Influencer Spotlight: Christie, Raising Whasians

Top Florida influencer and mom of two, Christie with Raising Whasians, is one of our favorite bloggers. On her blog and via social media, she shares personal family memories, recipes, craft ideas, travel tales and how she’s raising multicultural children in today’s society. She is candid, reliable and relatable, and that’s why we love her! Read more about Christie below in our October Influencer Spotlight!

Where do you find inspiration for new blog posts?
I get the most inspiration from my kids. They provide some really clever and creative ways for me to look at the world. I also keep a journal of ideas and always take inspiration from OFFLINE as much as possible. I also love the challenge of thinking outside of the box – and try to incorporate authentic storytelling in everything.

What is your favorite space to engage with your readers?
Right now my favorite place to engage is Instagram Stories. I can ask questions, get feedback and be totally candid. This also allows me to connect directly, try crazy new ideas and give a behind-the-scenes sneak peek of my life.

What’s the #1 question you’re asked by your readers, and what’s your answer?
My readers always ask me how I balance it all. I wish I could say that every day is a breeze. But, just like everyone else, I have good days and bad. The flexibility to work from home and be with my kids as much as possible is a blessing within itself, as well as the opportunities to explore passions and authentically connect with people. I basically just want to show readers that I’m a mom with the same problems, struggles and wins as every other mom.

What’s the #1 question you’re asked by brands, and what’s your answer?
For brands, I always get asked for creative new ways to reach target audiences with their product/services. This is really important to me to not only produce great creative content, but open up honest communication and feedback to the brand on what will and won’t work with my audience.

Influencer marketing is ________.
Always changing. I’m certainly never bored in this industry. There’s always something to learn, to grow and to adapt to.

What should brands start doing (better) when working with bloggers?
The marketing world is never easy. I get that brands have goals and milestones and ideally money strategies that they need to reach. At the end of the day, influencers know their audiences. We know how to best collaborate to bring authenticity to the campaigns. If there’s no trust, the campaign won’t succeed. Open and honest communication and making sure that it’s always a “mutually beneficial relationship” is key to a successful partnership.

What are your thoughts on blogging conferences / are you attending any blogger conferences this year?
I think blogging conferences will always be important to this industry – because of all of the learning and constant change. I go through phases personally with conferences. Some years, I take everything in like a sponge. Some years, my heart just isn’t passionate about them. I think it’s important to know when conferences are right for you in the stage of blogging that you’re in.

Favorite program you’ve done with The Motherhood?
So hard to choose! The Kimberly-Clark campaign still gives me consistent traffic to my natural toilet cleaner post to this day. The Duncan Hines Perfect Size for 1 also comes to mind, just because it was so fun to hide in my closet and eat cake! I also loved working with the JOHNSON’S products, especially when I was in “baby” mode.

What are your thoughts on affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is a great way to make passive income, but strong evergreen content is key!

What is your most productive time of day?
Right now my most productive time occurs after I put my kids on the bus! With two kids in full time school this year, I have a few hours to get work done without distractions, potty breaks or whining. 🙂

More about The Motherhood’s Influencer Spotlight Series
Each month, our internal team convenes and discusses our latest programs, stellar partnerships and top influencers. It’s not about numbers, but rather, the quality, authentic content they’re delivering consistently. It’s about reliability, professionalism and partnership. We discuss our nominations for the month and ultimately decide on just one blogger to feature.

Take a look at our most recent featured influencer here, and stop by in November for the next Influencer Spotlight!