learned a lot of this stuff my blog is growing more quickly. It's still slow going, but that's due to the amount of time and effort I put in. I really appreciate your remark about not going to blogs and leaving a comment just to ask them to follow you. People do this on my blog all of the time and it really bothers me. Many of these blogs don't have content I am interested in and if I follow them it adds them to my blog list and I have to scroll though dozens of posts a day when I check up on the blogs I read. Sometimes I miss the stuff I am interested in because I have to sift through so much stuff. By all means if you are new follower tell me so. I will check out your blog and if I like it I will follow, but I'm not going to follow a boring blog just because you asked me to.
Thank you for this! I am so flattered, and impressed that you took the time to respond to my questions and to mention me on your blog. You have defiantly solidified your place as my favorite blogger. It relay means a lot to me that you value your readers. I'm so excited about this.Thanks,Rose
You are most welcome, you asked some great questions, and I am sure folks appreciate that you asked. Thank you for your kind words. Always happy to make real friends in blogland.
I Love these types of posts. It's great to learn about new things in this game. ThanksCarolyn
Thanks for linking to my blog! You are awesome!
Thanks so much for this post! I have been wondering many of the same things, and today, I actually get one stop shopping! Gotta love that!!
Any input on blogging is always appreciated. This is a great post with really helpful hints. Thanks for the insight!!
Wow Mindie! What an insightful post! I learned so much! I have been blogging a tad over 6 months and still have soooo much to learn! Thanks for taking the time to answer Rosie's questions.
I've been trying to figure out how to get more traffic…it's taken me a while to realize the number of followers isn't that important.
Great Q&A session!
Thanks Mindie, you've been helpful to me since I started blogging and I always appreciate what you have to say!
Great post Mindie! Can you follow me back now? hehe, just kidding!!! Great advice here!!
LOL Aimee I already follow you on GFC, Facebook, and Pinterest, I know you are joking though, thanks for the laugh.
Now, this post took you a while to write! Very interesting and helpful. Thanks for replying to Rose in a post, so we could all see the answers.
Thanks for the mention, Mindie! You've helped out a lot of bloggers with this post. You're definitely right-on with the giveaway follows. A huge chunk of giveaway traffic may never return to your site (until they stumble across your next giveaway!) so your idea of having them take a look at your shop is a great one. They are much more likely to remember you by doing that!
Excellent advice! Sometimes it's hard not to get caught up in the numbers but you're absolutely right, you want to make connections with people who really care/like what you're doing, not just there to enter a giveaway and never return. Thanks so much for sharing your insights~
Such great tips!!! XO, Aimee
Wow! Thanks for the info. I've been blogging about a year and still I'm not sure how to drive up more traffic. I posted a video hoping it would help since I was receiving so many emails about a craft/decorating project.http://alapinlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/woodworkers-transfer-tool-video.htmlDee
Thanks for the insight! And you are right about wanting people to become a reader and not just a click to join only never to return again. Even if I think just one person is actually reading my blog I feel a responsibility to put something out there that they can either use or relate to! I am a new follower for all of the right reasons!! P.S….love the J-Lo pic…too funny. It's what got me here to read your interview in the first place!Have a great week!!!
Definitely helpful info. It's so good to hear that it takes time. I struggle with patience sometimes.:)
Awesome post!Mrs. Delightfulwww.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com
This was a really nice post. I liked your answers. I have been blogging for a bit and don't really have the time to really grow it, but in the future if I want, these tips will really help.
It's always so great to read about how other bloggers "made it". Great when bloggers let us in on their journeys : )
As a baby blogger, this is so helpful. I was drawn to the post from the Somewhat Simple link party. I, too, am trying to find a balance. You have such great advice here. I haven't tried to start making money from this yet, but I'm trying to build up my audience first. I appreciate all the work you put into the post. It was really helpful.
Oh yeah, come follow me @…just kidding.
great tips- so glad I found this post!
Great tips! I found them very helpful 🙂
I really really really appreciated this post. I've been blogging for 6 months and it wasn't until recently that I've let go of the constant search for followers. I would be bummed for days if people unfollowed me. Now I've just let it go. I think the number of followers you have is becoming less and less important with pinterest. I like to look at google analytics to give me an idea of how I'm doing- I can look at how long people have been on each page and how many people are returning to my blog. It's hard to not care about how many followers I have since EVERYONE can see that number. Also, I can't stand it when people say, I followed you, now come follow me. It makes me feel so obligated to return the "favor". Oh my word- this is long. In a nutshell- thank!
What a great post! Thanks so much for that, well written and thought provoking.lovejutta
Thank you, Mindie! You answered some of the queations I've been thinking about, too.
Those are all such wonderful tips and are really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to answer them all!
These are really helpful tips! Thank you for sharing them. I'm very new and very green at blogging, but I'm just doing it to have fun!
These are great helpful tips! I'm a new blogger so they help me out a lot! Thanks for sharing!
Came over from Show and Tell Saturdays. You've got some real helpful information here. I've only started getting serious about my blog in the last few months and am trying to sift through information to help it be better. Thanks for the info!-Amberhttp://creativeideas2day.blogspot.com/
What a thoughtful post! Great tips, Mindie.
Great tips thanks for sharing them. I have to agree about staying true to the content of your blog and spending time on the quality instead of quantity of posts. I always appreciate a good blog with good pictures and valuable content.http://fitcraftystylishandhappy.blogspot.com/
Good information here. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Rose is a good friend of mine, she told me tonight at dinner that she had emailed you and that this post was about the questions she had asked.I loved everything I just read. Very Very Very helpful information! I have pinned this hoping it will get other bloggers out there the help that they need. I sure just learned a lot. I really appreciate you taking the time to help us all. Thanks so much!xoxoHeather
Gave this post a shout out!http://4you-withlove.blogspot.com/2012/04/blogging-tips-6.htmlMarilyn
Mindy, this post is incredibly informative. Lots to reflect on. Thanks SO much for sharing it at the Blog Tips Cafe linky party over at I Gotta Create! I think it will be helpful to so many bloggers.All the best to you,Christinahttp://igottacreate.blogspot.com
You're a STAR at I Gotta Create! I'm featuring you today <3http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-tips-cafe-feature-6.htmlThanks so much for linking up!
Thank you fo this! I was hopping around to blog tips posts and I found yours particularly easy to read, maybe it's the Q&A format?Jessicastayathomeista.com