Transcript
Welcome to the Bloggy Friends show.
What's up, you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here and welcome to the Bloggy Friends show.
Today, I am bringing you Kimberly with Hackett Hill Farm.
Kimberly, welcome to the show.
Thank you so much, Ashley. I'm happy to be here.
I'm excited you're here too. So tell me a little bit about your blog.
So the blog started in 2020 after we purchased our farm in Fairfield, Virginia.
And it really started out as a way to document the renovations that we're doing to the farmhouse.
And so it just kind of grew from there.
I had always wanted to write a blog, but I didn't have anything to write about.
This can gave me that initial step to be like, OK, well, this is something that now I have something interesting to write about.
And it's just kind of more from there.
Awesome. So, yeah, you broke up just a little bit.
But so you purchased the farm and then you started documenting it.
Yeah. Yeah. So we purchased. Go ahead.
I was just going to say, so did you purchase it because of the pandemic?
Or did it just unfold after that? Or how did how did that happen?
So we've been in this area for around eight years now.
And my husband and I have always looked at this piece of land that was adjacent to our to our current home.
And he always told me he was like, one day we're going to buy that.
And I look like you're ridiculous.
And so it came up for sale.
They were asking a lot.
And so we were like, well, you know, not not the time, not the place, because it was right before the pandemic.
And so we talked about it and we talked about it.
And he said, well, you know, why don't we just give them a lowball offer?
It's been on the market for a while.
And so in March, April of 2020, we put in like this really lowball offer.
And they came back with like a little bit above that.
So we were like, oh, well, OK.
And so we never had any intentions of of really actually purchasing the land until we got that that great deal on it.
And so since then, we've been working on renovating the farmhouse,
which has taken a lot longer than what we originally anticipated it just because of supply chain issues and all of that.
But, yeah, so a lot of the a lot of what we have on the blog now are either about the renovations that are happening at the farmhouse,
a lot about homesteading, because I'm one of those people, if I go in, I'm going all in.
And so I immediately started collecting animals.
And started, you know, doing all of the homesteading stuff.
And so that's what a big chunk of it is, is about homesteading and sustainability
and how we can not just be better for our environment, but for our families
and how we can really take ourselves out of the corporate supply chain and having to depend on,
you know, getting our food and our clothing and all of that stuff from, you know, outside sources.
Like, we can really be more dependable, more dependable upon ourselves.
So that sounds like a lot of work, though.
So how do you find time to how do you find the time to do the blogging and all the renovations?
It is a lot of work.
So I also have a full time job.
So I do stay I stay extremely busy between all three of those.
But I think it's one of those things where I'm a firm believer that if you love something
and if you want to go after something, you will find the time for it.
And so a lot of what I do instead of, you know, sitting down and watching a TV show instead,
I'll write on the blog when my husband watches the news or, you know, whatever.
So I carve out that time every morning.
I wake up early. I wake up at five o'clock, try to get my word count in for the day
to make sure that I get the content out there that that is meaningful to my audience.
But that during the work hours, I'm dedicated to, you know, my my full time job.
I'm dedicated to my family. And then, of course, the homestead.
I really couldn't do all of it without my husband, though.
Like he's a he's a huge supporter.
He was the one that pushed me into into doing the blog.
He was very supportive. And I was like, oh, we just don't have I don't have the time.
I don't have the know how or any of that stuff.
And so he really supported and pushed me in that direction.
Now, do you have a an editorial calendar or do you just write things that come up on a whim?
Oh, that is one of the things that I wish I would have started earlier on.
So whenever I first started my blog, I just kind of went with the flow.
And that is not something that I would recommend.
So I do have a content calendar.
I do a lot of like keyword research, typically two days a week.
I will dedicate that morning time instead of towards writing.
I'll do that keyword research in the mornings.
And then I build out just a month at a time because things change so so rapidly for us here at the farm
that I want to make sure that I'm staying relevant within what's happening at our space.
And there are times when like something will pop up and I'll be like, oh, this would make a really cool post.
Like, let me do some research into it.
So it it is a flexible content calendar.
I like that. I like that.
So are you doing all of the work on the blog yourself or do you have help with that?
Currently, I am doing all of the work.
I'm trying to get my sister to come on over and help me.
But she hasn't made that jump yet.
That's interesting, because I I've only just recently started like trying to have people
help me write my content for my blog, because it's a lot like you said, like,
especially when you're trying to to hold down the fort of you, like your full time job.
And then because, you know, my my my full time job is I'm a I'm a ghostwriter.
So I ghostwrite for all these other blogs.
And then it's like, OK, now I have to try to muster up the creativity for my own blog.
What do I do? And that's part of the reason that I started the podcast is because I'm like, well,
I can talk for ever. So that you don't have to do research.
I think the same way I've definitely I'm definitely probably better
at talking in quantity than it is at writing in quantity.
Well, then maybe you need a homesteading podcast.
I may. I may need that.
I would need to lead on your expertise in that space.
Well, I'm totally down to chat with you about that.
We can do that after the call if you'd like.
I one of the things I do is one of my clients is a blogger.
I do is one of my clients is a podcast host.
And so I am posting their podcast and I've been learning a lot about podcasting.
And so that's podcasting 101 with RSS dot com.
And so, yeah, it's been really wild like the year and a half.
Oh, goodness. Now we're in two years.
Goodness gracious. So two years of like really learning everything I need to know about podcasting.
And it's been a lot of fun because, you know, that's how you and I met is I put out a
cattle call on Twitter asking people, you know, does anybody want to be on the show?
And you were one of the ones to say yes.
And it's been so fun, like getting to know the community, getting to getting to interact with people.
I mean, who knew when blogging started that we would eventually have a way that we can connect with people
so easily to talk about what we're into.
I love it. It sounds like you have a lot of content on your website.
I have to ask you, is it monetized?
We are just starting down that road and so a little.
So we do like Google ads and like some of like the more low key.
What we are really planning on doing is like long term with the homestead is creating a space
where people can come to learn about homesteading and sustainability in person.
And so the blog will then morph kind of into a way for us to market what we do here on the homestead.
We plan to, you know, within the next five years or so, create some small,
sustainable cabins on the homestead where people can come and they can help during like that.
When we do gardening and they can learn about seed starting in person
and then the blog is going to kind of be that backbone or that support to that type of business.
But right now we do some like low key advertising.
And so I will say it's very low key.
So what do you see? I mean, you already mentioned that in, you know,
like your five year plan is to start doing in-person workshops and things like that.
But what do you see other than just in-person stuff as your monetization strategy?
Yes, I think for me, a lot of it is is going to be relying current state on those ad formats.
I would love to be able to get into a space where you're using more of like affiliate marketing
for those sustainable brands that I really love.
And so that will likely come into play.
I'll be honest right now with the renovations that have been going on,
that's kind of been that hold back of like really diving in and beginning that journey.
But I would say affiliate marketing is probably going to be the space where I lean into within 2022.
Now, you said affiliate marketing and you mentioned like the sustainable brands.
So that sounds like product affiliate marketing.
What about like digital projects for affiliate marketing for how to start a homestead of your own?
You know, I haven't really thought about that a whole lot.
I definitely think that it would be a space that I would be willing to do more research in and things of that nature.
But I haven't really given that aspect much thought as to get into like the digital affiliate.
Yeah, there's some pretty incredible digital products for homesteading.
And I've actually seen like the Ultimate Bundles company,
they do a lot of like ultimate homemaker or like homemaker bundles and things like that.
And I'll make sure I leave some links to that in the show notes.
But it's pretty wild just how many things have come out about homesteading, especially, you know,
just not even because of the pandemic, but I think that has kind of opened people's eyes up to,
like you said, the supply chain issues of trying to figure out, OK,
what can I do with what I've got on my own property, things that I own, things that I can build and grow?
And I've seen a lot of people getting into like the home gardening.
I've seen the container gardening space just blow up.
So do you think that the pandemic or just the current state of everything is helping you with your traffic?
Or how are you going about getting traffic?
I definitely think that it helps for sure, because a lot of the content,
especially this time of year, like seed starting starts for me in January, because, well,
I need some greenery in my house at that point.
I could probably push it all a bit further.
But I would definitely say that the traffic has has picked up as the pandemic has continued
because people are continuing to really be interested in what does it look like to be sustainable
and like how to care for the types of animals that you have on the farm and things of that nature.
So I do think that that is a big driver.
I would say a lot of a lot of traffic is also driven either through like guest blogging.
I've done some guest blog post as well as, you know, like this podcast here.
So things like that. And anytime that you can, you can get kind of your name out there with other people.
And that helps to drive that traffic in as well.
OK. Do you have a strategy acquisition or strategy for acquisition that you're working on?
Or it's just kind of been organic, whatever you can do, you're doing so far.
It's really been organic.
As of right now with the with the blog, I have learned probably more in the last six months through
listening to blog podcasts, you know, like your own and learning from other people that I'm like,
oh, my gosh, I didn't even think about these things.
You know, early on, I was just like writing stuff to write stuff because I enjoyed writing.
And then I was like, you know, I could maybe this could potentially be something like this.
I'm seeing growth organically without even having to do anything.
So like, what kind of things can I do?
And so that would be the one thing that I would say to new bloggers is like to get on,
you know, audible and listen to some of the podcasts that are there or, you know,
do some do some additional research with some of the other bloggers that are out there,
that are that it's working with take classes,
because that's really kind of where I've learned a lot of, you know,
where I am right now is just searching for it and then taking the classes, investing that time.
So I will say like, I am by no means where I want to be with my blog.
But I think that it's definitely within the last six months, I've seen just little strategies
like test one thing or two things here and there and be like, OK, this works.
This doesn't work.
And so I've definitely seen that that helped to drive in some of that traffic as well.
Now, do you treat your your blog more as a business or more as a hobby right now?
Right now, I would say more as a hobby, trending towards more as a business.
I would love to be able to work full time just on the homestead.
I would love to make that our full time business and content writing and development.
That's my jam. That's what I love to do.
There is no like I get no there is no better energy source for me than being able to create
something that is not just beautiful, but something that is helpful.
And that's really what I want to be.
I want this to be helpful for people, no matter where they are in their sustainability
journey, no matter what they think that they can or they can't do.
Because I'll tell you, I've been in that space where I'm like, I can't do it.
I'm a husband has always been there like, yes, you can.
And so for us, like that is my goal.
That's my my dream with this blog is to be able to give people a space to come and learn
and grow and understand what they can do to make their lives better, no matter what they
no matter at what capacity they want to do it in.
Well, it sounds like your blog has been up for just over, what, about a year and a half
fish body? Yeah, a little bit under a year and a half.
OK. And one of the things you did mention is that if you were starting over today, you
would have an editorial calendar.
But what else would you do differently knowing what you know now?
I would have researched more before I started.
I was very hesitant to start.
And so I think that's kind of twofold.
I would have researched more.
But then again, I think if I would have continued to research, I would have just kept
prolonging it because it was it's that initial like investment into something that I'm
like, am I going to do it?
Is this the right thing?
I'm always kind of like, oh, maybe not.
Maybe not. There are so many other things I need to focus on.
So I think for me, I would have started earlier on learning from the experts that have
already been there instead of just trying to make it on my own.
I listen to a couple of of podcasts that now that give me a lot of really great ideas
on ways to go back and edit the content that I put out a year ago, because I'll tell you
the content I put out a year ago versus the content that I put out now is completely
different. Like I go back and I look at it and I'm like, well, that's a little
embarrassing. But, you know, it's it's it really is like this this growth of, you
know, you see early on, like we're writing two and three hundred word posts and being
like, yeah, I got it. And now it's like really focusing in more on like those long
form posts and formats are definitely a lot more helpful.
But I don't know that I would have done that without leaning into the expertise of
other bloggers.
Yeah, I think there's something to be said about starting it dirty, like starting it
going dirty. My one of my friends, Shane Sam's from Philip Lifestyle, he likes to
say done is better than perfect.
And I've really been I've been really like forcing myself to pay attention to that
because I have another one of my mentors, Denise Duffield Thomas.
She always says that one of the biggest things with business owners and bloggers or
you know, any kind of content creation business is we have a tendency to get stuck
in procrastinating planning phase.
Yes. And so we're at.
Yeah. So like you're procrastinating to the point where it's like nothing's getting
done. So you might as well just start it dirty and just get it done and then fix it
later. Because besides Google loves when we update stuff.
So so I think it's I think it's for the best that you just jumped in.
And so go for it.
Yeah, absolutely.
I want and that's really kind of the same thing that we've done with homesteading.
My husband and I did not grow up on farms.
My parents had a background or my dad did at least.
But I never did.
Like growing up, I didn't know anything about farm animals except for like what my
best friend had at her house.
My husband lived in the city.
So we really are kind of like starting from the basics on literally everything, the
blog, the homestead, all of it.
We're just kind of learning as we go.
And it's been a lot of fun.
It's been a lot of fun.
I think it's a good thing, though, that that you're you're telling people what
you're learning, because they're you know, one of the big things that that kind of
strikes me is more people as they're learning about homesteading and things of
yesteryear, if you will.
It's kind of giving a resurgence to the days of old and all the things that we're
starting to almost fade out because we focus so much on, you know, if we need
something, we go to the grocery store or if we have something, we go to Wal-Mart
or, you know, Kmart or Target or whatever.
And I think it's a good thing that websites like this are starting to have such
a surge in popularity because we're learning things that we really need to know.
Yeah, 100%.
And that's what I tell my husband all the time.
I'm like, I don't want my kids to feel like they have to get their food from a
grocery store.
Like what happens when if the grocery store is closed down?
Like what happens if our economy does completely just go put like, is that likely?
Probably not.
Yeah.
But, you know, I want to make sure that I'm setting them up for success too in life
so that they can they can not only enjoy this type of lifestyle, but be able to
learn and and take care of them and their families when they get older.
Absolutely.
The one of the websites that I have been working on is a survival bug out plan.
And it's like all about it's a prepper blog.
It's a prepper blog.
And so everything that you were just saying, I was just like, yeah, that sounds
so cool.
Like, I want to learn everything.
I want to know because, you know, what do you do?
I mean, it's kind of like that silly meme that went viral for a while.
It says, I can't imagine having to hunt for my own food.
I don't even know where tacos live.
I mean, but it's true, though.
Like it's used.
I hear so many people being like, why would you do that?
Like, why would you want to like you're never going to be able to butcher your
cows? And I'm like, you you don't know me.
Because like at the end of the day, yes, I love it.
I care for our animals and like and all of that.
But they serve a purpose.
And I think that that's really important for our kids to understand, too, is like
your food comes from somewhere, your food comes from farmers.
Take take out middleman, be the farmer, be the person that's growing your own food.
You know exactly where it's been.
You know what's gone into it.
You know how it's processed.
Like canning season is one of mine and my daughter's favorite times of year.
Because we it's it's not just about the process of canning and preserving the food.
It's really about family being together.
It's about that experience.
It's about the learning.
It's about all of that stuff that is really important.
And and what what I want this homestead and this blog to really serve as is to show
like, yes, it's hard work, but it's totally worth the work.
Well, and it also gives you a sense of community because I'm sure you grow so much
that you can like give it to your neighbors, like you can have your neighbors
jelly or, you know, whatever it is, you're came.
Yes. Oh, absolutely.
Absolutely. And I would say like this year, I would say last year, my husband was
like, your garden's too big.
And I was like, this year, I want to make it bigger.
And so we'll likely start doing, you know, more like farmers markets and things like that.
You know, we're we're a small family.
I say a small family of five.
I have two five year olds, but, you know, they don't need a whole, whole lot.
So but I would say like we have enough food for us.
And so like, how do we then start maybe community gardening
or creating a space where people can come in and learn about that kind of stuff
and learn how to not just take care of the plants in the garden,
but how to prepare them once you get inside.
You'll find a lot of recipes on the blog.
I love to cook.
And so like we use a lot of like the fresh vegetables and stuff like that in in those recipes.
So do your kids help you with any of the farming stuff?
Oh, yes. Yeah. The boys are more of like my stall muckers.
They like to get in and they like to do the dirty work that my daughter does not like to do.
She loves to garden now.
She will sit out in the garden with me for hours and just full weeks.
And we have a pretty big garden.
Well, like doctors and nutritionists, they even say that if kids are helping with gardening,
they're more likely to actually eat the vegetables that you're growing.
Yes, 100 percent.
Now, I will say I'm very lucky.
And the fact that my kids are not picky eaters,
that they really won't eat just about anything.
But even like I think it's important to like when you're thinking about not just gardening,
but also raising livestock, raising animals for consumption.
It's really important to me that everything is used.
We have a no waste policy. We don't throw things out.
So if it is, you know, if it's leftover produce or something like that,
it either goes to the chickens or it goes to the compost to be added back in as nutrition for the soil next year.
If it's an animal that we're butchering, we use everything, every single piece of it.
And so I think that's really important as well.
At least for us and in our journey is really moving towards that zero waste food.
Eventually, a zero waste household altogether would be ideal.
But right now, we're focusing on making sure that we have zero waste as it comes to food consumption.
That's awesome. I love it.
So how did you come up with the name?
Oh, so we went around and around about what we are going to name the farm.
And our current home, again, that's adjacent to the property that we bought.
There is a mountain behind it.
And that mountain, my husband found out years ago, was called Hackett Hill.
And he was so impressed that that little hill of ours has a higher elevation than one of the one of the mountains
over towards Charlottesville that he was like he thought that was the coolest thing.
And so we spend a lot of time up there on the hill.
We we actually like in the spring go up the mountain side of this full of morel mushrooms.
And so we go foraging up there and everything.
And it's really it is a very important part of our family.
We have spent a ton of time on that hill side and in the woods.
And so when we were moving down to the farm and we were trying to think of like, you know,
what are we going to call it? Hackett Hill just kind of stuck with us.
And that's that's what we went with.
I love that. That's awesome.
So it sounds like your niche is definitely homesteading.
Would you say it qualifies as any other type of niche?
It's more of like a broad homestead lifestyle, because I mean, they're there.
Like I said, there are a ton of recipes on there.
I am a huge foodie. Love to be in the kitchen.
So there are a lot of like really simple meals that, you know, super easy to make.
So I would say like there's a little bit of that there.
There's also a little bit of like how to juggle life in general.
So I think when you are a working mom or dad
and you have like all of these other things that you want to do,
it can be very difficult to to find the time for all of it.
And so there's a little bit of that in there, but definitely more focused in on
just what life is like on a homestead running,
what it what it means to to run a homestead and what sustainability looks like.
Well, if people are looking at getting more information about homesteading,
where can they find you online?
So you can find me at www.hackethillfarm.com.
And what about on social media? Are you on social media?
Oh, yeah. Love social media. Instagram is my favorite.
You can search there at Hackett Hill, Hackett Hill Farm.
And then we are also on Twitter, which is where I met you again.
Hackett Hill. And we're also on Pinterest.
That's really kind of where we showcase a lot of our recipes.
Can we find you on TikTok, too?
Not on TikTok. Not on TikTok yet.
My daughter, I think, really wants me to get on TikTok,
but I just don't know if I can.
I'll stick to the Instagram reels for now.
We're comfortable in that.
Well, we've heard those reels, those videos.
I could I could do that. I could do that.
I'm all about repurposing. I absolutely love it.
But I have one last question that I ask everyone before I let them go,
no matter who I'm podcasting for.
What is one thing I didn't ask you that you wish I had?
Oh, hmm. Oh, geez.
That's a hard question.
I get that a lot. And that's why I love it.
It's my Barbara Walters question on.
Hmm. What are we going to do next?
There you go. New animals.
Yeah. What are we going to do next?
So for us, I think we are
I had these big dreams, these big plans that this spring
I was going to increase our livestock.
So we were getting pigs.
We were getting bees, getting sheep and getting rabbit.
So that is likely going to be our next big step here on the homestead.
And that's really what the next probably the next few months worth of content
are going to be about as well, especially centered around bees and pollinators,
because those are extremely important to any homestead or any gardener.
But yeah, just we are going to be continuing to grow our livestock
and hopefully continue to teach everybody about homesteading
and and bring a little bit of homesteading into their labs.
Well, that's exciting. So if you're going to be doing bees, I hear honey.
I hear bees wax candles.
Yes. All of that.
All of those things.
All of us.
Well, when are you starting to allow people to come and visit?
Because I want to see it. Oh, my gosh.
Well, let's get the pandemic over with.
I feel like that is a big oh, my gosh.
I'm so ready for it to all be over.
So we are supposed to be into the new farmhouse within the next few months.
I will probably give my husband a bit of a break in 2023.
Hopefully start looking at starting some of those cabins
and I will probably be inviting people
on to the farm a lot sooner than that.
Well, that's my husband just doesn't know that yet.
Well, I'll have to I'll have to keep an eye out on Twitter for that
because it's something that I've always been fascinated by.
And we're actually looking at property right now.
We're we're hoping to to find something in Bria because we want something similar.
So I love it so much.
And I hope that everybody will check out your blog
and learn more about all the homesteading things.
Yes, all of the things.
Thank you so much, Ashley, I appreciate it.
Thank you for being on and bloggy friends.
I hope you enjoyed everything that Kimberly had to share
and I hope you'll go check out her blog.
And until next time, may your page use be high and your bounce rate below.