PerkettPR’s Interview Series “Persuasive Women” – Digital Mom, Audrey McClelland
We are thrilled to continue our series of “Persuasive Women” interviews with top female influencers. We recently caught up with Audrey McClelland of MomGenerations.com to ask her some questions about digital motherhood and her new book “The Digital Mom Handbook.”
Audrey is a busy mom of four young boys and a founder of the very popular website MomGenerations.com – a hip, online destination for moms, featuring daily fashion news for moms and kids, fabulous giveaways, smart family advice and the latest celebrity news. Audrey also serves as the Beauty & Style Editor on Lifetime Moms and Fashion Editor on Blissfully Domestic. Audrey was named as one of “The Power Pack” Moms in Nielson’s Online 2009 Power Moms list. Her “Mom Fashion Report” airs on The Pulse Network on Wednesdays at 1PM. She’s also a contributor to the ever-popular Momversation. She is a vlogger for Johnson & Johnson’s “Real Moms” Health Channel, one of Hanes’ Social Media Comfort Crew members, was a member of the Walmart Moms Social Media program, and she holds a position on Hasbro’s Playskool Panel. She’s also the spokesperson for Zulily.com. Audrey also partners with Vera Sweeney on another endeavor, Getting Gorgeous Events.
You have made a career out of blogging and tweeting and you often refer to yourself as a “Digital Mom.” What exactly is your definition of a “Digital Mom”?
I define being a Digital Mom as a mom who is working /living/playing in the digital space. I have made my living from blogging, tweeting, shooting YouTube videos… the realm has always been digital. I feel that with the emergence of all of these social media tools – more and more moms are going to be calling themselves Digital Moms. Our life as a mom is digitalized.
In your new book “The Digital Mom Handbook,” you offer tips and advice to other aspiring work at home moms. If people take just one thing away from this book, what do you hope it is?
I would hope the one take-away would be that the more you put into your blog/Twitter/Facebook/YouTube, the more you’re going to get out of it. I’m not saying you need to be working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week… but I really feel the best kept secret is consistency. The more you put out there, the more you do… the better chances you have to grow and grow.
Have you ever had a “bad mommy moment” where you found yourself struggling with work and family life balance? How did you push through it?
OMG… all the time! LOL… just ask my husband!
I don’t know if there is anything as the perfect balance. My kids are too young to understand that what I do is for them. They don’t understand deadlines or projects or business trips. So I’m consistently trying my best to conduct this balancing act of mom, wife, businesswoman, daughter, sister, etc. I do have one rule… when it’s dinnertime, everything is shut off.
If you could take your family on a vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?
I would love to take my family to Hawaii! All of the boys – and even my parents and in-laws – so that my husband Matt and I could have a couple of nights out!
How do you disconnect from your work?
It’s funny… I’ve been trying to get better at this. I love reality TV… I’m not kidding, my life stops for Bravo! The Housewives are my girls. I love Rachel Zoe. She’s a fashion goddess in my home. I love disconnecting with a really great movie and/or a really great book.
What is your favorite tech gadget and why?
My iPhone. I know that it’s not the most creative answer, but my iPhone is my saving grace. My life is in that phone – emails, calendar, videos, photos, Twitter, Facebook, everything!
Was it tough making the move from New York City to Providence? What do you miss about NYC? What do you not miss?
Yes and no…
Yes, because I truly love – love – love the City. I know I’m one of those people that could have lived in NYC forever and never minded that at all. I miss the hustle and bustle. I miss that someone’s always up and something’s always going on.
But… I didn’t want to raise our family there. I knew I wanted to raise them in a small neighborhood, in a house with a driveway and backyard. I felt that was the best thing to do for them. And I don’t regret the decision one bit.
(Although, I do get to be in NYC almost every week, so it does balance out.)
