I came across Wanna Be Balanced Mom a few months ago. The blogger is Crystal Escobar, who is super lovely (so lovely, in fact, her family and I have chatted via video Skype)…

www.wannabbalancedmom.com

Even though Crystal and I are worlds apart (literally – she’s in the USA, I’m in Australia), I feel like I’m visiting the blog of a friend each time I visit her site.

Crystal has a great knack of coming across as very approachable (illustrated by her traffic of up to 4,000 visitors per month even though her blog’s only about nine months’ old!), so I thought I’d ask her to share some of her tips.

Crystal’s blogger profile…

Blog: Wanna Be Balanced Mom

Blogger: Crystal Escobar

Lives: Utah, USA

Twitter: @balancedmoms

Date started: November 2009

How’d you come up with your topic? I’m very passionate about having balance in life. I believe when our priorities are in tact and we strive for balance among these things, we will find what we’re ultimately searching for: fulfilment. The original name of my blog was Balanced Moms, but decided that calling myself a “wanna be” balanced mom, was much more fitting! Finding balance in motherhood, or just life in general is definitely a lifelong process. I created this blog to log my personal progression, and to share my life experiences. When I ponder topics I’d like to write about, I ask myself, “Does this have anything to do with having balance?” And my conclusion is usually, “Sure!”

You talk about yourself so naturally and easily. What’s the trick to that? I’m not sure I’m glad it sounds interesting – sometimes I think I can be pretty boring! But, you know, I guess I just try to be as honest as possible. I share things I would be interested in reading about and I like to be open about how I truly feel. I really enjoy people who open up about their true feelings, thoughts and struggles. One of my pet peeves is when people pretend like everything is great all the time. We all know that life isn’t always easy.

You post videos of yourself. What are your tips for bloggers who might be lacking the confidence to do the same? JUST DO IT! I was nervous about it the first time, but I’ve found that it gets easier. I like to post videos now and then because it’s nice to mix things up a bit. I know I don’t always like to read, so getting to watch a vlog from time to time is refreshing.

I actually have a great story that relates to this very subject. It’s about my desire to sing to my husband on our wedding day and how I almost let fear and lack of confidence keep me from doing it, I actually made a short video to go along with it. [You can check it out here.]

Any other tips for new bloggers? Well I have learned a few tricks as far as how to direct more traffic to your blog. It’s all about being a friend, following others, commenting on people’s blogs and expressing genuine interest in that person. I try to be as authentic as possible. I’ve truly enjoyed the connections I’ve made with other bloggers, and found that the relationships I’ve built with my fellow bloggers have been much more fulfilling than just simply getting people to visit your blog.

Facebook has actually been a major way of getting the word out about my blog. When I check my traffic, more than half of the visits come directly from Facebook – I always post the link to my newest post – so I spend a lot of time networking there. [Crystal also posts a link to her personal profile, as well as her Balanced Moms Facebook page.]