Does it Pay Being a Mom Blogger?

This blog post is brought to you by CircleBuzz – Daily Deals for Parents and Kids. Heard the buzz about the latest activity, restaurant, lessons, or camps for kids in San Diego? Need to find the best place to go for some parent-pampering or date night? CircleBuzz keep tabs on these sorts of things – and we want to share the buzz with you! See link below!

“Just how do you as a stay-at-home mom make an income from blogging?” is a question I am asked several times monthly, and it is a very legit one. Many mom bloggers share that their blogging, while once a cathartic pastime, has now evolved into a money-making venture.

A good amount of my online blogger friends (located all over the US) have remained committed to their readers, because they are banking on the increasing buy-in from the E-marketing community. Mom bloggers are not only sharing informational, evocative and inspirational posts, they are also spreading the word about products and services to the 30+ million moms who go online in the US. The mom blogging community covers a wide variety of subjects including deals, parenting, politics, travel, technology, education, local venues, automobiles and more! I have been told by some bloggers that their endeavours can be described as anywhere from “digital scrapbooking” (an LA friend called hers) to a cherished chronology of family memories, to a “blog behind our business” and even a vehicle for expanding one’s offline social circle.

Many, however, are tapping into very creative ways to generate an income. I am convinced we are going to see more of a movement that shares viable AND realistic ways to financially gain from blogging!

So, just how are bloggers cashing in? This is just one blogging mom’s (my) experience and observations:

While perks, swag and comps are a plus and affiliate programs, Google Adsense and sponsorships might be decent compensation for blogging efforts, the blog itself, in many cases, is still what is referred to as a “loss leader.” So, unless the readership is OFF the charts, blog-generated income is most likely a byproduct of one or a variety of the following efforts:

1:  selling a product (or a publication) associated with the blog

2:  providing a service to the community that can be stemmed to the blog’s mission

3:  offering consistent and measurable value by creatively driving traffic towards clients’ specific target niche

4:  leading online or offline workshops

5:  freelancing for other sites

Moms as online “trust agents” are a force to be reckoned with, and in time we are going to see many more opportunities for monetizing personal and community blogs. Blogging as a business is still a fairly new (mainstream) venture, so bloggers really need a stand-out appeal with huge buy-in and also a solid strategy if they intend to be profit-driven.

Four years ago this month I saw the acronym WAHM (work-at-home mom) and my mind started ticking….and “SDBM” became mine! As the founder, I have been successful in tapping into most of the above strategies (particularly #3) and enthusiastically applaud other bloggers who continue to devotingly provide valuable insight and content to their target niche. And we all know who the savvy consumers are (moms!!)- so eyes on the MAMA bloggers, corporate America!

From our Sponsor: Grab some fantastic deals at www.CircleBuzz.com.

Posted Feb 22, 2011 7:11 PM.

Category: Career & Networking, Guest Bloggers