Welcome to the Blogger Spotlight Interview. This week we have The Improving Mum taking part in the Blogger Spotlight interview.
If you would like to take part, and your blog is under six months old, or has been re-launched in the last six months, please email me randommusings29@gmail.com
1 Firstly, tell us a little bit about yourself
I am a twenty-something first-time Mum to a 13 month old boy. Having recently moved (more about that later), our circumstances changed dramatically and rather than needing to go back to work after 9 months when my maternity pay ended, I am now a stay-at-home Mum.
While this is absolutely precious time I didn’t think I would get to share with my boy it was also very unexpected, and after always earning my own money since I was 15 years old it has been quite a strange transition.
2 What is your blog’s name and what is it about?
My blog is called The Improving Mum.
It’s about my journey into motherhood, which isn’t always a smooth one, and building our new life.
We moved to the Isle of Man, where my husband is from, in February. It’s been a huge change of lifestyle for me, and the blog is also exploring the good and the bad parts of this change and island life.
3 Why did you decide to start a blog?
When I became a stay-at-home Mum I didn’t feel comfortable with that being “all” I was. I found that I was losing my identity to motherhood and needed something for myself.
I have also been suffering with social anxiety and wanted something to encourage me to keep moving forward, get out the house and have another purpose in life.
Motherhood is the most incredible experience I have ever had, and I wouldn’t change it for anything, but it can also be relentless and all-consuming. It’s very easy to get sucked in and become quite insular and isolated, especially when you’ve just moved to a place where you have no friends and don’t know what’s going on.
That’s where my blog comes in. It gives me another focus and a sense of worth away from being Mum.
4 Do you have any goals for your blog?
When I created The Improving Mum I was just doing it for myself, but recently I was contacted by a lady in a similar position to myself who told me how isolating she has found moving to the Isle of Man as a young mother not knowing anyone.
My goal now is to work on creating a support network for people in a similar situation. The details are still a bit hazy, but keep an eye on the blog to see how it all comes together over the next few months.
5 Tell us one random fact about you
I used to work in the music industry, and a rider I bought for a well-known artist, and set out very methodically, once appeared in the background of a scene of The Voice.
6 What is the best piece of blog related advice you have received so far?
If you don’t love it, don’t do it.
I blog because I like writing, I find the process very cathartic and it makes me feel like I’ve achieved something.
The day it becomes a chore is the day I will stop, but I can’t see that happening any time soon.
7 What is your favourite thing about blogging?
Having an outlet for my thoughts and emotions and feeling like by writing it down and putting it out there I might be able to help someone in a similar situation to myself.
8 Is there anything you would do differently if you were starting over knowing what you know now?
I would not rush in to making the blog live. For the first couple of months it looked pretty awful, I struggled for content and I had no real idea what direction I was going in with it.
I wish I had given it a lot more thought, decided on my niche, got the blog looking professional and pretty and had a few posts under my belt.
9 Anything else you’d like to share with us?
Blogging is definitely a constant learning curve and it’s still most definitely a work in progress, but if there is anyone out there who resonated with anything I’ve written and wants some support or just a sympathetic ear then please feel free to get in touch.
10 Where can we find you? (blog link and links to any social media)
Blog:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/theimprovingmum
Twitter: http://twitter.com/theimprovingmum
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