CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) -- Tricia Oakes is a stay at home mom and blogger behind the Southern Spark. It's all about food, travel, and family.
"I just started because I liked writing," she said from her dining room in Fort Mill.
Oakes received a graduate degree for Occupational Rehabilitation, but after the birth of their second child she says they realized their family needed a change.
Now she's interested in turning that passion for writing into real income. A lot of her blogging for the Southern Spark happens when the kids are sleeping, or whenever inspiration strikes.
Like any mom, she's trying to balance her passion, family, and their economy.
"I'm really excited to turn this blogging into a business," said Oakes. This weekend she plans to attend Charlotte's first Type-A Parent blogging conference.
It's designed to take social media blogging parents to the next level.
"In one sense, there's an illusion that there's a lot of glamour," said Type-A Parent founder Kelby Carr.
In reality, Carr says the bloggers who make money work their tails off. There can be a lot of freebies, but those don't pay the bills.
She says the conference really emphasizes blogging from a business angle. They'll cover the importance of rankings, how to build traffic and how to craft a business plan.
"For a lot of people, it's just actually shifting their mindset from thinking a blog as a fun, silly thing to realizing they're a publisher, new media. It's a business."
Carr says the most successful bloggers also diversity and use their site as a launch pad to other things, like consulting or even a book deal. She says it's important for new bloggers to network and attend conferences or webinars when they can.
Tricia admits there's a lot she needs to learn. She's hoping the conference builds on the writing skills she already has and helps take Southern Spark even further.
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