Most any blogger will tell you that forming relationships with other people all across the country (and even the world) is one of the coolest things about blogging. I know that I really and truly love getting to interact with my readers. Your messages in my inbox are like little gifts, seriously!

I am often asked about how I got started as a blogger, and what advice I might give someone who wants to get started, in general, or who wants to focus on the same niche I have (product reviews and giveaways). I love answering this question, but I feel so overwhelmed for a beginner, because the blog learning curve is so steep, and the approach that works best will vary person to person.

One very important thing to know about blogging, though, is that it takes as much time as you give it. There’s ALWAYS more you can do with your blog, and you can quickly find yourself becoming overwhelmed by your blog “to do” list!

Rachel Meeks, the blogger behind Small Notebook (yeah, you’re gonna want to subscribe if you haven’t already, folks) recently came out with an e-book to help guide those of us who are lost in the sea of blogging, drowning in our inboxes and feeling overwhelmed by the commitments we’ve made as bloggers. She wrote Simple Blogging: Less Computer Time, Better Blogging.

SIGN. ME. UP!!!!

You guys, this was a really good read (and not surprisingly, a simple one!). Rachel gives so many wonderful tips. I’m not going to give away all the good stuff that’s in this book, but I will tell you few things I’m taking away from it.

1. It is time to step back and think critically about the purpose of my blog, to make sure that I’m heading in a direction that is personally fulfilling to me.

2. I feel encouraged to share a little bit more of my own personal perspective. Writing about things I’m always thinking about will come easily, after all, and I’ll really enjoy hearing what my readers have to say about those topics.

3. Oh my gosh do I need to change the way I check my email. It eats up 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there, 20 minutes here, 30 minutes there, etc. and before you know it, I’ve spent a few hours throughout the day staring at my inbox! YUCK! I need to get in there, answer what matters, get out and then LET IT GO!

The overall key message from Simple Blogging is about viewing your time as the valuable and precious resource that it is. And it’s about getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to how you spend your time blogging. Rachel has given me a lot of good encouragement, a lot of things that I need to critically evaluate in my own blogging and time management practices, and a whole lot of ideas for doing this blog thing in a way that means so much more to me. After all, if it isn’t personally fulfilling, why the heck am I doing it?

If you are a blogger and are feeling a bit lost in your journey, or if you want to get started blogging but have no idea how to get off on the right foot, this is a really worthwhile read. I guarantee you that if you put even just a few ideas Rachel has into place you’ll reclaim some of your time back from the computer without sacrificing the overall quality of what you write.

Buy it!: Simple Blogging is very modestly priced at just $8, which is more than fair for the great content you will find in this book.

Win it!: Rachel wants to give one lucky Stuff Parents Need reader their own copy of Simple Blogging. The contest will run until December 9th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: If you blog, tell me something you are struggling with as a blogger. What ideas are you mulling over, or what changes would you like to make? Anything relevant will work! If you are a blog reader, do you have hopes to one day have your own blog? What do you think it will be about?
Here’s my answer: I’m currently struggling with figuring out how to make my blog more personal, while still remaining in my chosen niche, which is product reviews and giveaways.

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: Subscribe to Small Notebook via RSS or email (you’ll see a subscribe link on the right side, halfway down the page)
2. Blogger love: “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my homepage.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary e-book for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.