Maureen Dempsey
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 ...
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