Comments on: Invading the world of the Mommy blogger

By: Grant McCracken

Grant McCracken — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:03:30 +0000

Brian, my sense is some do, but many dont. hence my use of quotation marks. It has become a convenient category. Best, Grant

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:05:19 +0000

do these women really like being called “mommy” bloggers? just curious if this is an identity that they’d adopt or reject. cheers & all the best, Grant!

By: Susan A

Susan A — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:59:58 +0000

Well, at the risk of sounding obtuse, you could actually reach out to Mommy Bloggers. There are lots of them, they aren’t that hard to find.
Maybe you could comp them a book.
Radically conservative approach, almost reactionary, but it could just work. [wink]

By: Max Kalehoff

Max Kalehoff — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:49:04 +0000

You should reach out to daddy bloggers, like me: http://www.attentionmax.com/blog/2009/08/enough_mommy_bloggers_already_daddy_bloggers_debut.php

By: Patrick Pearce

Patrick Pearce — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:01:19 +0000

“Elbow deep in diaper shit is a cultural skill for workforce re-entry” Write articles along these lines and get them published on http://www.hipmama.com and the like.

By: Paula Rosch

Paula Rosch — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:45:32 +0000

Grant, I agree with Kevin. Companies that want feedback from moms (or any other busy target audience) create interactive websites to get them involved and get their opinions. Moms look for intelligent information and connections. They also look for deals (coupons!) – what’s in it for them to review, even if it IS a good read? How about a download of another publication that would be fun for them, kids, lifestyle, or any other part of their everyday lives.

By: Virginia Postrel

Virginia Postrel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:04:50 +0000

No matter whom you’re trying to reach, you need to be writing articles targeted to the specific interests of those audiences that they can then discuss, pass around, blog about, etc. Reading time is limited, and there are thousands of books crying for attention. Why should someone read yours? You need to give them a taste of your thinking, packaged in a way that intrigues them and presented in a forum they already pay attention to. This is, of course, easier said than done. Kevin’s comment provides one possible approach, though how you get an audience for this blog-like forum is the hard part.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:54:29 +0000

What Kevin said, plus many SAH Mommybloggers have children in elementary school.

Try

http://morewomen.ning.com/

“More Women provides a collective voice and resource for women whose lifestyle choices, phases in life and blogs precludes a focus on parenting.

More Women offers opportunities for members/bloggers who wish to be available to marketers, companies and organizations as guides and participants in consumer product evaluation”

By: Kevin Romo-leon

Kevin Romo-leon — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:27:32 +0000

Mr. McCracken:

I absolutely agree with your post, and how you have described the ‘modern’ woman. However, the following is my perspective that will explain why not one of your “mommy bloggers” has checked in with you.

Problem: Although the women you have researched are educated, professional, experienced, and knowledgeable – let’s not forget that they are indeed “mommies”. These women have TWO jobs – their ‘day’ job (professional career), and their ‘never-ending’ job (being a mom).

Their responsibilities as a mother are ongoing: taking Johnny and Sally to soccer practice, parent/teacher conferences, grocery shopping, laundry, and the list goes on and on.

With this in mind – the TIME investment in reading an entire book and producing a detailed review is last on their priority list. Unlike Betty Draper who has all the time in the world – a task like reading a book is more than often a luxury for them – something that they will “get around to.”

Solution: Create a ‘blog-like forum’ for this readership. You have appropriately named them mommy “bloggers” – these women love to share their ideas and opinions (us guys call it ‘gossip’). But the important thing is the way they go about it. Women choose blogging because it doesn’t take much ‘time’ – it’s quick, convenient, and allows them to share their perspective with other women who have a common interest.

My suggestion to you is to break your book up into sections or chapters – and create say weekly ‘assignments’. Have this readership ‘blog’ after each chapter – oppose to ‘reviewing’ it after its entirety.

The time investment now goes from a whole day’s worth of reading plus the time to refer back and review – to 15-20 minutes a chapter plus 10 minutes of review (30 minutes tops for their whole effort). And most importantly – the feedback that every other “mommy blogger” shares will only encourage and inspire the next mom to add to the conversation.

By adopting a blog-like forum for this particular readership – in the end, you will have a much more detailed and focused review than ever imagined. Because moms like to talk and share, and educated moms will only leverage the conversation (one interval at a time) that will offer unique insights as to how your teachings are useful to them.