#MyBlogLife: Meet Sinéad And Saibh, The Women Behind The Into The West Blogging Network

Tell us a bit about yourselves

Sinéad: I started my Blog Yummy Mummy  in June 2013. After months of blogging I realised there was no real support network for Irish Bloggers. As my blog started to grow momentum, I was being invited to events, but with a full-time job and three children, I wasn’t always able to travel to them. I thought, why not bring the bloggers and brands to the West of Ireland, and so Into The West Blogger Network was born!

ITWBN started out with 20 bloggers, mainly from the West of Ireland, meeting for tea in The G Hotel. Shortly afterwards, Saibh, who herself had been working with bloggers for about three years, got in touch to say she loved the idea and was interested in joining forces. We met for coffee, discussed the vision and the rest is history! With so much talent and so much industry experience to bring to the table, Saibh was the perfect business partner.

What is an ITWBN blogger and how can you become one?

Saibh: We’re open to any Irish Blogger, either at home or blogging from abroad. An ITWBN blogger is someone who’s interested in meeting new people and supporting others. It’s important to us that there’s an atmosphere of support within the network. To become a member, people can email us with their blog URL and a litle bit of info, it’s very easy!

What can you do for aspiring bloggers?

Sinead: As well as hosting our quarterly educational networking events around the country, we also deliver #itwbnBlogSchool. Together with local tech company Educated Machine, we run the programme which is a series of workshops starting right at the beginning.

Saibh: We have great interactive online groups too where bloggers and #itwbnBlogSchool students can chat, share posts and tips and ask any blogging questions they may have! The support system is huge and there’s always someone on hand to help out with any questions.

Do you teach the blogging workshops yourselves?

Saibh: We do indeed, we work together with Michéal from Educated Machine. We run the only workshop in Ireland that gets down to the nitty gritty of blogging, cuts out the nonsense and gets you set up on your own blog in one day. 

How do you bring bloggers and brands together?

Sinead: We host regular events attended by bloggers from all over the country. Through our #itwbnBloggerEvent, brands and bloggers get the chance to actually network and collaborate.

Saibh: At our blogger events, brands and companies have a unique opportunity to showcase their products and services. Not only that, but we’re on hand to advise the companies when collaborating and make sure they link up with the right type of blogger for them, who’ll suit their product or service.

What happens at your blogging events?

Saibh: Think fun, glamour, education, connection and networking in a blogger-friendly environment. An environment where it’s absolutely okay to be tweeting while chatting to someone or Instgramming while listening to the speaker, because thats what its all about, a celebration of everything blogger.

We strive to have an educational aspect to all our events. Our speakers have varied from industry professionals to successful bloggers.

Sinead: We also enjoy light entertainment at our events, lots of treats and goodies and every blogger goes away with one of our famous #itwbn goodie bags bursting with great products from brands that are eager to collaborate and work with them.

Have you had any influential bloggers giving talks?

Saibh: Of course! We’ve had so many, like Sinead Burke, Erika Fox, Ciara Doherty, Joanne Sweeney Burke and Joanne Larby too. We also have a host of industry professionals at our events too. They’ve spoken on such topics as social media management, PR and marketing, design and media, SEO and technology too.

How often do you host the workshops?

Saibh: Every month to two months.

Sinead: We hope to host the workshops all over the country this year too!

In your opinion, which bloggers do you think are the strongest in ireland today?

Saibh: I really couldn’t pick one. There are literally hundreds of bloggers who are doing amazing work here in Ireland and indeed abroad. There a select few who have made amazing names for themselves by starting in blogging and now are getting into TV presenting, modelling and endorsements.

For individuals who don’t think they have a chance of standing out in the blogging world, what do you say?

Saibh: That’s the thing about blogging, everyone can do it and everyone has a chance to stand out and be successful, it’s all about how you go about it.

It might sound cliché, but you have to be yourself in blogging or you wont stand out. If you copy other people, you wont make any waves in blog land. Its the people who ‘go their own way’, who aren’t afraid to try something new and have fun doing it who tend to stand out in blogging.

Wanna be a part of #MyBlogLife? It runs online weekly and in the magazine monthly, too. To be considered, you need to have a personal blog. Join STELLAR’s Facebook group, open to all personal bloggers, or drop an email to info@stellar.ie, telling us why we should feature you.

• bloggers
• Into The West Blogging Network
• my blog life