Blogger Spotlight: Clare Nicholas, Emmy’s Mummy and Harry’s Too!

Emmy’s Mummy and Harry’s Too! was created by former nanny turned blogger, social media consultant and freelance writer Clare, to document the adventures she has with her two children, husband and their pets. In this spotlight Clare, who recently featured on our top ten mummy blog ranking, chats to us about what inspired her to create Emmy’s Mummy and Harry’s Too!, the most challenging part of being a mummy blogger and how she likes to work with PRs.  

What inspired you to create your blog? I first started as a way to capture precious moments and memories of time spent with my daughter while she was young. I planned to get these posts printed off into a diary for her to look through when she was older, now almost 6 years later that would be rather difficult so she can now look back at our online diary instead.

What is the most challenging part of being a mummy blogger? That would be the usual working from home, life/work balance. Kids become poorly and of course need their Mummy, however since blogging is also my job it can become a little harder to fit both of these into a schedule, therefore I find myself trying to meet deadlines at 10pm once they are in bed. Also, I find it difficult explaining to others exactly what it is I do, not many really understand blogging yet despite there being so many of us around now it’s still often thought of as a hobby and ‘messing around on the internet’.

How have you built up your audience? Slowly and steadily. I keep a rough schedule of posts I want to do so my readers have something new to read. This doesn’t have to be daily (I’ve tried that and it’s exhausting and writers block comes into play too often), but a few times a week seems to be best for me.

Since starting your blog, what are the major changes that you have seen in the industry? The fluctuation of new blogs, when I first started there weren’t that many of us around, however in the past few years blogging has really taken off and there are far more Mummy blogs online – this isn’t however a bad thing as it has made companies take notice and realise that it is a perfect platform to advertise on.

What is the most rewarding part of being a mummy? I find everything rewarding, it was a difficult journey for me in becoming a Mum, and at times I believed it wouldn’t happen. I suffered 3 miscarriages before having Emmy and 2 before Harry arrived. This struggle has made me appreciate every part of parenthood so when they sneak into my bed at 3am for a snuggle I happily embrace those cuddles as I never thought I would have these to cherish.

Is there any advice that you would like to share with any PRs or aspiring bloggers? For Blogger: Don’t try to be like anyone else, with so many blogs out there it can be difficult not to be swept up in what others are doing and their stats. Find your own voice and stick to it, don’t try to write in a way which you find unnatural just because it works for others. I personally write all my posts in a chatty way, as if I were talking to a friend across the room – this works for me but it may not for you.

How do you prefer to be approached by PRs? How can they improve their strategy? A personal email is always appreciated (I rarely have a quiet 5 minutes so an impromptu phone call will rarely find me able to give you my full attention), address me by name, know the names of my children (they are in my blog name so it isn’t difficult to find) and I do really like it when they have taken time to read my ‘meet our family’ page – it’s a short post which tells you more about us as a family – that way you’ll know my children won’t be the correct age for baby bottles and nappies etc, and saves them time emailing back and forth a few times to find this information out.

Will you be working on any exciting projects or campaigns this year? I certainly hope so, there are a few things in the pipeline, however I am awaiting finalisation of those so can’t tell you what they are just yet.

What has been your proudest blogging achievement so far? Attending the red carpet premiere of The BFG has certainly been up on the top of our list so far.

How do you maintain the balance between sponsored posts and organic content? Sometimes this can be a little difficult as there are only so many hours in the day but I do try hard to write sponsored posts in a way which make them personal. I incorporate them into posts about things we have done, places we’ve been, so I try to stay true to my own writing style – just because I am being paid to write about a subject it doesn’t mean it has to be a whole advertorial piece around that company.