Flashy pieces online are only glimpses, not the whole picture: Smita Pal

While choosing brands to work with, Smita Pal feels it is important to pick those that allow the content creator to use their tone and voice.

Smita Pal loves to write about her experiences as a mother and the challenges and triumphs she faces every day. With these, she hopes to provide something useful to her readers. On a lighter note, she tells us how she wishes reading was a paid activity.

Looking back, where did it all begin? 

When I first moved to Delhi, I was dealing with a lot of things. A new city, a different life, motherhood and the challenges of being a working mom. Many times a new mother faces depression and loneliness a lot of which goes untreated. Even though I have an equally contributing husband who is as hands-on as can be but the overwhelmed feeling of being a new mom can be daunting. That is when I started sharing the funny events from our day to day shenanigans and I found people who could relate to it.

What's in the name? 

My handle is The Average Mom and I picked it for a purpose. Motherhood or even womanhood is placed on such a high pedestal and women are expected to be perfect mothers. She faces a lot of pressure from the society, family, your school moms group and the media which keeps reiterating this image of a perfectly blissful journey of motherhood. This is often daunting. The pictures of perfect parenting that you see flashing all over the internet are often just curated pieces of someone’s life and not the whole picture. I wanted to share the beautiful parts of my journey too but not with a fake, perfect picture. I am an average mother, who hustles a lot. Some days I get it right, other days I fail miserably, but we end up cherishing only the happy memories.

What is your USP in this cluttered space? How does your content give you an edge?

I try to write what makes me happy. I share my thoughts from the heart without following trends blindly or write something just because it will garner a lot of interest. My readers relate to me as they feel a connect with the content being put up.

Please take us through your content creation process. How do you stay relevant and relatable?

I love writing about my real experiences as a mother and the challenges and triumphs of every day as a mom. I often find women who relate it to their own thoughts. I also love dressing up and have a love for sarees. Many a time my followers love to know about the normal everyday styles I sport. Sharing these helps me provide something useful to my readers. I follow the Ketogenic diet and share my health journey with Keto which helped me shed my pregnancy weight. I also have a segment of funny quotes, all my own, which I write based on my daily mom-life challenges with an active tornado at home. Many moms find my “Mom Confessions” relatable.

Also Read: Don’t be just another influencer, create your own fanbase: Sindhu Bharadwaj

How do you make moolah with your efforts?

I sometimes get some brand campaigns, which help me earn some extra money.

How do you maintain editorial objectivity with the influx of brand briefs?

It's important to work with a brand that lets me use my own tone and voice. I do work within the brand’s brief but If a brand totally dictates the script and content then my own unique voice will be lost and that will not resonate with my readers. I only endorse products that I personally use or like.

One instance/experience that made it all worthwhile

One of my followers shared with me her incredible weight loss journey with Keto which she said she was inspired to continue seeing my journey. Whenever someone shares with me their journey it makes me very happy. Also lately many women shared the real picture of their own motherhood journey and told me that wanted to share those after reading my posts.

Weirdest brand brief/request ever

There was this one brand recently which wanted me to review their A2 ghee and some other products but told me they would be sending me some other products and not the ghee. I told them I won’t be able to review something without even using it.

If not blogging, you would be?

Reading, I wish that was a paid activity.

A day in your life...

It’s a mix of office, family time, some writing and social media engagements. 

Message/tips for upcoming bloggers

Write from your heart and share about things which you are passionate about. Don’t try to copy anyone’s style, rather create your own. It is easy if you know what you are passionate about.

Your Favorite Influencer

I love Kusha Kapila.

The Future you foresee for your Personal Brand

I hope to be able to build a connect with more women and mothers who want to share their journeys and share each other’s experiences.