Parenting blogging is a business. That’s what Type A Parent founder Kelby Carr expressed today (November 4th) at BlogWorld Los Angeles. In her session entitled “Parent Bloggers Mean Business: Building Success, Respect, Confidence and Income”, she covered some fantastic points on ways parent bloggers can step it up to the next level and be taken seriously.
She had so many insightful words to say about this industry, (And yes, blogging is an industry. Be sure and take a look at some stats from Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere Report from today.) but I want to cover just a few that stood out to me.
If you want to set yourself up as a business and be taken seriously, it all starts with earning respect. Here are five points Kelby gave on building respect as a parent blogger:
1. Have confidence.
When it comes to parent bloggers in general, Kelby said what she would like to see is “people having a healthy confidence”. Meaning, not seeing yourself as entitled, but also not having a low self-esteem.
2. Don’t obsess over the competition.
Instead of competing against other bloggers, compete against yourself. Don’t get into dragging other people down, so you can try to win.
3. Get paid for work.
This is a touchy and interesting subject among bloggers and PR companies. Do we pay bloggers and how much? Kelby said “If we work for free, it will bring down our image.”
4. Don’t be a brand groupie.
There is a fine line between networking and falling all over a brand. You don’t need to be rude, but remember it’s a business relationship. Kelby said “Don’t be a fan girl just because they’re a fortune 500 company.”
5. Behave like a professional and treat your blog like the business it is.
Spell check is your friend. A good design is your friend. Being mindful of how you act in the social space is your friend. You know the saying, “If you treat your blog like a business, it will pay like a business”.
Kelby shared many more valuable tips on parenting blogger success including strategic risk taking, reigning in your focus and some tactics for making a living at this thing we call blogging. To hear these tips and more, watch Kelby’s entire session when you purchase the BlogWorld Virtual Ticket.
What are some ways you think parent bloggers can gain respect and do better at treating their blog as a business?
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