Looking for Something?
Posts Tagged for

blogging brands

Why Mom Blogs Work for Both Readers & Brands

Author:

It’s no secret that mom blogs are popular and that many of them have a large following, but what is it exactly that attracts both readers and brands? (Be sure and read this guest post about setting up your blog to work with brands.)

Stacy DeBroff, CEO and founder of Boston-based Mom Central, says mom blogs work because of the fact that moms rely on first person recommendations. Moms know that and brands know that. Word-of-mouth advertising has always been the best and fastest way to spread the word about a certain product or a new restaurant up the road. The way that message is being delivered though, has changed with the current 5 million mom blogs out there.

Moms also control the majority of the spending in the family, which affects greatly the way advertisers reach their audience.

In an interview with Tech Journal South, DeBroff said, “They not only control the majority of the spend in a family household, they’ve expanded their footprint. But now they’re the ones getting the cell phones, booking travel, and making what were once male-dominated purchases. They control 90 percent of the household spend.”

DeBroff also said that what moms want from brands are communication, interaction and a chance to experience their products.

In a guest post on PRNewser, she gave five tips on working with moms. Some of the tips included connecting via conversation and fostering connectivity. You can read the article in its entirety here.

We would love to hear from you mom bloggers. Why do you think mom blogs work so well and are so well received among other women, as well as the brands who are trying to reach them?

Image: SXC

Setting Up Your Blog To Work With Brands

Author:

We know that Moms “like” brands on Facebook, but how will the brands find your blog? You’ve set up your blog and now you want to start working with brands. It isn’t as simple as, “if you build it, they will come.”

I’m going to assume that you have your blog set up and you have been blogging long enough to have content on your blog. You may not have found your niche, but you should have an idea of what topics you are most passionate about.

1. About Me Page. This page is a must if you want to work with brands. Make your About Me page unique to you. Smashing Magazine has a great post with examples of unique About Me pages.

2. Contact Information. This seems obvious, but so often I find a blog I love and I want to contact the blogger and I can’t find their contact information. If you are uncomfortable putting your email on your blog, add a contact form page. Links to your Twitter and Facebook page should be included also.

3. Review and/or Brand Posts. You do not need to be working with brands to write about brands. If there is a brand you are passionate about and want to work with, then start writing about the brand in a natural way. Brands want to work with bloggers who are already passionate about their products. If you use their products, you will be able to write about why the product improves your life.

4. Media Page and/or Media Kit. You do not need to put all your stats and advertising rates on your blog, but you should make it easy for PR or brands to request the information. Here are some resources to help you write your media kit.

5. Highlight Your Top Posts. Add your top posts to your sidebar. This will help both new readers and brands find the posts that are most popular on your blog.

6. Pictures. Be sure you have lots of pictures on your blog. Pictures make your blog more interesting and fun. You want to be able to highlight brands in the best way possible and pictures can tell a great story.

7. Good Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. You may have the best content on the Internet, but if no one can find it, then it is useless. You don’t need to write for search engines, but think about what words you would use if you were looking for the information you are writing about. Research keywords before writing your posts. Good SEO can be achieved while keeping your posts interesting.

Even if you have all 7 on your blog, you will need to do some leg work. Pitch the brands yourself if they are not finding you. Attending a conference is a great way to meet up with many brands in person.

What tips do you have for finding brands to work with?

Learn About NMX

NEW TWITTER HASHTAG: #NMX

Recent Comments

Categories

Archives