Engaged Marriage continues to grow through the enthusiasm of our community and the willingness of ultra-cool folks to support and share our message. Today, I am beyond excited to let you know that one of my online heroes, Darren Rowse, is featuring a guest post I wrote on Problogger. Please take a few minutes to head there and read “7 Tips to Keep Your Family On-Board for Your Blogging Journey.”
With growth comes new readers, so I put together this post (which will become a permanent “tab” at the top of site) to give a quick overview of what we do here at Engaged Marriage.
Who Is Writing This and What’s This Site All About?
First of all, my name is Dustin Riechmann and I created Engaged Marriage. That’s me pretending to be strong in the picture. That’s actually not a photo of Illinois where I live. It’s Cancun, Mexico where we vacationed for a week in August 2009.
This is sort of relevant because it was during that vacation that the idea for this site started stirring in my mind. My wife thought it was just some sort of delirium brought on by too much cheap tequila, but it turns out that the idea stuck.
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I would really encourage you to spend a few minutes reading the About page since it provides the best overview of what this site is, well, all about.
In a nutshell, a central theme of the posts here at Engaged Marriage is candid and practical advice that you can learn and put into action without a huge time commitment. Alongside the “action items,” you’ll find healthy doses of motivation in the form of humor, personal stories and spiritual reflections.
This site is not a “typical” marriage resource like many books and even some other blogs. I’m not a PhD or a counselor. And I’m not here to fix serious problems or provide therapy. This site is for those that have good (or at least pretty good) marriages and want to make the most of it.
I’m living the crazy life of a husband and father with all of the demands that come with it. I understand it’s a very real struggle to find time to devote to improving your married life. I know how it feels to struggle to even keep up with the everyday requirements that we face as couples in the earlier years of our marriage. I know it’s hard. But I also know that it’s totally worth it.
Here Is Some Suggested Reading
The best way to see if Engaged Marriage resonates with you is to read some of the posts here. You can browse all of the posts if you’d like, but I’d suggest you begin by checking out a few of these:
Fight Fair! 6 Simple Conflict Resolution Skills for Your Marriage
Take 15 Minutes Each Day to Just Be a Couple
I Love My Wife Enough to Shop at Wal-Mart
Help! What Are Your Top Parenting Tips?
How Does Natural Family Planning Benefit Marriage?
Write an Awesome Romantic Love Letter: The Simple “5R” Approach
Should Married Couples Have Joint or Separate Bank Accounts?
How Marriage Helped Make Me a Christian
Love Everyday: Thoughts On Loving Amidst the Chaos of Life (an awesome and totally FREE collaborative e-book)
I’m Digging This Place, Now What?
If you think you’d fit in here and enjoy reading more stuff from me and some talented guest-posters, I’d strongly encourage you to sign up to have new posts sent to you (for free) to read at your convenience. You can have these delivered right to your Email or RSS news feed reader. You can read more about these options at our Don’t Miss a Thing page.
Aside from the blog, you can connect with me and other great members of our community on the Engaged Marriage Facebook page and on Twitter.
And always feel free to contact me at any time. I love to receive feedback, suggestions, questions and proposals for high-quality and original guest posts.
Welcome to our community! We are happy you are here.
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What a great community!
.-= Samantha @ Mama Notes´s last blog ..Party Hat =-.
Thank you, Samantha. I’m glad you are part of it!
Hey Dustin,
Congrats on the guest post, I imagine this will mean huge things for your site and a whole new influx of readers and traffic. Wishing you nothing but the best!
.-= DJ Wetzel´s last blog ..It’s All About The Angle… =-.
Thanks, DJ! I’m most excited about the potential the guest post brings for building new relationships long-term…although short-term traffic is great, too! Thanks for your well wishes and continued support.
P.S. – I responded to your comment on Problogger…along with EVERY other comment!
Dustin,
I haven’t commented much, but have totally enjoyed reading your blog. I appreciate it so much because the focus is on family, specifically building a better Christian marriage, which in turn can lead to a stronger family. Your blog is one of the few I subscribe to.
Congratulations on your post at Problogger. That is another cool place where I like to hang out.
.-= Jennifer @ Milk & Honey Mommy´s last blog ..You’ve Got My Attention =-.
Thank you so much, Jennifer. I have had several people tell me that they aren’t the “blog subscriber” type, but they have chosen to sign up for updates from Engaged Marriage nonetheless. That really means a lot to me, and I greatly appreciate your attention and time…even if you don’t comment much. 🙂
I enjoy reading it too!
.-= Louise´s last blog ..The Prayers are Working =-.
And I enjoy having you be here as part of our community, too, Louise!
By the way, thanks again for your support of Improve Yourself! 2010. It was a very worthwhile and enjoyable challenge, and it wouldn’t have been possible without generous support from sponsors like you.
I loved your post on Problogger today! There are some points on there that I definitely need to take to heart! I look forward to reading more of what you have to say – but it’ll have to wait. I need to get some sleep! LOL
Oh, and I noticed you’re in Illinois. Me, too. I’m a lifer – how about you? I love it here – even with political scandals galore! LOL
Have a blessed day!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Five Question Friday =-.
Thanks so much, Heather! It’s been a chaotic but really fun last few days. I’m glad you enjoyed the post and found your way here. Welcome!
And yep, I’m a lifetime Illinoisan. I grew up about an hour north of St. Louis in farm country (around Jerseyville, IL) and we now live about 20 miles east of St. Louis in Glen Carbon. I don’t think we’ll ever leave, unless the state just goes totally bankrupt. 🙂
I’ll definitely be back to read more! 🙂 thanks for a great blog!
As for Illinois, what a small world! My mother-in-law’s family is from the Mt. Vernon area. In fact, my in-laws live there now. So, I’m guessing you’re pretty close to them. My brother-in-law just moved near there, too – he’s stationed at Scott AFB. My husband and I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, but now live in Moline. We, too, love it here! 🙂
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Five Question Friday =-.
How cool, Heather! We live about an hour from Mt. Vernon, and I know several people who work at Scott AFB (that’s about 25 minutes away). It sounds like you’re living the good life in the Quad Cities. 🙂
Wow, what a small world! 🙂
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Quick Reminder =-.
Oops! I meant to add that I think it’s really cool that you actually respond to comments! 🙂 Thank you!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Five Question Friday =-.
Yeah, I kind of love comments. 😉 BTW, I just followed you on Twitter!
Yeah, comments are fun! 🙂 Thanks for the follow. I’ll have to return the favor! 😉
Have a blessed day!
.-= Heather´s last blog ..Quick Reminder =-.
Dustin, well done my man!
It’s Gerry here from Down Under! I’m a fellow traveller like you, I have a great wife, 5 girls and a boy.
Love your work! Stay focussed, you are doing a lot of good for many people!
I know I am preaching to the converted, but just remember always put your wife first!
Thanks, Gerry! I really appreciate the encouragement, my man. And we can all use a steady reminder to keep our priorities straight. God, wife, kids in that order for me.
Oh, and I forgot to say it was a great post at Problogger. Good on you!
.-= Gerry Faehrmann – YourLawnAndGarden´s last blog ..6 Lawn Care Marketing Tools That Attract Lots of Customers =-.
Thanks again, Gerry. I really enjoyed writing it, and of course I was THRILLED when Darren said he’d like to include it on Problogger. I’m meeting some fantastic people (like you) as a result.
Hey Dustin,
Congratulations on the guest post! I think it is great to see success in such a short period of time. It wasn’t long ago that you started this blog, and you have a great community here.
Keep up the good work!
Tim
Thanks so much, Tim! Yeah, it’s been a little over 6 months since Engaged Marriage was born. It has honestly went by so fast, but I agree that the community that has rallied around this site during that time is pretty remarkable.
I have no doubts that your own parenting site will be enjoying much success in the months to come!
I just read your guest post and thought it was great. Congrats on being featured. That’s a huge step!
.-= Living with Balls´s last blog ..A Solution to the Unemployment Crisis =-.
Thanks, LWB! I was a bit shocked that Darren accepted the post given the sheer number of requests that he receives. It is a very exciting step in the blogging world! 🙂
I’m actually curious about how you went about approaching him for a guest post. Did you just pitch an idea to him and then write it or did you write the story out first and hope he would like it. I’d like to try my luck too so I wanted to find out the best approach.
.-= Living with Balls´s last blog ..A Solution to the Unemployment Crisis =-.
LWB, the short story is I simply created the best post possible and sent it to Darren. Before I could send it to him, I had to send a message through his Contact Form requesting his email address. He responded promptly and said go ahead and send the guest post, but cautioned me that he receives many each week but can only use a few.
I sent the post along with a brief “promotion” of why I felt his audience would find it uniquely valuable. He responded in about a week and said he liked it and would use it. That’s when the cheering began! 🙂
Now, I need to throw something else in that I feel may have helped. I’ve never had any direct contact with Darren. However, I’ve recently been involved in a FANTASTIC membership forum that was created by him, Chris Brogan as well as Sonia and Brian Clark from Copyblogger.
I let him know that I was an active member in the Third Tribe community, and I have to think that really helped my chances (though he never said so). It really is an awesome resource with access to some incredible folks, but it has a monthly fee. If you are interested, you can check it out through my affiliate link here: https://www.engagedmarriage.com/thirdtribe
Good luck to you! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for the advice Dustin. I’ll check it out!
.-= Living with Balls´s last blog ..A Solution to the Unemployment Crisis =-.
great blog, will follow and see where you take us
.-= wedding photographers in Orlando´s last blog ..Cristina & Ryan’s Engagement Photography at the Portofino Hotel in Orlando, FL =-.
Thanks, and welcome!
Great blog Dustin! I really enjoy the truthful and realistic approach you take towards marriage and family life. Keep up the good work and I will certainly be back to read more. As a husband of a year and a half and a soon-to-be father, I’m sure you’ll have many more articles that I can relate to. I look forward to reading more!
Thanks so much, RJ! Welcome to our community, and I certainly look forward to interacting with you often here. I’m a soon be father, too, except for the third time. 🙂