Writing Tips to Start a Blog on Maternity Leave

Maternity leave is a really difficult period for both parents. Of course, women and men experience it differently, which depends on different circumstances: whether there is help, how much the lifestyle has changed, etc. It so happens that the birth of a child dramatically changes the family and the professional situation alike. 

The most painful thing can be the realization that having a new member of a family makes it difficult to concentrate and maintain your previous routines. Today, we will tell you how to make your maternity leave the most productive time of your life by starting your own blog about motherhood.

How To Start a Blog on Maternity Leave?

You may have some cool ideas for your blog already. The best way to find out if an audience is interested in your topic is to use the free Google Trends tool. This allows you to quickly see two important facts: Are people interested in your niche? 

Does your niche cause growing or declining interest? If you are setting up a blog to generate revenue, you should pay for it. Paying for a blog means that you purchase your own domain name and open a hosting account. If you only need a personal blog, you can choose a free method using a service such as blogger.com. Free blogs usually place ads on your site and have restrictions on what you can and cannot do. Here are some steps to start your blog.

• Choose a blog topic (for example, care after a newborn, kids toy reviews, staying active while pregnant, etc.);
• Choose a free or paid blog to run;
• Choose a domain name;
• Choose hosting for your site.

Also, you will need to purchase a domain name, i.e. your URL or web address. Some are more expensive, some are cheaper. The name of the site can be different - your name + .com or something more creative that describes your business. A domain name will cost you about $10-15 a year. The best domain name is a short one, to make it easier for people to remember and type it. Now there are dozens of online services that can help you generate the name you like. Do not use hyphens or numbers in your domain name, as it is difficult to type on a smartphone.

It is normal to want self-development and professional growth while on maternity leave. So, don’t waste your time and take on a new project or activity on your maternity leave, such as blogging. Here are some of the basic things you can do to start your blog.

1. Determine your personal interests - First, try to write down what you wanted to try on maternity leave for a long time, but never had time for. What do you do with your child at home, how do you do it, and how long does it take? You can write about your routines and create useful content for other young moms. You should choose one of the most exciting things for you personally at the moment and write about it.
2. Audit the resources and possible investments in your maternity blog - If you are to start blogging, you will need to think about how you can combine it with your current situation, both time and resource-wise. You need to take into consideration many things: the baby's sleep time, money to help with the baby or the household, the time that your parents, the husband's parents, and the husband himself can allocate to babysitting, etc. If you want to be blogging full-time, you might need to consider hiring a nanny. Either way, you must prepare for blogging in advance, see how you can realistically incorporate this new time-consuming and creatively-draining activity into your and your family’s current schedule. Writing takes a lot of time, but you will also need to think about the design of your blog and communication with your readers. So you could spend more time writing and managing your blog, get help from your loved ones.
3. Think of the purpose and outcome of blogging for you - We recommend setting a measurable goal you want to reach before you start blogging - this way you will have a clearer idea about what you need to do and have something to work towards. It can be something very ambitious - for example, "earn XX dollars with your blog", or maybe something less tough, but more fun: "learn how to write a good blog post", "get the first 100 readers", "write 20 articles for your new blog ", etc. If you determine this first, you will know exactly what to write about on your blog.
4. Define your blogging milestones - In other words, establish and track our intermittent results. These are some events and results that will give you an idea of whether you are moving in the right direction in a certain period of time. Of course, they will definitely change in the process. Most likely, starting to make your blog about your motherhood experience, you will realize that the initial ideas about the process are not entirely correct, but it is still good to have at least some kind of planned path. Otherwise, the path may seem too long, and the goals - too unclear or unattainable, while the desire to do something may suddenly disappear.
5. Practice creative writing or take a writing course - If you don't have much experience with creative writing, don’t fear! You can always start slow and build your skill gradually. You can learn to write on your own online, or take a free or paid online or offline writing course that will teach you the basics of blogging and creative writing.
6. Remember to have fun with it! Don’t treat your blog as merely the source of income or a way to break up your routine - blogging should be fun for you. Otherwise, why even do it? Constantly check with your inner state in order to understand what you have energy for now, and don’t stretch your inner resources for something you don't even like doing. If, at any point, blogging starts to seem like an insurmountable task that you can't fit into your schedule - that's completely fine. You can always try it later if you’d like. However, we are confident that you can work this new activity into your schedule if you follow our tips and move forward gradually.

Ready to Start Blogging?

Motherhood is something that will never cease to amuse and amaze you, and other parents feel the same. This is why it is important to come together in this difficult, important and wonderful time. Nowadays, many people choose to connect digitally, and you can use this trend to build your own little online hub for new parents, sharing wonders and challenges of parenthood, and contribute to the online community with your writing. Your personal experience, ideas, and solutions you can offer can be invaluable to other young parents, so don’t hesitate to challenge yourself and create a blog on maternity leave!

Jessica Fender is a copywriter and blogger at GetGoodGrade. with a background in marketing and sales. She enjoys sharing her experience with like-minded professionals who aim to provide customers with high-quality services.