The Blogger Interviews: Hayley Dunlop
There are lots of interesting people at the London Bloggers Meetups. There are also lots of very nice people, lots of talented people and plenty who I always think it would be nice to know better. This week’s interviewee fits into all of those categories. She’s been coming to the London Bloggers Meetup for a couple of years (I would guess) and normally comes along with sidekick and fashion blogger Shell.
This week we’ve been talking to Hayley Dunlop. Hayley, aka @hayjane, writes the funtastic Punlimited blog all about puns as they appear in the British press. I don’t think there’s a talent for puns quite like that which we are fortunate enough to enjoy in Britain. It’s quite right there is a blog to celebrate such creative writing and what better person is there to look after this heritage. Well, someone’s got to do it..
The interview with Hayley identified some common themes for how to be a better blogger. You can read below, but working out why you are blogging in the first place is certainly a simple and straightforward bit of advice.
Well, enough from me. Take it away Hayley… (I wish I could think of a pun to introduce you..)
1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?
My main blog is ‘Life as she knows it’ (http:www.hayleydunlop.blogspot.com) but I think my side blog-ject – Punlimited (http://www.punlimited.co.uk/) – is perhaps what people remember more when I introduce myself at meet-ups.
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
Life as she knows it: Random observations, quirky memories, amusing anecdotes, life in London and silly thoughts.
Punlimited: My own current puns for news stories, encouraging others to suggest their own.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I started blogging when I moved to London as a way of keeping my creative juices flowing and giving me a reason to write, and also to keep my friends and family up to date on all of my London adventures. Punlimited followed on from that as a space where I can offload my regular need to pun.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
I use Blogger. I know it’s not the best platform and there a few niggly things about it which get on my nerves (the lack of spellcheck being the main one, unless I’m being really dense in not being able to find it!), but it does the job.
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
Blogging has undoubtedly enriched my life in London, not least because of some of the amazing people I’ve met as a direct result of the London Bloggers Meet-Up. Through blogging I started to Tweet, and that has opened up so many doors for me in both my professional and personal life.
You get to find out about events before anyone else; you get invited on trips; sometimes there are FREEBIES! But, more so than these material benefits, blogging provides me with a platform and a voice, and having somewhere to record little titbits of my life is incredibly important to me.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
Domestic Sluttery is brilliant, and I always find Gary Andrews has interesting things to say, whether it be an in-depth analysis of the latest new media development, or a tasty recipe for kedgeree. I’d also recommend checking out the Posterous blog of – she gets up to so much stuff around London and makes me realise how great a city it is. IanVisits is great to find out about quirky events, and Tired of London, Tired of Life is awesome for discovering little corners of the city that you never realised were right under your nose. Outside of London, the brilliant – based in Cardiff – has a wonderful blog called Whimsical Musings of a Loon. She loves puns, and her writing always makes me giggle and ponder.
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
- Work out *why* you’re blogging. Are you looking to make money from your blog? Are you a freelance writer wanting to showcase your work? Or, like me, are you doing it just for fun and to record your experiences? Depending on your aims, this will affect how often you blog and what kind of blogging platform you should use.
- If you’re doing it for yourself rather than for masses of traffic and revenue, then only write a post when you’ve got something to say; I only write when I’m in the right mood or have an experience I want to record. Different approaches work for different sites, so I guess that leads on to my final tip, which is to…
- Watch what you say. I’m a naturally cautious person and I would hate to write something nasty about someone and for them to find out about it. But that’s just me, and there are countless bloggers out there who have built their reputations on speaking their mind about anyone and everything! It sounds obvious, but by venting about someone or something on your blog, you are opening yourselves up to the internet, which can sometimes be a very scary – and intense – place.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
I really wish I knew how to make my blog look prettier.
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
I’ve never been obsessed with numbers and high volumes of readers, but my most-read posts have been about quirky things I’ve spotted in London that other people have also noticed and turned to Google for answers. My most-read post is one I wrote not long after moving to London about a man I spotted wandering around a bookshop with an object resembling a golden pyramid balanced on his head.
Over two years later I still get people commenting on that post having also seen him out and about. In fact, even the pyramid man himself has joined the conversation to defend his choice of headwear! It’s really fascinating how you can connect with people this way – blogging really is making London – and the world – a much smaller place.
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
As I’ve mentioned, the online world can be a very strange environment sometimes. By putting real faces and people to their online personas you realise that we’re all actually just nice, normal people trying to find our way through life in one way or another. It’s a fantastic way to meet new people and to make good contacts. And, as numerous others have already pointed out, the free booze goes down very nicely as well!
OK Hayley, because you asked so nicely, here’s your plug…
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