This is the eleventh post in our “How I Blog” series. To read the rest, visit the archives. Interested in participating? Drop us a note about ‘How I Blog’ along with a photo or yourself or your blogging space at tips [at] blogmedia [dot] biz.
Jenn Satterwhite, Editor, Blogger.
How do I blog? Well, have you ever seen a child running at full speed with his arms and legs flailing about with happiness and glee not really caring what anyone thinks because he is having so much fun? That pretty well sums up how I blog.
I started my blog Mommy Needs Coffee in 2003 as a verbal scrapbook about life with 3 kids. Somehow it morphed into a place where I will talk about anything from hypothetically being banned from Fry’s for stripping naked and climbing into their amazing washing machines on display because they made me so happy to using it as an outlet for sharing the overwhelming grief that comes from losing a parent. (How’s that for diversity?) Through this blog and my no holds barred way of sharing my life, I was able to capture the attention of a literary agent who signed me to her agency and is currently working with me as I finish my debut book.
But how do I actually blog? It starts as soon as that first cup of coffee is poured. I begin to surf the blogs that contain “bloggitty goodness that I must know to be the best blogger ever!” Then I move on the the blogs that tell me what happened newsworthy around the world (while I had the nerve to sleep) that will effect the very life I live on a daily basis. From there I move over to the literary blogs because it is essential that I know who wrote what and sold it to whom and what is the hot topic of today to write about and just who do I need to pitch that to exactly? And finally, I end up with the blogs that talk about things that make me spew my coffee all over my monitor because, really, if you can’t laugh at yourself (because the rest of us totally are!) who can you laugh at?
From my one “mommyblog” I co-founded Mommybloggers.com with the amazing women Jenny Lauck and Meghan Townsend. It is a very non-political, non-tech talk blog, but what you can get is essays by women who are powerful in this genre and are truly making a difference in the world around them. (Trust me, these women are the ones to watch!) Not to mention you can get all of the poop, boob and snot essays you can handle in one place.
Those blogs and having the courage to step out and say “I know what I am talking about when it comes to mommyblogging” led to the position of contributing editor for BlogHer.org in the Mommy & Family section of that amazing website for and by women. (Are you seeing how this is all tying in, yet?) I have met and learned so much from these amazing groups of women!
Of course, lest I forget because of the audience I have built up (simply by staying active with my blogs and active with other blogs) I was given the opportunity to be one of the groundbreaking group of bloggers hired by ClubMom to write a column on raising tweens. (Again with the parenting!)
Basically, I blog what I know. I read blogs that will help me to better understand the genre I write in as well as understand what keeps readers coming back to read my blogs. I reach out to other bloggers and find out what they are talking about and why. It is all about not being afraid to stand up and say “I know what I am talking about!” and then proving it!
See how well the analogy of the child running at full speed with his arms and legs flailing about with happiness and glee not really caring what anyone thinks because he is having so much fun is so appropriate? I thought you would.
Jenn Satterwhite is the co-founder and editor of mommybloggers.com, a Contributing Editor at BlogHer.org, a columnist at ClubMom, a contributing writer at Dot-Moms, and the blogger at Mommy Needs Coffee.
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