Blog On 2016

Two week's ago I travelled down to Manchester with Sam and Karen to attend the annual Blog on event. I honestly had no idea what to expect as I have only ever been to one other blogging event before and that was Britmums Live last June. I was just looking forward to catching up with blogging friends and having a break from mummy duties for 24 hours.  

Manchester is about 2-3 hour drive from Newcastle so we decided to travel down on Saturday afternoon and stay overnight in a Travelodge in Oldham, as all the central hotels were really expensive with it being a bank holiday weekend. We arrived in Manchester at around tea time so we checked in to the hotel then headed to the pub across the road for prosecco, dinner and a catch-up. 

My New Guest Series

For a long time now I have wanted to start a guest series on my blog, basically where I make up some questions and then another bloggers answers them and I share the answers on this little blog of mine. I thought that it would be a great way for my readers to find new blogs to read and also let's face it we are all a little bit noisy and it would be a great way at finding out more about people. 

Ages ago I had the idea of setting up a feature all about others bloggers family lives, a way to find out where they live and what their family life is like. I thought that it would work as my blog is obviously called Newcastle Family Life and it would be nice to see what other bloggers lives around the country are like too. I have been putting off setting this series up for ages as

1.) I was not sure what questions to ask. 

2.) I don't have a little logo/badge like most series do and 

3.) I was terrified nobody would take part. 

My New Look Blog

When I started blogging back in 2014 my blog looked terrible, I am not just saying that either as it truly was horrendous. I did not have a clue what I was doing when I signed up to blogger and had no idea that you could buy templates so I had a basic free blogger template that I kept trying and failing to look nice, as I had no idea what on earth I was doing. 

I did not mind that my blog looked a mess though as I had no idea that people would actually read my blog as it was set up to simply record my pregnancy with baby number three and document my girl's childhood. I never knew that bloggers were paid to write posts or that brands would send you things to review or send you on trips. I had no idea how many blogs were out there and that you could change the look of your blog without being a technical wizard. 

What I Learnt At Britmums Live 2015

It seems like so long ago since I attended Britmums Live 2015 thanks to my wonderful sponsor MAM UK. I wrote about my experience of Britmums Live soon after the event and I came away with a notebook full of tips and a head full of ideas on how to improve this little blog of mine.

The sessions I attended were Google +, Social media, Bloggers and brands, Beginners SEO and Photo styling. So this will be a quick rundown of little things I learnt in each of those sessions.

How To Grow Your Pinterest Account And Get More Blog Traffic

AD - I attended an event by Pinterest. 

I love Pinterest and could happily spend hours looking at amazing cakes or children's bedroom decor, but I don't really use it to promote my blog. I am also guilty of going on once every so often pinning tons of pretty things then neglecting my account for weeks at a time. 

So when I heard that Pinterest UK was holding an event for bloggers in Newcastle at the biscuit factory, I knew I had to attend and find out how Pinterest actually works. The event was held by Lizzie who works for Pinterest UK and this is what I learnt.

Introducing My Britmums Live 2015 Sponsor

AD

In two weeks time I will be off to London to attend Britmums Live which is a two-day blogging and social media event. It will be my very first time attending any kind of blogging event and is a bit out of my comfort zone, but I know that I will learn a lot, which will hopefully in turn help me to improve and grow my blog in the future. 

And it is thanks to my amazing sponsor that I am able to attend this event.  I am so pleased to announce that my sponsor is MAM UK. A brand that I am sure will need no introduction as I bet all parents and parents-to-be are aware of the brilliant baby and toddler products they make.

Why Write A Blog?

Hello I am Lindsay, just an average mam from Newcastle. I have two daughters and I am currently pregnant with baby number three. I am currently on maternity leave from my job as a learning disability support worker - a very challenging but rewarding job. I will be honest and say that I am a little bored being home all day on maternity leave so thought I would give blogging a go. 

By chance I came across blogging, someone I know has a family blog (Sam from North East Family Fun) and I always thought it was a nice idea to have a record of places you have been, I have even visited a couple of places recommended on the blog. Then by chance one day on twitter I came across lots of other family related blogs and I started to think maybe it was something I would like to do one day.