Commentary

The Professional 'Mommy Blogger'

The phrase “mommy blogger” often conjures up visions of a mom with her hair thrown back in a ponytail, planted in front of a laptop and working away in her yoga pants. But for many, blogging is not just a hobby, it’s a profession.

Consider this…almost two-thirds of married mothers work and in 40% of households with children under 18, she is the sole or main breadwinner, according to Pew Internet. Right now, there are a reported 84 million moms in America with 32 million of them online. Five million are SAHMs (Stay At Home Moms). So it’s a pretty big pond for a brand to fish in. According to Nielsen 2012, an astounding one in three moms today is a blogger. These moms are the chief purchasing officers for their families, either making or influencing the decisions with $2.4 trillion dollars worth of spending power.

So remember these six things about today’s “mommy blogger”:

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1. She is likely highly educated and once held a full-time job. That’s right, she’s been employed at one time or another, but has chosen to be either a SAHM or work part time to be with her children.

2. Many mommy bloggers have a plan and are running businesses out of their home. Her site is designed to reflect professionalism and she’s great at cross-channel marketing. Two of the first bloggers I ever met run very successful businesses and their blogs and social channels power their companies.

3. Mommy bloggers are more technologically savvy than you may think. They have to be in order to run a business. You’d be amazed to see what many of them do just with their smartphone–shooting, editing and posting video all while sitting in a conference.

4. As professionals, Mommy bloggers understand the importance of brands and branding and choose opportunities based on whether the brand is right for themselves. They aren’t sell-outs. In fact, you don’t want to work with sell-outs. If there is too much sponsored content on a blogger’s site, walk away. It’s an indication they won’t be authentic, and audiences see right through that.

5. Many are marketing savvy, whether learned or natural, and are great self-promoters and networkers. I’m often surprised by what I can learn from them, and I’ve been in marketing for 35+ years. They’ve written books and are media machines with connections to their local press. Some even give seminars and webinars. They speak and attend conferences to learn and network. 

6. They’re creative. The best bloggers understand how to weave a story with words and photos. They know how to connect emotionally through their content and magically weave a brand’s message through a personal story so that you almost forget it’s a sponsored story. 

“Mommy bloggers” is an inaccurate term for these moms. In many cases, they’re writing about elements of their lives beyond motherhood: personal growth, entrepreneurship, green living, gluten-free eating and more. The term “mommy blogger” conveys diaper and kid-bragging content focus. Sure, there are those for whom that is the primary topic, but dig deeper and you will find women are much more well-rounded than just the fact they are raising kids. 

Finally, remember you’re hiring a professional. You can tell a lot by talking to her and by looking at her content to see if she is treating blogging as a profession. And remember, she just happens to be a mom. 

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