New blog site....www.mamamartin.com

[mamamartin]

Hi guys, I have recently started up my own blog. This is my little space on the internet where I like to share all the wonderful and...not so wonderful parts of being a Mum.

I will feature all sorts of things from recipes for a delicious but inexpensive family tea-time to the products I use within my own little family.

I enjoy baking too so look out for some video's etc.

I hope to share some useful parenting tips and tricks with you that will hopefully help mums/parents along their journey...if not...maybe raise a giggle?

Please feel free to comment/e-mail your own tips, tricks or anything else and I would be happy to publish them on my site. You can subscribe to my page and in due course I will be sending out newsletters!

www.mamamartin.com

Feel free to like on facebook and twitter!

Twitter: @mamamartin_

www.facebook.com/Mamamartincom

From my family to yours :)

Mama Martin x

I would go through the posts and sort out the grammar firstly. Then paragraph (with spaces) the about you section. I gave up reading that as it was genuinely making my eyes hurt reading it on a phone.

Then look at trying to find something that differentiates you from all of the other, many "mummy bloggers" out there. I had a quick read of the first couple of posts but there was nothing unusual or different in them so I don't feel interested enough to read any more or revisit.

I'm assuming that you want to encourage readership rather than just blogging for the purpose of recording things for your own record? If it's not the former, then ignore my comments as if it's just a personal blog for you then you can do what you like!

I've had a look, will be following once I'm on my laptop as mobile site is a bit slow. Sound advice from gobbo

Wow, that was rather rude! I guess my blog isn't for everybody nor is it an English test! I'm trying to ignore negative comments from narrow minded individuals! The blog is just over a week old and something I do for pleasure but thanks for your input!

There's one rude person on this thread, but it isn't Gobbo

AFAIK, one has to pay MN a fee to appear in this section, which suggests to me that you're trying to do this as a business. If so, you really need to toughen up a bit. Gobbolino's advice may have been on the blunt side, but it wasn't actually rude, and actually had some constructive suggestions. You do need a "hook" which will distinguish you from the million and one other mummy bloggers. You do need to make it easy to read so formatting matters (paragraphs are a bare minimum). I say this as someone who writes online and pulls in thousands of page views per month.

My personal request would be tone the pink down a bit.

negative comments from narrow minded individuals

Wow, if this is your attitude then you're in for a surprise. When you ask people to follow your blog, particularly if you start networking with fellow bloggers, who will make up the vast majority of your readership, you will get some negative comments, some positive comments and a lot of constructive criticism. That's what gobbo was offering.

You need a thick skin if you're going to be inviting people to read your blog.

AFAIK there's no requirement to pay for this area of MN as it's part of the mumsnet bloggers network Lurcio

Or if we do have to pay I've been getting away without paying for a while

I don't have a shallow mind but when people post, is there any need to be so negative! Yes I accept constructive criticism, and I do appreciate people's opinions but when somebody jumps straight in to a negative comment, not a nice word said then it shows that these people are just negative critics and probably spend most of their time pulling people down!

Ah, my mistake, Jorah.

But as gobbo said, it was making their eyes hurt reading it on the phone. Once it's easier to read, there's every chance people will say wow, great blog, sounds really interesting - but for now, gobbo is spot on. You won't get people coming in to say great blog etc if a) they can't comfortably read it, and b) there's nothing to set it apart from other mummy blogs.

No one is being negative. People are suggesting things you can improve. If you posted just so that we'd all say wow, what an amazing blog, you've come to the wrong place. Many of us are bloggers ourselves and know what people look for in a blog. A user friendly design and grammar and spelling are the two biggest things people want - without it, very few people will read.

What were you hoping to get from posting here, Mama?

Let me share with you what I do when I get a genuinely nasty response to something I've written (and again, for the record, Gobbolino's response was not nasty, merely blunt, and it did contain some good advice). Yes, I get upset, that's a human response. I maybe let off steam in private to my friends. Maybe even channel it into writing an ascerbic response which (important) I do not publish. I go for a walk round the block in the fresh air. What I do not do is throw a hissy fit or respond publicly because (a) it is nearly impossible to do this without coming across as a complete twit and (b) it risks alienating your nice readers.

Can you please tell me what grammar/spelling is incorrect as I have had it proof read and spell checked already?!? I don't know what part of the globe you are in but I'm a Yorkshire lass and we say things certain ways! :-) as for making it easier to read, is it the colour of the text or what?!? Thanks in advance x

No hissy fit was had! I just simply didn't understand the need to be so blunt! Blunt to me is also rude! Could have been said a little more politely! I wasn't wound up or anything just came across rude/blunt/harsh!!! I accept the criticism and I am currently in the process of editing the page! Thanks again

Do you use MN? Because your response, and taking Gobbo's post so personally, suggests you just joined to promote your blog. If you hang around, you'll spot that it's a bit blunt here, but helpful and supportive. We swear, and we don't wrap things in cotton wool.

If you want tickers and huns and nicey nice cheerleading, you might find the other parenting forum a better fit - or try them both and see which you prefer.

There's just some basic punctuation and syntax issues - unnecessary apostrophes etc. It's not a spelling test but it distracts people from reading your post - a sad but true fact of blogging.

I get annoyed by the overuse of exclamation marks, but that's just me.

I have never blogged, but I have written a lot of online fiction where readers are free to contact me and tell me their opinions. I can tell you that if Gobbos honest concrit upset you, you shouldn't be putting anything out online for other people to read as you'll get much worse than that. People will pull apart your spelling, punctuation, grammar, and your content, and calling them rude for doing so won't win you any favours. If you're really intent on doing this you need to have thick skin.

Gobbos is also right in asking how you are going to be different from all the other mummy bloggers, because there are hundreds of people doing the same thing as you. If you want to attract and keep a decent readership you need to be offering people something they can't get elsewhere.

Thanks guys! Have a nosey and see what you think, I've done some editing.