Today we meet South African mom blogger, Marlize, who blogs at Mom’s Wisdom Well.
1)What do you normally get up to on an average day? (Give us a brief description about yourself)
I always start my day with bible study. Because I work with school kids and mostly working moms, I usually have the mornings to myself. I use this time for all admin related tasks, for example, marketing, planning for my membership and workshops and so on. I also do recordings or live videos and of course writing my blog. I also have 2 meditation classes during the week in the mornings, for moms with flexible working hours. Once the school bell rings, things get hectic. I negotiate between homework, activities and clients. But I always try to book my clients so that I can still watch the netball and cricket games. I am blessed to do what I do, I can still spend time with my children in the afternoons.
2) How do you feel about motherhood – what are your struggles and joys?
Oh, motherhood! I love everything about it! I love the love you find when you become a mother, I love how I, as a person, has grown with my children, I love taking care of my kids, and knowing that I am still the most important person in their lives, for now at least! I love how I get to form these little creatures into humans with the right morals and values. I suppose when I think about struggles, the most obvious one for me should be being a single mom, and of course there are times I do miss the extra set of hands, but this is really not a struggle for me. I think my biggest struggle is self-doubt, doing what I do, knowing how beliefs are formed, working with emotions and the minds, thoughts, I always wonder if I’m doing it right. What beliefs am I installing into my kids? Am I doing enough? When I start doubting myself though, I always go back to breathing, the bible and affirmations, “I am doing all that I can, that is enough.”
3) Tell us about your kid(s)
I have two kids, a boy and a girl. My son, Franco, age 7, is a very carefree, whatever-kind-of-person. He has an extremely logical brain and loves maths and cricket. He ALWAYS has a ball close by! My little girl, Lianke, age 10, is something else. She is a true empath. She has emotional maturity far beyond her years. Where Franco is my strength and my laughter, she is my rock and my light.
4) How did you start blogging?
I’ve always loves writing. I have a couple of self-help guides available on my website as well. When I started with life coaching, I knew this was something that I wanted to pursue. We have in life 2 kinds of people, those that prefer to watch a screen, and those that prefer to read. I’m one of the readers. My living room is turning into a library! I don’t have a television. When writing, my heart is filled, and my soul is fed. Which, I guess, means that I’m doing this more for myself than others! I do hope though that those moms reading my blog, will feel what I feel when I write, and experience the same kind of bliss reading that words that I do when writing them down.
5) Share with us a valuable blogging tip you’ve learnt. (or more)
Well, right now, I’m at the very start of this journey. I have been thinking to approach advertisements on my blog differently than the norm. I don’t like the idea of AdSense with all those ads flashing and some of them really irrelevant to my blog. I’m still working on this idea but included what I’m thinking under your next question. If I can give bloggers one tip though, it would be this: Stay true to yourself, write what’s in your heart. I’ve always loved the story about the peach. You may offer someone the juiciest, most beautiful and delicious peach in the world. If she doesn’t like peaches, she’s not going to eat it and decline your offer to take the peach from you. Find your peach-lovers! Put the peach-haters completely out of your mind, because you’re not writing for them.
6) If you make money from your blog, give us a breakdown on how you do it. Give us some of your methods on how to get started on this, or any tips or advice.
My blog contains links to my services. It’s also a part of my bigger website, so people can brows and see all the things I offer. But as mentioned previously, I have an idea about adverts. To start with and generate more readers for my blog, I’m thinking to approach relevant business to my niche, which is moms. For example, kindergartens, salons, beauty product agents, maybe a family dentist, etc. I want to go to these people and offer to put their adverts on my blog, in exchange for my blog being on their website and social media. Later, when my blog has enough readers, I’m thinking of changing this structure completely and charging a monthly fee to then advertise on my blog. It will then, for them, be like paying for a billboard on the roadside. Instead of relaying on “clicks per advert” you will then have a fixed monthly fee and income.
Blog Link: https://marlizemarais.co.za/moms-wisdom-well
Facebook Page Link: I have a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/marlizemarais
I also have a website: https://marlizemarais.co.za/
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