Blogging and branching out – the next part of my journey – Mummascribbles

I started this little blog almost five years ago now (OK, it’ll be five years in June but that will fly round). It started as a place to air my thoughts and frustrations of being a working Mum, it turned into a real document of our family, and a place where I hoped that many parents would be able to find solace. Whether they were struggling with their toddler meltdowns, struggling with breastfeeding, or just feeling a little overwhelmed with life itself and everything that comes with being a parent.

I never expected it to be a huge hit. Never expected huge follower numbers, and I certainly never expected to make money out of it. But it started to happen. Little bits here and there, larger amounts coming in regularly, and a Lidl Commercial! I really did start to have success out of it.

But then something happened. It was like I fell of the radar. Disappeared out of the visibility of PR’s. My email inbox turned to tumbleweed and if it wasn’t for the other half getting a rather well paid job, I would have found myself back into the field of working Mum and the boys would have been getting used to a childminder looking after them.

Thankfully that didn’t have to happen and I still find myself at home every day, writing blog posts that not many people read, waiting for emails that never appear, and dealing with the regular after school meltdowns of a very tired six year old.

Blogging is a funny old world. It is one of algorithms and competition. Of feeling you are good but not good enough. Of watching your DA drop because they changed the way that they measure it. Of having to spend hours on one particular social media channel because otherwise your follower count will just stay stagnant forever. It’s feeling jealousy when you see someone who at one point was at the same level as you, fly past you and leave you behind – and at the same time feel happy for them.

And that is why I have a real love/hate issue with blogging. I love creating posts. I love writing. I love reading my posts and feeling proud of what I have written. But really, I hate all the other crap that comes with it.

A little while ago I decided that I was going to have a better blog post schedule, and that I wasn’t going to produce as much content – instead, really focusing on the content that I was producing. I now try and post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – although every now and then someone gets poorly or children stop sleeping, and I post a day later! These things happen right?

And it honestly feels so good. It has freed up so much time and I no longer feel panicked that I am not posting something every day. And with the time that it has freed up, I have been able to focus on other stuff – and that is hopefully where my next stage will take me.

I mentioned recently that I have been doing work for someone else. Something that I have been wanting to do for a really long time but have not felt brave enough, or like I have got the actual time to do it. But this lovely lady took a punt on me and it paid off for both of us. And it made me realise that I am totally capable of doing it and that rather than keep questioning myself, I need to just do it.

And so I am in the process of properly setting myself up as a VA (virtual assistant if you don’t know what that stands for!). I have my name, I have my logo, I have been working for a client, and I intend on eventually getting myself a few more.

It’s still tricky at the moment because I still have a toddler at home and so I still pretty much work during nap times and in the evenings. The plan is to get everything fully set up for when Oscar starts pre-school in September. Over the next few months I will be working away in the background creating a website, putting packages together, and fully setting up my new social media channels. So that when September comes around and I find myself with those quiet hours indoors, I can take on more clients.

It will still be slow to begin with. Oscar is a September baby, therefore we aren’t entitled to receive his funding until January (don’t get me started on that!), and so he will be in pre-school three mornings a week. And then hopefully in January, I’ll be able to up it to five – although this does depend on the availability of course. The plan is that I get this time to work for clients, get more clients in, and earn a better wage that will hopefully enable me to remain at home for the foreseeable future.

That’s the plan of course. We all know things can sometimes throw us off course – self doubt mostly! But now I have written it down and told the world (or the 50 or so people who may read this post!), I have to act upon it. I have to try and make it a success.

You see in the long term, I just can’t rely on the blogging to bring me an income. There are months that are good and months that are terrible. And I would much rather be working more frequently for someone else (from the comfort of my own home), than wondering where my next sponsored post is going to come from.

Of course, to all the PR’s out there – I am still a fully working blogger. I am still accepting sponsored posts. I still love it when you send me a campaign and I have to use my brain to create the right content for you. I love a challenge that comes along, and I love the feedback from you when I have delivered it right. But I just can’t rely on you alone anymore. I can’t rely on you finding me again. I can’t spend my time e-mailing you to see if you have any new work, and you not replying to a single one of my emails. Blogging can be an incredibly hard and sad world. One that can leave you feeling absolutely s**t about yourself and about your work. So for me, it’s time to start creating opportunities for myself. Rather than just sit waiting for them to come along.

It’s time to really start creating a biz for myself.

Wish me luck. And of course – if you are looking for a VA – get in touch 🙂

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