Episode 54: Combining Work & Motherhood with Mommy Blogger, Jenna Ricciardi

In the past year since I started the podcast, I’ve spoken with so many women who have created an online business so they can make a living doing something they love that pays the bills and allows them some balance with their family life and role as a mother. Each story is different and each has its own unique struggles and triumphs. For a lot of these women, their businesses aren’t just a way they make a living it’s also the way they express themselves and the way that they get to be creative.

As I mentioned, each story is different and fascinating in its own way. In today’s episode, I chat with mommy & lifestyle blogger Jenna Ricciardi, who is paving her own way to success while raising two beautiful daughters. I really loved Jenna’s down to earth approach to blogging as well as her obvious passion for learning and growing as a business owner. Don’t forget to head over to her blog at www.glizaglamom.com.

Don’t be afraid to be picky:

As I mentioned in the episode, it can be tempting to take any advertisement or affiliate offers when you’re first starting out. You get excited that someone is interested in advertising on your blog in the first place and it also would be nice to have that extra money. However, displaying ads all over your site that have nothing to do with your niche or your brand can really hurt your credibility.

Readers tend to see through that really quick and will stop trusting the products you endorse. They will be able to tell that you just endorse anything and everything so why should they trust your opinion? Make careful and strategic decisions about who and what you will advertise on your blog so that your reputation and brand is a credible source of information for your readers. A few questions to ask yourself:

1. Will my readers actually use this product?

2. Would I use this product?

3. Does this company share my brand values?

4. Will this product add value to my reader’s lives?

5. Is the company I’m endorsing trustworthy and upfront about their products?

Decide your boundaries:

We share so much of our life on social media and the internet today and don’t think twice about it. Most of us have grown up like that and don’t think too much about how much we share and what parts of our lives we share. However, when you’re a mom and you’re blogging about your kids, the boundaries tend to shift a bit. Jenna shares that some of her boundaries include not sharing her kid’s names, not posting about where they are until they are gone. This helps her draw a hard line between what she shares on the blog and what she holds back to protect her family and her children. So take a moment to review your own boundaries and evaluate what is ok to share online and what you would prefer to keep private.

Myth Buster: Bloggers just sit around and get free stuff sent to them

When I asked Jenna what was one myth that she wanted to dispel about blogging, she said it was the idea that bloggers just get stuff for free out of the blue. Sure, you can get products sent to you or have companies approach you to test something and post about it, but Jenna wants to make sure the world knows that there is a lot of background work that happens first. As she mentioned in the episode, running your own business or blog is more of a 24/7 job as opposed to a 9 to 5.