mom blogs

How to Reach Influential Moms Online

May 3, 2015 by The Motherhood

Moms rule social media. It’s that simple.

So, how do brands reach moms on these various platforms? Through other moms, of course!

According to a study conducted by The Motherhood, in partnership with University of Pittsburgh Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence and the University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, more than half (56 percent) of moms view social networks as a good source of information, and 42 percent make purchases based on recommendations from social networks.

With that in mind, it’s never been more critical for brands to connect directly with influential moms in order to tap this broad consumer audience of fellow moms who are making the majority of household purchases.

A few tips to get you started:

1. Focus on a personalized pitch

Bloggers are always being contacted by brands and agencies looking to work with them. As we recently reported, bloggers also dislike being referred to by marketers as mommy bloggers, so your pitch should be careful not to pigeonhole moms with this term. It’s also important to know about a blogger’s lifestyle, interests and preferences before you ask them to write content for your brand. Bloggers are often turned off by generic, impersonal pitches that don’t speak to their blog’s overarching theme, topic or tone. Before you reach out to an influential mom online, take some time to get to know her blog to see if your brand and/or similar brands have been discussed previously. Take note of the writing style and language a blogger uses and make sure it is aligned with your product or brand messaging. Finding a personal connection between your brand and a blogger is a great way to cultivate a new relationship, and in turn, can create authentic, meaningful dialogue for your brand among moms online.

2. Pay attention to social media

Moms are an active and savvy group on social media. It’s important to know what is being said on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram before you approach a blogger to represent your brand or organization. See if the blogger has mentioned your brand on social and don’t be afraid to engage with them in a genuine, two-way conversation. You can also use social media to understand what type of brand work a blogger is comfortable with, because many may specialize in a particular social channel. Do they regularly participate as co-hosts in Twitter parties for brands? Do they host Facebook or Pinterest contests and giveaways? Do they have experience as brand ambassadors? Navigating through social media activity is a great way to find influential moms online who are the right bloggers for your brand.

3. Contact a blogger network

Social media marketing companies with strong blogger networks like The Motherhood provide a huge advantage for brands and companies looking to find influential moms online to represent them and reach their target audiences. The Motherhood has created hundreds of meaningful opportunities for brands, organizations and influencers to develop relationships and exceptional online content that make a difference. High-touch, strategic blogger campaigns can help drive engagement, increase sales, build reputations, provide insights, generate rich, searchable online content that lives on and spark deep loyalty among your most important constituency – moms. The Motherhood’s proprietary database is filled with top bloggers in all areas of expertise – moms, food, fashion, tech, DIY, millennials, you name it – and we have the ability to narrow in and customize the most influential and meaningful campaign for your brand.

Interested in learning more? Check out TheMotherhood.com or contact us here.

What’s in a Name? Why “Mommy Bloggers” Don’t Label Themselves

March 16, 2015 by The Motherhood

Over the past 10 years, while working with both brands and bloggers, The Motherhood has noticed an interesting trend: Marketers, almost universally, use the term “mommy bloggers” in referring to our network, while bloggers themselves don’t always seem to love that label.

Last month, The Motherhood worked with Smith Brothers Agency in Pittsburgh to develop and distribute a survey to bloggers nationwide. Our goal: To gain a better understanding of how bloggers currently work with brands, and how they might prefer to partner in the future. (Our complete findings will be released later this year.)

So what did we uncover?

To start, it helps to know how to address your audience.

On the strength of more than 400 responses, we found that the majority of bloggers either dislike the “mommy blogger” label (41 percent) or feel neutral about it (50 percent). Fewer than 10 percent of respondents said they like it and think it’s a good description of who they are and what they do.

When asked what they hear marketers call them regularly, more than two-thirds of respondents identified “mommy blogger” as the prevalent term. But, significantly, when asked what they prefer marketers call them as a group, only 3 percent chose “mommy bloggers.”

Obviously, there’s a disconnect between how these women would like to be known as a group, and how they are labeled by brands who truly value their influence online.

The majority of respondents (38 percent) said they would like to be known as “mom influencers,” and more than 1 in 5 bloggers would prefer to cut “mom” out of the term entirely. A few of the preferred alternatives included:

Blogger
Digital influencer
Social media influencer
Social media strategist

One respondent summed up much of the feedback when she said, “I feel like I am more than just a mom, so I don’t pigeon-hole myself with any term.”

On the use of “mommy blogger,” another respondent noted, “It doesn’t sound professional. It’s hard to take it seriously.” Others agreed, sharing that “mommy” is a childish adjective that only their kids should use, and “mommy blogger” can have negative connotations — among them, that blogging is a hobby rather than a business.

We know the bloggers in our network are true professionals and take their work on behalf of brands seriously. Tell us how you feel about these labels!

Looking for a Blog Reading List?

October 15, 2012 by Cooper

If there’s one thing we know for certain, it’s that there are a lot of entertaining, funny, touching and fascinating blogs out there, written by a host of talented bloggers. That fact was underscored by a recent project we took on with the Milk Mustache team – asking a group of 50 bloggers to share their reading lists of the blogs that start their day right (while relaxing over their morning latte, of course).

If you’ve been looking for a great blog – or a hundred – to scope out on a daily basis, click through the links below to get a few recommendations. We are certain you’ll find something you like!

Thank you to all of the wonderful women who participated in this campaign to honor their favorite bloggers, and to the Milk Mustache team for making it possible.

Go get yourself a latte while you peruse these suggestions! Click through for the reading recommendations from:

Adrienne, The Mommy Mess

Alicia, Making Time for Mommy

Amy, MomSpark

Amy, Grinning Cheek to Cheek

Amy, The Lacks Boat

Angela, Angela’s Analysis

Arianah, One Little Mom

Bridgette, The Experimental Mommy

Connie, Brain Foggles

Courtney, My Crazy Savings

Crystal, Kid Things

Danielle, Happenings of the Harper Household

Debbi, Debbi Does Dinner Healthy

Diane, Dollops of Diane

Emily, Busy Mommy

Gina, Chic Homeschool Mama

Hanan, Lilac City Momma

Heather, Rookie Moms

Jamie, Roubinek Reality

Janel, A Mom’s Take

Jennifer, Redhead Ranting

Jennifer, The Dirty t-Shirt

Jennifer, Just Jennifer

Kate, The Guavalicious Life

Kenda, Remaking June Cleaver

Kim, Mommycosm

Lauren, Crazy About My Baybah

Laurie, Guessing All the Way

Leila, Life as Leels

Lisa, Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Oh Boy!

Liz, Thoughts of a Mommy

Louise, MomStart

Melanie, Melanie in the Middle

Meredith, The Mom of the Year

Mimi, Woven by Words

Misty, Giveaways & Glitter

Natalie, Mommy of a Monster and Twins

Nicole, Pretty Opinionated

Rachel, Running Rachel

Rachel, Mom Colored Glasses

Sarah, Sunnyside Up

Sia, Thrifty Northwest Mom

Stephanie, Trying to Be Super-Mom

Steph, A Grande Life

Tonya, Create-Celebrate-Explore

Valerie, Mom Knows It All

Whitney, It’s Gravy, Baby!

Xenia, Thanks, Mail Carrier

Building Your Blog Community: Part One – Blogging 101

February 28, 2012 by The Motherhood

Starting a blog isn’t much harder than choosing a blog name and a platform, clicking a few buttons, and starting to write. But if you build it, will anyone come? And what will happen when they get there?

Today in The Motherhood, we had a great talk with an exceptional panel of bloggers who enlightened us on everything from the administrative to the creative, and gave guidance to beginning and longtime bloggers alike on building our blog communities.

Vera Sweeney of Lady and the Blog, Melissa Chapman of Married My Sugar Daddy, Nadia Carriere of Child Mode, Audrey McClelland of Mom Generations, Annie Shultz of Mama Dweeb, Victoria Pericon of Veep Veep, Whitney Wingerd of Mommies with Style, and Megan Crume of Sweet Sadie Marie weighed in on the blogging questions you’ve always wanted answered.

If you build it…

First, of course, you have to build the blog. When asked whether it was more important to have a great looking blog or one with great content, the panelists were unanimous: it’s all about the content. Annie of Mama Dweeb noted, “Content is King! That is what they told me in newspaper class and that applies to blogging.” Even an ugly site with great content draws readers back, though an attractive site may keep them there longer.

How to make that site good looking? Nadia of Child Mode and Whitney of Mommies with Style advise that WordPress and TypePad have lots of easy-to-use templates and themes. Vera of Lady and the Blog recommends “adding more images and videos that are engaging for the readers.” She cautions, though, that it’s never okay to grab images from other websites, even if you credit them. If you use others’ images, you should be prepared to pay for them.

Along with good content and good looks, several panelists emphasized that regular posting is critical. Vera said, “You should carve out time each day. Even on the weekends I sneak over to the computer and get at least one post up.”

After you build the blog itself, it’s time to build relationships. Vera summed it up neatly when she said, “Building relationships is key to any successful business. With blogging, there are three types of relationships that need attention:

-Blogger to Blogger: Start linking to like blogs with similar traffic. Do weekly roundups. Post one another’s badges on your sidebars. Tweet one another’s work. There is strength in numbers.

-Blogger to Brand: Become friendly with reps. Attend events. Work on projects and keep the communication line open. Make them remember you.

-Blogger to Reader: Reply back to comments. Offer something special on your newsletter, interact on your Facebook wall. All these things matter.”

To build relationships with other bloggers, consider joining a blogging group (or a few). As far as building Blogger to Brand relationships, the panel was mixed about whether it was easier to build relationships directly with brands or to go through PR agencies.

What to do to get noticed by brands? Again, the panel emphasized content. Megan of Sweet Sadie Marie said to ask yourself who and what you’re passionate about–that will guide you. Melissa of Married My Sugar Daddy added that “when you’ve got really good content, it’s easier to make brands notice you–and you will feel a lot more confident making those introductions when you’ve got the blog content to back it up.” Vera and several panelists also recommended having a media kit, something you can send to PR reps to showcase your brand relationships and past work.

As you build relationships, especially with bloggers and readers, you’ll build audience. Vera recommends increasing SEO by tagging your posts with keywords and repeating those in the post itself; matching your post title to its first paragraph, and using bullets and headers (which search engines love) throughout your post. Annie adds that it’s wise to think about specific terms readers might be searching for, and using those in your post title in lieu of something more generic.

Another way to grow your audience is the use of Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and the like to drive traffic to your site. Whitney says she uses “auto-feeds–everything I post goes straight to my Facebook page and Twitter feed–makes it nice and easy and I get a ton of traffic that way. ” For those who are not seeing success from those methods, Victoria of Veep Veep reminds, “Talk with others. If you write but never reply to e-mails or respond to comments or tweets, then they won’t come back.” In other words: engage your audience. Nadia recommends participating in memes such as Wordless Wednesday as a good way to connect with other bloggers and build audience.

…They will come.

Your hard work will pay off, the panelists agreed, but be patient and persistent. Annie said, “There is no such thing as overnight success with blogging. It takes most bloggers at LEAST six months of hard work before they see a dime.”

Several panelists offered their best tips for getting paid. Vera said, “Don’t be afraid to pitch yourself,” and recommended charging for contests, even if it’s only $25. “Something is better than nothing.” Whitney cautioned, “Do NOT work for free with the promise of a later paid gig! There are so many of these ‘offers’ out there. You are worth more.”

As important as it is to know your worth and to be paid, don’t get hung up on earnings and pageviews. As Audrey of Mom Generations wisely observed, “It will come if you keep with it. As soon as I let that piece of it go and started producing content that I loved and was ultra passionate about, doors began to open.”

You can read the full transcript of the Talk here.

Next up we’ll be posting a second part summary of the Building Your Blog Community: Part Two – Advanced Blogging. Look for that post soon! Thanks!

State of the Mom Blogosphere 2012

January 18, 2012 by The Motherhood

When you put nine elite bloggers in a virtual “room” with hundreds of participants for a live chat about the State of the Mom Blogosphere in 2012, some clear trends emerge.

Back in September 2010, we gathered the same group of insightful, exceptional women, and their predictions for the online world that year were incredibly accurate. We were thrilled and honored to have them with us again on January 17, 2012 (our first day live on our new platform!), to share what matters to them this year in the mom blogosphere.

Here are the top 10 takeaways from the discussion.

1) Expand with the Online Universe

The online universe has grown, and it’s not all about the blog anymore. To keep up, you need to make your presence known elsewhere.

As BusyDad noted, “One’s blog is now one of many facets of our online lives, rather than being by default the center of it. Many online luminaries these days are famous for their Twitter persona or their Facebook, and not necessarily their blog.”

Agreed EvolvingStacey, “I feel as if my connections and growing network takes place away from my blog … My blog is more like my house, but I leave my house to be social.”

That’s not to say that your blog is unimportant. Amie Adams of Mamma Loves pointed out, “I tend to think of my blog as the hub to my online wheel. Twitter, FB, Google+, online forums all split off from it. It’s like an online business card – brings you credibility.”

2) Pinterest is the New Twitter

While you are expanding your social media horizons beyond your blog, make Pinterest a priority.

If you haven’t heard of Pinterest yet, consider this your introduction to the hottest new social media site of 2012 – a virtual corkboard designed to give you visual inspiration or consolidate your favorite ideas from across the web.

“I haven’t seen this much excitement and addiction since Twitter in ’08,” Isabel Kallman of Alphamom said about the site.

You can get an account and start pinning here!

3) Newbie Bloggers Welcome – but Bring Your A Game

New to blogging? There are a lot of mom blogs in the space, but if you are ready to dive in, you shouldn’t be intimidated.

“There will be a lot more chatter to cut through now. But I think awesome is awesome. And awesome rises to the top,” said Christine Koh of Boston Mamas.

She recommended that beginning mom bloggers turn to “The Digital Mom Handbook” and “Mom Inc.” for help.

For new and existing blogs alike, Kimberly Coleman of Foodie City Mom also has great suggestions for blogging goals in 2012 on She Posts.

4) There’s No One “Right” Way to Blog

Everyone blogs for different reasons, some intensely personal and some more business-focused. But whatever your reason – your fellow bloggers accept it now more than ever before.

Liz Gumbinner of Mom101 and Cool Mom Picks mused, “I can go back to the dark ages of 2006 when there were debates about the right kind of blogging. That increased tremendously in 2008 or so with the mass monetization of mom blogs. Now there’s this wonderful sort of detente – there are so many kinds of moms with so many kinds of blogs, and fewer debates about who is right and who is wrong.

“There’s no one right way to blog. It’s nice that there’s more acceptance of one another.”

5) Look for Creative Inspiration Everywhere

Whether you’re driving, watching TV, taking a shower – pay attention, and a brilliant blog post idea might just pop into your head.

Noted Jennifer James of Mom Bloggers Club, “I am constantly thinking about new posts to write and new perspectives to write them from. I carry a pad with me and jot down a lot of ideas on receipts. The wheels are constantly churning.”

And don’t underestimate that old advice – write what you know!

Allison Czarnecki of Petit Elefant‘s creative blog ideas “come from my life. If we’re remodeling a bathroom, I find a way to post about a how-to. If we’re traveling, I write about that, and I spend half my life creating beauty recipes, so I photograph them and write about it.”

6) Don’t Underestimate OR Overestimate the Power of SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can help bring traffic to your blog, but it’s not always the traffic you want or need.

Isabel Kallman of Alphamom said of her own success with SEO, “Started on WordPress, used the correct Plugin, changed the URL from the creative title, tagged my photos better … BUT DON’T FORGET: write great content.”

BusyDad pointed out, “Unless you have a review or cooking/recipe blog, I want to emphatically say that SEO is so much less important than engaged readers. Trust me… compelling content and engaged readers/friends are what will get you quality return visits, influence and credibility as a blogger.”

7) It’s Time to Bring Marketers Up to Speed

During the live chat, the group consensus was that marketers seem to target mom bloggers mostly for baby-related products. Many felt that brands are missing the boat.

Tracey Clark of Shutter Sisters pointed out, “The tween and especially teen markets are hugely overlooked” by marketers in the mom blogosphere. “There’s got to be a shift soon there, doesn’t there?”

Amie Adams at Mamma Loves agreed, “My kids may develop their own tastes, but I’m the one who does the buying. I spend thousands on sports equipment, technology and clothing.”

8) Help Your Blog Evolve as the Kids Grow Up

When our kids are babies and toddlers, many of us love to share every anecdote and detail of their lives. When they get old enough to have their own online identities, respecting their privacy as an individual can change the face of your blog.

“I have started targeting my writing more toward the women with a shorter anecdote here and there about my kids,” said Andrea Updyke. “They are still young – oldest is 3 this month, but I already feel more protective of his story.”

“As our kids grow up, I think we naturally rediscover who we are individually, above and beyond mothers,” said Tracey Clark of Shutter Sisters. “This opens the doors up to new stories…it’s so exciting!”

9) Blogging Can Create a New “You” – Embrace It!

If you can identify your passion, find your niche and successfully write about it, your cup just might runneth over.

Justice Fergie said of her blog, “It’s given me an entire business, community, platform, brand image and now … a new way of life! I’m so excited to be working for myself, full-time. And it’s all thanks to blogging.”

Jennifer James of Mom Bloggers Club agreed, “Blogging has completely changed me. I see life and its possibilities in different ways – nothing is too big to tackle.”

10) What 2012 Might Have In Store

Social good, an increase in video blogging and fair compensation for brand-related projects were all tossed out as possible 2012 trends.

See more 2012 predictions in Jennifer James’ Mom Blog Magazine.

“I think 2012 will see Moms focus their efforts on *social change* via networks, communities and transitioning lifestyles,” said Mental_Clutter. “Gone are the days of tolerating drama, here are the days of moving forward to leave a substantial mark.”

“One the most interesting things to happen in the Mom Blogosphere is how many moms are taking their blogs to a new level,” added Rebecca Levey. “There are a lot of mini-media empires building beyond the blogs. Mom Blogs have become more like unique brands every year. ”

Agreed Shari, “We are already seeing the trends for 2012. So many fabulous women have taken it to the next level – magazines, TV, fashion shows – they have raised the bar. In a good way.”

That was one inspiring conversation.

We were there when the mom blogger community began, and we’ve watched as it has grown exponentially over the past several years. We are constantly amazed by how quickly and how often the mom blogosphere changes.

Thank you to all of the amazing men and women who shared their thoughts with us on this fascinating topic! You can find our co-hosts on their own blogs and elsewhere across the web in 2012:

Allison Czarnecki, Petit Elefant
Amie Adams, Mamma Loves
Christine Koh, Boston Mamas
Isabel Kallman, Alphamom
Jennifer James, Mom Bloggers Club and Jennifer James Online
Laura Mayes, Kirtsy and Mom 2.0 Summit
Liz Gumbinner, Mom101 and Cool Mom Picks
Stacie Ferguson, Justice Fergie and Blogalicious
Tracey Clark, Shutter Sisters and Tracey Clark

Check out a full transcript of the AMAZING conversation here.