Look out Martha! Here we come!

This week I get the pleasure of accompanying Erin of Bride Design to a taping at Martha Stewart. The audience will be filled with bloggers and while Erin is much better at it than I am, I really enjoy blogging when I get the chance. True to form, Erin's post about our trip and what blogging means to her is by far superior to mine.

What does it mean for me? For me, blogging is an opportunity to stay in touch with my customers and my "fans". When I began this blog I think I used the phrase "dare I say I have fans" and while my subscriber list is still incredibly small in this world wide web, it is growing. I originally thought it'd be a nice little way to keep a few clients amused, or even let them see a preview of their order now and then. An unexpected bonus to blogging is that it's not just a hidden little diary aside from my main websites at She Takes The Cake and Sweet Talk Boutique; so much web traffic is directed to this blog because it is updated more frequently than a website, and with all the reader services out there it allows me to stay fresh in the search engines too. I'm a bit lucky and thankful that my local competitors seem to have not joined the blogosphere - but I'm sure it won't be long. I assumed I'd have readers in the Central New York area and an occassional out of state bride or another cake artist, but it's gone much further than that.

If you knew some of the search strings that lead people here, you'd get a real chuckle. A couple of the most hit on blog posts that I've done: Not all fondant tastes like crap, and DIY favor boxes. I kid you not, I have seen word for word "why does fondant taste like crap?" in a search string...and guess what - google will bring you here for the answer and my answer is that it doesn't taste like crap at all when it's made from scratch like we do here in my studio. Then of course you have the occassional links that other bloggers will add when they love a post enough to share it to their own readers; this is not just an ego boost...it's a boost to your readership. Why aren't more people blogging?

Maybe I'll come back with an answer to that question, maybe not. I am sure I'll come back with a smile on my face and some new ideas about blogging. Either way I get to spend a day NYC style with my inspiring friend Erin. Can't lose!