Be active in social media as a helpful person, not as a promoter

by DANIELA DIAMARE

Anne-Marie Nichols, like so many mothers who do not have time to devote themselves to fitness, wondered how to get in shape.

When she started a blog that could help her focus on losing weight and eating more healthfully she asked herself: “who wants to read about diet recipes and my weight loss plans?”

Starting from her experience as a mother and writing especially for busy moms and their families she found the answer and her niche.

Now she is a healthy food and lifestyle blogger at This Mama Cooks! On a Diet where she inspire families to live healthier with a minimum of fuss.

Anne-Marie how and why did you start a blog?

I started my blog This Mama Cooks! eight years ago to document my Thanksgiving plans. Since then it’s morphed into a healthy lifestyle and food blog called This Mama Cooks! On a Diet.

How much time do you spend working on the blog?

I have a terrific team at Folivision, so I spend very little time doing anything more technical than adding ad code in my sidebars.

I spend most of my time cooking, writing, photographing, posting, promoting my content and being active in various online communities that fit my niche (mom bloggers, foodies, healthy folks, etc.)

Blogging is a full time job for me, but that also includes social media consulting work I do with agencies and brands outside of my blog.

What is your best advice when starting a blog?

Sit down and figure out if your blog is a business venture or a hobby. Once you’ve figured that out, everything else from goals to what email address you’ll use will fall into place.

What is your best advice on how to grow a blog?

Spend time creating great content and knowing SEO, of course. Then find time to promote content on social media sites like Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook by being active in those communities as a helpful person, not a promoter. If people like you and what you’re saying, they’ll come to your blog for more.

What is your biggest success and biggest mistake as a blogger?

My biggest success was being hired to write a blog for ClubMom (now CafeMom). When the call went out to the mom blogging community about the gig, many of us realized that blogging had become way of making a living and was no longer just a hobby.

My biggest mistake was not switching over to a self-hosted WordPress blog sooner! Once I did that, my traffic and opportunities grew.