Blogger Spotlight: Kate Everall, LesBeMums

LesBeMums is the blog from Kate and Sharon tracking the life of a same sex family. The blog covers a wide range of content from LGBT issues to breastfeeding and parenthood. The blog was ranked number one in our recent Top 10 LGBT+ blogs and here Kate tells us about blogging as a same sex family, working with PR professionals and the importance of engagement.

How would you describe your blog?
We are a same sex family blog that writes about life as a same sex family and everything in between!

Why should people read your blog and what makes it different?
We write about life as a same sex family, as a minority group, and how we’re often treated differently to other families. From the daft questions we’re asked regularly, to the discrimination we face – everything is out in the open and we share all in the hope that we can educate and make ourselves more visible in society.

What has been your blogging highlight?
Gosh! What a question. I think our highlight was being welcomed into a community and realising that we’re not alone. In the few years we’ve been blogging we’ve gained some genuine friends who we often have over for a cuppa.

How have people reacted to issues highlighted in your blog?
Thankfully, really well. Most people are often shocked by the things we experience or have been through and therefore become more aware of the problems we face, but a handful have stood still and realised that perhaps what they’ve said was actually inappropriate or have reassessed how they react to things (and people!).

What types of campaigns do you prefer to work on?
We love to get involved in campaigns that make same sex families more visible in mainstream media. Whether it’s children’s media or showing that same sex parents exist – we just want to be included like everyone else and welcome anyone who wants to be more inclusive.

Is there any advice that you have for PRs that would like to work with you?
Do your research. There’s probably nothing more frustrating than when a PR approaches you personally about something exciting, only to find they haven’t done their research. For example, don’t invite us to a Father’s Day event. Two mums here!

What techniques do you use to make sure that you don’t sacrifice on quality when working on sponsored content?
I take a step back and ask myself, would I read this as a follower of this blog? If the answer is no, then it’s likely not working and I need to try a different avenue. Likewise, I don’t accept anything that doesn’t represent me as a person or our family. Everything I put into our blog should tell readers that they’re still listening to me and not Brand X.

Are there any trends that you can see changing the face of blogging?
Bloggers are becoming obsessed with stats! On one hand, I agree that stats are (kinda) important if you earn a living and to a brand stats mean more views/visits, HOWEVER, engagement is far more important. If you have 100 followers and 50 followers react to your post, that’s far better than someone with thousands of followers but with only 5 people reacting and engaging. I know plenty of bloggers that probably only have a handful of followers but are some of the best writers out there.

What are your most/least favourite methods of distributing content?
Least: Spamming! If I go onto someone’s Twitter feed, I don’t want to see the last few posts being all blog posts and links. I want to see you engaging with your followers or starting conversation – that’s what encourages me to read more about what you have to say.

Most: Facebook Groups. The number of new bloggers I have found by reading content shared within Facebook groups (For example, breastfeeding posts within breastfeeding groups) is huge. Although some can be strict with sharing links, a lot of them are pretty laid back and allow useful content to flow into the group.

How frequently do you post on your blog?
I post as and when I’m feeling inspired. Thankfully, blogging isn’t my full-time job so I have this flexibility. I don’t want to post for the sake of posting as it’ll definitely show in my content. I’d rather have four posts a month that I’m really proud of than 10 that are rubbish.

Do you have any tips for bloggers or businesses who want to improve their content strategy?
Share other people’s content. I get more engagement when I share relevant content from other blogs and pages. For us, we’re an LGBT blog so we share a lot of LGBT news and other LGBT bloggers. It really does increase traffic, especially when it’s done throughout the day as apposed to all at once.

What is your favourite blog (outside of your own!)?
Can’t I pick more than one?! Gosh. This is hard. I love love love Scrapbook Blog. I have a lot in common with Lauren, and her son Arlo is the same age as our son so we went through a lot of things at the same time. Plus, I feel I have a similar personality to Lauren and therefore thoroughly enjoy reading her blog and what they’ve been up to.

LesBeMums features on the Vuelio Media Database along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.