By Sarah W. Caron
Hybrid Mom
In the past few months, articles in the New York Times and the Globe & Mail have generated a lot of discussion about why professional blogging moms aren't treated with the same respect as other professionals. The truth is that professional blogging moms are creating dynamic, useful websites where they showcase their skills and earn a living.
For pro-mom bloggers, blogging isn't just a hobby. It's a career choice that's garnering them loyal followers, ad revenue and leading to great opportunity beyond their corner of the web. Here's how four moms are making it happen.
Dawn Viola
Wicked Good Dinner: Food writer and recipe developer Dawn Viola started her blog Wicked Good Dinner a few years ago. "I just started blogging about what I was cooking for dinner, what was happening with (my) food allergies. It really was a diary for me ... I wasn't expecting anyone to read it," says Viola. "I realized I ought to give these people something worth reading."
On her site, Viola shares recipes, stories and cooking tips with readers. Between recipe development, writing and marketing, she estimates that she spends about 10 to 12 hours a day working. Her hard work is paying off. In March, her site had roughly 96,000 unique visitors.
Marketing: Viola has harnessed social media for her marketing including Facebook and Twitter. "With social media especially, the moment you go dark and aren't tweeting something, people forget about you," says Viola. She also reaches out to radio and television stations for coverage as well.
Money: Viola earns money from advertising on her site and through freelance writing she does. "I am definitely not making the salary I was making at Disney. (But) it is on its way to making the income where I can rely on it," says Viola.
For the ads, Viola has recently begun accepting ads through the BlogHer Ad Network. She also accepts some private ads as well. "I just started accepting ads on my blog. But as I get more, will start charging more," she says.
Carrie Rocha
Pocket Your Dollars: When Carrie Rocha found out last year that her job as Chief Operating Officer of a nonprofit was going to be eliminated, she decided to channel her energies into sharing her knowledge of saving money with others on a blog, Pocket Your Dollars. The site launched in March 2009 and within 10 days of launching, she did her first television appearance. "It's been an incredible year. I've had explosive growth," says Rocha. By the time she was laid off in January, her blogging income had eclipsed her job income.
Rocha's money saving concept was similar to blogs she read and enjoyed, but with regional appeal. "What I do is similar to other blogs that I had been reading but there was not anyone in my region of the country doing it. So there wasn't any kind of local flair or local flavor. So I sort of built off of what I had seen other people doing and built off of it.
Marketing: For marketing, Rocha deals a lot with traditional media, doing television segments and other interviews. She also promotes her blog posts on Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, she does guest posts and networks with other writers who write on similar topics.
Money: Rocha supports her family of four on her blogging income. She also does public speaking and television appearances.
Katie Goodman
goodLife 1/2eats 3/4: In the fall of 2008, Katie Goodman started her blog, goodLife 1/2eats 3/4 in order to collect her recipes in one place. "I've always loved cooking and I just thought this would be a fun way to put it all together for my family," says Goodman.
Her blogging focus began to shift when she joined Twitter and started getting to know other food bloggers. Soon, she was contributing to online and print publications including Paula Deen's website and Tablespoon.com as well. "Everything just kind of fell into place," says Goodman. These days, Goodman's food writing and photography attracts upwards of 45,000 unique visitors each month.
Marketing: Goodman uses free means of marketing her website. She promotes her photos on Food Gawker and Tastespotting, which link back to her site. Additionally, she attracts visitors to her blog posts by writing about them on Twitter and Facebook.
Money: Goodman makes some money from her blog, and additional money from the freelance writing opportunities that she's gotten as a result of it. "I probably make around $300 a month just from the ads and then I have an Amazon Store set up and that's really unpredictable," says Goodman.
Jen Murray
4tunate: Jen Murray and her husband started blogging when she was pregnant with quadruplets as a way to keep friends and family up to date on the pregnancy. After the children were born, they used it to record their experiences. "How else can two extremely sleep deprived parents remember an important milestone or funny story? I certainly wasn't going to keep four separate baby books or take the time to journal/scrapbook," says Murray.
These days, the site attracts about 45,000 unique visitors each month. "It's developed into so much more - an outlet, a community, a collection of memories, a connection to other moms, and a way to share our miracles with others. Along our journey, we have gained a loyal audience that has been a great encouragement and source of support," says Murray.
Marketing: Murray uses social media to interact with readers and also help others promote their blogs. She believes heavily into giving back to the community. "Comment and comment often - it pays off. Get involved in developing your community. Give back whenever possible," says Murray.
Money: Advertising on Murray's site generates enough of an income to offset the family's grocery bills. "But not enough to pay a mortgage," she says