An Interview with ThePracticalMommy
An active mother dishes on how she manages to fit a vibrant and professional online life into her already packed schedule
As your name suggests, you write excellent Hubs guiding readers through pregnancy and parenthood. What advice can you offer to other parents who might like to turn their experiences and expertise into useful online resources?
So many people these days turn to the Internet for parenting advice. I just read somewhere that 1 in 8 parents turn to the Internet for health advice alone. Why not share what you know and your experiences as a parent? If your articles contain useful information and not just personal stories, you have the potential to gain a large audience of other parents looking for advice or help.
It’s wise to follow the parenting trends and to find out what today’s parents are looking for when it comes to health, happiness, and well-being of their children. I follow the trends on Twitter to get some ideas of what parents care about, plus I browse the parenting magazines to see what topics are popular. Chances are, these are topics that you may have an interest or experience in. Having your own viewpoint or opinion about these topics or ideas can really add to the general conversation being held online.
As a full time, stay at home mom, you must deal with a lot of distractions from your children (and the multitude of problems that constantly need solving around one's house). How do you find time to write? Do you have a special place in your home where you write Hubs that is more peaceful, or do you just write whenever or wherever you find time and space?
I have to giggle a little at that: time. As many stay-at-home parents (and working parents!) know, time is limited when it comes to doing the things parents want to do. I write before the kids wake up in the morning, but most of the time I write when they are napping and the house is quiet. Occasionally I write in the evenings when the kids are catching up with their dad when he is home from work. There have even been a few times when I have written Hubs with my youngest on my lap!
Being in the Apprenticeship Program has really helped me to streamline my writing process and produce Hubs in a much faster rate than before I began the program. Before this past May when I began the AP, it would take me a week or sometimes longer to write one Hub. Now I can write a few Hubs a week, even with the distractions of daily life.
There are times when I imagine myself on a quiet beach with a laptop doing my work, but in reality I do my work in our little office space or in the kitchen with the laptop.
You're excellent about being active online across multiple platforms, and maintain a presence on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, and more. How do you juggle all these different platforms, and how do you decide which platforms are worth your time and which aren't?
Most of the time, I access these social networks from my smart phone using apps, making it easy to update a status, post an article, or pin a photo without having to be at the computer away from the kids. I make my decision on what to post and when to post based on the audience and what connections I can make to things going on out in the world.
I use Facebook for personal use, but I do maintain a public page for my HubPages writings. It helps to separate article sharing from personal accounts because your audience chooses to follow your page while your relatives and friends may not want constant article advertisements.
I use Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, and Pinterest for article posting since they’re geared towards a public audience, but it’s important to remember to be ‘human’ on those platforms as well and to interact with others. Following the HubPages Learning Center guides on how to use all of these really helped with determining how to post and interact with the general public.
You also have an excellent record with winning contest prizes and Hubs of the Day. Do your winning Hubs share common characteristics? What do you think it is that gives them an extra edge?
It is always such an honor to have my work recognized! Except for the Hub I wrote for the March Contest (How Early Can I Take a Pregnancy Test?), my other Hubs were written just for the sake of writing and sharing information. I do try to give as much accurate information in my Hubs, writing the things my audience would want to know or find out more about. Having personal experience to back up my information helps as well, allowing the audience to see that the ideas or methods work for a real person.
It helps that I feel passionate about what I write as well, and I hope it is reflected in my writing. There is a whole different tone and voice in Hubs or articles written by an author who really cares about the topic and has personal experience, which is a concept I used to share with my English students when I taught in a middle school setting.
It appears to be that your two big writing passions are parenting and education (which you express through your LearnFromMe account). What else do you like to write about?
Don’t tell my family, but I secretly enjoy trying out new recipes and writing about them. I have never enjoyed cooking, which is an oddity in my very large Italian family, but I’m beginning to enjoy experimenting and writing about the food. I have a few recipe Hubs as of now, and I have a few more in the works.
What might we expect to see you publishing in the near future?
I have quite a few pregnancy Hubs planned for the near future; now that I’m expecting my third child, I am very focused on all things pregnancy and babies! I also have a few seasonal and holiday Hubs on my list.
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