5 Reasons We Purr for #BlogPaws

I honestly cannot remember how I first stumbled upon the greatest gift ever to pet bloggers, BlogPaws, but a quick search of my email shows that I was accepted as a Community member in September 2012. At the time I was concentrating on my book blogging with just a little about Tara added in every now and then, but I was able to use their blogging tips for a great deal of information. When I eventually realized that my true passion lies in writing about the two things in life I could never live without, books and cats, BlogPaws quickly became an invaluable resource for me. They (and two very special little torties!) have inspired me to learn and grows in ways I never even imagined.

This is why being chosen as the BlogPaws Blogger of the Month for January was such an incredible honor for me. I had just barely made the leap of changing my blog name to Mochas, Mysteries and Meows, a move that I felt sealed my identity as a cat blogger, so this was just icing on the cake.

In honor of this special award, Truffles and I have put together a list of 5 Reasons We Purr for BlogPaws:

1) A community of like-minded pet lovers. It always makes me angry when someone says that online friends aren't "true" friendships. The people in my everyday life love their pets, but don't consider them family to the extent that I do mine. The friendships I have made through pet blogging and the BlogPaws community feel every bit as real to me as the relationships I have with friends and family that I see everyday because we have so much in common. We laugh together, we cry together, and we're always there to support each other and lending a helping hand when needed.

2) The BlogPaws Executive Blog. Every morning one of my first stops on my blogging rounds is the BlogPaws blog on their home page. I know that I am guaranteed to learn something new about the business of blogging. (Tips on editorial calendars, blog topic ideas and increasing traffic have been especially helpful.) On Wednesday I link up to Wordless Wednesday, a blog hop where any blogger is welcome to join in and share their post, thereby allowing other bloggers to network and connect with them and vice versa. It's purpose is to be wordless so it's easier to "hop" from one blog to another without having to spend much time reading lengthy posts, although I'll admit that I'm seldom wordless!!!

3) The Pet Blogger Network. My goal was always to one day monetize my blog, I just figured it would be well into the future. Thanks to the Pet Blogger Network, I have established relationships with brands such as Hill's Science Diet, Royal Canin, Whole Foods, and currently Nature's Recipe. New products for Truffles to review, fun giveaways for my readers, and supplemental income in today's economy is always a very good thing.

4) The Pet Blogger Influencer Group. Through this group I am a part of part of a trend-setting panel of pet bloggers/microbloggers/pet parents who enjoy sharing their opinions and being a valued voice in the ever-growing pet blogosphere. Each week I receive a survey to fill out with questions ranging from pet parenting to pet products, blog posts to blogger influence, and more. Each month a challenge is issued to help grow your presence, blog, voice, and influence in the pet industry/as a fellow blogger. January's challenge was to grow your Twitter following by 100 people, which I am happy to say I have achieved.

5) The BlogPaws Conference. This is an opportunity that I haven't yet been able to take advantage of, but it is at the top of my bucket list of things to do. The biggest social media event and conference of its kind, the 6th BlogPaws conference is scheduled to take place in May in Las Vegas. A 3-day pet-friendly event where you can connect with blogging friends and make new ones, network with brands, attend educational seminars, plus a blogging awards ceremony...sounds like heaven on earth to me!!!

Thank you again, BlogPaws, so very much for naming me the January Blogger of the Month. Truffles has been purring like crazy about it all month long! We just can't wait to see what the future holds.