Welcome to our brand new Blogger of the Month series!

Each and every month, we’ll be catching up with one of our top bloggers to celebrate the amazing content they’re creating, and lift the lid on the secrets behind their success. You’ll discover the strategies that are working for them right now, their plans for the future, and their best advice for building a blog and a business that you love.

To kick things off, we’re chatting with Jenna Farmer. Jenna runs A Balanced Belly, a website dedicated to gut health and following a gluten and dairy free diet, as well as The Bloglancer, where she shares her journey to writing and blogging full-time, freelance life, and self-employment.

You can catch up with her on Instagram and Twitter, and she also runs a free weekly(ish) newsletter sharing blogging and freelancing resources.

Here’s what she had to say…

Welcome, Jenna! What first inspired you to start blogging?

The first blog was started when I was living abroad and diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. I wanted to create a space online to share my journey and it just grew and grew. I found that so much blogging advice was centered around a US audience so that’s when I created The Bloglancer.

What exciting experiences and opportunities has blogging brought you?

The most exciting is that I’ve managed to quit my job and write full-time, which is all I’ve ever wanted to do.

I also visited Google headquarters in February which was pretty exciting!

You also work as a freelance journalist… What advice would you give to bloggers who are interested in taking a similar route?

It’s all about the idea: if you have a strong idea, don’t be afraid to send a pitch. An editor isn’t necessarily looking for qualifications or lots of experience.

I have an ebook all about the topic here: https://thebloglancer.co.uk/freelancewritingtoolkit/

My other tip would be read, read and read some more. It’s the best way to get a feel for different publications.

How do you balance your blog with your other responsibilities?

With difficulty! It’s my job but I have a one year old son. I am thankful for great childcare and having a job I can do at any time of day. It’s very hard to switch off though.

What are your blogging plans for the next year?

I’m working really hard on my newsletters at the moment. I feel like newsletters may well be the new blogs; so I really want to be known for a consistent newsletter.

What’s your favourite and least favourite aspects of blogging?

I love the feedback I get and I hate obsessing over stats – which I do!

What are your favourite ways to monetise your blog?

I’ve created 3 ebooks and I really love that consistent, passive income. I still get excited when I see a sale pop in my inbox.

Which of your posts have proved to be most popular?

This post always does really well: https://thebloglancer.co.uk/8-blogging-email-scams-you-need-to-know-about/

I guess lots of people are worried about scams!

What other blogs do you love to read, and why?

I really enjoy www.ktmy.co.uk for chronic illness content and www.doingitforthekids.net (more of a site than a blog) for freelancing with a baby!

How do you feel about being chosen as Blogger of the Month?

I am really enjoying using Get Blogged so it’s lovely to be chosen!

Big thanks to Jenna for being our first Blogger of the Month. If you’d like to be featured, contact Ruth at [email protected], and we’ll get back to you shortly.