How to Successfully Blog Part Time.

Photo credit (See below)

I often get asked how on earth do I manage to blog, work full time, be a wife and mother plus fit it all of the other stresses and strains of daily life and so I decided to create a blog post on it. 
I would be lying if I said it was all a walk in the park, some days it is far from it. Lets face it, with two small toddlers in tow it is a constant juggle in itself, particularly working full time. 

I first created my blog in 2012 and had a bit of a break with it. I have since then vowed to keep up with the blogging and managed to successfully work with a few brands on a PR basis, again this is all down to devotion, hard work and organisation. Where there's a will, there's a way. 

From trials, errors and past experience, organisation, commitment and planning ahead are all key to managing it all successfully. 

I have created my five top tips down below on how to successfully blog part time and enjoy it. 

Organisation- Being organised is key. Blogging requires time, effort and commitment if you want to maintain a blog and keep your readers engaged. Organisation and planning ahead will really help keep it all stress free and smooth and make you that one step closer to publishing a good post. I tend to keep a little notepad and usually scribble things down as they come to mind so I do not forget when it comes to writing up my post. It is also a great way to remind myself of anything I may need to include or mention again taking the stress away of trying to remember everything. 

I also like to plan ahead and take pictures in advance. With the darker and shorter cold days here in the UK makes taking blog pictures difficult, hence I try to catch the natural daylight as much as I can. I then upload them right away onto my laptop so that I do not end up losing them and organise and clearly label them in folders so I know exactly where they are. 


Set goals- Whether short term or long term, goals will help you in knowing just how much time and effort your blog will require. Setting goals will help give you a clear idea of what your objectives and desired outcome from blogging is otherwise it will just all be aimless work and writing with no end goal to fulfil. Goals can be anything from posting a post once a week or achieving 100 bloglovin followers by the end of the month. Whatever the goal, keep it realistic.

Set an allocated time- Lets be truthful here, working full time, looking after the house and children will mean one thing, not having the time to dedicate to your blog on a daily basis, therefore it is best if you set an allocated day and time and stick to it. I personally prefer the weekends, Saturdays to work on drafts and ideas and take pictures and Sundays to type up the post, finalise it and spell proof it before publishing. Due to weekends being busy as of late, I do not have an exact time each weekend to work on my blog so I always do it either first thing early in the morning before the kids wake or very late at night when the kids are in bed. This way it means that I have the rest of the week to focus on my day to day routine with school runs, work and home life. Setting an allocated time and sticking to it will mean that you are more likely to meet your blogging goals. 

Be passionate- It takes anyone to simply create a blog and be a blogger but a successful blogger requires dedication and passion. it may seem like hard work especially when you have had a hard busy week and need the weekend to recuperate but it isnt a chore, think of like more like a hobby. This is where the goal setting really comes in handy. 
It is vital to be passionate and motivated about what you do, it is your own piece of work and you are reaching out to a large audience in the sense of obtaining readers so it is important that they see that you are passionate about your blog. I have come across many Beauty Bloggers across the blogging community whom I feel lack passion and creativity. Are they really blogging because they are passionate about what they do or are they simply looking to fill up their vanity tables with freebies from PR? Besides being passionate keep it fun so that your readers stay engaged.

Be original - Keep it real in other words.If you are an avid social media user, participate in blogging chats, join the blogging community and forums you will come across hundreds of bloggers like yourself. Really challenge yourself in taking inspiration and ideas from others without directly copying them. The key to blogging is creative awareness and the ability to write well. There is really no point in attempting to be a blogger if you cannot do the latter and pass off others ideas and work as your own without crediting the owner, its a big no no and can simply land you into a great deal of trouble legal wise. Don't be afraid to ask for help and tips from some of the more bigger experienced bloggers, there is absolutely no harm in it, even to this day, I find myself doing the exact same thing all the time. 


Love and Lipstick

xx



**Photo credit: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=computer+and+blogging&biw=1366&bih=622&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiy4fWT6MTKAhUCzxoKHZIpDOUQ_AUIBigB#tbm=isch&q=chic+bloggers+and+computers&imgrc=LhVPVl5JRJV6nM%3A