Why Do I Blog? How do I fit it in?

I saw this topic on another mommy blog and I thought I would blog about it too.  Do you blog as a hobby, business or do you want to make a living from it?

Actually, I have had a blog since 1999.  I was blogging before I was a mommy and before mommy blogging even really came about.  Back then, it was called "Personal Blogging" and "Cam Girls" were big. (2000-2004)  Not the slutty "Cam Girls" you see now, but in the definition of teenagers who had webcams and pretty much took pictures of everything along with captions. 

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Expulsion, Termination and Compensated Blogging

Occasionally, mommy bloggers will get a bad rap for many reasons.  Some say we are too demanding, others say we should not get paid for our hobby and some even say that we neglect our children in order to either get good "material" for our blog or to spend hours on our blog.  None of which is true!  There are also mommy bloggers getting fired from their jobs or even children getting expelled from school because of innocent things bloggers are saying.  Is this a reasonable reason for expulsion or to be let go from your job?  Not unless the things being said are damaging to the children involved or something fiercely damaging to the job or employer. With some of the stories I'm hearing, parents are being penalized for writing such innocent stories about their children, about school functions or even a simple statement about their job.  To me, it's absolutely absurd!  True, there are some people who do not understand blogging or even the internet, but they are making rash decisions without even consulting with the parents or employee.  There was one story I recently heard, where a pre-school aged child was expelled for her mother venting about an ordeal she had gone through at her daughter's school.  The mother wrote nothing damaging and she did not name any names or specific places.  Blogging is for venting and is an outlet for emotion and writing how you feel.  Just as an artist paints or a musician sings or composes music.  If we can't write about how we feel and if we can't let our emotions out through our writings on our personal domains, how can we do it? 

 

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Why blogging sometimes seems like a chore.

I absolutely love blogging, don't get me wrong.  Though, this morning on Twitter I saw a tweet and blog post that I could really relate to a lot.  This kind of goes back into my blog post/article about "What Makes a Popular Mommy Blogger" because it has a lot in common with what I wrote there.

There are some smaller known bloggers (who still have a following) that are great at writing but don't get the recognition others do.  This happens no matter how hard they try or no matter what they do to bring up their readership.  Some people just can't win and I do see the discouragement in some blogs about this when I read them.  It's not like we are picky, but we just want to know why some blogs are singled out.  Is it because they make money and have tons of sponsors?  Is it because they blog multiple times a day?  It is because they tell all in their lives, even the obscene moments? (I have none, so I can't write about that. LOL)  It is discouraging and frustrating a lot of the time.  Yet we still blog.

I can tell you right now, I don't blog for the money or recognition. [As much as my complaining sounds like that!] I blog because I absolutely love to blog and because writing really makes me feel better.  Even though, sometimes I wish more people would read what I have to say; doesn't every blogger wish that?  It's the reason why we continue to improve and tweak our blogs.  This is why it feels like a chore.

Occasionally you write a post, read it over, and feel it's inadequate.  Even though it's our own feelings, our posts and writing style seems completely inadequate and not up to par with other bloggers.  We shouldn't feel like this, but the entire "blogosphere" is competitive.  It's hard to feel comfortable about our posts when we read others that get comments up the freakin' wazoo and ours get 1-6 per post.  Rewriting our posts and trying to add lines in there to make things funnier and more interesting, it's hard.  It's exhausting, it's frustrating and defintiely feels like a chore and an effort when it should be fun.  I believe this is why a lot of mommy bloggers, and bloggers in general, quit.  They feel like they've been beat and just stop trying to succeed.  That will not happen with me because I love my blog too much, but I can understand why some feel like that. 

Any thoughts?  Popular and less known bloggers welcome to form their own opinions!

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Popular Mommy Bloggers: What makes them different?

I love reading other blogs and Heather was one of the first blogs that actually inspired me to write more about my kids, my life and to become a mommy blogger.   However, I think about some of these other mommy bloggers that are considered among the most popular of the "mommy bloggerdom" (Yes, I made up a new word.  It's cool dammit!!) and I wonder just why they're so popular.  Don't get me wrong, I love some of these very popular mommy bloggers, I love to read their blogs and follow them daily, but what makes them any different than the rest of us?  They have good designs, but so do a lot of other blogs, some of the little known ones.  Sure they write well, but other blogs do as well.  Some of these very popular blogs haven't been around for too long -- how do they skyrocket to bloggy fame?  

If I said I didn't want to be amongst them, I'd be lying.  Just like in any hobby or occupation, you want to be one of the top.  Of course, being popular isn't what blogging is all about.  

I write because I love to.

I write because I have the inspiration and love the outlet.

I write because I love to share things with others. 

If no one followed my blog, I probably would still write because it's like therapy for me, but of course you want people to read and acknowledge your hard work.  Most bloggers spend a good amount of their free time (and kids naptimes!) working on their blogs, writing posts and doing what they love. In my experience, blogs can take anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours to write well.  (And that is with much proofreading and revisions too!!)  I'm probably just rambling on and on, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

No way am I even near the ranks of those popular mom bloggers, but I was thinking about and trying to analyze just why they were so popular.  I found a post somewhere on the internet with the ranking of the top mommy bloggers and went through the sites trying to compare and contrast.  Of course, I did see some vast differences from smaller known blogs, but nothing that they couldn't improve on.  Basically, these are the things I have found:

Regular Blog Posts - You don't have to blog daily, but blogging 2-3 times a week to keep your readers interested and engaged is a very important thing.  It's important if you're one of the more popular bloggers or just a little blog starting up.  You want to have something to grip your readers and pull them in.  Posting about your day, your newest recipe and pictures of your totally adorable food covered child is good in moderation, but you also have to have posts to make people think or to start a conversation.  Investing time into your writing whether it's during naptime or well into the night is important.  Not all the time, but whenever you have the inspiration.

I have a notebook near my bed and a small notebook in my purse.  (I also use my phone's memo pad sometimes) When I have inspiration, I write down a topic in those notebooks.  Sometimes, in the notebook near my bed, I'll just write out an entire post.  This happens a lot if I wake up in the middle of the night and just think of something. (And I'm too lazy to actually get up and write it on my computer.)  There are days I just sit down and write saved drafts of all the posts I write in my notebook.  It makes it so much easier for me to just schedule a post when I have a block.  Though, I've been writing for many years and I really have bursts of inspiration at the most random moments.  I would suggest this to anyone who may be the same way. 

Networking - I'm not going to say spam other blogs with comments such as "follow meeeeeee!!!!" ha!  That's just wrong and it won't get ANY blogger to like you. :)  They may actually 'blacklist' you if you do that. ;)  I'm saying that if you read other blogs and like a post, comment and tell them how ingenious it was, or share your thoughts on the blog, share your opinions.  Bloggers put themselves out there and almost always love to hear your constructive criticism or opinions on what they're writing.  Feedback is good.  Who knows, that blogger may actually like to visit blogs that comment on theirs and they may like yours as well.  From there maybe they would share a post, tweet a post, facebook a post or add you to their blogroll.  From there it's like a domino effect.  I always love to visit blogs on another blog I like.  I'm one who checks their blogroll to see if I can find new and great blogs to read.  Networking is a huge part as well.  

I know there are people who think that PR and "giveaways" is a way to gain popularity and I guess in a way it can be... but I don't think that's anything to really focus on.  For myself, I do giveaways and reviews because if a company contacts me and I like what they have to offer, I take them up on it.  I find it as an honor to review and promote their products or services.  Of course giveaways do gain attention through word of mouth, but in order to KEEP those readers, you have to have something of substance on your blog.

Honestly, I think this is just the beginning for the Mommy Blogger world.  There are so many more companies and media outlets that are just getting wind of this.  There are companies and media outlets that are realizing just how effective mommy blogging is and how good of a promotional tool it is as well.  As I may be contradicting myself now, I feel that there will be a huge climax for mommy blogging and a lot more attention in the future.  Of course, it's really luck and being in the right place at the right time to even get noticed by any of these outlets, but who knows.  Maybe one of the underdogs will get recognition!  

Remember -- While there are bloggers who make a living off their blogs (few and far between!!) most bloggers do it because they love to.  I write because I love to.  It's a hobby, not a career.  Who knows what the future will hold, but for right now we have to keep on doing what we love.  Keep on writing, Keep on networking and keep on promoting ourselves. 

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Don't bother mommy...

 Photo credit by seo.com

When I found this article today (Honey, Don’t Bother Mommy. I’m Too Busy Building My Brand) I thought maybe I was the only one very offended by the title.  Thank God, I'm not.  Blair (Of Heir to Blair) feels exactly the same way that I do.  The title is very degrading and very misleading.  I guess it's also stereotypical.  There are many people, obviously, who think that Mommy Bloggers sit glued to their computers night and day shooting e-mails to companies, commenting on other blogs, waiting for comments on theirs, twittering, facebooking, etc...  Those same people probably also think that we dessert our kids while sitting there at the computer going about our bloggy business.  That is very untrue about most of us. (I will not speak for all, because I don't know what others do.)  

Honey, don't bother mommy. I'm too busy building my brand... I guess this author, Jennifer Mendelson, feels that we mommy bloggers sit on our lazy butts all day while our husbands, boyfriends or wait...even better....nannies watch our kids.  (What a laugh!! And like we can afford nannies!)  The way she puts it actually makes it sound like we're self centered little bitches to our children.  As if our blogs and building our readership are SO much more important than our own flesh and blood...

Personally, I have two kids.  I have a 2 and a 4 year old.  They are my life first and foremost.  I put my children before my blog and before my internet life at all times.  I mostly go online before they wake up, if they're napping and when they go to bed.  If they wake up while I'm blogging, of course I'll put that on the backburner and go to my children.  They know that if I am on my computer, they can always come to me and I will always stop what I am doing and help them.  Especially being a single mommy blogger, sometimes we get even more of a bad rap than the married mommy bloggers.  I have been asked (by offline friends!) what my kids do when I'm blogging and on the computer.  They just assume that I am always on there.   

(Not stated in this article, but still something that bothers me) I have read many a time that mommy bloggers get the benefit of sitting in front of their computers all day and writing about their children's boogers, diaper changes and "whoring" themselves to companies for compensation and sponsorship... Yes, I have heard that from people that are unknowledgable about mommy blogging and read it as well.  That couldn't be farther from the truth.  Compensation? Ha!  Like I'm making a living and can support my family off my blog.  It would be nice, maybe a dream someday, but not reality.

Even though we face the criticism for what we do, we take lemons and make them into lemonade.  We fly our mommy blogger titles proudly, at least I know I do!  A lot of what that article says is true because mommy bloggers are very devoted to what they do, it is just the title that is misleading and very very offensive.  As some mommies do make  money off their blog and are able to quit their day jobs, (I'm not naming names) most mommy bloggers just have their sites as a hobby.  Of course we take it seriously, even though it is a hobby.  

I would love to attend a Bloggy Bootcamp session one day -- But I digress!! 

(Rock on SITS!! I'm a proud SITS girl. :)

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