The BritMums Blog

BritMums Big Sis Mentoring Programme

Take a walk with us. A walk down Memory Lane. Back to the early days of blogging. Back to when you FIRST started blogging and didn't know your SEO from your USP. Back to when you didn't know what Twitter was much less who to follow or re-tweet. Back to when you were blogging to your parents and one or two friends. Remember?

For many of us, those early weeks and months were possibly frustrating and confusing. It would have been really lovely if someone could have taken us by the virtual hand and let us in on a few trade secrets, helped us to see where we could improve, suggested a slightly different blog layout or design and maybe introduced us to a few of their friends along the way.

Newbie Tuesday!

Howdy! I’m Annie aka Mammasaurus and every week I’m going to be highlighting great posts by newer bloggers and dishing out some tips and advice. I only have limited space so I’ll ask you to excuse my brief explanations and trust my judgement as I cram in as much fantastic reading for you as I can. So whack on the kettle and pop your feet up as I take you through the best bits of the last week in my ...

Highlights of the Week! 

BritMums Blog Prompt of the Week

Well, we am pleased to report that our little BritMums Blogging Prompt of the Week seems to be gaining in popularity! This makes us very happy at BritMums HQ. So happy that we might need to break out the cake! Want some?

On the first blogging prompt of the week we had a "blogging" theme (If I could start my blog over, what would I do differently?) and last week we tackled "I cannot live without..." which was a personal prompt. We thought we would push the boat out this week and give you TWO options for the Blogging Prompt of the Week. A "blogging" prompt and a "personal" prompt. You're welcome to do one or the other or BOTH if you're really an over-achiever! I hope this will inspire you and get you writing from the heart. Drum roll please...

• Blogging Prompt: The best blog advice I have ever received is__________.
• Personal Prompt: If I wouldn't be judged harshly, I would say ________ out loud.

There you have it! Now let your imagination take over, have a good think and let your words flow through your fingers onto the keyboard. Link up your post below to share it with the blogosphere and be sure to Tweet us (@BritMums) so we can support you as well. We'll be visiting all of the posts throughout the week as well so tidy up and have some tea ready for us!

Ready, steady, blog...

 

BritMums Good Reads

The new BritMums network has been up and running for about a month now. We've had tons of bloggers joining and taking part in all features on the network and we are also welcoming loads of "newbie" bloggers who are lighting up the blogosphere with their energy and amazing writing. It's so encouraging to see new talent coming thick and fast and we want to recognise that as much as possible.

This week in BritMums Good Reads we're turning the spotlight onto some of the newest BritMums members. We all remember those days when we were just starting out, waiting for a comment or two (from someone other than our Mum) and hoping to figure out this blogging thing one day. So let's give a bit of attention to our newest bloggers on the block. Add them to your reading rota and give them a bit of support!

Linkys: What's it all for?

Linkys. What the heck is a Linky? And why would I want to join one? And how in the heck do I actually join one? Are you confused about this blogging phenomenon? BritMums is here for you with a simple explanation of what linkys are and some input from BritMums members themselves. You see, we are here to hold your hand and get you involved in one of the big blogging trends at the moment.

A "linky" is simply a method of linking up your blog url or a specific post url through a third-party programme which, when clicked on by a reader, will take that reader to your blog and/or post. A linky within a post and/or blog can be in the form of a "blog hop", a meme, a weekly challenge, a blog carnival or your everyday one-off post. It's a way of putting posts together (generally centered around one theme) which then gives readers one platform to come to and visit a variety of blogs. Examples of some popular and current linkys are: The Gallery, Blow Your Own Blog Horn and the BritMums Blogging Prompt of the Week.

Become a Mum Blogger Video Series Part 2: Creating posts and pages

BritMums have joined up with Erica and Antonia from BAM: Become a Mumpreneur to bring you a fabulous video series on How To Become A Mum Blogger. Here's the second video in the series, it's all about how to create posts and pages.

You can check out the first video here, which is all about how to start a blog.

Enjoy!

 

Join the @BritMums back to school bloghop

Shhhh, it's nearly time. Yes, that time...time to go back to school! Don't tell the kids or the last week of summer will be filled with moaning and groaning! But tell us, how excited are you about waving them off at the school gate? How thrilled are you to be resuming a ROUTINE that helps you to get through the week without losing your mind? Will you be getting your "ME" time back in a couple of weeks time? How on earth will you fill the hours between 9am and 3:30pm? We have an idea you'll come up with something to do.

In the meantime, as the summer is ending and thoughts of school uniforms and lunchbox meals fill your head, we'd like to give you the chance to jump back into blogging with both feet. We know that the summer is a good time to step back from blogging. Sometimes we need a bit of motivation or incentive to get back into a blogging routine (much like our children). BritMums is here for you!

Introducing: Become a Mum Blogger Video Series with @erica

We've joined up with Erica and Antonia from BAM: Become a Mumpreneur to bring you a fabulous video series on how to become a mum blogger. The first video is posted below, check it out. It's all about how to start a blog.

Erica and Antonia are founding BritMums members and have contributed content to the site since the get-go. We are excited to work with them on this project. Enjoy the video!

 

BritMums guest post matchup

At BritMums, we like to help new bloggers and "old" to find each other, learn from each other and grow the community. Inspired by Erica at Littlemummy, we are launching the BritMums Guest Post Matchup. What are we talking about? Well, here goes...

We all know what guest blogging is, right? Well, in case you don't, it's simply sharing a post with another blogger who will then publish YOUR post on their blog. Why is this important? Well, you open yourself up to an entirely different audience, introduce yourself to new readers and potentially will draw new readers to your own blog.

What BritMums will be offering is the opportunity to RANDOMLY match you up with a fellow blogger. You simply sign up through the form below by SATURDAY 16 JULY and on Sunday we'll do a RANDOM draw matching up each blogger enrolled. On Monday (18 July) we'll post the Matchup Draw in a post here and will also notify each pairing of their match's contact details.

 

Blogging for improving bloggers

Erica from Littlemummy.com recently guest-posted with tips for new bloggers. For those ready to move on to the next level, here are suggestions that help you think strategically about your blog, getting more readers coming to it and comments.

Once you've mastered the basics of blogging if you're anything like me you'll become preoccupied with two things; traffic and comments.

Don't worry this phase will pass too so just embrace it! So let's tackle traffic first as without traffic there can be no comments. Traffic generally comes in three types; direct, search engine and referral.

Blogger of the Week + 10 Must-Reads

This week's Blogger of the Week is "holding on to COOL with both hands and refusing to give up ME without a fight." This is a mantra I wish I could use!

You know her on Twitter as mumrablog and have been entertained by her ever changing avatars and her refreshingly honest take on parenting.

This week's Blogger of the Week is Sarah Hayward, better known as Mumra! If you haven't heard of Mumra/Sarah you may also have seen her if you're a reader of Top Sante as she was featured in a brilliant article in January of this year. Sarah is taking the world by storm.

Sarah's commitment to fitness has been especially impressive in the last 6 months. She's been working out HARD at Nuffield Gym in preparation for some charity runs this summer. In her ongoing fitness quest, Sarah began a new weekly feature on Mumra which has got people trawling through their music libraries to contribute to Mumra Playlists. She's got my toes tapping. Now if I could just figure out how to use iTunes to get them!

This week, however, I was extra impressed with Sarah in her Gallery post. On Wednesday we were regaled with the story of a young Sarah and her entrepreneurial spirit that is second-to-none! I now see where Sarah's get-up-and-go comes from.

So sit back and have a read of Mumra. You will not be disappointed!

Before I go, I'd love to highlight 10 other blogs you simply must add to your reading rota. These bloggers will be embracing the VIDEO blogging format in the very near future so get your screens tuned in for the latest and greatest from these bloggers.

• Babes About Town
• Really Kid Friendly
• Perfectly Happy Mum
• Mari's World
• Knackered Mothers' Wine Club
• Geek Mummy
• Sandy Calico
• Alexander Residence
• The Beauty Glo
• Crumbs Feed Your Family

Enjoy your new reading material and watch this space for more amazing bloggers to follow!

~Karin

Need some blog support? Join a BMB comment group

When you start blogging one of the biggest challenges can be getting the "party started" with regards to comments. It can be difficult to get people to comment until you've established more of a following which can be very discouraging to newbies.

At BMB, we like to encourage the community spirit as much as possible. For those that want a little kickstart with comments on their blogs, we're organising comments groups for April.

This is how it works:  Fill out the form below before 29 March and we'll put you in a group of 10 bloggers. Then all you have to do is make sure you visit the blogs in your group at least once a week, and leave comments if you feel you have something to add.

It's a bit like being placed in an NCT Group after you've had your first baby.  Hopefully some real "blog" friendships will blossom.

**Thank you to the 77 bloggers who have signed up for the FIRST BMB Comment Group. Registration is now closed however, there will be another oppportunity next month to register for the next comment group. Until then, happy Blogging!

~Karin

 

Why do you blog? Helen @ Regards Rainbow

For the second in our "Why Do You Blog?" series, we present Helen at Regards Rainbow.

What is your blog name/url and social networking links? My blog is called Regards Rainbow. You can follow me on Twitter @regardsrainbow and on Facebook

What is your name/alias? I write as Regards Rainbow but my real name is Helen.

How did you come up with your blog name?  I run my own company in my spare time, which is Rainbow PR and Regards Rainbow came from this, on the blog there is an explanation of how I got to the name, it reads:

Blogger of the Week + 10 Must-Reads

The British Mummy Blogosphere is a wild and wonderful place. Diversity reigns supreme. Best of all there's a place for EVERYONE no matter their level of expertise.

This is why I so enjoy trawling the blogosphere to bring you exciting blogs to add to your reading rota. I have found so many amazing blogs and such brilliant writing. And I've found you a cracker for this week's Blogger of the Week!

This particular blogger says that she used to be cool but then she had a baby and now she wees when she sneezes. I think many of us can relate to this challenge! What I love about this week's Blogger of the Week is how refreshingly honest she is about EVERYTHING! I give you...Mammywoo.

In blogging, do looks matter?

Blog design has come on by leaps and bounds lately, but it's left one blogger wondering if we should be focussing quite so much on our blogs' beauty versus their personality. Emily, who blogs at Baby Rambles (@babyrambles), writes:

Blogs are improving their looks. When I started blogging a few yeas ago, most of the blogs I read had an amateurish layout like mine. My blog still has that amateur look, but many out there have smartened up. And with the huge amount of themes and looks available to download into your blogging software now, it can be a full-time job just keeping up with the latest templates and widgets and making your blog look perfect.

Blogger of the Week + 10 Must-Reads

 The BMB Blogger of the Week describes herself with these heartfelt words...

In the years B.C. (before children) I was involved with music which I loved. I also did a postgraduate degree and then threw myself into academia which I loved too. Now I do freelance work when people ring me up and ask me to although I have to resist my first urge to turn them down on the basis that if they saw my house and my organisational skills they wouldn’t ask me to write a shopping list for them, let alone do some work.

I worry about poverty, the environment, animal welfare and war. I hate the way motherhood renders me invisible in society. I hate that some people think it’s OK not to vaccinate their child. I’m working to change all of these things in very small ways.

I write stuff all the time, mostly in my head because I’m busy with children, but sometimes I get to put it down on paper or on the internet. I also love music, especially pop, Britpop and, rather geekily, film scores. Mostly I live to read (even though I can’t remember the last time I had a moment to read more than a sentence or two in peace).

Why do you blog? Pippa @ A Mother's Ramblings

In the spotlight for the first of our "Why Do You Blog" series is Pippa from A Mother's Ramblings...

What is your Blog Name/Url? (Twitter ID & Facebook Fan Page URL) My Blog is called A Mother's Ramblings. You can also find me on Twitter and my Facebook Fan page and on YouTube.

What is your name/alias?  I am known mostly as Mummy on the blog, but I go by PippaD which is my real name!

How did you come up with your Blog Name?  A Mother's Ramblings wasn't my first blog, and I wanted a place for my ramblings on parenting as it didn't fit in with the other blog areas as well as the other areas would fit in with blogging about parenting! I didn't know about a lot of parenting blogs back then so I thought I should combine my love of walking/rambling and my love of parenting and my habit of never shutting up...

BMB Half-Term Adventure Carnival

For most of us, life has returned to normal. Stressful mornings, rushing to get out the door for the school run, carrying on with our usual daily routine, reversing the morning school run and cracking on with homework, dinner, bath and bedtime. I think we may all be a bit wistful for the Half-Term break that has just ended.

Some of our BMB members handled the terror of half-term with remarkable aplomb. We'd like to highlight some of our best and brightest in the first BMB Half-Term Adventure Carnival. Hopefully we can all learn from their genius and prepare ourselves for the month of April and May when very little time will be spent in school thanks to the Easter holidays, Royal Wedding and May Bank Holidays. I sense the fear already!

15 of the best parent blogging carnivals and memes

Ever been confused about all the carnivals and memes out there? Scribbling Mum (pictured) is on hand with this primer about them.

When I first started blogging over a year ago I wondered what the heck people were talking about, inviting me to join in with their 'carnival'. Did I have to dress up? Would there be cake?

I can remember getting my first 'meme', being thrilled, but spending way too long thinking about how you'd pronounce it if you had to say it out loud. Was it mee-mee or memé? When I asked this of the seasoned blogger who'd tagged me she was like 'Em. Not sure. Weirdo.' and ran away.

And who was this McLinky they spoke of? As a Scot, should I be offended at this apparent stereotyping?

Blogger of the week plus 10 other must-reads!

Blogger of the Week returns with a blogger who is relatively new on the scene but has definitely made an impression.

She describes herself thus:

I am a deeply lost New Mexican in London, and a former staffer at The Economist turned full time Soup Developer to the Boss and the Colleague. I am a lapsed Lutheran/die-hard Garrison Keillor fan, an unashamed caffiene addict, a lover of schlocky kids movies and an avid consumer of junk food. I have a childish tendancy towards bursts of activity and long desolate stretches of disengagement.