Wow. Seafood Lady celebrates four years of blogging today!
The perfect time to thank you, dear readers, for hanging with Seafood Lady.
I especially appreciate those special people who have been with me from the beginning, (my husband Elvis, my best friend Tori, and my sister Anne.)
I also want to thank those of you who subscribe to my blog, those of you over the years who check in regularly, those of you who share my posts, those who stumble on to my site with a Google search, those of you sent here from a fan, and those who occasionally poke around wondering what this blog is about.
Is it a coincidence I began my Seafood Lady adventure-exactly four years ago today, the first day of Florida Stone Crab Claw, season during National Seafood Month?
Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Market
Maybe, maybe not.
Whatever my reasons for picking October 15th, (I did in fact start Seafood Lady because October is National Seafood Month), I remember feeling like I didn’t know where this journey-this focus on seafood for a blog-would take me. Would I have enough to talk about? How would Seafood Lady sustain itself? And one of the biggest questions I asked myself over the years, to keep me humble, honest and fresh is, “Who cares?”
Four years ago, I knew nothing about blogging. In fact so many of my early posts didn’t have photos, my writing was immature and lacked structure. Grammar? Ugh. My voice was naïve, undeveloped. Topics and categories were seafood-driven, but my posts weren’t consistent.
I knew less about food photography (and keep my head underwater for a few years before I splurged for a Nikon d90,) and food props. Even recently, I bought a ridiculously large reflector, and to this day still can’t figure out how to close it because I bought a triangular one with a handle and didn’t want to go through the return process. Yes, I’m one of those people. Imagine my wardrobe closet. Sigh…
SEO wasn’t in my vocabulary, and it would be a few years before I understood I didn’t need to brand myself, instead I needed to write compelling, evergreen essays, do research, get published, cook, write recipes (and eat) a variety of seafood.
Would I have enough to talk about?
Oh boy, do I ever. Every week, usually twice a week with a news update and a sustainably sourced seafood recipe.
Would seafood Lady sustain itself?
Well, this is so cliché, but here I am, four years later.
Who cares?
I care. You care. A lot of you care.
Thank you.
So what has changed since Seafood Lady’s inception four years ago?
I know a few things about blogging. My photos are sharp and enticing. My topics trending and news-worthy. My voice is stronger, more defined.
I can’t imagine my life without Seafood Lady. And although Seafood Lady is not a mega-blog, I’m okay with that. If I change one person’s perception about how to prepare sustainable seafood, I’ve done something good. If I make one person think about where their fish is sourced and why they should care, I’m good with that, too. That means Seafood Lady works.
So with that, I’m grateful for you my friends, readers, followers, tweeters, and occasional lurker.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Maureen
Stick around see what I’ve been up to over the past four years, share this post, or go ahead and subscribe to have my weekly posts delivered to your inbox. Whatever you stick around, share or subscribe, please, fish and source your seafood responsibly.
