The Trouble With Mom Bloggers
February 12, 2009 by Kelly
This is a guest post by mom blogger, Carrie Lauth.
Last weekend, I spent two days with 250 mom bloggers.
I had a blast. I made new friends. I shared pizza, beer, chocolate, a chick flick, a dance floor, handsome Greek opera singers, a painfully slow wi-fi connection, elevators and a hotel room with funny, intelligent, beautiful, artistic, nutty, gifted, amazing women.
Still, the experience left me wanting.
Why? Because there was something that bothered me about the mom bloggers. Not all of them, mind you, but a goodly portion. So I decided to write this article to name what it is that troubled me.
The trouble with mom bloggers is that they don’t value their blog enough
For a lot of us, blogging is a hobby. For others among us, it’s a business. For some it’s both. Either way, your blog is a valuable vehicle that you can leverage for more income, more publicity, more friends, more sanity, or more whatever it is you’re seeking.
Treat it like the valuable resource it is, and it will respond accordingly. The first step? Publish it on your own domain, not a free blog subdomain. If it’s not worth $10 a year to you, why would anyone else take it seriously?
The trouble with mom bloggers is they don’t value their time enough
A lot of mom bloggers are writing for others (expanding their business) at no real benefit to themselves. Many are writing amazing product reviews for companies without pay (or without monetization that would earn them income in the future) and giving these companies (with huge marketing budgets!) free advertising.
Even if you have no interest in earning income from your blog, it’s smart to at least learn the basics of monetization so that if your situation changes, you CAN turn on the income faucet. At the very least, since writing for your blog takes time away from other activities, why not earn something for your time? In the economic times we live in, it’s just smart.
The trouble with mom bloggers is they don’t value their sidebar enough
When I visit mom blogs and see dozens of buttons that exist to look cutesy or to advertise their friends, I cringe inside. A blogroll is a great idea, but it’s best to put it on one page of your blog. I’m all about promoting other moms with my blog posts, but the links on your sidebar that every one of your visitors see each time they visit your blog should benefit you more directly. They should either direct people deeper into your content or to encourage them to sign up for your newsletter or RSS feed, or monetized with affiliate links.
The trouble with mom bloggers is they don’t value their expertise enough
I know many mom bloggers who are much smarter than me, who are far better writers, who are funny and make me laugh out loud and spit coffee at my computer screen or who have seemingly limitless knowledge on a particular subject. I wonder why more mom bloggers don’t have their own information product (ebook, workbook, audio) to sell? Whether it’s an ebook with their best kid crafting projects or healthy recipes or printable home management and organization lists, a mom blogger could easily create an income stream by pasting some of her best blog posts and tips into a product to sell.
If you’re a mom blogger reading this article, consider it a personal challenge to see how much more you can value yourself, your words and your blog.
Carrie Lauth has been blogging for over 5 years. Her mom blog is at Natural Moms Talk Radio, where she talks about natural parenting as a newly single mom. Carrie Lauth is her business blog, where she shares free tips for making money from your blog.
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