Hailey Rittersbach
Hailey Rittersbach is a Director of Brand Marketing with ten years in beauty marketing and a weekly Substack writer focused on motherhood. Her hardest-won insight is that community builds itself when you stay authentic to your own voice rather than chasing what performs well for others. She writes not for recognition, but to capture the fleeting, in-between moments of life with her daughter.
From a 2016 beauty blog she eventually set aside to a Substack practice that found its own audience through quiet consistency, Hailey Rittersbach's path as a writer is one of returning rather than arriving. In this interview with Powerful Blueprints, Hailey talks candidly about writing without a fixed ritual, the mothers reading between 2 a.m. feedings who shape every sentence she publishes, and why the slowest lessons are the ones most likely to end up on the page. Good morning, Hailey!
What does Hailey Rittersbach's creative process look like before she writes?
Hailey captures ideas throughout ordinary daily moments, walks with her daughter, workouts, conversations with loved ones, then returns to them later, with noise-cancelling headphones, a cup of lukewarm coffee with whole milk, and pen to paper.
I wish it was that much of a process. To be completely transparent, different ideas pop into my head at different times. I find inspiration throughout the mundane, everyday, in-between moments, living my soft-mom aesthetic lifestyle. It's when I'm walking outside, holding my daughter's hand, strolling the neighborhood and examining every rock we pass by. It's while I'm working out and I have to pause and write my thoughts down quickly to come back to. It's during deep and meaningful conversations with loved ones.
Once I have the basis of an idea established, I come back to it at a later time and flood my thoughts, pen to paper. I put on noise-cancelling headphones so that I can hone in on my craft. I love a cup of lukewarm coffee and whole milk. That's the recipe. Environment is typically different; at my desk, on my couch after a meditation, in my car. The words come anywhere.
When did Hailey Rittersbach first realize she was already a writer?
Hailey first found a writing outlet in 2016 through a beauty blog, then rediscovered her voice on Substack after becoming a first-time mother, building a community without initially setting out to do so.
I've always favored some aspect of writing. In college, I studied writing, rhetoric and technical communication, and I think these underlying principles have stuck with me ever since. I had a blog in 2016 where I wrote about beauty as an outlet and stress reliever for the demanding job I had at the time (I have worked in beauty marketing for 10 years). I didn't continue with it due to the constant need to work for my corporate job, and I wish I had.
When I found Substack, I was in a new era of life, being a first-time mother. I wanted a new outlet to write down my feelings, experiences, and everyday life. Most importantly, I wanted to write about what my daughter has taught me. I wasn't aspiring to become a well-known writer on the app; that came naturally through building community.
What is Hailey Rittersbach's one-year goal?
Hailey's stated goal for the next twelve months is to continue publishing on Substack at her current cadence of once a week, treating motherhood as an ongoing and never-complete subject.
What a lovely notion this is. My goal is to continue publishing on Substack. Motherhood is an ever-evolving journey; it's not ever "complete." My publishing cadence is typically once a week. Hold me to that for the next year.
What lessons took Hailey Rittersbach the longest to learn, and did they end up on the page?
Hailey's slowest and most hard-won lesson, that the right community will come if you resist mimicking what works for others, has become a recurring theme in her writing about slowing down and embracing fleeting moments.
The community WILL come. I find it easy to get distracted with what is performing well for others, but their formula is not inherently mine. I try to share lessons in the forms of what my daughter has taught me: to pause, slow down, enjoy life in the moments in between. Not being so rushed and ready to jump to the "next thing."
These lessons are difficult to see in those moments that they're happening, if you aren't aware they exist. I've written about how to pause in those instances to embrace these ever-so-fleeting moments.
Who changed the way Hailey writes, and how did she find her own voice?
Hailey credits the community of mothers on Substack with reshaping how she views her own writing, and she holds the awareness that many of them are reading between late-night feedings as a compass for everything she publishes.
The community of mothers on Substack who I've had the absolute privilege of connecting with have completely changed how I view my own writing and posts. As much as I stay authentic to myself and honor the words that come across my page, I also write for them. I know they are reading in between 2 a.m. feedings and diaper changes. There is inspiration all around that I am in awe of, many topics are started in my notes app that I've barely scratched the surface of.
What is Hailey listening to while she works?
Hailey listens to Bon Iver on the record player each fall, pairing the music with a cup of coffee and the sound of rain for what she describes as her idea of a perfect morning.
Bon Iver in the fall is a non-negotiable. Curling up with a coffee, his music on the record player, and rain tapping on the windows is my idea of a perfect morning.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Hailey!
Frequently Asked Questions about Hailey Rittersbach
What is Hailey Rittersbach's writing process and where does she find inspiration?
As someone whose ideas rarely arrive on a schedule, my process is less about ritual and more about staying present throughout ordinary life. Inspiration finds me on neighborhood walks with my daughter, mid-workout when I have to stop and type a thought into my phone, and in the middle of meaningful conversations. Once the seed of an idea is there, I return to it later with noise-cancelling headphones, a cup of lukewarm coffee with whole milk, and pen to paper. The environment changes, my desk, the couch after a meditation, my car, but the words come anywhere.
What is Hailey Rittersbach's background in writing and marketing?
After studying writing, rhetoric and technical communication in college, I carried those principles into a career that has now spanned ten years in beauty marketing. I started a beauty blog in 2016 as a creative outlet alongside a demanding corporate role, but eventually set it aside when the workload left no room for it. When I became a first-time mother and found Substack, writing became the right outlet again, this time to document what my daughter was teaching me about life. Building a community on the platform was never the goal; it happened naturally as I kept showing up.
What is Hailey Rittersbach's Substack about and who does she write for?
At the heart of my Substack is motherhood as an ever-evolving subject, not a chapter that closes, but a continuous, never-complete journey. I write primarily about what my daughter has taught me: to slow down, pause, and find meaning in the in-between moments rather than rushing toward the next thing. My community is made up largely of other mothers, and I hold in my mind the image of them reading in between 2 a.m. feedings and diaper changes. That awareness shapes every word I put on the page, even as I stay authentic to my own voice.
What is Hailey Rittersbach's most important lesson about building an audience?
Having watched what performs well for other writers and felt the pull to replicate it, my most hard-won lesson is that the community will come when you resist chasing someone else's formula. What works for another writer is not inherently my formula, and trying to adopt it pulls me away from the authentic voice that my readers actually show up for. The slower lesson underneath that one is the same thing my daughter keeps teaching me: stop rushing to the next thing and trust what is already in front of you. I've written about this directly, because these are the lessons that are hardest to see while they are happening.
What is Hailey Rittersbach's one-year publishing goal?
For the next twelve months, my goal is simply to keep publishing on Substack at my current cadence of once a week. Motherhood is the subject at the center of my writing, and it is an ever-evolving journey, one that is never finished, which means the material never runs out. Consistency matters more to me than scale or recognition at this stage. Once a week, every week, for a full year: that is the commitment I am making.
What music does Hailey Rittersbach listen to, and what does her ideal creative morning look like?
As a writer who finds that environment shifts but the words still come, my one seasonal non-negotiable is Bon Iver in the fall. The ideal morning looks like curling up with a coffee, his music playing on the record player, and rain tapping on the windows, that combination is as close to a perfect creative setting as I can describe. My ideas rarely arrive on command in a single quiet morning session; they surface throughout the day in walks, workouts, and conversations. But when the fall conditions are right, that record-player ritual is the closest thing I have to a true writing atmosphere.