Blogger's Corner with Heidi from Southern Mummy

The 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 Heidi from Southern Mummy.

1 Introduce yourself

Hi, I’m Heidi and I am Mummy to Finlay aged 4 and baby Emmeline. I would like to say I’m in my early 30’s but my recent birthday has now firmly placed me in the mid 30’s!

I like tea, love cake and absolutely ADORE chocolate.

I procrastinate far too much, forget nearly everything but somehow I am doing alright at this parenting malarkey…I say alright loosely, we haven’t had many injuries this week.

2 Tell us a little bit about your blog

I actually started blogging just over 4 years ago, when I didn’t even really know what blogging was.

Finlay was born with Flat Head Syndrome and it was so severe we had to pay for private medical treatment as the NHS don’t fund it. I began blogging to raise awareness and fundraise for his treatment. It was so niche specific and I was so inexperienced that when I returned to work I just didn’t know where to go with it.

I realised how much I missed blogging and after a couple of false starts ‘Southern Mummy’ was born.

It’s very much a general parenting blog focused on raising kids between the ages of 0 -5 which will expand as my children grow. I still have pages dedicated to Flat Head Syndrome and still promote awareness on my blog.

I am also a bit money savvy, so I also like to share my money saving tips too.

3 What can your readers learn from your blog?

I hope that my readers can learn who the real me is. That I’m not a perfect parent and I don’t pretend to be.

Parenting is hard work. I find it difficult. I have no time, no money, and no perfect Instagram photos. But that doesn’t make me a bad parent and I hope my readers can relate to this, we all do great jobs.

So I will be sharing my parenting tips and experiences, the good, the bad and the ugly. What I have found works, and what I found hasn’t.

I also hope I can help my readers stretch those pennies further.

4 What’s your favourite thing about blogging?

There’s so many.

I think if I had to choose one, it would be the fabulous support network from fellow bloggers whether it be blogging related or personal. There is always someone online ready to help.

5 And your least favourite thing about blogging?

I get very bad mummy guilt. Although I’m on maternity leave from my main job, I do work on my blog part time, obviously from home.

It pulls on my heart strings if I am working and Finlay wants me to play with him. I do try and make sure though if I work for a few hours, we do something nice together after.

6 Tell us one random fact about you

I have a pea head, seriously my head is so small, I measured my head not long ago when we were fitting cycle helmets and my head was about 2cm bigger than Finlay’s – he’s 4. I fit in all his hats and I have to buy children’s glasses because my face is little too.

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

I would say my children but when they are 25 I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate that.

I think I would have to blog about chocolate, I love chocolate, most people love chocolate and I’m sure there’s so many things you can do with chocolate, that a blog could run forever and ever.

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

For me it was having the confidence to write. I didn’t do well at school in English and I was told I had great work and then got graded far below a pass on numerous occasions.

The fact was I had great ideas and concepts, I just couldn’t express them. It wasn’t until University where I was diagnosed with Dyslexia, that I realised why I struggled.

So, I love to write, but I can find it difficult and I lack confidence in my abilities.

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

Go and read You Baby Me Mummy – Aby is amazing and has helped me loads. I wished I knew about her site when I started out. It’s packed full of loads of good advice and she even offers some free courses.

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

Yes, create an email list. I have recently learned that a lot of people may like your blog and visit but then not make it back again. If you have an email list you can keep your blog in their minds.

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

I would love for my blog to grow enough for me to start earning a small living from it.

If I could match what I earn, minus the childcare I wouldn’t hesitate handing my notice in. I would love to work from home, who knows maybe one day 🙂

12 Who’s your blogging hero?

Benjamin Brooks Dutton from Life as a widower. What an amazing guy, I really admire that at the worst time in his life, he broke the mould and started up a dad blog and what he has gone on to achieve from that is awesome.

I can’t even imagine going through what he went through, but to come out the other side with his little boy, wow inspiring. I wish him all the best with his new ventures.

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

I love Twitter, it’s so quick and easy and I do love a good GIF.

14 Anything else you want to share with us?

I’m a friendly gal, if you wanna chat or anything just contact me on my email or social media, I love a good natter. We can eat cake and drink tea over a virtual chat.

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

Blogger’s Corner with Heidi from Southern Mummy

2 Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply