It’s time to settle in for our monthly cuppa with one of our favourite bloggers. This time we’re welcoming all round domestic goddess Emily Leary from A Mummy Too. I don’t think my usual custard creams will cut it here. I’d better get the oven on…
Thanks for joining us Emily. While I whip up some brownies why don’t you tell us a bit about your blog?
A Mummy Too is all about food and lifestyle for busy parents. I guess it’s more of a magazine than a blog, in that rather than diary-style entries, I tend to share daily recipes, tips and video guides from a personal perspective. It’s aimed at anyone who believes a shortage of spare time shouldn’t mean you can’t enjoy beautiful, delicious things.
What first inspired you to start blogging?
I was already aware of the parent blogging scene through work (I was a digital marketer for 12 years) so while on maternity leave in 2011 awaiting the birth of my second child, I decided to create my own blog.
It wasn’t intended as any kind of big enterprise, just a place to record the things we discovered as a family and to celebrate that as well as being ‘work Emily’ who typically faced the world as a marketing consultant/speaker, I was also a whole person with passions, hobbies, loves and a gorgeous family outside of work. Hence, “a mummy too”!
What have been the highpoints of your blogging journey so far?
Becoming a full time blogger in 2013 was a huge highlight. I’ve always been comfortable as a working mum, but to step out of office life and into a career that began as a hobby was a dream come true.
I still work long hours, but I adore my work. My family are often able to get involved rather than work being a separate part of my life, and the hours are flexible enough that I spend more quality time with my loved ones than ever before.
What do you find hard about being a blogger?
I’d say the challenges of being a blogger are the same as they are for most creative freelancers: being disciplined about your work schedule, learning to put work down and take a break, working with clients, managing expectations, getting yourself out there and not underestimating your workload. My husband is a designer in the music industry and he sees all the same challenges, so it’s par for the course I think, but well worth it for the freedom (creatively and financially) that comes with working for yourself.
What are you excited about right now?
I think blogging is always exiting because the online work is constantly shifting and evolving. No one could possibly ever know everything there is to know because what works today might not work tomorrow.
We bloggers are all balancing finding the secret sauce that makes our content soar vs maintaining our personal voice and love of blogging that made us start in the first place. I love that – it’s thrilling, and working for yourself means that if you want to, you can be responsive to a new trend so fast it can make your head spin.
What is your top tip for a new blogger?
Find a supportive community. And by that, I don’t mean one that seems full of dos and don’ts, shoulds and shouldn’ts. Find like-minded bloggers who will support you and guide you through but never hinder you as you find your own voice. Find a community built on celebrating each others successes and supporting each other’s growth.
A supportive community will also be able to steer you through legal pitfalls (such as disclosure – a real must if you work with brands!) and help you get your head around the more techy aspects of running a blog.
Find a group like that, and you’ll be friends for life – I met some of my best friends through blogging!
What great advice, thanks Emily. Now can I tempt you with a gooey brownie before you go?
You can find Emily (and a mountain of deliciousness) over at A Mummy Too and don’t forget to check out all her social media channels:
Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Google+ / YouTube / Instagram