From a corporate job to blogging about raising munchkins, wellness, healthy lifestyle, and “Womanhood”, Jhilmil Bhansali shares her journey of the eloquent mortal she is today.
After earning two esteemed Gold Medals in Biotechnology and Management wind just dwindled Jhilmil away from her love and passion to write. She wanted to canvas her experiences, share and discuss raising up a child. To counter learn the concept of “Positive parenting” in a real working manner, Jhilmil Bhansali started with mommyinme to get her breeze across the horizon.
In this fun conversation, Jhilmil takes us through her journey so far, the content creation process, tips for upcoming bloggers, and much more.
Looking back, where did it all begin?
Writing was always in my DNA since the school days. Then it was restricted to personal diaries, which had lots of Poetries, stories and the hustle-bustle of teenage life. Flashback to the year 2014, when I took maternity break after the birth of my baby. During that time, I started a blog on Wordpress domain on travel and womanhood, simply as a hobby. It continued after I joined back my corporate life 4 months after. Excited by the feedback of my husband and colleagues, it prompted me to turn into a full-time Blogger. Giving up on 9 years of professional career at a Managerial level, was a decision way tougher than it looked. So mid-2017 was the birth year of my self hosted blog Mommy In Me and Family On The Wheels, and today I’m more than happy with the progress it has made.
Nothing and everything, depending on which hat I’m wearing as a blogger, or a mom or a story-teller or a crazy traveller. At an early stage, your name helps your TG to get an overall feel of what they can expect from your blog just by reading the name. Later it becomes an identity. Today, my readers actually recognize and remember me from my Blog name. They so very well relate the voice of a mum and the ecstasy of a woman, right with the name of my blog.
What is your USP in this cluttered space? How does your content give you an edge?
“People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.” -Seth Godin. I’ve so much believed in this quote, even in my corporate life. Personal touch with a tinge of Innovativeness, honest unbiased opinions, an optimum dose of your thoughts on the current topics and keeping the right equity between sponsored post / unsponsored posts. I call myself a story-teller and that’s what my audience have loved. I rarely pitch any brand directly, rather I’ve always shared my experiences. Words of wisdom definitely hit the TG in the long run.
Please take us through your content creation process. How do you stay relevant and relatable?
I would say that my stint of 9 years of corporate life into the Marketing and revenue stream was an absolute grace. I use many of my corporate experiences into my blogging journey too. Research is the key. Keeping myself updated on current affairs (India and Global), Participation in various discussion-based forums, aligning with the Trends and yes request from my readers and followers help me in my content creation. Further, I speak to various women in a different niche and count in their experiences as well, which gives my content a better reach.
How do you make moolah with your efforts?
Collaborations with brands for product/ service reviews on mommyinme and other influencers platform remains the top source. Adsense is something which I’m tapping currently. I see myself being indulged more towards editorial articles on women and Kids centric issues in digital media and participation as a Speaker & Panelist.
How do you maintain editorial objectivity with the influx of brand briefs?
To me, what matters the most is being self-convinced about the brand and their proposal. I’ve said “No” to many brands if their proposal doesn’t look genuine to me. My wealth is my readers and my priority is always to bring up the content which can help them. If the terms of the brand don’t fit in my working style and niche, I’m more happy to let it go and create something from my heart which my readers enjoy. Even, being honest with the brand at the initial concept stage helps. I’m quite clear of sharing with them my working options.
One instance/experience that made it all worthwhile
When I wrote an article about a kid whose mother was looking to raise funds for his treatment. Although it was an early stage of my blog, it surprised me when a lot of people contacted me to lend their support for the cause. That made me realize the real power of my Blog, which was much beyond a platform to express any opinion or do product reviews.
When words make an impact on someone’s life, it is a thousand times more than receiving an award!
There was a hospital chain, who wanted me to experience their high-end services by staying there for a day. A lavish stay in the hospital, with the photo shoot arrangements, sounded quite weird to me. I laughed it all out. Better have a relaxing day at your home.
If not blogging, you would be.
That’s my favorite question as fortunately blogging is not just about writing “anything”. I’m a Biotechnology and Management postgraduate and what naturally comes to me is Research. The world would have seen me wearing a white coat with some test tubes working for human cause. I always wanted to be a scientist, not with a frizzy white wig though.
A day in your life....
My day is just like the day of every mom. I get up usually by 4 AM. That’s truly my time when I write down what my heart speaks. Life switches very soon from a writer’s life to a mums life, as I’m all into my kitchen for preparing lunch boxes. Then its all about dressing my son, bringing him back, talking a lot about the “new happenings”.
And in between, in titbits, I complete my work, like a juggler. I make sure to do my Yoga and meditation every single day, as it really helps in keeping me sane amidst ample responsibilities. Evenings are filled with family time and yes some crazy fun moments with my munchkin. After all, these are the memories we make for a lifetime.
Message/tips for upcoming bloggers
Pick your genre based on your interest rather than what your fellow bloggers or Micro-Influencers are doing. Blogging is not a short sprint rather a marathon and only our love for the genre we choose will keep it going. Most of the bloggers in India today are running after collaborations, rather than taking up the real content. It is okay, if you don’t get branded posts, I would appreciate reading posts that speak up your life and your experiences.
There are a lot of chances when social media acts as a poisonous bug. I would want bloggers never to let that bug spread and create havoc. Keep writing something that truly influences you, keep writing something that you want this world to know!
Your Favorite Influencer
Isabel from alpha mom, her writing’s will leave you decluttered and you’ll be in a positive space.
The Future you foresee for your Personal Brand
Going much beyond blogging. I want to make my blog a strong platform for policy advocacy and empowering voice of mothers and women in general.
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