2017 Bupa Blog Award winners

A bevy of talented bloggers have gathered at an awards ceremony in Melbourne, where the winners of this year’s Bupa Blog Awards were revealed on Thursday night.

There was an air of excitement, anticipation and anxiousness as former winners and Bupa Blogger Alumnae welcomed newcomers and this year’s finalists.

The night’s top prize was awarded to She Sows Seeds by Emma Steendam, who took out not only the 2017 Bupa Blog of the Year, but also the Lifestyle category.

Emma was described as an honest and authentic blogger who writes beautiful content on everyday life in a fresh and engaging way. Her blog She Sows Seeds has exceptional writing, variety and potential and Bupa is excited to continue to watch the blog grow and develop.

Emma says she was completely taken by surprise.

“I was shocked to even be nominated as a finalist, so I can’t believe it! I’ve been blogging for 10 years so it’s been a very long time just doing what I love," she says.

“I put my heart and soul into blogging, it’s my jam. This is what I always wanted to do. I love writing, I connect with people, and the thing to think about is, why. My community is my ‘why’. Every day I wake up and I live in the country, and I don’t have many mums around me but every day I turn on my phone and they’re there. And it’s awesome.”

This year we received a record number of 3900 votes from the public for the People’s Choice Awards. Incredibly, The Modern Mumma by Mel Watts received more than 50 per cent of the votes across all finalists.

The mother of four gorgeous kids shares her raw, honest and emotional journey of motherhood, helping other parents through all the challenges and delights which come with being a parent.

Congratulations Mel and The Modern Mumma on being awarded the winner of both the Bupa Blog Award’s People’s Choice category, and the Families category.

PAWDinkum by Fiona Rigg was announced the winner of the Pet category, for bloggers who provide an insight into our furry or feathered family members.

Our judges were inspired by the work being carried out alongside veterinarians to ensure treats for pets are nutritional and appropriate, and they loved reading Fiona’s visually engaging blog.

“To everyone in the category, you are all amazing. Thank you Bupa and thank you everyone, I am so overwhelmed. And I couldn’t believe today, the workshop was just awesome!”” Fiona said, on accepting her award.

The Healthy Eating category celebrates bloggers who inspire a realistic healthy and balanced approach to eating, through factual nutrition information, practical tips and recipes.

The award was presented to the Nutrition Guru and the Chef by husband and wife team Tara and Geoff Leong.

The nutritionist and the chef are a match made in heaven when it comes to providing healthy and delicious recipes, reputable advice, busting nutritional myths and inspiring people to live healthier, happier lives.

When it came to the Wellbeing category, the winning blog Rachael Kable by Rachael Kable stood out for it’s passion and practicality, helping people live more mindfully in fun, simple and meaningful ways.

Rachael's blog draws on her personal experiences coupled with her qualification in psychological science.

The Personal category is for those who share their personal journey overcoming a health challenge that inspires others, and this year it was awarded to The Annoyed Thyroid, by Samantha Colden.

Our judges loved Samantha’s story of recovering from cancer and making the most of life. In this refreshingly honest and open blog, there are great recipes and travel tips, all mixed in with some beautiful personal stories.

This year’s Personal blog award was presented in memory of Julia Watson, a brave and inspirational member of the Bupa Blog Alumnae who sadly passed away earlier this year.

“I’m so humbled, Julia was a massive hero of mine,” said Samantha, on accepting her award, “I have a series on my blog called ‘She’s so inspiring’ and even when Julia was really suffering right at the end of her life, she still agreed to be interviewed for the series, and that ended up being one of my favourite blog posts.”

Julia left behind her four little fairies, and Gaz, her ever supportive husband and partner, and wonderful, supportive community she had built up online – an amazing legacy that we know she’d be very proud of. 

This talented group of award winners will be invited to join Bupa’s exclusive Influencer Program, with free webinars, workshops and insights from those who have successfully navigated the influencer space.

They’ll also receive opportunities to work with us on campaigns throughout the year.

To help grow their influencer platform to improve the health and happiness of their online community - winners from each category have been awarded $1,000.

Our People’s Choice winner The Modern Mumma takes away $2,000 and $3,000 cash goes to our overall winner She Sows Seeds.

“This has been one of the hardest years to judge, primarily because we’ve had so many incredible entries, with 800 nominations and 600 unique blogs,” says Philippa Crisp, Bupa Blog Awards Project Manager.

“But we’re so excited to welcome this amazing group of bloggers and we can’t wait to start to work with some of the finalists and award winners to help them build their blogs, learn from their experiences and expertise, and no doubt also develop strong working friendships,” she says.

Replace with: Find more health and wellbeing content on Bupa Healthlink.

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