There are millions of moms sharing their every thought in the great blogosphere. Some trash, some treasures, some major moneymakers. Could a blog be the rainbow to your pot of gold?
Surf through the countless blogs in the infinite Internet abyss, and you'll find some airing their grievances, others confessing their "bad mommy" guilt, and some of those wearing the badge with honor (
Psycho Supermom,
Martini Mom,
White Trash Mom). There are parenting philosophy blogs (
Babble and
The Motherlode). There are gossip blogs (
MomLogic) and all-too-honest blogs (
Dooce).
In a time when blogging has eaten away at traditional journalism and opinion rules over reporting, it's only natural that mom blogs would gain the most ground. Home with a napping child, a mother's only interaction with the outside is through her mouse and keyboard. If you're feeling what I'm feeling, then I'm not weird. Right?
"Motherhood is incredibly isolating. Many mothers—myself included—wrestle with an inability to meet like-minded peers and individuals. The online space makes it much easier to find people to relate to," explains Rebecca Woolf, who has been blogging for seven years at GirlsGoneChild.net, and for five on Babble.com. "The blogosphere is a giant support group so naturally many mothers want to be a part of the space. By starting their own blogs, they instantly are." Jennifer James, founder of
MomBloggersClub.com, agrees that the Web is a great way to connect with other mothers. She also adds that, from a corporate standpoint, moms are becoming increasingly valuable—and are readily targeted by countless companies.
"Mom bloggers are a very powerful niche market because we give advice and share tidbits about products all of the time. That's what we do," explains James. "Companies are looking for testimonials about their products because they are extremely powerful when it comes to word-of-mouth advertising." She adds that sometimes, going straight to the source is an attractive route (think: focus group). Giving 100 samples to 100 mom bloggers offers instant feedback, versus traditional advertising methods. (Although recent rules have changed the process: bloggers must specify if they have received free products or services in exchange for coverage.)
Sure, you know how to navigate your way through a basic blogging program, and you have plenty of maternal insight to share. But does that mean you can turn your every thought into…a fulltime career?
What We Talk About When We Talk About Blogging
The good thing about blogging: You can write about anything. The bad thing: You can write about anything. It's almost too vast a plane on which to cast your opinions, your findings, your thoughts, your dirty laundry. For the purposes of this article, let's divide the mom blog genre into three simple categories: personal blogging, product/market blogging, and connective blogging. Woolf, who says she spends anywhere from 5 to 30 hours a week on blog writing and management, is a personal blogger.
On both
Girl's Gone Child and
Straight From the Bottle (her Babble.com blog), she shares her most personal experiences as a mother, a wife, and a woman. "I write about the things I would want to read. I write about the kinds of things that make me feel alone in hopes I can help someone out there who feels the same way," she says. "I try to write about what is universal—the human experience, motherhood. My goal is for mothers to leave my blog and feel like they have a friend."
"I write as raw as I can without embarrassing my entire family, and I think people respond to that. Because life is raw and mortifying and stupefying and death-defying and awe-inspiring and everything else," she adds. Woolf's emotional writing pulls you in. Before you know it, she's taught you the delicate art of how to have sex as a cosleeping parent—and poof—an hour has disappeared.
Momtrends.blogspot.com's Nicole Feliciano falls at the other end of the spectrum, a market blogger—and her site is equally addictive. Although punctuated with personal details, Feliciano's site aims to seek out and deliver "practical information and shopping tips aimed to help busy, style-starved parents find the best gear for their family." How much time does Feliciano spend on her site? "I write everything on Momtrends. It is truly my third child," she says. "On average, I spend four hours a day Monday through Friday blogging."
Jennifer James founded her site to connect bloggers—our third category. "I started the Mom Bloggers Club in 2007 because I believed mom bloggers needed a place online to share and socialize," she says. "It's great to meet other mom bloggers, find new blogs to read and learn new tricks to making their blog better. I monitor the Mom Bloggers Club very carefully and there isn't a competitive environment there. We all share freely and help each other out."
Money Talks
Let's get specific: Can you get rich blogging? James offers the short answer: "The average mom blogger is not going to make money on her blog. She may make a little here and there via advertising. The most successful mom bloggers take the popularity of their blogs and spin into a business."
After seven years of blogging, Woolf says she just recently began earning enough to support her family. But it's not her only project: Last year her personal journey as a single and expectant 23-year-old,
Rockabye: From Wild to Child, hit bookshelves. She credits her blog with the acceptance and sale of her book. "If you can prove your worth as a blogger, it's a lot easier to get in the door as a writer for online and print magazines, start a business, open an Etsy shop, etc.," she explains. "Blogging has become the first step for a lot of women when it comes to achieving their dreams, which is rad."
James agrees that blogging is one piece of a larger puzzle, adding that the key is to build a substantial audience and then figure out the best way to monetize that audience. "Banner advertising won't bring in a substantial amount for most mom bloggers, but advertising coupled with another business does bring in a nice income," she says. "Some moms blog for other companies, while others consult." Feliciano also knows there's a recipe: "Those of us making a go at this combine writing and editing skills with a passion for marketing. You've got to put yourself out there to succeed."
Feliciano began small with Google ads. When her traffic grew, "I thought, 'Heck, I can match ads to my site better than Google!' " Initially she simply posted information about advertising on Momtrends and advertisers came to her, but she now employs an advertising manager to concentrate on placing ads on the site. In the end, all three bloggers obtained their personal definitions of success: Woolf got a book deal, Feliciano received enough revenue to grow her site, and James became the liaison between the mom and corporate worlds. The best part? They reached their goals on their own schedules, free from the drudgery of the 9–5 world. (Not to say they weren't up at 2 a.m. perfecting their next post… "I'm fanatical about feedback; I try to answer every question and respond to thoughtful comments," says Feliciano.) Perhaps a solitary blog can't be the rainbow to your pot of gold but it is certainly one hue in the spectrum.
