The first time I met Sadie Lankford, it was at the Show Me The Blog 2012 conference. We connected immediately before her presentation as I like meeting other sassy people.
Sadie is a blogger from the St. Louis area who covers a wide variety of subjects n her site called Slap Dash Mom. Just because the word “mom” is in her site’s name, does mean she’s a mommy blogger. She is a mom of three girls, but she doesn’t fit in the regular niche of mommy bloggers well known for practically talking about their small children or baby products.
Sadie is a also a lesbian who doesn’t fear what others try to say and she’s not afraid to tell it how it is. She really covers it all. She warns new visitors that they could be offended as she does cover some controversial topics. Her connection with her readers and followers are strong, bring in between 100 to 500 responses on individual posts on her Facebook fan page alone. This gal knows how to drive in loyal and active following.
I want to thank Sadie for taking the time to answer my questions for my series on an Interview with an Influential Blogger.
NILE: What inspired you to start blogging, or why did you start blogging?
SADIE: I’ve always been a writer, so it was just natural for me to start blogging when I learned how to type. I was about 14 when I started my first blog. I continued over the years, and have had dozens since then. I started to monetize in 2012.
NILE: How did you go about promoting your own blog/ website?
SADIE At first, I promoted on a mom’s forum I belonged to. It kind of took off from there, via social media.
Currently, I promote all of my posts through Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google Plus.
NILE: Have you ever had some difficulty in the beginning when trying to reach a target audience? If so, how did you overcome that issue?
SADIE: I still struggle with that issue because I talk about so many different things, that my target audience is very broad. I don’t have a specific niche. I talk about everything from fitness to social issues, so lots of different people read. I’m okay with that.
NILE: Now, you are a mom, but don’t like to take up the “mommy blogger” niche? What made you decide upon not being regarded as a mommy blogger?
SADIE: I don’t really like “mommy” blogs. To me, they’re boring. They talk about diapers, baby food, and way too many product reviews and giveaways. Some even come off as super spammy. I know we all have to make a living, but when I visit a blog I want to read real content – not just fluff. And I don’t care how many wet diapers Junior had today.
NILE: What has been the highlight point of your blog?
SADIE: My highlight point was when I shared my daughter’s bullying story and got so much positive feedback! So many
people shared their stories, their kids stories… it was nothing short of amazing. I still get emails almost
daily about it and it’s been over a year.
NILE: Can you share 1 or 2 tips on how to become a better blogger, at least from your own experience?
SADIE: Definitely! The number one tip I tell EVERYONE is… be yourself! Don’t try to be a mommy blogger if you’re not one.
Don’t try to fit into a niche. While niche blogs are profitable, if you want to have a voice you have to be real, and not everyone fits in a niche. Don’t focus too much on fitting inside the box.
NILE: In your opinion, what is it that you believe a person must do in order to become influential amongst their niche?
SADIE: Be honest and real – people can sniff a fake out a mile away. Do your research. You can’t just act like you know it all. If you want to be regarded as an authority, you’ve gotta be able to back it up. That’s why I’m an authority in snark. Yes, if snark were a niche, I’d fit.
Sadie Lankford enjoys photography, learning sign language, scrapbooking, writing, blogging, and playing with her kids and dog… amongst many other things. She also enjoys ranting and cooking.
Have you met Sadie or read her blog?
Thanks! Love getting tips from successful bloggers
Great Interview I Am gonna Visit her blog and Surely gonna Bookmark it.
She’s right. Those mom blogs all look like spam blogs.
I agree… I had a mommy blog, but then realized it really wasn’t a mommy blog…lol. It was something more like what Sadie does… no wonder she and I get along so well.
Hi,
Great interview with Sadie. I agree with her, Bullying is a huge problem sweeping our country, i love how she addressed that.
It is. My son does karate, but he knows not to fight and a lot of the children in his school have learned bad habits in being nasty to each other. Angel usually has to walk away from it. Eventually they will learn what happens to bullies when they get older.
Great points Sadie. It is so important to be ourselves and stop trying to imitate the others. I agree with you on the mommy blog thing 🙂 Yup I find most of them to be boring too!
Thanks for publishing this wonderful interview Nile!
No problem. I’m slowly making my way around the community to interview specific bloggers who are successful. Sadie also kind of qualifies for my social media success series because of her success with active engagement… especially mass engagement.
Nile, this was moving and makes one think to stick with your own voice like experiences. That is they way we all have unique blogs. Our blogs are just our voices so scream out and be different.
Well done interview I look forward to returning shortly to get more insight with other interview. I got more education today!
Thank you also, for you dedication to take time and share valued usable information and we come to expect nothing less. You are respected in our industry and I am honored with each share.
I as happy to meet Sadie and she is definitely what I would call a good friend now. It was awesome to have her take the time to respond to my interview questions.
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this as much as I have. 😀
Nile, I am so out of the loop! LOL I had not heard of Sadie or her blog before but just spent the last 25 minutes poking around her fab site. I have had trouble finding my niche also since I loathe the “mommy blogger” thing. I have a six year old and some of my most popular posts are about her but I definitely stay away from the spammy topics.
Thank you so much for this introduction!
Sadie does have a blog somewhat like I use to run a long time ago… a lot of different goodies all packed into one. I’ve been wanting to start one up again, and since this interview, I have gone ahead and gotten another domain and have a whole plan for it… called Nile Flores Uncut. 🙂
Nile, thanks for this great interview.
Sadie: You said it all when you tell people to “be yourself” – There are so many new bloggers out there that try to fit into a niche that they think is profitable, and never enjoy it.
It is fascinating how your blog started to fly when you shared your daughter’s bullying story. It’s a hot topic!
Writing about what you want to and from your heart gets more mileage than anything.
Great to meet you,
-Donna
I love reading interviews . It can be difficult to manage blog as a Mom as there are many things to look after . It amazes me that you’re running a successful blog and you’re mother of 3 . Keep it up .
Thanks for sharing the interview with us Nile !
-Pramod
Hello Nile,
The interview with Sadie is a success though I must say I quite disagree with her on some points. First, blogging without a niche may work for her but would most definitely be a flop for all the many newbies out there! It would be too scary and broad. Second, not all mummy bloggers are boring – it depends on who you’re reading.
Nevertherless, nice interview and honest answers!
– Terungwa
Successful people have always said that your success depends on the people you associate with. So as far as blogging is concerned we need associate with successful bloggers so that they can teach you how they reached this position. With this interview I understood that Sadie Lankford is one among the people we need to associate with.
How she answered the interview made me one of her FB subscriber. Sadie had it from the start to become a successful blogger, by providing great content (content is the king!) and creating a community around her blog – connecting with people, not by spamming through advertising links.
I just checked her website and it doesn’t have any ads. She mentioned that she’s monetizing her blog/s, how’s she doing it? Solely through product reviews?
HAHAHA ‘i dont care how many wet diapers jnr had today’
Amazing quote. It is absolutely true though, unless you are writing a blog post about babies and baby things with intent and a clear structure, it can all be a bit wooly and indirect.
Great Post! (Although its a few years old, it still totally applies to us today writing about baby products!)