Since 2011, Emily Austin has built a loyal readership at The Waiting, her blog on parenting and motherhood. Emily’s personality and humor have helped her carve out her own corner of the web among thousands of family blogs. Through blogging, she has built a community of readers and colleagues, and eventually landed a position as a paid blogger and social media manager — transforming a hobby into a full-time career. I chatted with Emily about the evolution of The Waiting and her growth as a blogger.
What were your goals when you launched your blog?
Am I allowed to say that I didn’t have a goal other than to post once a week? I wish I had some inspirational story about how I had planned to write my magnum opus and find a cure for cancer by blogging, but I don’t. I just wanted to write. I don’t have a stellar track record for sticking with things, either. I have a thrice-played guitar, an unused set of fancy watercolors, and an ungodly amount of half-read books to prove it, so I didn’t know if the whole blogging thing would last more than a few months. Much to my surprise, it did. Blogging just works for me. If I need to step away from it for a period of time, I can always come back and pick up where I left off.
How have you (and the blog) evolved since then?
The Waiting was born when I found out I was pregnant. During my pregnancy and the first year or so of my daughter Cee’s life, many of the posts I wrote were exercises in teasing out order in the unknowns of my life. My blog was a space where I could process the concurrent feelings of happiness and misery that I experienced as a new parent. Reading them now, those posts seem a little unpolished, but I love them because I was essentially writing for myself. The folks reading my blog weren’t an audience; they were friends.
Everymom perspective:Â “I try to write posts that are relatable. I don’t want anyone to feel excluded when they read my blog. My philosophy is that even though we may choose to raise our kids differently, we all hurt the same when we step on a Lego in the middle of the night.”
I learned a lot about myself during those writing therapy sessions. While I still write soul-searchy posts and “grandmother posts” — named after the only people I can imagine would be interested — I now focus on writing from the Everymom perspective. This works well for me because as my readership and my daughter have grown, I’m a lot more guarded than I used to be about sharing the details of my life.
As we grow as bloggers, we learn that blogging isn’t just about publishing posts — it involves being part of a wider community. What were the first steps you took to build your online presence and expand this into something more?
There are oh-so-many people out there giving “advice” on how to blog and how to broaden your digital bandwidth. If you have a year or so to kill, you should totally search “blogging advice” on Pinterest and then take in the vast array of things you a) should NEVER do, b) must start doing ZOMG now, and c) should have started last year but didn’t so haha your blog sucks and will never recover from last year’s negligence.
Not sure what to say? Here are tips on commenting on other people’s blogs.
But the one piece of advice I believe we can all take to the bank is to leave genuine comments on other blogs and to take the time to respond to comments on our own. After all, this is social media. Being a conscientious commenter has become more difficult — I’m eagerly anticipating the 26-hour day wherein I can comment on every post I read — but when I was building my online presence, I found that kind, authentic, encouraging comments were the best means to forging relationships with others who may or may not have a lot in common with me. We may call each other bloggers, but in the end we’re all just people who want to be heard and understood. Compassion and camaraderie go a long way, both in blogging and in life.
We may call each other bloggers, but in the end we’re all just people who want to be heard and understood. Compassion and camaraderie go a long way, both in blogging and in life.
You’ve returned to work full-time as a blogger and social media manager. How did blogging lead to this opportunity?
I really am the luckiest blogger on the block: I was able to land a paying gig because of the things I learned while I was a stay-at-home mom. But I shouldn’t use the word “luck” so flippantly because, honestly, I put a ton of work into my blog, my writing, the marketing of my writing, the design elements of my digital space, and the relationships I formed during that time. A few things I did to bolster my hireability:
Read more about widening your circle with guest bloggers on The Daily Post.
- Guest post, guest post, guest post. If someone asked me if I would write a post for their blog, I baked them a cake with pink frosted roses on top that spelled out YES! and I wrote the heck out of that post, pouring as much thought into it as I would a post for my own site. Writing for other blogs shows that you can bring the goods to an audience that might not know you. The guest post route goes both ways; I’ve invited other writers whose work I respected to post on The Waiting and multi-author blogs I was involved with. In doing so, I’ve honed my editor and content curation skills.
- Got the word out through social media. If you build it, they won’t necessarily come. While WordPress.com has a thriving community of bloggers who are engaged and encouraging, I wanted to write the one blog that people who don’t read blogs would read. And to do that, I had to put myself out there via social media. It took me a ridiculously long time to get my act together and set up a Facebook page for The Waiting, but once I did, I realized I was doing myself a disservice not to connect with my community outside the walls of the blog. I now focus on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. When it came time to interview for my job, I was able to show my organization that I know how to drive engagement and connect with both established and potential readers and customers.
- Got as much mileage out of my work as possible. I was putting in a lot of time creating content for The Waiting, so I wanted as many people to read it as possible. I started cross-posting my work to BlogHer, an online community that empowers women to share their unique perspectives, and submitting to other blogs and websites. I even landed a parenting column in a local print publication.
Get the word out! If you haven’t already, set up Publicize to automatically share your WordPress posts on your social accounts.
As you said, we have many tools within reach to promote our blogs and ourselves. What other things have been valuable to you?
I am a big fan of the one-on-one interaction. I’ve met a handful of my blogging friends in person or via video chats, and those have been wonderful experiences. There is something about sharing a meal, a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine with another person and having a relaxed conversation that inspires me to not only be a better writer but also a better person. We can’t hide behind our heavily edited words anymore. Real interaction also leads to opportunities for collaboration and brainstorming.
Want to meet bloggers in real life? Learn about blogging events and conferences.
Blogging conferences are beneficial as well. You learn a lot and make connections. The downside, for me at least, is that conferences can be overwhelming, especially when you meet people who have been reading your work for awhile. They might expect you to be someone that you’re not.
Participate in one of the many blogger-submitted events at The Daily Post.
I’ve also hosted a link-up called Remember the Time. In a link-up, you write on a certain theme and invite others to do the same. Then, participants read each others’ work. It’s a great way to get to know other bloggers.
I am a big fan of the one-on-one interaction. . . . We can’t hide behind our heavily edited words anymore.
Your personality comes through on your blog, from your posts to your About page. How have you honed your voice over time?
You know the #AmWriting hashtag that people use when they’re working on something meaty but need a little support from the community to tell them not to give up? Well, I #AmFinding and #AmHoning my voice. It never, ever stops. My writing is almost entirely analogous to my life, so if I’m going through a funk personally, chances are, my writing will too. If I’m feeling overwhelmed with my role as a mother, then I’m going to be overwhelmed with writing about it, too. But I always try to look for the humor. My blogging pal Peg said it a lot better than I can:
Everyone has a cross to bear in life. Some are obvious, and some are hidden, but everyone carries one. A smile, a giggle, or a deep, belly laugh is a little bit of grace that lightens the load, if only a smidgen, if only for a short while. I believe that sharing that grace, helping other people to find the funny, is a noble thing.
Even though I’m constantly honing my voice, I’m happiest when I mix humor with the things in my life that I’m most frustrated with. Really, it’s a survival mechanism when you’re a parent. If your child is having a tantrum in the middle of church, the only reasonable response is to get them the heck out of there and then to laugh at how ludicrous you were to believe your two-year-old would sit quietly for an hour-and-a-half.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to someone starting a parenting blog?
This is just as much advice for myself as everyone else: make the time to write. Look, I get it: you don’t even have time to sleep adequately, brush your teeth, pour your wine into a glass instead of imbibing directly from the bottle itself — so how the heck are you going to stay committed to blogging? It is a freaking tall order. I’m a working mother who is juggling chainsaws and trying my hardest not to cut my arm off, and now you’re telling me I should write more?
Here’s the thing: it is so incredibly worth it. Just write about your family. Write about the minutiae. Even if you think a post is going to be “boring,” write it: it’s your life and you and your kids will one day treasure that you took the time to record your history. These are your family’s stories and they are precious, even if it seems like you’re writing about all the same milestones as everyone else. Just do it. Ask questions later.
Read more from Emily Austin on her blog, The Waiting, and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Reblogged this on The Waiting and commented:
You know I love me some WordPress. Thanks to Cheri Lucas Rowlands for chatting with me about my blogging journey! Check out the interview on WordPress Discover.
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Thank you for sharing details for beginners like me 😊
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Amazing! Thanks for sharing this blog and blogger who has so much to offer! Such an inspiring lady!
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This is the most relatable getting started as a mom blogger piece I’ve read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Absolutely! Thanks for reading and best of luck with your blog!
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Thank you for such a thoughtful and honest post, Emily! I’ve been feeling really lost and like I don’t even know where to begin when it comes to this blogging thing. There are so many aspects to starting and running a blog and with juggling work, an almost-terrible-two toddler, and not enough hours in a day, just taking on and trying to tackle one more thing seems almost impossible. This post was so very relatable. I don’t even think that’s a word, but thank you for the inspiration and push to stick this out and to not give up just quite yet.
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Absolutely! And trust me, I sooooo know how real the struggle is. Honestly, I feel like I’m phoning my life in a lot of the time. But the effort is worth it. Cee is almost four now and always wants to know about the things she did when she was a baby. If it weren’t for the blog, I would have completely forgotten some of those years.
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I, too, am a parenting blogger and was having a hard time finding other parenting blogs & SAHMs. Thanks for the advice, I’m giddy to connect with others!
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This post is great Emily, and you said a genuine message: “We may call each other bloggers, but in the end we’re all just people who want to be heard and understood”. It’s just perfect, compliments 🙂
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Thank you, fellow person!
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Great points Emily! Thank you for sharing.
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Outstanding, stumbling across this post was very serendipitous. Thank you!
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Yes, I agree! I just came across is and had a quick look. Great job!!
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This is so encouraging! I’ve started a blog this year. Although I have an 8 month old son and am in my first year at grad school, I am really determined to make my blog successful and hopefully I will be able to inspire others one day as much as Emily! Thanks for writing this post Cheri and connecting us with a great blogger!
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This is soo helpful, I’m still finding my ground in blogging and I’m taking my time with it. Thanks for this inspiration
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So important to have good blogs relating to family life!
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Thank you for the helpful post!
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Sure thing!
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Thanks for this!
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I took the leap into blogging when my daughter was just over the 13 month mark, now she’s a few days away from being two. Blogging has helped me prioritise, organise my day and actually help me discover what I want to do in life 🙂
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That’s awesome! Now if only we could get blogging to do the laundry 🙂
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. There’s some good stuff I haven’t considered!
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Emily, what a fabulous interview! Great insights from one of my favorite writers. And I’m honored by the shout-out. I don’t think I’ve ever been quoted before, except by my kids, and that was usually prefaced with a whiny, “But you SAID…”
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I quote you on the regular, Peg.
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Love the bit about recording your family history – I can feel less guilty about the half completed half fiction baby books now! Thanks! 😀
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Thank you, Emily. Your post is perfect for me. I just started blogging because i love to write. I am thrilled at your advice and look forward to hearing more of what you have to say!
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Thanks, Lisa!
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Such insightful advice, Emily! Congrats on all your success with your new job. And I completely agree that blogging about your kids and family is like preserving a moment in time that you can look back on later.
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Congrats on landing a paying gig. I’m writing all over the walls and hoping to hone in on something important in time. In the meantime, it’s fun to iron out problems and come to terms with some struggles I have faced and write about parenting on my blog. Good writing or not. Day-to-day or not.
Thanks for the info about #AmWriting. I have been seeing that on Twitter, but didn’t know what it meant.
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Such great ideas and advice and so relatable! I really need to just “make time to write”. Thanks for the tips and encouragement!
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This article and your advice are so encouraging!! Thanks so much.
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What a great post – very encouraging & inspirational.
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I love the advice about beginning blogging, seeing that I am a beginner myself, and I would take it if I wanted my blog to go somewhere, but here I am just writing post for the sake of writing, good or not.
Also congratulations on the paying gig (I didn’t even know that was possible)
I wish you the best and I really enjoyed reading your blog!
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Thanks so much for sharing your experience and congrats on your success!
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Love the post, the story, and of course, the Emily. 🙂 So many great insights here. Thanks for sharing!
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I love the Ra!
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Aww, yay! This was fun to read, Emily 🙂 so glad our blogging worlds collided enough to let your humor into my world 🙂
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I am so glad too, Erika! It’s been a joy to see your family grow!
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Kick ass, Emily. Great, honest advice… I feel lucky to have connected with you in person, and to have shared in your journey!
I’ve got mad love for WordPress, for so many reasons, but interviews like this is a icing on the cake.
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Awwww, YOU are the icing on my cake, Dawn! xoxox
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Best blogging advice I’ve ever read (and great article/interview). I’ve been blogging on and off for a few years, and I’m just realizing how important it is to make authentic contributions to the blogging community. Life’s all about creating good karma! Sending positive vibes to everyone xx
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I am a beginner. I have to admire the way you presented the post. Nothing is more inspiring than listening to the real life stories of such people who turn their passions, hobbies into their full time obsession.
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 There is something about sharing a meal, a cup of coffee, or a glass of wine with another person and having a relaxed conversation that inspires me to not only be a better writer but also a better person….. These words drove me and are a complete change for me
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Awww, I’m so glad they spoke to you! The cool thing is that since this post went up, I’ve connected with someone in my city who is also a blogger and works in the same industry as me. 🙂
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Love this post! Gained quite a bit of motivation for continuing to blog. Thanks for the post!
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Very encouraging and insightful post. I like the part about finding time to write and keep writing even as a busy mom.
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So inspirational! When I’d start hearing those voices telling me that I should give up I’ll definitely remember this piece to push me back on track again! A very big well done!
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Reblogged this on wake38 and commented:
I have read this piece three times since it’s been posted and my words will do it no justice. Here take a read and another read. If I find myself reading it again within the next 24 hours, it’s safe to say that I should print it out and stick it to my monitor!
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Awww, thanks, Wake!
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I enjoyed reading this, especially as I myself am new to blogging. Thank you for sharing.
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Great story!! I think it’s easy for people to give up with blogging because we don’t think our ideas are good enough, funny enough, ____ enough, but Emily has been blogging for 5 years! If I put in 5 years I would surely hope I could have a following to show for it. That takes major commitment! Great job, Emily!
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Thanks! It’s definitely been a labor of love with high’s and low’s. But it’s been worth it.
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Inspirational! As best friends of 20 years and now mums of 5 kids between us, we have recently started our blog and both find it so therapeutic. It’s great to read other’s stories and backgrounds. x
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Love it! Best of luck to you both!
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Thank you so much.
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Nice read! I guess most of us start blogging with no idea why. Then with time, we discover our true “voice”. Thanks for this post
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Very inspirational! Keep up the amazing work Emily!
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Thanks for sharing some fantastic tips and advice. As a new blogger it’s just what I needed to read. Thanks again. George
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Congrats Emily!!!!
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Thank YOU, beautiful lady!
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You’re so awesome – and I can’t believe what a BIG HUGE DEAL you are!!! Well, yes I can.
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Awesome! You are one of those very few bloggers who don’t write for monetary gains. You write straight from the heart and another good thing, you rely on one to one communication! Some might call it old school but this would certainly make a deeper impact.
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Full disclosure: I *have* made money on the side with my writing – nothing to live off of or anything, my day job covers that – but definitely enough to help cover the cost of soccer for my daughter and the occasional night out with my husband. I was conflicted when I was first approached with paid opportunities for my writing, and I worried that being paid would bring down the quality and authenticity of what I was doing. But honestly, we live in a time when bloggers and freelance writers are often expected to give away their work for free, and that’s not cool. We work hard and should be compensated for it. That said, I’d still write for myself even if no one paid me (heck, I’d write if no one read it!), but compensation certainly helps. 🙂
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I agree but initially when you started writing, the sponsoring thought did not have money. It eventually came is a different matter. Best part is you write because you love it and the compensation is a bonus.
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Congratulations Emily. Your writing is inspiring for a fellow parenting writer such as myself.
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What a great post!
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Thank you for the advice and the honesty. I’m just getting started sharing my story and I don’t know where it will take me but I’m up for enjoying the ride.
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Being new to blogging, this has been such a great insight, thank you!!!
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I recently started a blog and am in the “writing for myself” phase. I admire your success — it not only took hard work, but courage to put yourself out there. Congratulations!
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I am new to the blogging scene, and your blog is the first I’ve followed on WordPress! Congrats, and thanks for the encouragement!
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