Learn how to enter at Mom Webs Hosting!

Blog Advertising is great for brands and the large ad networks know this very well – yet so many of them refuse to consider blogs with small readerships. This is tough on new bloggers.  They’re working hard to grow an audience, writing their hearts out, promoting their blog as much as possible – but until they hit a certain level of readership, they can’t plug into a good ad network.

What many bloggers then do is offer ad space of their own – with mixed results.  From what we’ve seen, most aren’t providing enough information about their readership.  In fact, I went looking for a few good  blogs to buy some affordable ad space on and had a really hard time of it!

Should we create a new directory that lists mom blogs that offer ad space?  What do you think?

By the way, Advertising Moms has a great article on blog advertising.  If you’re trying to sell ad space, you may want to link to this great information.

Bloggers are often people with passion and for sharing information, tips and more. Some of those writers already have a knack for sales. But there are many who still haven’t quite gotten the hang of it, even though they hoped to make their blog a profit center for themselves.

With a few pointers, it’s easy to become one amongst the ranks of those who successfully make a living from their writing. It comes down to reminding yourself of a few key aspects, as well as being prepared for the task at hand.

You started this journey to make money, and it’s time to get that working for you. It’s important to remember how each reader is also a potential customer. It’s up to you to guide them to the products they require. If you do this part well, your readers may come to rely on you and your opinion as their source for advice and information.

You may come across people who become annoyed at your suggestions to purchase a certain product. This simply means these people aren’t part of your target market – you want to sell stuff, so you target market is buyers and people who are receptive to product suggestions.

Some of the ways you can prepare yourself for success are easily established. You can learn copywriting. While it doesn’t always mean a hard sell, any copywriting skills you acquire gives you the opportunity to incorporated copy elements naturally into your content.

Look for experienced writers or bloggers who tend to “pull you in” with their content, making you want to act on their calls to action. Watch what they do, and try to achieve the same thing while keeping your own writing style.

Inform and sell at the same time. Whether it be a detailed review or an explanation of how exactly a product works, sales and information together in the same copy can be helpful for your readers.

As a blogger, you don’t need a big sales pitch, but you’ve got to persuasive and sure in your recommendations. Studying copywriting, the writing of others and applying it to your own writing will go along way. Find your own balance between information and promotion – it’ll get easier than you think.

Need more help?

For more tips for using the power of words for your marketing, visit Contentrix…your source for straightforward content marketing advice. Whether you’re looking for more traffic, sales or both, Go to ContentrixContentrix has it covered.

When it comes to great bloggers, they’re passionate about their topics. They can even use blogging as their income venue. But the problem is, many bloggers allow their passion to take the upper hand over any profit plan they may have.

And there’s nothing really wrong with that. What better job is there than something you love? If you decide you want to blog to a more frugal audience, it’s your choice. But if you want to make some money doing it, here are some tips – just remember you probably aren’t going to be making millions anytime soon.

While the Internet Marketing gurus may not agree with this, try creating smaller sized informative products you can sell to the more frugal-minded crowd. It’s easy to break down documents or series, creating smaller morsels of information on a regular, scheduled basis. You could create a membership site where a customer pays monthly for this content, yet has the ability to cancel at any time. [Read more...]

This is a guest blog post by Alice Seba of Contentrix.

Audio and particularly, video seem to be the words of the day when it comes to content marketing. But have you ever stopped to think – the written word is still the root of it all, no matter what format you choose for your content.

Before you end up with that polished multi-media content your audience craves, you begin with words. Whether it’s detailed notes or a script, doing your homework produces a much higher quality and informative piece for your viewers and listeners.

Thinking on your feet and other forms of spontaneity do have a place, but doing it all the time won’t give you the impact you want to make on your listeners and viewers. Just look at some of the multi-media content out there for an example. The content is dull and repetitive not to mention awkward in spots. To avoid that, create notes for yourself so you end up with the product that you want.

You don’t believe that movie actors work from thin air do you? There is a script that they follow to get into their characters and to bring out the story. Without some sort of direction, your content would remind viewers of a really bad reality TV show, shooting off into all directions and losing the once focused message. But, even reality TV shows leave a lot of stuff on the editing room floor and the finished product is specifically designed to tell a story. Documentaries are the same, with scripting to avoid being too off-the-cuff and to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together into one comprehensive piece.

Learn to think first and speak well later:

• If you’re being interviewed, ask for interview questions ahead of time to avoid babbling and repeating yourself during the actual interview.
• Find a preparation method that works for you. It can be creating fully scripted answers to the questions or just jotting down a few points to keep you on track.
• When you are the star of the video, by all means use notes. Using a webcam allows you to keep your notes on the screen or somewhere near the camera.
• Keep the audio or video moving by alternating between script and spontaneous discussion. Do use a scripted intro and conclusion to be sure that none of your important points are missed…and you can include any slick product promotions where it counts.

These tips won’t stop the occasional stumble or mumble while speaking. Don’t worry, we’re not looking for perfection, just solid content your readers can use. And working from a written game plan will keep your audience watching and eventually lead them to take action on your offers.

For more tips for using the power of words for your marketing, visit Contentrix…your source for straightforward content marketing advice. Whether you’re looking for more traffic, sales or both, Contentrix has it covered.

This is a guest blog post from Alice Seba of Contentrix.

What’s all this talk about Mommy Bloggers these days? From Motrin Moms to a Marriott boycott (due to tactless comments by company regarding a sexual assault on a mom), moms are making their voices heard on the internet and felt in the physical world. But, then again it‘s not surprising. Moms have influenced buying in the marketplace for a long time.

Moms these days are high-tech – they‘re connected to the Internet wherever they go. This gives them even more power and far-reaching influence.

And with all this exposure for mom blog, others moms are joining in…hoping to exert influence and earn an income from their blog (if that‘s you, keep reading). The problem is, there are so many different mommy bloggers out there, all with different goals, so it can be tough to figure out how to start profiting from your blog.

But, before we go any further, there is an IMPORTANT point to be aware of. As long as you remember it you can keep working toward your income goals. Here it is: [Read more...]

Some mom bloggers are struggling with a fear that they’ve sold out.

They started their blogs to share their lives and encourage other moms.  They didn’t really have any long range plans, they were just having a good time – making friends and oftentimes making a difference.

Over the last year or two we’ve seen a major invasion on the mom blogosphere.  Companies large and small realized that mom bloggers have influence and they wanted to tap into it.

That should have been good news for mom bloggers.  If a company wants to reach your readership, that should translate into some great advertising deals, right?

Rarely.

Instead of identifying key blogs and actually offering the mom blogger a paycheck to share the brand with their readers, we’ve seen something else entirely.

Instead of paying a mom blogger to share their readership – these companies offer them products to try and giveaway.  That doesn’t sound to bad, but after awhile – mom bloggers are realizing that it takes TIME to review these products, write up their review and put together the giveaways.

For some mom bloggers, the whole ‘product review’ thing has been filling their schedule for months now – taking them away from their kids and eventually stripping all the fun out of their blogging.  They’re getting burned out.

When I ask some of these mom bloggers why they keep doing it they all say the same thing – ‘I’m hoping it will lead to something bigger eventually.”

Bigger? I know what that means.  If they show that they can promote small stuff, maybe they’ll get to promote big stuff.  Maybe instead of getting free laundry soap – they’ll get a free washing machine!

Um… yeah.  Like that happens very often.

Maybe they’ll hit the big time and get sent on a trip to a theme part – without their kids.

Yep, that HAS happened.

These PR companies have done a number on our community, haven’t they?

They’ve got HUNDREDS if not THOUSANDS of moms pimping their products for free.  Everywhere you look there’s another mom blog running a contest to give something else away.  In most cases, the mom blogger hasn’t even been given the product herself.

It’s getting to the point where you don’t even CARE about the word giveaway.  They’re as common as dust.

No, mom – you’re not a sell out – but I’m sorry to say that you’ve definitely been sold out.

I have a challenge for you.

The next time a PR peep contacts you about running a giveaway – quote them a price for your time.

Seriously!  Figure out what you want for the hours you spend working on the project (the time away from your kids is valuable!) – not to mention for sharing your blog audience and Twitter followship. Write it up and send it as a reply to their pitch.

If all mom bloggers started doing that – maybe they’d get some respect for our community.

I’ve been doing this – and the response is humorous.

• “Oh, we don’t pay bloggers for reviews – that would send the wrong message.”
• “We don’t have a budget for that.”
• “We can’t offer you payment, isn’t having something to give your readers value enough?”

Please.  I’m tired of their excuses.  These companies spend a small fortune advertising in newspapers and on television.  They can afford to pay me for my time and if they choose not to – they don’t get time on my blogs.

Go to Totally Free Tuesday!

I love a great Cross Blog Conversation.

I first learned the concept from Liz Strauss of Successful-Blog.com. I had my first Cross Blog Conversation with my pal Nicole Dean. You can see the thread of our conversations here:

Nicole then Kelly then Nicole then Kelly then Nicole then Kelly then Nicole then Kelly

Awhile later, I had another great conversation with Reba Collins of Internet Marketing Boomer.  I made up a cute little graphic for my posts.

Kelly then Reba then Kelly then Reba then Kelly then Reba then Kelly then Reba then Kelly

A CBC can last forever if both bloggers wish, but in both of these examples, our Cross Blog Conversation ended without closure.  We got busy and lost track of what we were doing.  The lesson I’ve picked up from that is to have a firm beginning and ending – so both sides know how long they’re committing to participate and know when it is finished.

Here’s the plan:

1. You write a post that first explains what a Cross Blog Conversation is, then tells your readers who you’ll be conversing with.  Finally, you’ll write a section like a letter composed directly to your conversation partner, ending with a question for them to answer.
2. Now, on their blog – they will let their readers know that they have been engaged in a Cross Blog Conversation.  They will link back to your explanation and question.  Then they will write a section directly to you, answering your question and closing with a question for you.
3. Now, on your blog – you will let readers know that you’re continuing the Cross Blog Conversation, link to their answer and question – then write a section directly to your CBC partner, answering their quesion and asking another of your own.
4. Now it’s their turn.  They link to your question, answer it and ask another.
5. Now it’s your turn.  You link to their question, answer it and ask another.
6. Now it’s their turn. They link to your question, answer it and ask another, letting readers know this is their last one.
7. Now it’s your turn – answer their last question and close the CBC with a special thank you for their participation.

It would be great if you created a final wrap up post that lists all of the posts in order so that those who come upon it later can catch up on the whole conversation.

Some Tips for Success:

Have fun with your Cross Blog Conversation. Ask engaging questions that will inspire answers that people really care about!  Don’t ask dull questions that have been asked a hundred times before.

Keep your attention on the other blogger and write TO them, not to your readers.  The idea is to create a voyeuristic situation where others are observing.

If you don’t know your CBC partner very well, a quick phone or Skype conversation is in order.  Get to know each other a little bit, that will help you create a great friendly tone in your blog posts.

Here are some more Cross Blog Conversations for you to check out:

Debbie then Jill then Debbie then Jill then Debbie then Jill then Debbie

Jamie then Edie then Jamie then Edie then Jamie then Edie

If you’re a mom and you want to learn the ropes of mom blogging, the Mom’s Talk Network Blogging Internship is open for applications right now.

You give Mom’s Talk Network ten hours a week for ten weeks and Mom’s Talk Network gives you training, resources and coaching.  Bring us your personality and love for writing and we’ll give you the skills you need to be a successful blogger.

Complete the application here.

Alice Seba has made a pretty incredible offer over on her Internet Marketing Sweetie blog.  Apparently the ‘popularity chasing’ so rampant in the mom blogger community has gotten under her skin.

Check out her offer here.

With Blogher right around the corner and Blog World Expo coming up in October,  a lot of bloggers are out there fishing for sponsorship – just like this past spring when they were looking for sponsorship to Blissdom ’09.

As a business owner who sponsored two mom bloggers to attend Blissdom ’09 – I am looking back on the money I spent on those sponsorships and checking out the return on investment – or should I say, lack thereof.

• Mom Masterminds sponsored Carrie Lauth of Natural Mom Talk Radio.  She wore a Mom Masterminds t-shirt and handed out business cards with a coupon code good for a free month of MM Membership. (A $50 value)

• Mom’s Talk Network sponsored Alyssa Avant of Beauty By Design Online.  She handed out cards inviting mom bloggers to check out the Mom’s Talk Affiliates program and claim a free product from our Mom’s Talk Biz website.

Note that our offers are targeted to mom bloggers who want to earn money with their blogs and that they were set up to be easy to take advantage of.  No strings attached.

Hopes: These fun, engaging mom bloggers would pass the cards out and have lots of great conversations about their sponsor.  Dozens of mom bloggers would learn about our company, tuck the card away and take action on it within a month after the event.  By taking action, I mean sign up for the freebie. [Read more...]