5 Reasons Why I LOVE Blogging so Much And You Can Too
“A blog is only as interesting as the interest shown in others .” - Lee Odden
Today, I want to share with you 5 reasons why I love blogging so much and you can too…
It’s my creative outlet and the place where I can share what I know, love and can help other mums with…
Being a stay at home for almost 10 years now, I knew when my maternity leave ended, I just couldn’t face going back to work and leaving my baby with someone else!
I don’t know whether that’s you and you feel the same way, but it literally gave me anxiety.
The thought of it made me feel sick to my stomach…
That’s when I decided that I needed to find something I could do from home, around my baby…
I had heard of “making money online” way back in 2008, but never really looked into it or thought much about it.
I was working my 9-5 (and often way more hours) office job and just went about my life, but the possibility of making an income online stayed in the back of my mind.
This is where my whole online journey began…
Since the day I had my first son, my almost 10 year “online” escapade has not been an easy one and I want to stress that I haven’t been blogging for all of those years.
BUT… that’s not because blogging is rubbish, or that it doesn’t work! It’s because I was focused on other ways of making money online, some of which worked, a lot that didn’t and many that just didn’t feel right and certainly weren’t sustainable.
I actually lost my way a bit online for a few years, but I knew in my heart that blogging was the way forward (even though having a blog is hard) and so I steered my way back to it and stopped all the other things I was doing.
I’ve had other blogs before this one (a few in fact) which is how I learnt exactly what to do and what not to do with my blog, however, none of them gave me fire in my belly.
Blogging for Mums is my utter passion and I am completely devoted to this blog.
I wake up every day excited to share content and all the knowledge I have with you, so that you can start and grow a blog around your own family.
Nothing makes me happier than knowing I’m helping other mums build a better life for themselves – which is exactly what having a blog is all about…
“This post does contain affiliate links throughout and if you make a purchase using one of my links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you”
#1 - Blogging gives me a Purpose
There’s nothing like being a mum.
From the minute you hold that tiny baby in your arms, your life is never the same again…
Your world is tipped upside down and you spend most of your time in a zombie like state, trying to remember when you last had a shower!
This is pretty much how it is for weeks and months and it’s so easy to lose the person you were before having your baby.
As I said above, I knew that I couldn’t go back to work and miss out on all the cute things my baby boy was doing.
I brought this baby into the world and all I wanted to do was be around him, cuddle him and be there for his every need…
I didn’t want to miss his first steps, his first words or any of the milestones he’d go through, but I also wanted to have something else in my life other than baby puke and endless nappy changes every day.
I needed a purpose for myself. Something to keep my brain active and free from going to mush and that I could be proud of.
Something for me!
My main purpose now and for the next 18+ years at least was to be a mum, but that didn’t have to mean I ONLY had to be a mum.
I had ambitions and dreams and I still wanted some kind of way to earn an income and fulfil part of the old life I had.
That life back when I was working at my office job, surrounded by co-workers and friends may have been long gone, but blogging gave me that purpose back.
I no longer felt so lonely, left out and like the world around me was living their lives, while I was trying to stop my baby from crying every 5 minutes
Having a blog gave me a way to communicate with other mummy’s and bloggers.
It’s such a sisterhood of other women going through the same things you are and experiencing the same feelings as you too.
I had no idea when starting out how many stay at home mums loved being home, but craved some kind of way to express themselves, make a bit of money and feel a bit more human again during this crazy rollercoaster ride called motherhood.
So if you’re in this situation, where you’re home taking care of your baby and you’re feeling isolated, alone and like nobody understands you – I hear you, I understand you and I get you mama…
Starting a mummy blog could be – no correction – WILL BE the BEST thing you ever did because it will tackle all of those things and much more…
You deserve to be a fantastic mum AND have something to call your own and make you feel like YOU again. I believe a blog is exactly that thing for you lovely:)
#2 It gives me the Freedom to work when I want, where I want and around my children
The freedom blogging brings is like no other “job” I’ve ever had and I don’t even feel like it’s work, because I love it so, so much!
I mean it is work, of course it is and to be honest, I know for a fact I’ve racked up more hours blogging during the week than a typical 9-5, but that’s because I’m fuelled by pure, raw passion for what I do.
With a blog, it’s so easy for time to slip away from you…
The difference is – I get to work when I want and when I can – around my children. I’m not restricted to a certain timeframe…
That being said, I’ve also overdone it many, many times in the past, especially when my boys were babies and toddlers and oh how I’ve learned!
I burnt the candle at both ends, worked all kinds of ridiculous hours, too many hours and then tried to take care of two demanding little ones under 2…
I exhausted myself, burnt myself out and had no energy whatsoever… this is the wrong way to blog and I know that now, but I was trying to get ahead of myself and stay on track with everything, but it ended up being at great detriment to my health and happiness all round!
This is when I was like “what are you doing Leah”, the whole reason you didn’t go back to your J.O.B was because you wanted to stay home and take care of your baby and NOT feel like you’re working, working, working whilst trying to be a mum…
You wanted your main focus to be your beautiful baby boy…
But here I was overworking and doing exactly what I would have been doing if I’d gone back to my office job, except my office was now my dining room table and my co-worker was my baby (albeit a very distracting one – in a good way).
Being a mum yourself, you know how demanding it is – the never ending “I’m hungry” words that come out of your children’s mouths, the sleep it deprives you from and the constant to do lists, play dates and appointments…
Mums are superheroes and that’s all there is to it!
Blogging is amazing for the freedom it brings because you can work around your family life – no matter what that may look like.
You can work mornings, afternoons, evenings or a bit of all three. You can take your child to football practice and still get in a bit of blogging time after if you want to.
Whenever you work best and the times you can get the most done, this is when you work.
It doesn’t matter if it’s an hour, 2 hours or longer, working when you can is how you build your blog.
Blogging is a long game and if you know that, then it takes the pressure off for you to enjoy the journey and the time it takes to grow.
Blogging isn’t to be rushed, so take your time, enjoy the process and work when you’re most productive and can achieve the most with that time.
A brand new blog can take at least 6 months to a year to get any real traction and that’s if you’re being consistent with publishing content and working really hard…
But nothing worth having comes without hard work!
So what does freedom look like in blogging?
Freedom comes in many forms and is different for each of us.
We all interpret freedom differently. For some that’s financially while for others it’s for happiness or well being…
Freedom to work when you want brings many of these:
Freedom to be your own boss
Freedom to share and express yourself
Freedom to connect with like minded women and mums
Financial Freedom
Freedom to create a life YOU want
#3 It scratches my Creative itch...
The great thing about blogging is you can be really creative!
If you love designing pin images and graphics, then you get to do a lot of this when it comes to your blog.
I’ve created so many graphics using Canva (my absolute fave designing tool) and I just got awarded a certificate for reaching 1500 designs already lol!
I love it when my scheduled time for social graphic creation or pin image creation comes around.
I get to go a bit wild with my imagination and create some awesome designs!
Most of these designs end up on my Pinterest account.
Unless you work in graphic design, there’s not many workplaces where you get to be so inventive with your creative side, but blogging is one…
It’s not just graphics you get to be creative with though, you can design printables, call to action sign up forms, landing pages, blog posts, pages, products and courses. The list is endless as to what you can do and produce.
You can even make your blog look as colourful and unique as you want (within reason, as you don’t want to go too crazy).
Everyday is different and you can do what you want when you want, which is totally awesome…
When your attention is on being creative with your blog and not making money, driving traffic or worrying constantly about failing – you’ll enjoy it so much more.
#4 It provides many ways to make money
If you talk to a lot of mummy bloggers, they’ll tell you that their blogs started out as hobby’s and a place where they could share their thoughts and feelings.
It was an outlet for them to vent and overcome loneliness and isolation.
But from that, their blogs turned into a place where they were earning an income and some of them – a LOT of money…
It isn’t the norm so to speak that all bloggers make tons of money. It takes a lot of time, effort and consistency to grow a blog to this stage, but it can absolutely be done.
With this blog, I’m only at the beginning of my journey to making a substantial amount of money.
As mums with limited time on our side (at least when our kids are very young) it can take a year or two to generate enough traffic to your blog to see big money coming in.
It may take you a lot less time…
The way I see it is this – if you’re starting a blog to make money, you’re in the wrong business.
Making money should not be your main focus with your blog. Your focus should be on helping people, writing great content and giving as much value as you can.
If you do this consistently, the money will come to you.
So with that being said, there are several ways your blog can generate income.
I’m not going to go into them, I’m just going to list down the ways so you’re aware of them.
Affiliate Marketing – promoting other peoples products/services.
Ads on your blog - showing ads on your site via an ad agency.
Offer Services – such as copywriting, graphic design etc.
Create products – digital or physical.
With the above income generators, you could have several money making streams, all stemming from your blog – each making you money…
I don’t have ads on my blog, as personally, I find they take away from the experience of reading my posts.
However, I may do in the future and I know plenty of blogs that do have them; TwinsMommy being one. Her blog has ads and I don’t even notice them..
This is when you know a blogger is creating amazing content, because you don’t really notice the ads!
So with that information, blogging is definitely a great way to earn a side income and it can even go above and beyond and earn you a full time income, replacing job salaries and more… but remember to focus on helping and giving value first and foremost.
#5 I can help other Mums start and grow a Blog
I wanted to end on this one because it’s the reason that keeps me motivated day in day out when blogging.
I can’t express how much I love writing blog posts and sharing content that can help other mums start, grow and make money from their blogs…
It’s such a passion and my biggest mission…
When you’re blogging, always have in your mind the person you’re wanting to help.
If it’s the mum who’s just given birth and needs help to feel less overwhelmed – make sure your content is talking to her in a way that touches and resonates with her. Make sure you’re giving her tips to feel less overwhelmed, stressed and frustrated. Be there for her.
I don’t think people realise how much a blog can be there and help someone, if it has the right content and talks about the pain points, struggles and things that matter.
So some quick tips to make sure you’re helping people with your blog:
What does your target audience want and need? Give this to them.
Create freebies so that readers can join your email list and get even more great content.
Give as much value as you can in everything you produce.
Reply to comments people leave on your blog.
Give praise to other bloggers in your niche and support each other.
Be authentic, real and don’t be scared to show vulnerability. In today’s over saturated online world, all people want are genuine human beings that they can trust, understand and be aligned with.
Blogging can not only change your life, but other people’s lives too!
When your helping people with the blog posts and social media posts you put out there, you’re making a difference.
It may not feel like it to start with, but over time and the more blog posts you write and publish, you’ll help more and more people.
Each post you publish pushes you forward into your blog becoming more well known and successful.
Helping more people turns into more traffic, authority and money!
That’s it for this post…
I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing the reasons why I love blogging so much!
You can see how much blogging alongside being a mum is so great and rewarding, both for you and your readers.
