december-2009

DECEMBER 2009 | UNITED.COM
64 industry
With some sites boasting 500,000
readers a month, these bloggers have
become coveted corporate mouthpieces,
showered in everything from onesies
and granola bars to strollers and video
game consoles.
That’s not to say every mom blogger
has sold out to big business. At this
point, conservative estimates place
the number of mom and dad bloggers
in the millions—and most of them
still post about the agonies of potty
training and sleep, or lack thereof. But
it’s not so much their content as their
prospective audiences that have made
corporate America take notice. “Moms
control about 2.1 trillion dollars in
the United States,” says Maria Bailey,
whose marketing and consulting fi rm
BSM Media specializes in marketing to
mothers, “and about eighty-six percent
of all household income.”
More important, the blogs are
incredibly infl uential. “One of the
appeals for companies working with
bloggers is that it is not advertising,”
says Greg Allen, the dad behind Daddy
Types, a smart site for new fathers
that boasts just under 250,000 unique
visitors each month and eschews
paid posts. “It undercuts all the
suspiciousness about ads because it is
‘real people’ talking about ‘real things.’”
MOTHER’S LITTLE
HELPERS
A few of the
best—and most
trustworthy—
mommy blogs
COOLMOMPICS.COM
Kirsten Chase and
Liz Gumbinher bring
a witty style and
real integrity to their
posts about indie
designers.
“Initially, we were blogging because
we enjoyed the community aspect of
it and the feedback, and a lot of us
wrote to feel less alone,” says Heather
Armstrong of Dooce (a relative oldtimer,
having blogged the better part
of the last decade). With nearly a
half-million unique visitors a month,
the site carries ads from Verizon and
Starbucks and earns enough to support
Armstrong’s family. “Public relations
reps are now reaching out to women
saying ‘talk about this’ and ‘link to this,’
and the bloggers fi gure, ‘Oh, my God.
They think I’m important!’ not realizing
they are giving away free advertising,”
she says. Armstrong keeps advertising
and editorial content separate, but not
everyone colors within those careful
ethical lines.
Take Amy Clark, who launched
MomAdvice almost six years ago. At
fi rst she focused on her own family’s
techniques for “living well, on less.”
Her blog brought in a slew of readers.
That’s when Walmart came knocking.
“They want moms who live those
values,” she says of being frugal,
adding, “I only accept campaigns that
fi t with my audience.” She became one
of Walmart’s ElevenMoms—mothers
who’ve agreed to endorse Walmart and
blog on the company’s website (the
Heather Armstrong,
listed by Forbes as
one of America’s top
50 women in media,
offers unadulterated
musings on
motherhood.
Launched by Greg
Allen, a hipster
techie with an
eye for design,
DaddyTypes brings
a guy’s eye to the
world of baby goods.
number is now well above the initial 11).
Clark has also worked with Pantene,
the shampoo company, on a challenge
to see if home hair can look as good as
salon hair, and she’s a spokeswoman for
Cascade. But back on her blog, stories
are still true to her initial intent: family
life on the cheap. “I only want really
good-quality content for my readers,”
she says. “As long as you’re authentic
and you have integrity and aren’t just
out to get a freebie, your readers will
know that.”
At MommyGoggles, the FAQ page
issues requests for sponsorships,
conference invites, free family trips and
other gimmes. “I put a LOT of energy
and thought into my posts,” the author
promises corporations seeking reviews
DOOCE.COM DADDYTYPES.COM SUBURBANBLISS.COM NOTESFROMTHE
Detroit mom blogger
Melissa Summers
launched an online
frenzy when she
admitted to having
a glass of wine
during playdates.
TRENCHES.COM
Chris Jordan has
won several
awards for her blog
about her kids—all
seven of them.