Here's a question I've been considering: are mom bloggers sacrificing their readership to earn money - essentially turning their blogs into advertisements?
I've had a small taste of the euphoria bloggers feel when they are approached by ad agencies and brands. It's validating. It's a rite of passage. It shows you're being taken seriously. You are a brand. People want to work with you. It's flattering to be powerful.
On the other side I've seen the euphoria from brands who think they have a free or low-effort marketing channel in mom bloggers. They might flippantly underestimate the power or the effort it takes to woo this crowd. They may think they can get the bloggers to do the social media work while they reap most of the benefit.
As as blogger I get the work or just time that goes into even responding to inquiries and deciding where to put your attention. If you're a mom blogger or a woman with children, life isn't always predictable. The more you get into paid work the more you have to juggle, because there are higher expectations (some brands ask for the world).
Take Eden Fantasy's which sells adult products/toys. I find it ironic that blogs that started out being about kids and parenting have very unfamily friendly content. I'm amazed at the penetration with their blogger outreach (learn from them even if you don't affiliate with them).
Many mom blogs have an ad for this company in their sidebar embedded with a certain keyword phrase [I don't want to mention] and maybe even an endorsement/testimonial too. I checked and the company ranks #3 for that term. I think for most bloggers this is selling out. Their readers probably don't want details of their sex life. Does it really work for your audience? This blogger doesn't find the company ethical (something you should check out before engaging with any brand).
At a recent bloggers conference for Utah bloggers Tauni Everet brought up this topic. She pointed out how there is so much clutter in sidebars and so many sponsored posts that blogs are becoming more like ads. The value of the blog to readers and advertisers drop as more brands are becoming savvy to this. It's beginning to hurting readership (what made them so popular in the first place).
I'm not saying you cannot successfully review products or represent brands and still be true to yourself. Some set up blogs for that purpose (giveaway/review blogs). I try to find that balance on my other blog and tell myself never just accept something because it's "free." Free has no value for things I don't want. Free takes up my time and could turn off my readers won't care about.
What do you think - have mom bloggers sold out or do are they just becoming more savvy businesswomen?
What I'm thinking of is - are there better ways to create mutual benefit? In my next post I'll discuss creative solutions.