Pro-Mom or Pro-Blogger? Why do we have to choose? I think I can be a great mother, and still run a blog as a professional business. Maybe the issue comes up because many women bloggers started as stay-at-home moms who just wanted contact with the outside world, unaware of where it could lead. However, I specifically created Feedindy (now Inexpensively) as a business. It takes a lot of time & effort to organize sales, write daily articles and track deals. I love what I do, and I love helping people, but it takes way too much time to do it for free.
I am comfortable with my work-at-home title. I get to be here, present in my children’s lives, free to create flex time in my work schedule to attend field trips, assist with class parties and accompany my youngest on playdates & library events. I work in the mornings, in between playing Barbies, refereeing board games and donning my own tiara for the fashion show. I work in the afternoons during the ever-decreasing naptime, and I work at night after the children are tucked into bed.
I work less than 8 hours per day, plus I get to fit my time into our schedule. The saying “You can have it all, just not at the same time.” is partly true. It’s important to find a good balance—I have high hopes that the Blissdom schedule is going to help me get better at that! It is also important to know what your goal is with blogging. Do you blog for fun, connection, a desire to help others or for the freebies & income it could provide? Of course, we can all use a little extra cash but if that wasn’t the motivation for your blog, then don’t get sidetracked trying to make it happen.
Every person, business and even blog should have a mission statement. Define who you are, what you will do and how you plan to accomplish it. Define three, specific things you plan to do with your blog, then concisely state how you will get them done. For example, I am a married mother of three beautiful, active girls who have created in me a Montessori mom, Scout mom, allergy mom and avid coupon clipper. I share deals and tips at Inexpensively and report progress on learning to be a grown-up here at Just Heather. I’ll tell my darkest secrets, share my hopes and dreams and dish on my favorite things, but I promise to tell you no lies. We’ll laugh, we’ll cry, and I’m hoping, in the end, we’ll be friends.
You now know exactly who I am, and I’ve told you that on this blog you’ll learn my hopes & dreams, find the occasional product review and that I’m looking to make friends. Of course, the mission statement for this blog leaves it wide open—and that’s exactly the point! Just Heather is a personal blog, a journal of sorts. It’s been various things over the last 6 years, but mostly it’s just my little corner of the web to scrapbook my life. The content may change as my life does, but the purpose of my blog is still clearly defined. Inexpensively also has a definitive mission statement, but it’s completely different because its goals and motivation are completely different.
The Inexpensively network provides a whole lifestyle concept for savings. We compile weekly lists for grocery store deals, suggest ideas on living your life for less, offer tips on finding the best savings and encourage our community to be charitable even on a budget. We connect a network of individuals from around the country to provide families with the most up to date and accurate savings tools in their own communities. In short, we encourage families to maximize their budgets so they can use some of their savings to help improve their neighborhood.
I challenge you to create a mission statement for your blog. Use it in your bio, showcase it on your Facebook Page and come back here to share it with me—but, most importantly, let it help you decide if what you’re doing with your blog is what you should be doing! If an opportunity, article or topic comes up that doesn’t fit into your mission statement, it probably doesn’t belong on your blog.
My blogging life has changed quite a bit since I started. I wrote about everything and anything. Then I started thinking of my blog as more of a column, as opposed to a diary. I still share some personal stories of overcoming adversity or of hope for a better tomorrow, but mostly, I try to inform and entertain. A lot can fall into that, so I’ve narrowed that down to food, fun, and travel. I don’t specifically talk about parenting because that’s woven in all that I do. My entire life is built around being a mom, so I don’t feel the need to separate that out. I feel like if I even say, Oh yeah, I also write about parenting, then I’m automatically setting that apart. When people ask what I do, I give them a funny little smirk and say…
I’m a princess.
This is a wonderful response, and bloggers takes on this will really vary based on the age of children and whether they are at home or not during the day. Her article is coming from a mom who has all small children at home 24/7 . I don’t think it’s possible to achieve everything we “want” as a Pro mom and Pro-blogger since we are in a constant battle with that computer time vs. needing to spend time with the kids. I agree that you can do both well ( I think I do), but there’s always a next step that I could be taken with my blog and I realize it’s just not possible when I have children at home. So, our goal? Write a great blog, and be an exceptional mom, while attempting that ever delicate balance. 🙂
I started my blog on a bit of a challenge, a dare, a whim. I’m not certain I have any real purpose. It’s my journal, it’s a place to work things out, maybe inspire others, make friends, and just share a slice of our little spot in the gigantic world. I keep thinking I’ll stumble into some niche, find something lacking elsewhere that I can offer with a unique spin, find something I can write about or share in a special and directed way. But… I’m just me and I just write about my family, my thoughts, my observations.
I started blogging in April with a newborn, 2 year old and 11 year old that I homeschool. I started it not to make money, but for fun. Then, when I discovered that I could make money AND stay home full-time with my kids through blogging, I became a work at home mom. It is challenging to balance working at home, but so rewarding. I love being with my girls. I get up very early before anyone else to work on my blog. I also stay up late every night working. Sometimes I am able to work during naps as well. As my blog has grown, I have realized I can’t do everything. I make sure to set limits on when I am working. I look at what I need to accomplish for the day and set 1-2 hours to work on each project. I have found that I can work so much more quickly when it is quiet and my kids are sleeping, and then when they are awake, I am able to devote my time to them.
I love the idea of writing a mission statement. I have been thinking about this recently. My blog deals with coupons, freebies, and budget saving deals. I occasionally mention my family in my blog as well, just so it is more personable & because I want to. (-:
I enjoyed your post!
Ever since Blissdom last year, I’ve struggled with my blog’s mission. Until then, I was happy with what my blog was to me – a place to express myself and to explore the things that were important to me. It wasn’t until Blissdom that I realized other mom bloggers were striving for so much more, that blogging could be a business. Naive, I know, but I was in a bubble. For the next few months I was stressing myself (and my readers!) out by trying to be something I wasn’t – by trying to create a niche that wasn’t there, by thinking more about branding myself than being true to myself. It wasn’t until I sat down to create an About Me page (thanks to prompts by Pro Blogger – how ironic is that?), that I realized those things, that particular track, isn’t me or my blog. I don’t look down on those that choose that path for their blogs. In fact, some of those very blogs add so much richness and value to my life. But it’s not right for me. I won’t lie, I would love the perks that come along with having a more well-known, professional blog. I’d roll around in those freebies and pack my suitcase with abandon for a free trip. And still, I’m content with my blog and its mission: Just Like The Number is everything I love – motherhood, marriage, family, food, photography and home – reflected upon and written about honestly.
Love this post! My blog is a work in progress but it’s mostly me dishing out HOPE and HILARITY as I figure out what to do with my life. I am planning to work on my vision using the guidelines your suggest. Thanks.