Blogger Spotlight: Mum On The Brink

An interview with Monika, author of parenting and travel blog, Mum On The Brink. Monika spoke to us about her ‘corner of the internet’ and what makes it one of the UK’s top family travel blogs, the importance of building long term relationships with brand marketers and the five best practices every PR must keep in mind for better blogger outreach.

Why should people read your blog? What makes it different? We love to travel, be outdoors, but also have geeky side to us.  However much I’d like to be a meticulous planner, I have always had a spontaneous streak coming up with mad adventures. Mumonthebrink started out as a challenge to myself to write and a journey get back some of the sparkle of life we had before kids.  My goal was to recreate the fun and adventures we enjoyed but adapt these and share these with our young children. With my writing I hope to inspire my readers to get out there more, explore this beautiful world and realise you can have amazing adventures on all budgets.

How do you measure the success of your website? A lot of my validation comes from people’s comments, feedback; if I have managed to get other parents to do something fun, feel more confident in venturing out with kids, then my job is done. Then again, being recognised by organisations like Cision as a Top 10 blog in my category of family travel is also fabulous!

What’s your favourite blog and why? How can one have just a single favourite? There are too many to name. I love reading blogs that participate in the weekly #CountryKids link up, started by Coombe Mill.  A lot of those bloggers take the opportunity to be outdoors with their children. They give me inspiration to do more.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to start a blog? Blogging is fun, it is as social as it is solitary and it does take up quite a bit of your time.  It’s always worth sitting down before you start and scribbling down why you want to blog- is it going to be personal or commercial.  What is your time commitment that you want to give it. When you start, write for yourself (and your family) and at the same time read and comment on lots of other bogs.  You will grow through these exchanges. This is your little corner of the Internet and be the best you can be; You never know who’s watching, waiting to hand you a great opportunity. Try to be nice to your fellow bloggers and companies you work with. There is plenty of space out there and being nice will win you friends, maybe for life.

How do you work with marketers and PRs? Personally, I prefer to work with marketers and PRs with a view to longer term relationships.  To me it’s not just about the exchange of a one blog post for a link.  I want to create value: With a business degree I try to consider the benefits for the brand, my readers and myself too.  Creating a win:win:win scenario is so satisfying!

 Who do you work with in brand marketing? PRs? SEOs? Over the past three years (and a bit) I have had the pleasure of working with some truly amazing organisations, who have been creative in finding ways of engaging with me and my audience. Some of these relationships have been initiated by the brands, some by me.

 Can you list five best practices for blogger outreach? 

1. Take a bit of time to research the blogger and their blog- are they a good fit with your brand campaign and the message?  Look out for their levels of engagement as much as their other stats.  It’s always worth keeping in mind that the biggest, shiniest blogs might not give you as high ROI as some smaller, niche blogs;

2, Follow bloggers on social media and show them some love: If they write about you or engage on social media with you, share their content, comment on the blogpost;  Work with your favourite bloggers to help create content unique to their readers.

(I despair at brands who put in a lot of effort to organise an event or to get a link onto a site and then don’t share that content on their social media platforms. On the flip side, it gives a real boost when a relevant post gets shared as far as Indonesia by the local social media team.)

3. Be considerate of the cost of people’s time:  traditionally journalists received a salary and were reimbursed by their employer for travel and other costs incurred. With the blogosphere this balance has shifted.

Ask yourself the question:  Would you pay to travel to the event you are organising for what it offers in return? If you didn’t have your salary, what would it take for you to go, be engaged with the message enough to share it?

4. Working with parent bloggers on a campaign? They have children. That is their USP. If you want their undivided attention at an event, make provisions for the children to be entertained.  Consider – and possibly provision- for their childcare arrangements and costs.  With gestures like this you will show that you value them and what they do, you will gain a long-term advocate.

…and most importantly give adequate notice, so we can call in favours and book in extra sessions in after-school clubs, nursery, so on.

5. Set clear expectations from the outset: What they can expect from you, what you would like from them in return (ie blog post, video content, social media engagement- specific number of tweets, etc., email you with hyperlink) and by when; clearly set out payment terms. If a blogger tells you their rates, please don’t insult them by just offering 50% less (in USD, requesting non-disclosure).  If the rates are high, but you really want to work with that person, get creative in what else you can add to the mix besides a one-off payment.

 What has been your blogging highlight? Over the years, I have loved working with some fabulous people (and the brands they represent).  We’ve had lots of fun with the likes of Microsoft, Siblu, Mark Warner to name just some of my favourites.

Blogging has allowed me to utilise my marketing and business skills and knowledge management background.  Although, I am first and foremost a mummy to my 3 children, but I’m also a storyteller working with some great companies and, most importantly, people on this journey.