Beauty, food and parenting are the top themes for Irish bloggers, according to a new survey carried out in Ireland by Walsh PR.

According to the survey, the majority of Irish bloggers are women and the average age of an Irish blogger, 34, is slightly lower than the European average of 37.

Almost three-quarters of the 90 Irish bloggers surveyed have been blogging for over a year, while a fifth have been doing it for five years. All the survey respondents said they wrote based on their personal experiences.

While 27% say they earn money from their blog (compared to the European average of 45%), almost all of the bloggers (91%) have been contacted regularly by companies for PR and marketing. Ninety-six per cent say they are happy to be contacted by companies.

The main reasons for having a blog, according to those surveyed, are to share information and experiences (73%) and for professional development (48%).

Twitter and Facebook are the leading social networks used by the bloggers surveyed, with 94% and 87% signed up respectively. Fifty-nine per cent use Instagram, 56% Pinterest, 28% YouTube and 23% LinkedIn.

Over 1,200 bloggers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Germany, Finland, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Slovenia and the Czech Republic were interviewed for the inaugural IPREX European Blogbarometer poll. Walsh PR is the Republic of Ireland partner of IPREX.

Caroline Heywood, Managing Director of Walsh PR, said the survey was “designed to provide companies and brands engaging with these authors a deeper insight into what inspires and motivates them.”

“With some small exceptions, we’ve seen Irish blogger trends and nuances, such as age profile, gender and themes, generally replicated in other European countries,” she said.