Editor's Note: My husband has finally broken his silence and is revealing his greatest secrets {maybe dishing me out a bit here}. He's got the bloggy wife described to a tee but I should say, he is my number one fan and my greatest supporter! I urge ALL you husbands out there to READ and LEARN. And you, BLOGGY WIVES, make sure your husbands read this!
True as it gets...
You were smitten the moment you laid eyes on her. She's funny, resourceful, beautiful (even when angry ... well, sometimes), and occasionally cooks a mean curry dish. She's a wonderful friend, a great mom, and you can't imagine life without her.
But, this blogging thing really has you perplexed!
Social media? No clue!
The free products are great, but do you really have to take a video and a picture before we can use them?
Sure, the whole world of blogging and social media can be confusing to us guys, heck it's even confusing to the "experts", but it has become such an important part of your wife's life that it is worth taking some time and learning some simple ways to support her. You may find that you enjoy doing this as well. There are many daddy and parent blogs out there. You could be even be the next great husband/wife blogging duo!
Not sure where to begin in the care and feeding of your favorite blogger? Here are a few tips that you could try. All of them may not be for you. Just start small and before you know it, you may understand why your wife is enamored with this Social Media stuff.
Wive's love it when their husbands listen to them. That goes double when they read their wife's blog. It's amazing what you can find out about your wife when you read her blog. If you are observant enough, you may even find out what she wants for her birthday, Christmas, or your anniversary. You may even find WHEN your anniversary or her birthday are!
For extra points, comment on her blog. But say something more than "nice post!" Be thoughtful, add to the conversation.
No, I don't mean in a creepy-hire-a-private-
For extra points, respond to what she says, retweet her quips, and share her statuses with your friends.
Us guys are tinkerers at heart. Not only should you be her first line support on hardware issues, but you should be familiar with her blogging tools too. Learn about her blogging platform and hosting service. Do you know what image manipulation tool she uses? What about her Social Media platforms? Just knowing what these are can be a great help in diagnosing problems. She may even come up with her own solutions!
For extra points, become knowledgeable in SEO and SEMM. The better you know what these terms mean and how they are useful to your wife, the more successful she can be as a blogger and Social Media expert.
There are three phases to being a muse. This will be trial and error on your part as you go through each phase, but don't give up. The rewards for both of you are tremendous.
- Phase 1: Encourage Her
It happens even to the best writers, and at one point it'll happen to your wife. A day will come when she won't **GASP** want to blog or tweet or share anything! I know, it's crazy, but it could happen! And when it does: Don't Panic!! There could be many reasons why this is happening, ranging from a visit from Aunt Flo to someone posting a mean comment on her blog. The one thing you need to remember is that you can't fix the problem. Just listen, be present (and not hide behind your own technology), and most importantly, remind her of the good she has done and what she means to her followers and to you.
- Phase 2: Distract Her
In the Social Media space, it's either feast or famine. She's either neck-deep in SM projects or twiddling with her banner for the 10th time this week. For the sake of her sanity, and yours as well, she needs to be distracted so that she doesn't burn out. If you don't, you could be spending more time in Phase 1 than you'd like. The trick is to be subtle and to recognize when she needs to be left alone to finish her work and when she needs to be dragged out of house so she doesn't damage her laptop! Some tricks you can play are: take her out to dinner or movie, take her out shopping, go for a walk, send her flowers, make her tea/coffee. The ideas are endless! Mix it up and test often. You'll find certain ideas and combinations that work best during certain situations.
- Phase 3: Engage Her
As her muse, you'll spend most of your time in this phase. Yes, you'll have to talk with your SO, but you should be doing that anyway! Right guys!? And you don't even have to talk about her blogging and social media stuff. Talk about anything and everything. You never know what might spark an idea for her.
For extra points, mix up the three phases, be spontaneous, but not intrusive to any work she needs to get done and you'll have a recipe for a very happy, productive, and appreciative bloggy wife.
Blogging can be a very solitary venture, but it doesn't have to be for your wife. Practicing some of the above tips can bring the two of you closer and both of you can reap the benefits and rewards of your wife's creativity and hard work.
Good luck guys!
Dale Guadagna, aka Mr. Zensible Mama, touts the benefits and advantages of a Tai Chi Lifestyle over at the Lake Norman Tai Chi Blog, the business/health blog for Lake Norman Tai Chi Center in Cornelius, NC, where he doesn't blog enough. He also has a personal blog, Incoherent Thoughts where he doesn't blog at all. You can also read his non-tweets via @Dalefg. When he's not busy blogging, he works as a Web Developer, teaches Tai Chi, makes attempts at being a husband to the Zensible Mama and a father to the AnimePrincessScholar. He's also very good at avoiding any home improvement projects.
I wish my husband would read my blog. He says he skims it every once in a while. That's more than I expected honestly!
ReplyDelete