It’s that special time of year once more. The sun is out. Wimbledon’s on the telly. Another school year is nearly complete. And, up and down this green and pleasant land, bloggers are out canvassing for your support. Me included.
I’ve been trying to win a BritMums’ Brilliance in Blogging (BiB) Award for a few years now. In 2016, I was shortlisted for the Readers’ Choice award. In both 2017 and 2018, I was a finalist in the same category.
Fourth time lucky this year?
Who knows?
I nearly decided not to bother this year. I’ve been agonising over it for the past week. There was a little voice in my head whispering, “Know when it’s time to give up.” But there was also a second voice telling me, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
No prizes for guessing which voice eventually won.
Why me?
Readers’ Choice is definitely the best fit for me – and perhaps more so than most other bloggers. Here’s why.
For starters, my blog is a place where my entire focus is on writing. At the risk of sounding pretentious – I know, too late – I consider myself to be a writer and not an influencer. I do hardly any commercial work, so the blog isn’t peppered with sponsored posts and reviews. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just not what motivates me to put finger to keyboard.)
I write because I love to write. It enables me to process my thoughts and share my experiences and expertise, and not because I’m trying to earn a living. That gives this blog a different look and feel to many other blogs. I write from the heart, not for the wallet. To paraphrase Descartes, scribo, ergo sum: I write therefore I am. (And there I go being pretentious again.)
I cover a wider variety of topics than most. I don’t really have a niche as such. This blog is a collection of different subjects and interests, covering everything from parenting to social media advice (I’m a social media manager in my day job), TV reviews (I used to do this for the Metro website) and parody songs.
I’ve also produced and hosted two parenting podcasts – back in the day before everyone decided they had to do one – and, after an 18-month hiatus, I’ve just started planning a new one, which will hopefully be launched later this summer.
Jack of all trades, me. (Equally, master of none, but let’s gloss over that.)
I’ll let you be the judge as to whether you think my writing is any good. But, given that I’ve progressed to the later stages of the voting in the face of some tough competition in each of the past three years, I must have been doing something right.
You have until Friday 2nd August to nominate me in the Readers’ Choice category. To do so, just complete the form here. (Readers’ Choice is the very last category.) And, while you’re at it, vote for your other favourites too.
The form asks for lots of details, but as long as you fil in at least my blog name (i.e. Slouching towards Thatcham), that should be enough.
It also requests that you include examples of blog posts. You don’t have to fill those in but if you want to check out a sample of my varied work, you can read any of the following and include the URLs in the form if you feel like it.
A birthday letter to my seven-year-old daughter
The Brexit Show: A musical parody
Social media for influencers: Is follow/unfollow the ultimate sin?
If I do make it through to the finals, I will write and perform my traditional BiB Awards parody song. You can listen – and sing along? – to my previous years’ efforts below. Or alternatively you can just hit ‘mute’. I’d advise the latter, to be honest.
2016: Vote for Me (to the tune of the Beatles’ Let It Be)
2017: Support (to the tune of Shawn Mendes’ Stitches)
2018 (1): Readers’ Choice (to the tune of You’re Welcome from Moana)
2018 (2): Will I Win Readers’ Choice? (to the tune of R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion)
I place my fate in your hands – and good luck to everyone else who is entering this year’s awards!
Nominate your favourite blogs for the BiB Awards here by Friday 2nd August.
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