Social Media Column: Mommas’ blogs are big business

Published in the September 11, 2012 issue of The Edmonton Sun.

Linda’s social media column can be found every Tuesday in the Edmonton Sun.

Mommas’ blogs are big business

Jennifer Schaefer works full-time, is a mother of two young girls, and also writes a blog – called City and Baby – which features posts highlighting activities that families can do with their kids in Edmonton.

Schaefer is a ‘mommy blogger’: moms who not only work, take care of their children, and manage a household, but also find time to write about those topics and more for a hungry online audience to digest.

“Moms are big business,” Schaefer says. “Just ask any major consumer packaged goods company, vehicle manufacturers, retailers.”

“Businesses are looking to connect with moms,” says Josline Stefanick with local mother’s networking group Modern Mama.

Companies now, more than ever, are reaching out to mom bloggers with free products or event tickets, hoping to cash in on the mommy blog review that could generate them more business and help them reach more people. Some moms earn a living solely through their blog – while others can make some decent extra income along with their traditional full-time work.

Edmonton mom bloggers are no exception – and many like Schaefer have seen a lot of success through their blogs – so much so that Modern Mama is putting on an event next week that features some of those successful local writers.

The Sept. 19 ‘Mama Blogs’ event is meant to help Edmonton moms thinking of blogging get started and also help current mom bloggers gain more success.

“What we wanted to do is take those moms in our local community who are these huge bloggers and say ‘hey, come share your story with our moms,’” Stefanick says.

Those huge local bloggers include Schaefer (@cityandbaby), Tanis Miller (@redneckmommy), Felicia Dewar (@feliciadewar) and Jennifer Banks (@JenBanksYEG).

Schaefer was voted Alberta’s Best Mama Blogger last year. Miller has been featured on CNN. Dewar is behind a huge Western Canada blogging conference and Banks has most recently been in the news for her efforts spreading kindness through @MakeJensDay (which I covered in a previous column).

All of these superstar moms have built loyal followings and have made great connections with other mothers through their blogs. They have great stories and tips to share, and there are many local moms eager to soak up the valuable information.

Tickets for the event are nearly sold out – as expected. The popular panelists are a huge draw and there hasn’t been a blogging event quite like this in Edmonton before – specifically targeting mothers.

“The one piece of advice I want to share is to ‘just start writing’. The first post doesn’t have to be perfect. Just write it and post it. Then, write and post another one,” Schaefer says.

Modern Mama plans on making Mama Blogs an annual event.

To see if you can still get a ticket, head to www.modernmama.com/events or follow @modern_mama and @townandbaby.

Some Tweets of the Week:

@mechanate: A whole weekend of possibilities in #yeg, garnished with an opportunity and served with a tall pint.

@schmip: Random stranger saw I was 9 months pregnant and asked if she could lift my Ikea purchase into my car for me!! #yeg #payitforward #thanks

@Cleo2atra: Writing at @secondcup on #Whyte, listening to @alyandfila. Life’s better today. Everyone else around me seems to be working too. #nerds #yeg

@FishboiLiam: Construction logic: It’s September… START ALL THE PROJECTS. #yeg

@andrealauder: Another gorgeous morning in #yeg – we’re spoiled with these sunrises. Love my #yegbike commute to work.

Click here to read the column on the Edmonton Sun website!

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