For Talk To Me Tuesday this week, we are having a De-Lurker Challenge. Where you pick one blogger that you love; but would normally be too intimidated to contact and interview them.
I chose to interview Allison Worthington from Allison Worthington Media.com. I have gotten to know Allison a bit from her blog Mrs. Fussy Pants, from Twitter, and Facebook.
When I was asked to be a contributor to the Creative Bliss Channel on Blissfully Domestic I jumped at the opportunity knowing Allison was the brains behind the online magazine.
As an introduction to Tip Junkies, in case you don’t already know who Allison is, she is one crazy busy woman. She has her personal blog Mrs. Fussypants, she’s the founder of Blissfully Domestic which is an online magazine, she publishes Worthington Wire which features amazing articles in many different categories, and also co-hosts BlissDom which is a blogging conference.
Not to mention, she’s the Mother of All Conservatives and the queen of Twitter (before it became main stream). What did I miss? Oh yeah, she’s a mother of 5 young boys!
Q. What inspired you to start Blissfully Domestic and what is its purpose?
A. Blissfully Domestic came from my desire to see a magazine written for women like me. Women in ‘flyover country’. I was tired of seeing the same articles about the latest $500 purse or Hollywood gossip. I noticed many magazines sounded like they were written by women fresh out of college. They just didn’t resonate with me and connect with my life. I saw a need for a magazine that interested me personally. I envisioned a magazine full of articles that help and honor women from all stages of life. Married, Divorced or Single. Ten kids, 2 kids, Grandkids, furry kids or no kids. There are 23 different channels that speak to almost everyone and everything. The articles are written by fabulous women who have a love of life and want to share their knowledge and passion with the world. My policy is that we don’t have to be the fanciest magazine, but we strive to be most uplifting and authentic. We are all real women who bounce babies on our knees, grade papers, or care for our grandkids while we write articles.
The articles at Blissfully Domestic are both written especially for the magazine and are republished little masterpieces from archives that sometimes get buried behind other content on individual blogs. Blissfully Domestic is a beautiful success story of the power of women who have come together online and made the world a better place by sharing their brilliance. I am just honored to provide a platform to help women shine!
Q. From what I understand The Worthington Wire is like the Drudge Report for women; which basically link the best articles in several different categories all in one place. What a fabulous idea! You know Im all about one-stop-shop.
A. Yes, Drudge for Chicks is the unofficial nickname. I always loved the way I could go to the Drudge Report and see exactly all the news that was happening without even clicking a link. One day it hit me, why not make a site like that for my friends? I want to give busy women a portal of breaking news from both National and Local sources as well as key articles from respected bloggers around the country. My tagline is also my goal- “everything you need in one place”.
I will soon add new categories linking to the best of the daily deals, daily diy and much more. Be sure to stay tuned!
Q. What are your favorite articles to feature? Do you allow submissions? If so, what elements make a great article and would qualify to be featured?
A. I actually have no rhyme or reason, I think the success of the site is there is no formula. I simply go find what I find interesting and share the links with my friends. The cool thing is now my friends just happen to be in the hundreds of thousands. I simply share what I find cool and my friends seem to like it.
Q. Co-hosting a blogging conference seems like an enormous undertaking. What was your motivating force in starting such an amazing event for women? How can Tip Junkies sign up and get involved for next year?
A. Let me tell you, hosting a conference will make even the most talented business woman curl up like a baby, suck her thumb and cry. {giggle} Luckily I have a brilliant, fabulous Co-Host who does the the business end (Barbara Jones from One2OneNetwork ) so I can relax and focus on the women who are speaking and attending.
Honestly, I kind of started it on a whim. It started as a par
ty and grew and grew like crazy. BlissDom specializes in niche, personal and mom blogs. The atmosphere is always relaxed, friendly and intimate. We limit the size to make the weekend feel cozy. BlissDom09 had about 300 women in attendance and sold out fast. We have a sign up form at the BlissDom website that will keep everyone in the loop when registration opens next fall.
Q. With all your exposure you have a pulse on the current trends in blogging and social media. Can you give us an insiders look on how to keep our blogs current and relevant?
A. I always give offbeat advice. My best advice is to let your personality shine through. Take inspiration from everywhere. Crazy as it sounds I get inspired in the middle of Spongebob episodes or at a trip to the grocery store. We all have amazing and fun stories to share, tips to teach and feeling to express: allow your natural voice to shine through and run with it!
Q. Youre a social media magnet and have been included as one of the 50 of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Social Media. Huge congrats and well deserved! For those of us who struggle with marketing and networking; what is your advice for Mom-prenuers?
A. Thank you, Lady! The best thing you can do to market yourself and your business is to simply not be a jerk. The Golden Rule works every time it is tried. Visiting blogs, and getting to know other women on social media platforms are the key. I owe all my success to the relationships I built through making friendships on twitter. It all goes back to simply being yourself and making friends with other wonderful women in the blogging community.
Q. Do you have an every day ritual that either calms you or that you enjoy?
A. I am a night owl. When the kids and my husband have all go to bed I love to watch TV and work. My house is a cacophony of noise all day long. The few minutes of quiet are precious to me. I later slide into bed and say prayers in a perfectly quiet home. It is wonderful.
Q. Where is your favorite store to spend your moolah?
A. I am a Goodwill gal. I look for quality pieces and always find great wardrobe staples at my local store. When I find my beloved Chico’s Traveler’s line at Goodwill, I do a wee little happy dance. I would rather spend money at Goodwill and know that they will be helping so many people with those dollars.
Now, if I had to go spend a bunch of money? I could spend all days in Macy’s getting fancy makeup and clothes. But, that isn’t very likely.
Q. With so many sites and demands on your time, what keeps you motivated and driven?
A. The letters from readers. Just when I am getting burned out by all the pulls on my time I get a sweet email telling of how grateful someone is about a project I am working on, or how an article from Blissfully Domestic spoke to them. How could I ever stop? I am humbled to get to do everything and pray for the ability to balance it all. In the meantime, lots of email slips through the cracks and I miss deadlines and apologize often. Once I stopped trying to do everything perfectly and embraced the journey I felt so much more free.
Q. Lastly, I have 3 boys 10, 8, and 3. They are darling but challenging. What words of advice do you have so far for raising boys? Do you have a favorite parenting book or motto?
A. John Rosemond, Kevin Lehman and James Dobson are my favorite parenting teachers. I believe in expecting a lot from the boys, and also giving tons of encouragement. Tough rules & fierce love works for us. And lowering the acceptable level of cleanliness is helpful, too!
Thank you so much for letting me visit with all the Tip Junkies today. I am so grateful!
xo, Alli
Allison Worthington Media
Now it’s your turn to participate in the De-Lurker Challenge using Mister Linky:
Are YOU ready to play with us? To continue the dialogue and help motivate bloggers to really connecting with one another.
1. Interview one of your favorite bloggers and post it on your blog. Be sure to include a link back to this Talk To Me Tuesday post. (Feel free to use the Talk To Me Tuesday post header.)
2. Next, add your direct post (not home page) to Mister Linky at the bottom of this post.
Entries will only be allowed until Friday at 11 am CST time to avoid spammers. Also, only link to your Talk To Me Tuesday post not your home page, those will be deleted. If you haven’t used Mister Linky before, here’s the low down (a.k.a rules).
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Allison is such a cool lady!
I want to be her when I grow up.
This is a great idea..I need to delurk someone. I got to meet Allison at Blissdom and knew I loved her when she shared my love for Good Will. 🙂
I enjoyed my interview so much last week I want to do another so I’m working on it, will post it by Friday!
I totally did this already, without even meaning to! When I interviewed you, I was getting out of my comfort zone a little and asking you (who I normally wouldn’t ask) some questions about you and your awesome blog!:) There ya go! De-lurked, indeed:)
Great post, I really appreciate the be true to your own voice in blogging. Thanks so much, Laurie.