Name Hannah
Age 26
Location Lancaster, UK
Blog URL www.withloveinmind.co.uk
What is your blog about?
With Love in Mind is a place where I record everything that contributes towards my husband and I maintaining a happy marriage. We are committed to challenging the stereotype that marriage and settling down is a stone around your neck – we’re having more fun now than we ever did before. The blog includes date ideas to enjoy with your spouse, mini breaks far and wide and how we make our house a home. It’s also a confession of the true ups and downs of our marriage.
Is this your first blog?
Yes.
When did you start your current blog?
I started the blog back in March 2015, so I’m a brand new blogger really – still learning the ropes and finding my feet in the blogosphere!
What made you do it?
Whilst I was planning our wedding, I was addicted to wedding blogs for inspiration. After the honeymoon I felt kind of lost. What blogs could I read now – what community was I part of. No longer a bride a be, I found little solace in wedding blogs, and not yet a parent, family blogs didn’t really fit either Instead I decided to create my own space where I could record our own path to a happy marriage and hopefully connect with other like-minded couples.
What was your first blog post about?
My first blog post was all about the blog itself – it explained why I wanted to start the blog – how I felt about the journey ahead, what the blog meant to me. Since then I’ve carved a more defined path for the blog, but we all start somewhere right – I’m pretty sure most blogs evolve quite a bit since their first blog post.
What do you think is the most useful tool to you as a blogger?
For me, I’ve actually found Twitter incredibly useful. I’d never really used it much before, but it’s been great for finding other bloggers and connecting with so many new people. I find the twitter chats really useful when you’re talking to a community of other bloggers all about the same topic.
Do people in your real life know about your blog? If yes, has your blog helped you career wise?
In my day job I’m a marketing professional, so I think the fact that I’ve setup the blog and starting to get a bit of following has shown prospective employers that I have the skills to market myself and my own site.
What has been the one thing (blog post, project, etc) that you have been really proud of?
One post which I had been wanting to do for a while was my Brutally honest account of the first 6 months of marriage. In all honesty, it wasn’t a bed of roses. I love my husband dearly, but I wasn’t prepared for the come-down after the excitement of the wedding and honeymoon. I wasn’t prepared for how difficult it would be to come to terms with a new identity, and a new lifestyle. Finally getting that out there for all to read lifted a weight off my shoulders, and I’m really proud that I was open enough to do it.
Where do you see your blog in a year?
I’m hoping in a yea’s time that the blog will have a genuine following of readers – but mostly that it’s helping and inspiring them. I hope the blog will be able to inspire married couples to put the effort into each other every single day. I hope our date ides will give couples their own ideas and that they will share them with me in turn.
What do you wish you knew when starting your blog?
Nothing really. I’ve been happy to let the blog take it’s natural course – it’s bound to grow and evolve as I do and as my readers do. I can’t say there’s anything I’d have done differently or wish I’d known before I started.
What do you wish you know more about now?
Ways to fit it all in alongside a full-time job. Writing up the posts is easy enough – it’s being active in the blogging community that I struggle with – I’m trying hard to keep in touch with people, but the more people I connect with the harder it is to stay in touch as often as I would like. I’d love to know how people do it!
How do you keep motivated to post?
The whole purpose of the blog is what spurs me on. I’m dedicated to maintaining a happy marriage and having things to post about is a way of making sure my husband and I get out there and do things. Sometimes it works the other way round – we go out then I post about it. But a lot of the time I’ve found that I need something to post about so that prompts us to do something.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I’m really keen to find other bloggers in my niche – in the UK in particular I’ve really struggled to find ‘marriage’ blogs that aren’t wedding blogs or about marriage counselling. Is anyone else out there doing this kind of blog? I guess you might class it as lifestyle with a focus on marriage. Would love to connect!
