We love that the diversity of blogs means they can be owned by your next-door neighbor or an institution that’s been operating for over 140 years. The featured dotblogger we have for you today is naturalhistorymuseum.blog.

The Natural History Museum is located in London. They opened their doors in 1881 and have stayed on the cutting edge of science ever since. This popular tourist destination and leading science research centre also maintains an active and engaging blog.

Meet the Natural History Museum

If you’re interested in natural history, you’ll be amazed at the diversity of exhibitions on display at the Natural History Museum. 

The museum curates more than 80 million life and earth specimens that are grouped into collections of zoology, botany, mineralogy, paleontology, and entomology. And due to the long history of the museum, it’s even home to important specimens collected throughout history, such as those of Charles Darwin.

As well as being a tourist attraction, the museum has a strong focus in the areas of research, education, conservation, and digital collections, with an emphasis on discovery, learning, and sharing their findings with the world.

How The Natural History Museum Uses their Blog

The Natural History Museum uses its blog to give readers a behind-the-scenes look at the museum’s activities. It’s a platform through which librarians, researchers, curators, staff, and volunteers can share their experience and expertise with the world. Their collective blog posts provide patrons with more in-depth information than they would gather just from visiting the museum for a day.

In one post, you can read about what the museum staff do to prep for moving specimens to a new location. In other posts, you can find the daily diary of a Principal Curator. And in recent years, they have been sharing information about the work they’re doing to digitize and preserve the work, research, and discoveries of the past.

How the blog helps engage and educate

The blog has become a valuable resource for meeting the demands of inquisitive minds, and even more so during the pandemic. While the museum was closed due to Covid, the blog has continued to provide a way for people to stay engaged and connected with the work of the museum.

Overall, the blog serves two purposes:

1. Allows people to read updates and engage with the museum

The Natural History Museum effectively uses its blog to keep people engaged in the work they’re doing and in the natural history around them. They use their blog to provide insight into  the detailed workings of the museum. Instead of simply looking at historic specimens, they answer the who, what, why, when, where, and how questions of their passionate readers.

In addition to educating, and sharing information, the museum uses its blog to inspire their readers to get involved. For example, they recently challenged readers to participate in the worldwide City Nature Challenge. Those interested were encouraged to get outside, photograph nature in their city, and share their observations.

2. Provides volunteers a platform for sharing experiences

The Natural History Museum blog also provides a medium for staff and volunteers to share their passion, experiences, stories, and tips with others. By sharing the pride and passion they have for their work and workplace with the world, they also maintain their individual involvement. And it can encourage others who may want to volunteer at the museum or who are interested in pursuing a career in this line of work.

Blogs are fun ways to engage and educate

If you’re looking for ways to further engage and educate an audience, this blog is a great example. The content takes the museum experience a step further. It is a perfect resource for museum visitors who are left wanting more when they leave. The museum blog provides a wealth of knowledge and an insider’s guide to the treasures of the Natural History Museum.

Can you imagine sitting on the beach, with an umbrella drink in your hand, the waves gently lapping on the shore, and watching your favorite movie? Or what about enjoying a rooftop viewing of a film with the stars above your head. That’s the reality one of our dotbloggers is making happen for people everywhere.

In this edition of our Featured Blogger series, we want to introduce you to openaircinema.blog.

A little about Open-Air Cinema

Back in the day, drive-in movies were a popular form of entertainment for people of all ages. Over the years, the movie-going experience transitioned to luxury indoor theaters. But a growing trend is showing that people love the experience of the open-air cinema.

Going to see a movie is no longer about simply watching the film. It’s about the experience that you receive. While indoor theaters have looked to level-up what they provide, some even including wait staff and full service restaurants, one company is helping people get in touch with a much bigger movie-going experience—the open-air cinema.

The AIRSCREEN Company has a website selling the inflatable movie screens that are being used to create these unforgettable events and experiences.

The Open Air Cinema blog shares the story of the company while inspiring people to want to learn more or even make a purchase. While the blog may not be the place where the company lets you purchase their product, it does a great job of helping to promote their products by telling the story of the incredible results they deliver.

How the blog is being used

The blog is being used in a few key ways to help showcase the inflatable screens the company sells on airscreen.com.  

The first thing you’ll notice as soon as you land on the blog is their incredible use of photography. Instead of words, your screen is filled with a single image. You’re immediately watching a slideshow of events using The AIRSCREEN Company’s inflatable movie screens. It piques your interest from the start

The blog has a small section sharing the history of open-air cinema, starting back in 1895. There is also a section that shares the stories of the events their customers have created across multiple continents.

Lastly, the blog shares open-air cinema ideas others have pulled together to showcase how you can do the same. And these aren’t your basic ideas. They cover everything from film festivals and drive-ins to rooftop and hot tub showings.

They even share the story of how the premiere of “Mission Impossible Fallout” took place on the cliffs of the Norwegian fjords requiring a 4-hour hike for attendees. Not only does it sound exciting, but it showcases the many diverse ways that their movie screens can be used.

A small part of something bigger

Sometimes a blog works solely on its own. It’s not connected to anything else or serving any purpose outside of what you see on the blog. Then, there are blogs like openaircinema.blog that are just one important marketing piece of something bigger. This is a great example of a blog that pairs together with the commercial site to help showcase the cinema experience, tell stories of its customers and drive interest in the company’s products. 

The AIRSCREEN Company uses this blog to highlight their products and how they can be used. They do a wonderful job of telling the stories of their customers. Browsing around on the blog leaves you wishing you had an open-air cinema in your local area. Better yet, the AIRSCREEN company hopes you’ll be inspired to create your own.

Even without having a “buy now” button anywhere on the blog, their use of the blog encourages you to want to make a purchase by directing you to airscreen.com. Their blog content is purposeful and their images are stunning. Every part of the blog is serving its purpose well.

This is just one more example of all the amazing ways that a blog can be used!

If you think of incredible storytelling and sharing experiences when you think of blogs, then you’re going to love the featured blog we have for you today. We’d like to introduce you to Elisha and her blog goingsomewhere.blog.

Meet Elisha from Going Somewhere

Elisha is a native Australian who fell in love with the idea of traveling the world at a young age. At 21 years old she set out on an adventure that lasted over a year. And while she did much of what she set out to do, instead of crossing the experiences off her list, it ignited a passion to continue to travel.

Elisha is now a professional freelance travel blogger and photographer.

Along with travel tips, her blog offers stories that help to inform readers about cultures and people from many different countries. And because she prefers to travel off the beaten path, and without a structured plan, she’s able to cover topics and experiences that many haven’t had while traveling.

Some of her experiences include:

• Horseback riding through the Columbian jungle
• Attending a protest in Palestine
• Climbing Kilimanjaro
• Crossing the Iran-Iraqi Kurdistan border
• Hiking across the desert in Australia
• Trekking through the Himalayas

Along with traveler tips in general, she’s also able to use her unique perspective to share tips for female solo travelers. For example, she shares tips on acceptable clothing for women when traveling through Iran.

Her blog posts are full of photographs of the beautiful destination landscapes and locals that help bring her stories to life. Even her post sharing the challenges of being a travel writer during the 2020 pandemic does a wonderful job of marrying written narrative with storytelling photography.

How goingsomewhere.blog is being used

Not only is Elisha sharing her own stories and memories on the blog, she’s also sharing valuable information for other travelers.

There are many posts sharing travel tips from her first-hand experience. She has categories on the blog for things like:

• Country Guides
• Trek Reports
• Border Crossings
• Hiking Tips 
• Responsible Travel

You can get basic tips for traveling along with specific tips for certain destinations. She enjoys interacting with locals and learning about their culture. She stays in more authentic settings like hostels instead of hotels. This style of travel allows her to provide very practical tips for other travelers. 

Elisha also showcases her work as a paid travel writer on the blog. This allows potential clients to see the type of work she’s done for others along with her own blog posts. They can also reach out to her through her contact page if they’re interested in working with her. It’s a great example of how other writers can use a blog to help draw in potential clients.

The diversity of bloggers

We love how the Going Somewhere blog showcases that blogs are for everyone! They are for people from all demographics and can reach people around the world. Blogs are able to build community with people across all borders who have a shared interest. They unite people together which is something the world needs more of.

Elisha shares personal experiences with cultures and destinations many know little about. Some are areas where many are afraid to travel. This helps to spread awareness for people around the world.

Are you looking to plan your next adventure? Or find a travel writer to write for your own blog? Or maybe you want to read about something outside of your everyday life. We encourage you to check out Elisha’s blog.

Blogs are a tool that anyone can use to get their message out in the world. Whether you want to share about travel like Elisha, or you have a different story to tell, a blog is a great way to do that. As we like to say, a blog is for all the ways you share. 

We love it when we come across a fun and unique blog. We’d like to introduce you to a farmer who is excelling with her blog, fresheggsdaily.blog. This is a great example of the different ways a blog can be used to optimize other business opportunities.

Who is Fresh Eggs Daily®?

Fresh Eggs Daily® is a business and blog run by Lisa Steele. Lisa is a 5th generation chicken farmer and has grown a following of almost a million accounts across her social media channels. She’s known as “the Queen of the Coop”.

And if that wasn’t enough, Lisa is also an author, had her own show, and has appeared on many television programs. She also created a line of natural poultry products. It’s safe to say when it comes to chicken farming, Lisa is the guru. Her blog does a great job of sharing valuable information with other chicken farmers while also supporting her business.

How Fresh Eggs Daily® is using their blog

Fresh Eggs Daily® isn’t what you might expect from a chicken farming blog. Lisa has done a fantastic job of sticking to her niche market—people raising chickens—and her blog and business are excelling because of it.

She is using her blog effectively in many different ways to grow her brand. And while there is a lot of information to consume, it’s all directly related to her specific niche.

Here are some of the things Lisa is using her blog for:

Keeping in touch with her audience

A great way to help your audience to engage further with your blog and content is to get them to sign up for your email list. When you do this, you gain their permission to talk to them right in their inbox instead of waiting for them to show up at your blog.

As soon as you get to the Fresh Eggs Daily® blog, she has a popup inviting you to sign up.

Selling ads 

In a recent post, we shared the different ways that you can use your blog to make money. Lisa is using several of those strategies on her blog and one of them is advertising space. As you browse her website, you’ll come across multiple ads.

Selling products

Not only is Lisa using her blog to make money from advertising, she’s also using it to sell products. Her shop pages link out directly to her Amazon store where she sells all kinds of products for raising chickens.

Promoting other products

Lisa has done a great job of putting her blog to use for her business. She had a TV show for a few years along with six books. There are links for everything right on her blog making it easy to buy her book and watch her show.

Offering press and media links

To make it easy for people to reach out to work with her, Lisa includes a Media page on her blog with all the necessary details that anyone would need.

What’s your passion?

There truly is a market out there for just about any topic that you can dream up. If there is something that you’re interested in, there’s a good chance that others are interested in it too. Starting a blog is a great way to pull that community of like-minded people together.

We’re into the second month of the New Year and if we’re all being honest, this is the time when many people start to fall away from New Year’s Resolutions. The .blog team is committed to our resolutions though and hopefully in this article we can help you with one of yours as well. 

One of our resolutions that we shared was to spend more time highlighting members of the .blog family of bloggers, who we call dotbloggers. But we know that a lot of people make resolutions around health and wellness. That’s why we’re going to highlight a dotblogger that can help you out with your health goals – pinkispink.blog.

All about Pink is Pink

One of things that we love about blogs is that they give people an opportunity to share their personal stories and a part of them with the world. And we think that the Pink is Pink blog is doing an incredible job of authentic storytelling.

The blog is run by a health coach named Karla Branco who has a focus on integrative nutrition. She shares her own personal story about how living a busy corporate life (even in the health industry) was running her down and having a negative impact on her physical and mental health. When her husband’s job caused her to move from Brazil to Barcelona, she used the opportunity to shift the direction of her health and life.

She learned how to find balance in her life and eventually became a health coach.

What Karla shares on the blog

Through her extensive training and experience, she’s gained a wealth of knowledge in health and wellness, which she shares on her blog. The Pink is Pink blog is a type of holistic health and wellness blog.

Karla has her blog divided into two main categories: recipes and welfare. Her “recipe” category is then broken down further into breakfast, salads, snack, lunch, and desserts. Her “welfare” category is split into food, self-care, sport, and relationship.

But here’s the catch. While the recipes are available to anyone, the blog posts in the welfare section are only for subscribers of her blog. There is no cost to subscribe and it’s a great way to be able to build an email list where you can further engage with your audience.

How Karla is monetizing her blog

New bloggers are always interested in learning how to make money blogging, and Karla provides a great example. She uses her blog to sell her services as a health coach.

By creating blog posts, she’s able to show the expertise that she has in the health and wellness field. And through her sharing bits of her own life and story with her audience, she is able to build trust with them. When reading through her blog, you start to feel like you know her. This can make it easier for people to take the step of reaching out for help with their own health.

Karla even has a store set up on her blog to make it easy for people to choose what package they want to buy from her. While she is selling services, this is a great example of how you can use a store on your blog for selling products as well.

Thinking outside of the box with your .blog domain

You can turn your blog into a business or build a blog for your business. As you’ll notice through our Meet the Bloggers series this year, there are many diverse ways that blogs are being used. We’ve already seen it through the blogs we’ve already highlighted. iHeart.blog shares music and media to further connect with their audience. Lilyotron.blog shares her expertise in the tech world while showcasing her freelance writing abilities. And cutcardstock.blog uses their blog to highlight creative ways that people can use their products while making it easy for them to buy.

If you’re ready to put your creative ideas to use, get your .blog domain and get started today. And maybe next year, we will see you as one of our featured bloggers! 

Valentine’s Day has a way of bringing out the crafty side in people. Kids get to work crafting and creating hand-cut heart cards for friends and family. And crafters carefully design the perfect cards to make their loved ones feel appreciated. And on this Valentine’s Day, we want to show some love to one of our dotbloggers.

One of the things that we love about blogging is the way that blogs allow people to tell their stories and share their interests and passion with the world. And that’s also what we love about cutcardstock.blog! In this Meet the Bloggers post, we want to introduce you to the inspiring story of how one woman saw a gap in a hobby she enjoyed and grew it into a prospering business.

Meet cutcardstock.blog

Darrell and Cindy Crots are the couple behind the blog and business cutcardstock. The story of how they started their business is one that we’re excited to share with other bloggers.

Cindy was a stay-at-home mom looking to make a little extra money. She noticed that paper suppliers didn’t give the option of buying cardstock in sizes smaller than 8.5×11. So she got to work from her dining room table cutting cardstock. She would make special cuts for people and then deliver them to a local paper company who would ship the product to their own customers.

The demand continued to grow so Cindy and Darrell continued to grow the business along with it. Eventually, Darrell quit his job and the two of them took their business from a part-time side hustle to full-time careers.

The small business that started at their dining room table is now running out of a 5,500 square foot warehouse, employing a small team of people, and serving tens of thousands of customers!

How cutcardstock uses their blog

Not only do we love the story of how cutcardstock has grown, we also love the way they’re putting the .blog domain to work for them.

Their shop is located at cutcardstock.com but they blog at cutcardstock.blog. The two sites work together seamlessly allowing customers to easily move from one to the other.

Their creative blog is full of craft ideas! Each post shares pictures of the craft design and the steps that anyone can follow to create the same project. And the best part is that they specifically share what cardstock you’ll use to complete the project, complete with links back to the shop so you can purchase everything you need.

They have a team of designers that are writing these blog posts. You can see the pictures of the designer along with a little snippet about each of them. It really helps to personalize their brand which makes it easier for customers to engage.

A great example for new bloggers

Cutcardstock.blog shows how a business can effectively add a .blog domain to benefit their existing website. They use their blog to show they are the experts in the field and build trust with their customers. They connect with a niche audience and then provide them with both the ideas and products they need to enjoy the hobby they love.

They are also a great example of how you can make money blogging. On the blog next week, we’ll be sharing some more examples of how you can do the same.

To continue spreading the love on Valentine’s Day, here are some of the other blogs that we’ve highlighted recently:

• iHeart Radio blog
• Lilyotron
• The Diversity of .blog Domains

Next up on the Meet the Bloggers Series we’ll be jumping into the world of food and health blogging. But until then, we encourage you to check out the projects on cutcardstock.blog!

We’re excited to have Lilyotron as part of the dotblog family! This is a fun blog written by Lily, a Tech Enthusiast, Writer, and Speaker. She does a great job of showcasing a few of the many ways that a blog can be used.

What is Lilyotron?

Lilyotron is a blog that started back in 2017. It’s a great place to find tips and resources on everything from working from home, career advice, and almost all things tech.

The person behind Lilyotron is Lily Snyder. On her blog, she describes herself as a “software technology consultant with the soul of a writer.” Her blog is a combination of her two passions and a way to grow her business as a tech consultant and writer. While she highlights the services that she offers, the blog posts themselves provide a way for her to share her knowledge and showcase her expertise.

Lily is an expert in the tech world and has a long list of accomplishments to show she’s an industry leader in her field including:

• Co-founding a virtual reality company
• Being recognized as one of the top women in the VR industry
• Getting featured in App Development Magazine
• Speaking at multiple industry events

How Lilyotron is put to great use

As mentioned above, Lily uses her blog to support her business as a consultant, writer and speaker. She does an effective job of using her blog to highlight her expertise and build authority within the tech industry. Some of her blog posts cover the latest news and reviews from the tech industry.

As you’ll see on her blog, Lily is also a huge advocate of remote work. She does a fantastic job of sharing tips and tricks for other remote workers. And she shares information in a way that is often lighthearted and entertaining. She takes a refreshing approach to writing about the latest trends in the tech world.

But the great part about blogging is you can make your blog exactly what you want it to be.

.blog is for everyone

Blogs are diverse. If you’ve been thinking about starting a blog, jump in! Whether you want to share your thoughts and opinions, gain traction for your business, or get your expertise out there, a blog can help you do it.

We love seeing the individual personalities of people show through in their blogs! There is such diversity between .blogs from large companies like iHeart Radio to professionals with a passion for writing.

Blogs can be used for a wide range of purposes. Companies can use them to connect with their customers on a more personal level. Professionals can use blogs to teach and educate. People can use them to share their stories and entertain. Or, they can be used to accomplish a mix of purposes as Lilyotron.blog shows us.

More blogs are on the way

This year, we’re excited to showcase the diversity of those who blog with .blog. We’re going to highlight a wide range of blogs. There will be new blogs to long running veteran bloggers. Corporations blogging for their customers to individuals with a story to tell. We want to help you explore the vast world of blogging in a fun way.

If you’re interested in seeing more examples of the different types of blogs that are out there, check out our post The Diversity of .blog Domains. And, next month we’ll highlight a couple more dotbloggers and continue exploring all the ways you can share with .blog. 

We’re excited to showcase one of our bigger dotbloggers — iHeart. This is the blog of the popular radio streaming platform iHeart Radio, which, at last count, has over 120 million users

iHeart Radio originally began running a blog as part of their business and website back in 2015. They’re the perfect example of an existing blog purchasing a .blog domain and migrating their content over to the new domain.

How iHeart “blogs”

When blogs originally began, they were simple text. They were people writing to share their opinions, thoughts, and stories with the world. The iHeart blog does a great example of showcasing the transition and growth that blogging has experienced over the years.

The iHeart blog uses a variety of content types to entertain and engage its readers. For example, they have a recent post to share the Artist of the Week that is formatted exactly like people expect from a blog. It’s simple text sharing the information they wanted to communicate.

But that’s not all they do!

iHeart Radio is all about streaming music and podcasts. They provide things for you to listen to, so it wouldn’t make sense for their blog to ignore this fact. They do a great job of using a variety of posts to incorporate the aspects of their business.

On the iHeart blog, you’ll find things to read, videos to watch, and music and podcasts to listen to. They have fully embraced all the different types of content that a blog can provide.

Continue reading “.blog Featured Site: The iHeart Radio Blog” →

Looking for a daily dose of thought-provoking inspiration? Look no further than seths.blog. The daily blog, written by prolific author Seth Godin, is full of life-changing insights on leadership, marketing, entrepreneurship, and life lessons.

Seth is the author of 18 best-selling books, including the world’s most popular ebook — “Unleashing the Ideavirus“— and the best-selling marketing book, “Purple Cow.” He continues to share his knowledge through courses he offers via Udemy and his altMBA seminar, created to develop online leadership and management skills.

Of course, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome him into the dotblogger family.

To learn more about Seth, check out one of his many TED Talks, his weekly podcast, Akimbo, or any one of his posts from his prolific blog. His approach to work, productivity, and writing will inspire you and shift the way you think.

An online entertainment blog with a twist, !! omg blog !! has been in the blogging game since 2003. Geared towards the 18 and up crowd, !! omg blog !! offers celebrity news, daily laughs, and an original Q&A series, all from an LGBT perspective.

They recently made the switch over to omg.blog and we’re excited to welcome them into the dotblogger family. We had an opportunity to chat with their founder to hear his perspective on blogging and why they made the switch to .blog. Continue reading “new dotblogger: omg.blog” →