Work With Me

Hello, I’m Brandi!

A veteran mom to four beautiful kiddos living in my native home state of South Carolina. I’m a certified Fibromyalgia advisor, fibromyalgia advocate, and bookworm.

In addition to blogging, I’m also a fibromyalgia writer and advocate. It’s through living with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression that I’ve learned how strong I am. It’s partly the reason I’ve learned to be straightforward about life – there’s no time to waste on false perceptions.

Living with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, anxiety, and depression for the last ten plus years has taught me that my body responds to how I eat, think, and move. It is with that reaction I’ve become motivated to be as healthy as I can be in order to successfully manage my symptoms.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the virtual assistant services I offer.

Why Being Fibro Mom?

After I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I looked for ways to cope with fibromyalgia and raising a family. I came back virtually empty-handed. It was discouraging, to say the least. I had no clue how I could manage fibro symptoms while being a full-time parent. I felt powerless, confused, overwhelmed, and burnt out within minutes of being awake each morning. Not to mention the guilt of not being able to give my kids what they needed and wanted in all the ways a mom *should* for her kids. I had nowhere to turn and no one to turn to. That’s when I decided to be the voice I needed to hear while figuring out this whole fibro parenting thing and created Being Fibro Mom.

Initially, Being Fibro Mom was a way to connect with other parents/caregivers living with fibromyalgia and share my experiences as I work through it all. I’ve shared everything from my many failures to embarrassments to successes as well as entries from My Fibro Journal. I’ve met some pretty amazing fibro parents along the way (join our closed Fibro Parenting group), and unintentionally became a voice and advocate of the fibromyalgia community along with many others. It’s been an incredible journey!

Each time I write, I do it in the hopes of helping fibromyalgia sufferers become fibromyalgia thrivers. My mission is to advocate for parents enduring the hardships of fibromyalgia. I hope to one day help change the mantra “you don’t look sick” and replace it with knowledge, understanding, compassion, and healing. Bridging the gap between fibromyalgia thrivers and their loved ones is a personal mission and one that I take seriously.

Being Fibro Mom not only gives you the resources needed to understand fibromyalgia and chronic pain, but also how to cope with those crazy kid days, unexpected flare-ups, and unpredictable emotional days.

Read my story of fibromyalgia.

Other work in the fibromyalgia community

In addition to my blog, I am a regular writer for the international magazine, The Fibromyalgia Magazine, and for The Unchargeables. My columns are candid and as real as it gets when writing about the perils of fibromyalgia as both a fibromyalgia thriver and fibro parent.

In 2016, I created a closed Facebook group, Fibro Parenting. The group is focused on any parent or guardian looking for support while parenting with fibromyalgia. Fibro parenting is a creative form of parenting and is easier with the support and encouragement of fellow fibro parents.

As a fibromyalgia advocate, I am the Secretary and Fibro & Families program director for the non-profit organization, International Support Fibromyalgia Network. My goals as program director are to create a support group – online and offline – for fibro thrivers and their loved ones as well as working with the other founding advocates of the non-profit to establish accurate, up-to-date information regarding fibromyalgia.

Being Fibro Mom’s Mission

Through my writing, I hope to connect with others living this crazy life with fibromyalgia. My mission is to make fibromyalgia thrivers feel accepted, welcomed, and loved despite how messy and lost fibro can make us feel. My goal is to give men and women personal insight into the different aspects of fibro such as being a fibro parent, unexpected flare-ups, and unpredictable emotional days. There are a lot of emotional days.

This mission is accomplished through

candid posts about the good and bad days (This isn’t limited to fibro. There is more than me aside from fibro and I will show you that side of crazy.)
finding the best products to aid in daily tasks and relieve various symptoms
book reviews (Reading is a good way to de-stress and I’m a book worm, so let me help you find some good reads!)
writing uplifting and encouraging words for those dark days that chronic illness so easily leaves us

Why Advertise Here

Exposure to a large audience of readers all looking for real-life tips to cope with the daily struggle of living with a chronic illness and being a parent
Brand association and awareness
Affordable rates
High visibility through Being Fibro Mom blog and social media networks

Advertising Spots

There are several ways to advertise with me.

Ad in the sidebar: Sidebar ads will appear on each page on the website including posts’ pages. They are rotated every few months to prevent reader blindness. Ad space is available for one month, quarterly, and semi-annual. The ad must be family-friendly and not linked to gambling, pyramid schemes, or other undesirable activities. The ad must be approved by Brandi.
Links inserted within articles on the site: If you’d like to link to a set of words in an existing article on the site, that is also available. The link must be family-friendly and not linked to gambling, pyramid schemes, or other undesirable activities. The link must be approved by Brandi.

Please contact me for current rates.

Product Reviews/Sponsored Posts

A product review (or sponsored post) is when a company sends me a complimentary product to review, and I will publish a review (400-500 words) about that product within sixty days. All product reviews must meet the Being Fibro Mom mission, and be approved before accepting.

Requirements of product reviews and sponsored posts:

There may be a standard fee if you do not already advertise with me.
Shipping must be provided by your company or PR firm
All reviews will be written by Brandi
Negative reviews will not be published
Product reviews will not be returned
An additional fee will be charged for a review posted on YouTube.

The product review and links to your website will be published on the Being Fibro Mom website and social networks (excluding YouTube unless paying an additional fee).

Please submit your requests here.

Review and Giveaway

A review and giveaway are when a company sends me a product to review and sends an additional same product to giveaway to one of my readers (giveaway winner is chosen randomly by Rafflecopter). All reviews and giveaways must meet the Being Fibro Mom mission, and be approved by me before accepting.

Requirements of reviews and giveaways:

There may be a fee for a giveaway if you do not already advertise with me.
Giveaways must be a minimum value of $25
Shipping must be provided by your company or PR firm
All reviews will be written by Brandi
Negative reviews will not be published
Product reviews will not be returned
An additional fee will be charged for a review posted on YouTube.

The review, giveaway, and links to your website will be published on the Being Fibro Mom website and social networks (excluding YouTube unless paying an additional fee).

Click here for an example of reviews.

Virtual Assistant Services

We could all use a little more time in the day especially when it comes to networking and creating content; however, we can’t sacrifice our sleep to get it. I can help with those tedious tasks to free more time so you can focus on the more important aspects of your business. (And you can get the sleep you need.)

Here are some services I offer but are not exclusive to this list. If there are other ways you need some help, please reach out to me. Contact me here.

Writing

content writing and editing
audio or video transcriptions

Administrative

email services such as organizing, maintaining, and responding
customer service
managing blog comments
Live Webinar assistance
PowerPoint presentations
arranging interviews
Re-purposing content (such as turning audio or video into a blog post/article and/or social media post)
managing online communities
optimizing blog posts
organizing files
brainstorming new ideas
formatting blog posts
updating websites and plugins

Social Media

managing comments
scheduling posts
monitoring social media feeds
monitoring YouTube content
Uploading YouTube videos
creating graphics
social media account maintenance
managing Facebook groups
creating surveys or polls
creating and managing Instagram posts
responding to social media messages

Graphic design

creating images for blog posts or social media
creating slides for webinars or presentations
sourcing photos for blog posts, books, or social media
creating printable downloads, infographics, etc