Welcome back to our Wise Words Wednesday feature. Today we have the lovely Kate from How To Survive Motherhood sharing her blogging journey.
Although she may be a new blogger her site is amazing and has a great source of information for all mums so make sure you head over and take a look.
Time to hand over to Kate:
Tell us a little bit about you & your blog:
I’m Kate and I blog at www.howtosurvivemotherhood.co.uk. I’m a newbie blogger but already love it and am so excited to be able to write about the things that are important to me.
I’m a mother of three; reader of trashy sci-fi novels; lover of chocolate and drinker of wine. Over the years I’ve battled and recovered from depression, anxiety and anorexia, all of which has made me passionate about raising awareness of and supporting people with mental health issues. I have training in coaching and couples psychotherapy, was a student nurse for a year and, in my previous life, worked in finance for nearly 18 years!
All of which means that I am a passionate blogger who draws on both my personal and professional knowledge to offer support, advice and inspiration to my readers. Not only have I been down some of the darkest roads of motherhood (so know exactly what it feels like), but I’ve got the professional skill set to help others out of it too.
How to survive motherhood aims to help women know that they are not alone if they are struggling (with any aspect of motherhood) and hopes to tackle some of the more challenging problems that mums can face. I love writing about mental health issues, relationship problems and body image issues so if any of these are affecting you, you’ll find everything you need on the blog! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and see random pictures of my kids on Instagram.
What inspired you to start blogging?
I started blogging as a creative outlet after I had baby number 3 last year but very quickly fell in love with it. I want to use my blog to help as many mums as possible to feel better about themselves and it always makes me feel amazing when I hear from mums who have found what I write useful.
Motherhood can be a lonely place, especially when things aren’t going as well as you want. It can be hard to feel confident in the decisions you make. There’s a lot of judgement and having a baby can change so many aspects of your life that it’s almost impossible to prepare for it! I wanted to start my blog to provide somewhere that women can go to get information, support and encouragement on all areas of motherhood, but particularly those that don’t get talked about much or are more serious.
What has been your highlight of blogging?
When I started my blog I literally knew nothing about anything! Whilst it’s been massively frustrating and overwhelming at times, the highlight of blogging definitely has to be seeing it all come together and knowing that I made it happen. It feels amazing to post up a new article each time and then share it with my followers knowing I’ve created something that they enjoy reading.
Is there anything you have learnt about blogging which you wish you knew when you started out?
I wish I’d put more thought into what type of blog I wanted to write and who it was for. My suggestion to anyone starting a blog would be to get very clear on what you want out of it and know what your niche is. It also helps to know your style – do you want to be humorous? Light hearted? Or provide help for serious problems. Make sure it fits with who you are though as it’s important to write from the heart so that you can connect with your ideal readers.
Bloggers sometimes get a lot of stick however many work really hard and are reaping the rewards, what has been the most rewarding part of blogging for you?
There a lots of elements that I’ve found rewarding. On a professional level it’s been getting great feedback and compliments on my writing and blog. On a personal level it’s been having an outlet that I can use to be creative and know I’m helping other women just like me. It can also be a lot of fun!
What would be your 1 tip you would give all new bloggers starting out?
Just do it. It’s so easy to start a blog nowadays that if anyone is thinking of doing it they should just go for it. You can tweak, amend and evolve your blog as you go along so just jump in feet first and give it a go!
Who do you find inspiring to read/watch in the blogging world?
I find it inspiring to see people who have really successful blogs (primarily as it gives me hope that I can be that successful too!). I’ve also been inspired by the amount of encouragement, support and friendliness in the blogging community too. I love humorous blogs though, especially ones that are brutally honest about the realities of parenting. My favourites are http://stolensleep.com/ and https://themumconundrum.com/.
Lastly – do you have any big plans/dreams for your blog in the next 12 months?
Huge plans! Despite having 3 children and getting zero sleep I’ve set myself a goal of writing a book (on how to survive motherhood, what else!), launching my new How to feel sexy in big knickers online coaching course plus developing 2 more, building a mahoosive social media following by shamelessly stalking people until they like me and just generally throwing myself into the whole blogging thing so that I can get out there and make a difference to as many mums as possible!
