Everyday Gyaan

Fabulous Blogging With Julie DeNeen

Blogging, Writing & Creativity / by / 46 Comments

Today I’m so glad to have Julie DeNeen over here answering some questions I posed to her. I connected with Julie a couple of years back on a blogging group and respect her for her brilliance and honesty.

Julie blogs at Julie DeNeen – Purveyor of Fine (and Intelligent) Opinions where she dishes it out straight from the hip! She’s not afraid to take on difficult issues and it’s not for nothing that she’s been Anderson Cooper’s Blogger of The Day, 3 times and regularly featured on BlogHer.  Julie also wrote a memoir on the controversial topic of GSA.

Her website, Fabulous Blogging is packed with resources and is a regular go-to site for me.

julie deneen

Julie, I  admire your honest and forthright manner. You are not afraid to take on any subject and to be open about your life on your blog. Do you think such honesty comes with a price? 

Absolutely. I have ( on more than one occasion ) lost friendships and an entire community because of what I’ve written. Once upon a time (or two), I even shut down my blog thinking that it would make my life easier. But at the end of the day, I’ve come to accept that I am always going to be one of those people that push the envelope. It’s been happening since I was little. I don’t publish super honest and raw stuff just for traffic and stats, it’s just the way I am– in real life and online. It works for me, and I know who my real friends are!

That said, if you don’t have REALLY thick skin, I would say don’t follow in my footsteps.

Of late, I’ve begun to repeat this mantra to myself : Life Before Blogging. What do you think about that. And how do you manage to balance your roles as wife, mother, blogger, writer, mentor…….

I am the wrong person to talk to about this! My entire life is blogging. I design websites for a living, I teach businesses and people how to blog, and I consult on social media. Honestly though, even without my online career, I am not very good at balance. In fact, I just wrote a post the other day called 31 Confessions of a Social Media Addict. I am one for sure. Again, with a little self-awareness I’ve come to discover that I have to have challenge and stimulation in order to feel happy. Social media is an outlet for me (and has been) while home with my children. I thrive on the interaction and the thrill of understanding what makes people tick. I have a degree in Psychology so I’m not surprised I’ve fallen victim to the social media vortex.

What would you say are the top three elements of a fabulous blog?

Oh boy. This is a hard one. I’d say there are three things that keep me coming back to a blog.

  1. Authenticity. I can tell immediately if someone is blowing smoke up my a**. I want to see your face on the sidebar, I want to hear your voice, even if you are talking about toilet plungers. I want to feel the “human” in you. After all, that’s why I’m going to a blog and not an encyclopedia.
  2. Simplicity. I want to be able to find things quickly. I want your language and words to flow so easily that I don’t realize I’m reading a 1000 word article. I don’t want fancy schmancy flash or cluttered sidebars. Give me your content, your images, and yourself. And if your blog isn’t optimized for mobile viewing, you are not on my “READ” list.

  3. The Element of Surprise. At the end of an article or post, I want to be compelled to pin it for reference, tweet it to get retweets, or share it on Facebook to evoke discussion. It can be a topic I’ve read about already, but if you surprise me, I’ll be back.

Thanks, Julie!

Do connect with Julie:
on her websites JulieDeNeen.com and FabulousBlogging.com
on Twitter  @jdeneen4
Pinterest.com/FabBlogging and
G+ is either +Fabulousblogging or +JulieDeNeen4

This post is written for the letter ‘F’ for the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2014. José and I doing the Challenge on From 7Eight too.

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About Corinne Rodrigues

An inspirational writer, a creativity and writing trainer/coach, I write about life, gratitude, healing, wellness, relationships at Everyday Gyaan. I offer training/coaching to anyone looking to explore their creativity and heal through writing via The Frangipani Creative, located in Secunderabad, India. You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for my weekly newsletter, Bytes of Gyaan, on Substack.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Danny Simon

    Wow that’s quite a lot of takeaways for me right there… that’s a struggle that I go through with every blog post… always try to think of something new about a topic that can be common to write on… Great interview!

    Reply

  2. Aditi

    That was a great interview! Thanks Julie for sharing your top 3 tips for fabulous blogging! Authenticity counts really big for me too! Thanks Corinne for a fab post! 🙂
    Aditi recently posted..Fuchsia FetishMy Profile

    Reply

  5. Beloo Mehra

    Thanks Corinne for this helpful interview! Some very good points there from Julie…I like her reference to the “human” touch in the blog-writing. And at the same time, I have also come across some other kinds of blogs on this mighty WWW that are more about ideas and less about writer’s personality or day-to-day life-experience. Maybe it was my exposure to those blogs that made me want to do mine! Need to think some more along this line….thank you both for giving me some food for thought 🙂 As if I didn’t have plenty already 😉
    Beloo Mehra recently posted..F is for First…as in First Principle of True TeachingMy Profile

    Reply

  27. Cristina

    As you know, I am a part of her community, Fabulous Blogging too. She is truly brave, truly honest and truly raw. It is who she is and you either love it or hate it. I think most people hate to love it!

    I am SO glad you spotlighted her, especially today!!!

    But this is why you are awesome too, Corinne!
    Cristina recently posted..F is for Faustina (St. Faustina)My Profile

    Reply

  32. Gauri

    I am not as thick-skinned and so definitely not going to follow in this lovely lady’s footsteps. But yes, I like her three reasons for reading a blog, and I am going to try and make sure that I answer each criteria before I hit ‘publish’ 🙂 Thanks Corinne for this wonderful post 🙂
    Gauri recently posted..F – DIY Frame with Old Magazine PagesMy Profile

    Reply

  33. Damaria Senne

    Great interview, Corrine. I am at that stage where I focus on “life before blogging” and the thing is, because I am DOING so much, I have a lot to talk about. So I think for me the living feeds the blogging.

    Great take-aways from the interview. Mentally reviewed my blogs as I read about what would make her go back to a blog.. thinking, I hope mine hits all the right spots for people to want to read it and to come back.
    Damaria Senne recently posted..F Is For Fruit Trees & FlowersMy Profile

    Reply

  40. Winnie

    Great interview! I was not familiar with her, so I checked out her blog which is awesome. I know many social media addicts! She doesn’t accept comments on her blog, but I just wanted to say it was a great blog. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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