7 Things Mom Bloggers Want PR People To Know

Mar 24

7 Things Mom Bloggers Want PR People To Know

by Rohit Bhargava
Category: Best Practices, Digital Influence, Influencers

Over SXSW, I had several opportunities to sit down and learn from mom bloggers what their experience has been of working with marketers. Dinner with the Walmart 11 moms, long conversations with Stacy and Rebecca from MomCentral and hallway conversations with people who are only indirectly connected with mom bloggers like Laura Mayes from Kirtsy - as well as experience in working on a few programs focused on mom bloggers for clients have all led to this post.

So, here are the top 7 things gleaned from conversations with mom bloggers that most of them really wanted PR people to know. At the end of the list is an 8th that I didn’t actually hear from anyone, but still think is valid enough to include on this list:

“Get to know me.” Mom bloggers are often sharing extremely personal things about their lives on their blogs, from helping a family member deal with a difficult illness to their own stories of juggling everything. Take the cues from their writing about whether your product or service is a good fit and when is a good time to contact them about it.

“Stop asking for free coverage.” Most mom bloggers aren’t like journalists and don’t really “cover” products or news. They do write about things they find personally interesting, and often accept products to try, so invite trial and if you want to reach a mom bloggers audience, consider actually paying for a sponsorship or advertising as a way of supporting her instead.
“Tell me who else is involved.” Often a mom blogger you are talking to may know other moms who would be interested in your efforts or could suggest even better people for your effort from their personal network. Share your list early and be flexible enough to change it.
“Remember I have kids.” It’s ironic how many marketers forget that Mom bloggers are moms first and foremost. So they can’t do that conference call with your team at 8:30am, or pick up and head off for a 3 day weekend next week to take a tour of your factory. Don’t be surprised to get a response to your email at 2am or it sometimes takes several days. Just because you’re surgically attached to your Blackberry doesn’t mean that they are too. Remember their schedule and family obligations and you’ll be much more likely to get them involved.
“Kids come in different ages.” Again, this falls into the “duh” category of marketing knowledge, but moms have kids that are different ages and often your product’s usefulness relates directly to how old a mom’s kids are. Last time I checked, toddlers don’t really eat beef jerky - so your free samples are probably not too useful.
“Don’t try to tell me what to write.” This should be obvious, but surprisingly easy to forget for some marketers. Mom bloggers, like any other bloggers, want to have their own opinions and share them. If this makes you uncomfortable, a mom blogger program may not be the best option for your product.
“Keep a relationship after your campaign.” Nothing is worse than a campaign ending and all of a sudden everyone disappears off the face of the earth. Great blogger engagement is about the relationship. Don’t let it die when your campaign ends.
BONUS TIP NOT OVERHEARD (but still valid) - “Don’t assume we want your stuff.” Some mom bloggers are just blogging for personal reasons and are not interested in marketing.
Others are very specific about who they would consider working with and you may not be on the short list. Don’t assume just because you have a great new laundry detergent and moms often have to do laundry that they would love to sample your product.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 at 8:55 am and is filed under Best Practices, Digital Influence, Influencers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

13 COMMENTS
POST A COMMENT

13 Responses to “7 Things Mom Bloggers Want PR People To Know”

mamapundit » Blog Archive » Some good advice on outreach to mothers who blog Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 10:56 am
[...] things mom bloggers want marketers to know…” Tags: Social Media [...]
links for 2009-03-24 < Chris Abraham Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
[...] 7 Things Mom Bloggers Want PR People To Know # “Get to know me.” Mom bloggers are often sharing extremely personal things about their lives on their blogs, from helping a family member deal with a difficult illness to their own stories of juggling everything. Take the cues from their writing about whether your product or service is a good fit and when is a good time to contact them about it. [...]
Angela Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Seriously your my hero now. You just listed every single thing that frustrates me on a daily basis. Care if I link this in my media kit.. seriously.
Jessica Gottlieb Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
yep. #2 is on the money.

I will never ever write a free product review for a few reasons.

1. They’re suspicious, since no one discloses anymore, I wouldn’t trust a product review.
2. it’s work, if the company has money for a publicist, they have money for me.
Leah Ingram Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Here’s what I love when someone pitches me for my blog Suddenly Frugal (not surprisingly about frugal living, but with a teen and tween daughters): When they’ve read back posts, they’ve seen the kinds of posts I do–7 ways to X, 5 tips for Y–and then they pitch me a tip sheet that I can turn around and use in a near future blog post. Or when they send me a recipe and art to accompany it, as I wrote about today. Sure, there are a lot of off-topic pitches, as I got when I was a magazine editor, but I rely on the PR world to tell me good stuff I might not know about on my own. And unlike some of the mom bloggers you mention, I DO cover stuff.

Leah
Melissa Multitasking Mama Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
I couldn’t have written those tips better myself! Thanks for taking time and shedding light on issues that frustrate some of us mom bloggers!!
Bradi Nathan Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Many mom bloggers use my site, myworkbutterfly.com as an outlet for their content. As such, we have been approached by companies who want to engage their brands in conversations with these influential bloggers. As a mom, I can understand the need to relate to a product or service. That said, we need to make sure our pitches, on behalf of the client, fits the appropriate blogger. So, well said!
Bradi, Co-Founder, MyWorkButterfly.com
Karen @ Mudpies And Mary Janes Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Great article! I really related to point number four. It’s really hard to take phone calls during “normal” business hours unless you want to hear kids screaming in the background. My business hours start after the kids go to bed at 8 p.m.
guitaroh's me2DAY Says:
March 26th, 2009 at 1:49 am
철산초속의 생각…

우리나라 와이프로거와는 좀 다른 미쿡의 맘블로거…
SmartBlog On Social Media » Blog Archive » This week’s most clicked Says:
March 27th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
[...] 7 tips for reaching out to mom bloggers [...]
Mama! « Bobby’s Blog Says:
March 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
[...] Mama! two mothers were in the kitchen the other day (this sounds like the start of a joke, but i’m afraid it ain’t), and were chatting about the happy onset of mother’s day. it got me to thinking about how each of us get on - or not, as the case may be - with our mums. and from a professional/PR angle, how then? rohit bhargava of ogilvy PR wrote a great piece on precisely this - check it out http://blog.ogilvypr.com/2009/03/7-things-mom-bloggers-want-pr-people-to-know/. [...]
Tiffany Says:
April 16th, 2009 at 1:20 am
You hit them all. I am currently working with Mr. Youth and as 1 of the ten “Faculty Moms” for Pepperidge Farm’s Fishful Thinking.

They were the first to offer me real compensation and real input. I am being treated as a partner in the initiative instead of a billboard.

Thanks for taking the time!
Bloggers Payback Says:
October 9th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Rohit, this was probably one of the most insightful articles I’ve read in ages. My mom actually started blogging not too long ago and it was really difficult for her to start because of all the things she shares on her blog. But I think this will give her some great confidence if she sees how other female bloggers are doing it. Great read, thanks!