Blogger’s Corner with Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 and Beyond

he Blogger’s Corner series is an interview series featuring advice and experience from bloggers whose blogs are older than six months.

If you would like to take part, you can find all of the details here.

This week, we have the lovely Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 and Beyond

1 Introduce yourself

I’m Sue and I just turned 60 in August. I live in Brisbane, Australia and am married to Mike and have a blended family.

We both have two children each and 4 grandchildren between us.

I love to run with a group of friends and we call ourselves the Saturday Sisters. Being fit and active is important to me so I can enjoy life, my family and friends.

I volunteer one day per week at my mother-in-law’s retirement home and mind my darling 3 year old grandson each Wednesday. He is the light of my life.

I also love travelling with my husband.

2 Tell us a little bit about your blog

My blog is called Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond. I recently added ‘& Beyond’ because I was close to turning 60 and knew that I wasn’t going to stop sizzling.

I started my blog when I retired early and wanted something to fill the void. It is all about encouraging women 50+ to be fit, fabulous, healthier and happier.

3 What can your readers learn from your blog?

I love to encourage women to explore life beyond the empty nest and to realise their full potential.

I write about positive aging and embracing this wonderful time of life by being fit and active physically, mentally and spiritually. I’m all about trying to motivate and inspire women to achieve what they want in life.

4 What’s your favourite thing about blogging?

Definitely the connection with my readers and also other bloggers. I’ve made some wonderful friends worldwide and found the blogging community to be very supportive.

5 And your least favourite thing about blogging?

It can be very addictive and sometimes a roller coaster ride – some posts do really well and others not so well. I try to keep it all in perspective.

6 Tell us one random fact about you

I started running at 50 and ran my first marathon at 55 so was pretty pleased with myself. I’m still running at 60 with no plans to slow down.

7 If you could only blog about one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

Positive aging – by that I mean encouraging women to have a positive attitude to life rather than concentrating on a number – their age.

Having a positive attitude and just getting out there any enjoying life brings great happiness and contentment. We are a long time dead.

8 What was the hardest part of starting your blog and why?

Putting myself out there was a huge step. I wondered if anyone would read my blog and also had to overcome family and friends just not ‘getting’ why I wanted to start a blog.

9 If you could give new bloggers one piece of advice, what would it be?

Try not to get caught up in all the ‘how to blog’ information overload that you will come across.

Remember that quality is far better than quantity and really get to know your readers and what they want.

Be true to yourself and if it is a hobby don’t sweat the small stuff and try not to get too caught up with the number of followers or comments you have.

Don’t compare your blog to others, you are an individual with your own voice.

If you want to make money from your blog it will take a lot of hard work and unfortunately, very few become ‘the next best thing’ overnight.

Have a plan and stick to it and eventually your hard work will pay off.

10 Is there anything you know now that you wish you’d known in the beginning?

I probably would have avoided getting caught up in all the ‘do’s and don’ts’ that you read about blogging.

There are so many websites vying for your attention it can get very confusing.

I would also have liked to know that you need to find balance in your life. Blogging can take over with writing, posting, commenting but at the end of the day you have a life outside of the blogosphere that you need to enjoy because life is short.

11 Do you have any long term goals for your blog?

I would love to work with some brands that are specifically for women over 50. Brands that encourage women to be the best version of themselves they can be.

12 Who’s your blogging hero?

That is a hard one. I enjoy so many bloggers in my niche and admire their dedication.

So many women are feeling confident enough to put themselves out there and write about their lives and their thoughts. We are all heroes in my eyes.

13 What’s your favourite social media network and why?

Probably Facebook although I’ve recently started using Instagram and posting those to my Facebook page.

It is a fun medium and I’ve finally overcome my self-consciousness and started taking selfies which I never thought I would do. I recently wrote a post about ‘How Selfies Can Change the Way We Look at Ourselves’.

You need to learn to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously.

14 Anything else you want to share with us?

I co-host two weekly link up parties – Over the Moon and The Blogger’s Pit Stop.

I also co-host a monthly link up party just for grandmothers who blog. It is called the Blogging Grandmothers Link Party.

You can find all the links on my website and I’d love you to join us.

15 Where can we find you? (blog link and links to any social media)

I would love you to pop over and visit me and also to connect through social media.

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Instagram