Today on The Blog Lowdown, I’m delighted to be hosting Mummy Tries….
Please Introduce yourself:
Hello I’m Mummy Tries, which as you may have guessed isn’t my real name. I’m in the process of deciding if and when to ‘come out’ so watch this space!
When did you start blogging?
I used to get asked for my recipes a lot, so back in 2010 hubby suggested I create a blog for them to be easily accessible. I poured a fair bit of effort into it over three years, but when I started Mummy Tries in April last year it kind of took over. When the domain expired recently I didn’t renew it, but I did import over a hundred recipes from it into my GAPS blog.
Tell us a little about your blog
I write mainly about family life with my hubby, our two feisty girls (5 and 2½) and five month old boy. Many of my posts revolve around food which is my big passion in life. More recently I’ve been writing about the GAPS Diet, which I started in May in a bid to cure food intolerance and gut issues. I also write about my dysfunctional childhood, which has been very cathartic. Who can argue with free counselling?
Who designed your blog?
Me, or should I say WordPress. Self hosting is on my radar for some point in the near future though.
Which of your posts have been the most popular? Are there certain types that get more interest?
Posts about my past always receive lots of attention, although dysfunctional I guess it’s rather compelling. In particular this one, this one and this one.
This post that I wrote leading up to starting GAPS was also very popular.
How do you promote your blog posts, and which methods do you find to be most successful?
Everything automatically posts to Twitter and Google Plus, and I join in with quite a few linkys. I’m not nearly as active on social media as I could be, simply because I have such little spare time. What I do have I like to use mainly writing.
Which linkys do you most enjoy joining in with/reading?
Magic Moments (The Olivers Madhouse), Tasty Tuesdays (Honest Mum), Share With Me (Let’s Talk Mommy), Brilliant Blog Posts (Honest Mum), Word of The Week (here!) PoCoLo (VeViVo’s), The Prompt (Mum Turned Mom) and Recipe of the Week (A Mummy Too)
When are your busiest days on the blog, and why? (if you know why!)
Friday’s are always busy as I have three linkys as above. I find they drive a fair amount of traffic to my blog provided I link up early, which isn’t a problem because my kids never sleep past 6am!
Can you name 3 things that blogging has brought you?
– free therapy, some of my earliest posts were difficult to write but felt so good once those words were out of my head
– the confidence to start writing the book I’ve been talking about forever. I’m halfway through writing my first draft
-a different perspective on work. I’m currently trying to find a work from home solution after maternity leave, something I hadn’t considered previously
My Top 5 Tips for Bloggers:
– keep your posts concise and to the point. I get put off if a post looks like it’s going to take more than a few minutes to read
– utilise the hyperlinks and insert old posts into new ones to help tell the story
– remain true to yourself. Blog about the things you genuinely do rather than doing things just to write a blog post about it
– don’t let your blog get completely taken over by reviews and sponsored posts
– don’t spread yourself too thinly. We can’t be fab at every single thing we do, so why try to be?
My Social Media Links:
You can find me on Twitter & Google+
Thanks very much! I’m the same with concise posts, too, and you are so right about not spreading too thinly – we can only do so much! Those are 3 really powerful things that blogging has brought you, too, real life-changers.
If you’ve any questions for Mummy Tries, feel free to comment on this post, and she’ll pop by and check in. Next week, we will be hearing from Little Bohemian Butterfly so be sure to pop by for that on Tuesday morning. You can catch up the previous posts from other bloggers here, too, if you’ve missed them.
If you’d like to feature on The Blog Lowdown, just email me at [email protected] to get involved.
To ensure you don’t miss any blogger posts, you can now sign up for my newsletter, and I’ll always include The Blog Lowdown round up in those.
Other posts you might like:
A Blogger’s Guide to Pinterest
10 Tips to Get your Blogging Mojo Back
This is the first time that I’ve read one of your blog lowdown posts, looking forward to reading more. I find these kinds of posts really fascinating. Great idea Jocelyn 🙂
Thanks, Catherine. I love this series!
Thank you so much for featuring me lovely. Really enjoying the blog lowdown 🙂 xx
Thank you for sharing – lovely to have you 🙂
This is the first blogging lowdown I’ve read. I love reading about why and how other people blog. Really great tips, especially for a newbie like me! #allaboutyou
I do love hearing the behind the scenes stories, too. It’s a fun series!
I am loving that my favourite bloggers are appearing on the lowdown 🙂
And mine! x
This is the first time I’ve read the Blog Lowdown and I really enjoyed it! I love finding out behind the scenes details! #allaboutyou
Me, too – everyone’s story and tips are so different, too.
I know I have said this before, but I love this series, Jocelyn! Every week, it feels like I am reading a new ‘blog story’ and there is always something that can be applied straight away in the advice. I have been reading most posts by Mummy Tries since I started blogging and have always wondered what your name might be, but now you’ve mentioned you might reveal who you are, I am thinking I quite like the fact you have managed to remain anonymous for so long. I remember reading on your blog a week or so ago that you blog about what you do and don’t do things so you can blog about them. Wisest thing I have read about blogging since I started! x
I love it, too, Mel! And yes, that’s very wise advice x
Always insightful and interesting to find out how other bloggers work. Loved the five tips. Lovely post! x
#allaboutyou
I really enjoy this series, too. Fascinating! Thanks x
I am so glad to have discovered this series on your blog Jocelyn, and I love Mummy Tries. There is something here that really resonated with me although at the same time I shy away from it to protect myself and others – self-counselling is definitely cathartic, and there can be support in other people relating to what you are going through, and I find a blog works better for me than pen-and-paper diary. I have no idea why, it just does.
Thank you so much for linking this up to #AllAboutYou
Thanks, Zaz. I love this series, and I’ve been enjoying reading Mummy Tries for a long time.