Babynistadiaries came to life just days after I arrived home from the hospital with my oldest son. Recovering from a C-section and a roller coaster of emotions, I was in bed watching TV while he was napping (when I should have been sleeping too, lol) and suddenly I picked up my laptop and began writing about everything that was happening to me as I embarked on my journey into motherhood.
“I would love to share these experiences with other new moms.”
As I went back and read through what I wrote, not only was it therapeutic for me to get my emotions out, but I also thought to myself, I would love to share these experiences with other new moms. It gave me great pride to be thrust into the community of mothers and I wanted to feel that I belonged and was worthy of this greatest of gifts.
Soon my thoughts transitioned from sharing funny anecdotes about having to change a dirty diaper while walking the aisles of Target (Tar-jay) and all the various baby milestones to sharing my passion and thoughts about fashion. This time it was a bit different because I decided to focus on how one could find the latest style trends for babies, toddlers, and big kids. Of course, the fact that I had become an avid online shopper while being on maternity leave helped further fuel my passion and develop ideas for my blog, not to mention also made packages appear on our doorstep multiple times a week.
Writing has not always come easy for me. As a matter of fact I used to dread it. Being thrust into my first PR position, and much later various communications roles in my full-time career, soon made me discover that writing was in fact very therapeutic for me and something that came easy. I still hope to write a book, perhaps a children’s story, but in the meantime, I am trying to find the balance between developing social media strategies for a popular consumer goods manufacturer and being mommy to my two amazing sons as well as wife to the best husband in the world.
How you can differentiate yourself?
If someone asked me how to start a blog I would first say do as much research as you can to determine where your blog can fit and tell a story that will resonate with your desired audience. Are there other blogs that cover the same content? If so, determine how you can differentiate yourself, and how to create content that will not only be a joy to share but also interesting and exciting for your audience.
If organization is not one of your strengths, find the best system that works for you that can help your writing routine. If you’re anything like me you’re constantly looking for inspiration and thinking of things that would be of interest to share given the theme of your blog. When ideas come to me, being organized enables me to capture the important key information, especially if I’m not able to draft a post at that moment. Stay in the know about what is trending when it comes to the topics related to your blog, and also stay up to date on current events, too. Perhaps my PR/media background plays into this, but both news and pop culture events can sometimes aid you in finding inspiration for your next blog post.
I try to plan as far in advance as possible in terms of what I’m going to write about. Not only does it help me organize my thoughts, but once I place my planned content in my monthly editorial calendar, it helps provide a snapshot for the time period in which I need to write and frees up time once my posts are written to research trending topics that may be relevant to my blog and audience that I may not have considered or planned for while drafting my calendar. As a busy working mom, I don’t always have free time to hide away and write, especially as my youngest approaches a milestone birthday in which babies are said to act a bit wild so the more I can plan ahead is a very good thing. It also allows me to go back and review my posts to make sure they’re well thought out and most importantly, make sense.
Follow other bloggers and don’t be afraid to join blog communities to meet new people who share similar content and interests. It’s always nice to reach outside your comfort zone and existing network to read and hear other people’s inspiring success stories, especially in moments when you may feel your blog isn’t where you want it to be. Don’t get down on yourself; stay confident no matter what obstacles or challenges may come your way.
Don’t overextend yourself because you don’t want to burn out attempting to maintain your social media channels.
Once you’ve created your blog, don’t forget to enhance your online presence and audience experience by adding additional social networks relevant to your content like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. Don’t try to be all things to all people, focus on what you do best and again, plan your content. Don’t overextend yourself because you don’t want to burn out attempting to maintain these channels; start small and monitor audience engagement and build from there.
I am thankful to have discovered a passion for business and fashion, that I didn’t know I had for the longest time. If it hadn’t been for becoming a mom, I don’t know if Babynistadiaries would exist today. I can honestly say it’s been an interesting experience and I hope to be able to continue to evolve both as a blogger and social media professional.
Good luck and don’t be afraid to follow your dreams!