Blogger Behind the Blog {Motherhood Diaries}

Here’s this week’s instalment of Blogger Behind the Blog where I interview a blogger all about their reasons for blogging and what it means to them. This week I’m joined by Leyla from Motherhood Diaries.

Blogger Behind the Blog {Motherhood Diaries}

Here’s Leyla with more about her blogging life:

Where did your blog name come from?

I wanted to create a weekly diary of my pregnancy and the name ‘Motherhood Diaries’ literally jumped out at me.

When did you start your blog and why?

I started documenting my pregnancy back in 2010, not having any idea in the slightest about WordPress or even what blogging meant! I just closed my eyes and went for it. After the birth of my first, my friends and family shared my weekly posts and pregnant mums started to email me requests on what I ate during pregnancy and my subsequent birth stories. My blog grew organically.

What did you do before you blogged?

I was a corporate and banking lawyer in a city of London law firm

What was your first post?

My very first diary, when I was 4 weeks pregnant back in April 2010.

What inspires you to blog?

I have this uncontrollable urge to write every day, to get it down on paper (which is why I’m also writing 3 books on the go haha!). So blogging is my therapy. I also want to raise awareness to families who may not have access to as much information as I do. So, thoroughly researching my blogs and ensuring they’re factually correct is very important to me.

What post has had the best response, which post are you most proud of and which post did you enjoy writing the most?

Interestingly, a post by Neo Brown on the 40 week pregnancy myth came under fire and was met with a barrage of responses, but I’m most proud of my article on The Benefits of your Child Learning to Play an Instrument and really enjoyed writing it. But both of my birth stories, i.e. Aron’s Story and Aidan’s Story hold very dear to my heart.

Have any of your posts not had the response that you expected?

Yes, quite a few of my posts don’t receive the response that I expect, but I think a lot of that is down to my lack of SEO knowledge, which I’ve only just started incorporating in the last few months.

Where do you see your blog in a year’s time?

I would like to have written an extensive guide on the journey of pregnancy and offer courses on how to get pregnant.

What is your favourite thing about blogging?

Writing and having that creative freedom to write about what you’re passionate about

…and your least favourite?

All the business related stuff you have to do now to have a chance of being seen through the noise of a saturated industry. People can’t just blog for fun anymore unless you have another job that provides income. For me, my blog is my income, so I have to accept sponsored posts more than I desire to.

What’s the best blog post you have ever read?

Literally any post from Tim Urban’s Wait but Why. He’s a genius and my blogging idol. I love his post on procrastination.

What blog do you love to read and why?

Wait but Why because Tim Urban’s posts are approximately 10,000 words long and he crams so much information into each post, you walk away (after 3 days of reading the same post) with ideas bursting out of your ears! I LOVE Tim Urban so much!

Do you do anything differently now to when you started blogging?

I do almost everything differently to when I started blogging, from placing more care in my sentence structure to thinking about user intent. I treat my blog more like a business than a weekly diary, which is not necessarily a good thing.

Is blogging what you expected it to be?

Yes and no. Yes that blogging at its most simplest form is writing from the heart. No because there are so many things to think about to keep your blog running, let alone make it successful. One of these aspects is social media. I did not expect to be living on social media after starting a blog.

What’s been your favourite blog collaboration to date?

Yamaha Music London. I love everything they do and I’m so blessed to be working with them to produce a number of articles related to the benefits of music education and children. I hope to pass on the wisdom that music is absolutely fundamental to a child’s development, mentally, physically and socially.

Are there any brands you would love to work with, why?

I’d actually love to work with Lumos founded by J.K. Rowling, to encourage people from around the world to donate their money sensibly, i.e. to help parents stay with their children and have access to resources to continue looking after them (rather than plugging money into orphanages.) I can write about this topic for ages, so I would suggest following this link to a video that explains everything!

Have you had any blogging fails so far?

I have had loads of blogging fails. I look back at my old posts and think, ‘was I even writing in English!?’ I’ve told myself that before the end of the year, I will go through my 500 plus posts and fix them so that I don’t cringe every time I read them!

What is your biggest blogging hope, dream or ambition?

To be able to live comfortably from my blog, so that I can fulfil my passion to become a published contemporary romance author.

What do you do when you’re not blogging?

I am spending time with my kids, socialising with my friends and interacting as much as possible with people in the real world because blogging can get lonely sometimes.

and lastly, tell us all a random fact about yourself

I play 6 instruments; violin, piano, guitar, saxophone, clarinet and all the recorders (from soprano to bass)

Blogger Behind the Blog {Motherhood Diaries}

Now that you know all about Leyla from Motherhood Diaries, make sure you go and read her blog. Make sure you follow her on TwitterFacebook and Instagram too. Thanks so much Leyla for being involved!

Blogger Behind the Blog {Motherhood Diaries}

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One Comment

  1. Thank you so much for sharing my story. I read back over it and forget how far I’ve come in my blog. We should all do that when we feel a little redundant. It’s a therapy in itself! Xx

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