{"id":108853,"date":"2017-10-18T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T09:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=108853"},"modified":"2017-10-18T11:03:33","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T11:03:33","slug":"blogger-spotlight-with-jo-middleton-slummy-single-mummy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/blogger-spotlight-with-jo-middleton-slummy-single-mummy\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogger Spotlight: Jo Middleton, Slummy Single Mummy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jo Middleton<\/a> is the multi-award-winning influencer behind the UK\u2019s biggest parenting blog Slummy Single Mummy<\/a>. Jo has been writing about family life since 2009 and is also now an expert in social media, marketing and copywriting. Slummy Single Mummy is the number one blog in the Top 10 UK Parenting Blogs<\/a>, and we caught up with Jo to discuss the importance of not comparing, her advice for new bloggers and working with brands. <\/strong><\/p>\n

How would you describe your blog?
\n<\/strong>That\u2019s a tricky one, because it has changed a lot over the years as my kids have grown up. I think in a way that\u2019s the beauty of \u2018parenting\u2019 as a theme though \u2013 pretty much anything can fall under that umbrella if you try hard enough! I like to think my blog doesn\u2019t take itself too seriously, it\u2019s just a bit of light entertainment \u2013 like a friendly chat with a friend.<\/p>\n

Why did you start your blog?
\n<\/strong>I actually started it as a way to promote the freelance journalism and copywriting I was doing, way back before brands had really started engaging with bloggers meaningfully, so I never imagined it would evolve into my main source of income.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the best thing about being a parent?
\n<\/strong>Wow, that\u2019s a big question?? Aside from the unconditional love, joy of seeing your kids grow etc?? Probably that you get to watch Disney films at the cinema and go to theme parks and eat Big Macs and pretend it\u2019s all just because you have to.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give new parents?
\n<\/strong>I think just do your best. Accept that at some point in the future they are going to blame you for ruining their lives in some way \u2013 it\u2019s how parenting works \u2013 so just do your best from day to day and don\u2019t compare your child to others.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give new bloggers?
\n<\/strong>This is such a tough one, because I can\u2019t imagine how difficult it must be to come into the market place now with so much competition. I think I\u2019d say firstly to just go for it \u2013 don\u2019t spend too much time over-thinking things, as you can always grow and develop as you go along. Secondly though I\u2019d say you have to be prepared to work hard and be professional at all times. You can\u2019t expect big brand partnerships to fall into your lap from day one \u2013 it takes a while to build up a readership and a reputation. Also, a bit like parenting, don\u2019t compare your blog to other blogs. Comparison really IS the thief of joy.<\/p>\n

What makes your blog successful?
\n<\/strong>I like to think that I have a very consistent, approachable tone of voice, that makes it easy to read and makes people feel like they want to come back and read it again. Commercially, I think honesty is a big part of my success, and professionalism. I always do everything on time, I try to make even the dullest subject interesting \u2013 all that stuff that brands love!<\/p>\n

How do you like to work with PRs?
\n<\/strong>I\u2019m pretty open to any kind of approach as long as it\u2019s well researched, friendly and honest. I\u2019m not saying I end up working with everyone who gets in touch, but I try to read most things. I like it best when I\u2019m given plenty of rein creatively, but with clear goals too \u2013 I want the brand to be able to measure whether or not they\u2019ve got what they want from working with me, so they come back!<\/p>\n

What\u2019s one of your favourite collaborations<\/strong>?
\n<\/strong>Thinking long term, I really loved working with Bailey of Bristol, who make motorhomes. For a couple of summers they leant us a motorhome so that we could go off on adventures around the UK and Ireland \u2013 what\u2019s not to love about that??<\/p>\n

What one thing should PRs know about you?
\n<\/strong>I am NOT interested in reviewing potty training apps. Yes I have children, but they are 15 and 22.<\/p>\n

What other blogs do you read?
\n<\/strong>I have to admit that when I\u2019m not working I prefer to be away from screens if I possibly can, so although I dabble, I\u2019m much more of an old fashioned magazine or book kind of girl.<\/p>\n

Jo Middleton and Slummy Single Mummy\u00a0feature on the\u00a0market-leading\u00a0Vuelio Influencer Database<\/a>\u00a0along with thousands of other bloggers, influencers and journalists.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jo Middleton is the multi-award-winning influencer behind the UK\u2019s biggest parenting blog Slummy Single Mummy. Jo has been writing about family life since 2009 and is also now an expert in social media, marketing and copywriting. We caught up with Jo to discuss the importance of not comparing, her advice for new bloggers and working with brands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":312,"featured_media":108854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7272,4038,6980],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108853"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/312"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108853"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108853\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120961,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108853\/revisions\/120961"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}