The Liebster Award

My blog has received it’s first Award!

Thank you to Nora Edinger, author and creator of the JOY Journal blog for the nomination. I’ve been following Nora’s blog since I began the Learning to Love Winter blog – her posts are always uplifting and she shares some great recipes as well.

What is the Liebster Award? “This award is meant as an instrument to encourage and mentor new bloggers. The earliest case of the award goes as far back as 2011.  ‘Liebster’ is German for ‘sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.’ ”

Here are my answers to the 11 questions:

1. Your blogs are each specific in nature. What made you want to blog about your subject? For several years I’ve blogged about small business subjects and have always loved taking photos, writing and editing. When I got into bush-walking about a year ago I was very much inspired to get up and out the door by other bloggers sharing their experiences of hiking, challenging themselves and being out in nature.  So combining blogging and bush-walking was a natural combination for me.
2. Each of your blogs is content and image intense. How do you manage the time it takes to produce such posts? I mainly write, edit and post on the weekend while my walks are fresh in my memory. I’m also a bit of a spreadsheet nerd and keep the details of all my walks in an Excel spreadsheet with dates, distances etc, which helps keep important information organised and motivates me to keep walking and posting.
3. How often do you post? About once per fortnight.
4. What is your favourite thing about blogging? Hearing from readers who’ve connected with something I’ve written about or photos I’ve shared.
5. What is your least favourite thing about blogging? I’ve had the content in my business blog re-used on another business owner’s blog. They didn’t go through the correct avenues of sharing and/or acknowledging my site. They copied and pasted and changed a couple of words to make it sound like it was coming from their personal experience.
6. Do you blog for pleasure or as part of a career package? This blog is purely for pleasure.
7. Do you post on other social media? I have other social media which is not linked to my blog.
8. Is there anything you wish you would have done differently as you launched your blog? No not really. I’m happy with how it’s all gone – I try to keep it casual and not something that I stress over getting right or wrong.
9. What bloggers, writers or other creatives inspire you? I like watching YouTube videos from hikers – one in particular (Hiker in Estonia) is largely responsible for giving me the courage to hike solo and start camping. Alistair Humphreys is also a great inspiration and produces some brilliant content.
10. What inspires your post content? I just need to head out bush for 10 minutes and I’m inspired.
11. What one piece of advice would you share with bloggers who have just started? I think let a bit of your personality come through in your writing and/or photos. Let readers know the ups and down, what has made you happy, what has disappointed you.  I think it’s what readers connect with and makes them want to see more of your blog. Personally, I like to read about real-life, authentic experiences.

And here are my 6 nominees for the Liebster Award

Some of the bloggers I wanted to nominate had more than 200 followers, so in the spirit of the Award I’ve kept it to those with less than 200.

I would love it if you checked out these blogs – I’m sure you’ll find something entertaining and inspiring!

Deb’s Hiking Journey – Deb writes from the heart about her personal experiences of hiking in Australia.

An Oldie Outdoors – Andrew is a long distance hiker from the U.K. I always eagerly await Andrew’s next post and read from beginning to end. Love his sense of humour too.

Secondary Roads – Paul writes about his outdoor pursuits in the U.S – his enthusiasm is infectious.

Bog Holes and Bucket Hats – Australian blog with detailed write-ups and beautiful photos of hikes in Tasmania. Tasmania is a hiker’s paradise.

Caravan Correspondent – Glenys is an Aussie who writes about her caravan adventures and the Australian way of life.

Colorado Chelsea – Chelsea is a U.S blogger who writes about hiking – her photos are beautiful and inspiring.

The Rules of Liebster Award

• Thank the person who nominated you and put a link to their blog in your award post.
• Display the award on your blog.
• Answer your nominator’s 11 questions.
• Provide 11 random facts about yourself (optional).
• Nominate 5 – 11 other blogs that have no more than 2,000 followers. (Some rule sets say fewer than 200, some say 2,000 … You be the judge.)
• List these rules in your post.
• Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post.
• Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer.

Here are my 11 questions for my nominees

1. What are some of your favourite things about where you live?
2. Would you call yourself a city person or country person?
3. Are you happiest in summer or winter?
4. What would be your dream country to visit?
5. How long have you been blogging?
6. What 3 individual words could you use to describe your blog or blog subject?
7. How often do you post?
8. What do you think is the best thing about your blog? ie what do you do best?
9. If you started a blog about another subject, what would it be?
10. Do your family and friends know you have a blog?
11. Is there a blogger that inspired you to start your own?

 

Sarina