Kingdom Twindom came into existence while I was hogging my mother-in-law’s massage chair and watching an action flick with my husband and younger brother-in-law. I’d [somehow] gotten it in my head that I needed a blog, and I usually wait about five minutes between dream and action. “Kingdom Twindom!” I giggled. And they both responded with phrases that translate literally as “lame”. But I liked it, so I rolled my eyes and went with it.
And I wrote my very first post, ever . . . .
_______________________________________
I’ve always loved to write. Growing up, I wanted to be L.M. Montgomery. More practically, I’ve been freelancing professionally for nearly six years. Inspired by a truly phenomenal Grammar and Composition teacher, I also wrote a Creative Writing textbook (which I tutor from to this day) shortly after high school graduation. Desiring to watch my passion bloom to profession, my dad encouraged me to blog as a business. We still go back and forth about that.
My theory on blogging for money:
I wouldn’t invite you into my living room and then present you with a sales pitch…well, unless you were coming to hear a sales pitch. But I’m pretty lousy at those multi-level things and I can’t imagine ever doing one again (to date: I’ve attempted to sell Shaklee, Avon and Arbonne). I would invite you into my office and then pitch to you whatever we sold/provided there. So, I had to decide from the get go: was my blog an extension of my living room or my office?
My blog is my living room, welcome:
I began blogging on a regular basis about two years ago. If I had decided to blog solely about, say, homeschooling, and I dedicated myself to blogging every project and lesson we do here, I might have a pretty successful niche blog by now. And I might be making some pretty good money. But I’m not only interested in homeschooling. I didn’t want to limit myself to homeschooling. I decided to blog about nothing. “It’s a blog about nothing!” And, therefore, I’m free to write about anything (and yes, everything) that comes into my scattered mind . . . . everything I’d gab on and on about over coffee (or tea, Tiff) in my living room. Of course, this narrows my readership to people who would actually enjoy hanging out in my living room. But it definitely makes me more comfortable being here.
So why the “ads”?:
I put my name on the Blogher waiting list, and then I completely forgot about it. I can’t even remember, now, what inspired me to take that leap in the first place. When I heard, from Blogher, that they’d been flipping through their list and found my blog, I felt I had a big decision to make. I suppose I thought, at first, that making money would make me a “professional”. Maybe I’d have to write differently. Maybe I’d have to take myself more seriously. Maybe I’d have to transform my living room into an office! Obviously, I eventually decided that none of those things were true. And, quite frankly, if I could put a scanner on my door that paid me every time someone entered my living room . . . . and that scanner didn’t affect our conversation or even require me to clean my house . . . . well, it’d be kinda stupid for me to refuse it. Right? So, install that little scanner, I did. Now, my ads allow me to give in a way that most people in my income bracket aren’t afforded. So, yea!.
What Kingdom Twindom is today:
Today, Kingdom Twindom is my lifeline to the world. It’s my chance to preach the gospel even when I’m unable to leave my front door. It’s connection. It’s friendship. It’s memories. And, luckily, it’s also a percentage of my paycheck (almost all of which is earned through my writing).
Four years after that very first post that was written for grandparents and aunts, the majority of the people who read here are strangers (though they don’t feel like strangers anymore). I’m not a big blogger who doesn’t have any friend slots open. I’m busy . . . . I have five children . . . . but I definitely want to connect with my “readers,” because that truly is the very basis of this blog’s existence.
Kingdom Twindom +2 