Bloggers and vloggers Amy Downes, Sophie Mei Lan and Victoria James.
These Yorkshire women are among the thousands of people now blogging and vlogging. Laura Drysdale finds out why they decided to focus on earning a living online.
Jade Wylde, who has autism, says she is more suited to self-employed work.
Like many bloggers, it is through sponsored content that Jade, from Barnsley, makes much of her money, charging brands who want her to write about their products or services.
To date, her income is irregular - she says her anxiety means she doesn't pitch to brands "as much as I should", and her attention is divided between her blog and studying for a Masters degree in entrepreneurship at Sheffield Hallam University. But, she says she is at the point now where "if I did put the effort in and send those pitches", she would be able to get a full time income.
Amy Downes, 34, is hoping she too can reach that stage with her blog - Mum Full of Dreams - which focuses on flexible working. The freelance social media consultant, from Pudsey, set up the site two years ago, fulfilling a lifelong goal 12 months to the date of being made redundant whilst pregnant.
"I would love to make it where I get to the point where I am using the blog as a profession," she says, explaining that the adaptable hours of both her freelance work and blogging had been "a wonder" in allowing her to spend time with her son Harry, now two.
Such flexibility is also key for Victoria James, who began blogging about beauty and fashion as a sideline whilst working as a beautician four years ago. Struggling to concentrate on writing due to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), she later switched her focus from words to images - "the visual things come more naturally" - launching Victoriachicx on social photo platform Instagram.
Her profile became a full-time priority when she gave up work two years ago to look after her son, Elliott, who has severe ADHD and is on the autistic spectrum. "When you have got a son with special needs, you do have to make yourself available for them 24/7. I am able to just be there for him and attend all his appointments," she says, adding that she can juggle creating content around his needs.
It is something Sheffield-born Sophie Mei Lan knows all too well. A trained journalist, Sophie began blogging in 2015 when she was off work, whilst pregnant with her second child, due to mental health conditions. She started to write posts about living with an eating disorder at Christmas and the popularity of the pieces gave her the courage to carry on writing.
Sophie, who now lives in Wakefield, never returned to her job - "I had been very poorly and thought life was too short to be away from my family" - instead focusing on freelance opportunities and developing Mama Mei, her family, health and lifestyle blog. She has since set up a second blog Yorkshire Families, a guide to child-friendly events, days out and experiences in the county, and also runs Blog Up North, a network for writers and social media influencers.
In the past year, it is video sharing channel Youtube that has been the focus of much of Sophie's attention; and she is now able to make a viable income through blogging and vlogging (video blogging), earning cash through sponsored content or brand deals, adverts on her videos - getting paid based on ad watch time and clicks, and affiliate marketing - generating commission for marketing another person's or company's products through links in her content.