Mom Blogging For Dummies [Paperback]

Wendy Piersall (Author), Heather B. Armstrong (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2011 | ISBN-10: 1118038436 | ISBN-13: 978-1118038437 | Edition: 1

Ready to start your Mom blog or enhance your existing one? This book is for you!The population of mom bloggers is growing at a stunning pace and they boast an audience of more than 23 million women reading, posting, or commenting on blogs every week. This fun and friendly guide targets moms who are looking to become a savvier blogger, build a personal brand, earn free products to review or give away, or make some extra cash through ad revenue. Named by Nielsen as one of the most influential moms online, author Wendy Piersall helps you determine the right business model for your blog and then create a professional, in-demand personal brand.

• Serves as a road map for the growing population of moms who are interested in creating a blog or enhancing an existing blog
• Explains how to define a business model, understand your reader demographics, and choose the right look and feel for your blog
• Addresses delicate issues such as dealing with privacy and family members who don't want to be featured on your blog
• Walks you through using social media to extend your personal brand, building traffic with SEO and blog networks, and having a plan and policies in place when big brands and media come calling
• Offers a very unintimidating format as well as the usual fun and friendly For Dummies approach

This guide presents baby steps for breaking into the often-daunting mom blogging community, with practical advice on how to join and become an accepted member of this exciting world.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Ready to turn your blog into a business? Learn how, from a mom who did!

Ever dream of turning your blogging hobby into a business? Of course you have — that's why you picked up this book! Here's the scoop on setting up a blog, how to promote it and gain readers, what it takes to appeal to advertisers, and some really important stuff about legalities, developing a business model, and protecting your family's privacy.

• If you're just beginning — compare the pros and cons of WordPress and Blogger, establish your blog, and find your niche

• What will grab them — learn the secrets of writing blog posts that people will want to read

• Choose a business model — study the different models, find the one that fits your content and comfort zone, and put your plan in writing

• Follow the rules — know and follow ethical standards, create editorial, disclosure, and privacy policies, and stay legal

• Be brand-friendly — make it easy for brands to work with you and learn how to toot your own horn

• Ad ventures — prepare your blog for advertising, learn to price and sell ads on your blog, and explore ad networks

• Plan ahead — learn to think like an entrepreneur and lay the foundation for a range of opportunities

Open the book and find:

• Why not all mom bloggers are mommy bloggers

• Simple things that can make your blog irresistible

• The many ways your blog can make money

• How to measure your success

• Tips on becoming an expert

• Blogging ethics and etiquette

• What a blog network is and whether you want to build one

• Ten costly mistakes to avoid

• How to use your blog to get a book deal

Learn to:

• Start your blog and create the right look and feel

• Find your own unique voice and niche

• Determine the right business model for your blog

• Use your blog to sell your products and services

About the Author

Wendy Piersall has been blogging professionally for more than five years. She has written for Entrepreneur.com, been featured on NBC's Today show, and was named one of the most influential moms online by Nielson. Wendy runs the Woo! Jr. Kids Activities Network and frequently speaks at blogging conferences.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (July 26, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1118038436
• ISBN-13: 978-1118038437
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #626,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wendy Piersall has been blogging professionally for nearly 5 years and established herself as an early voice helping people build a business online via blogging. She has written for Entrepreneur.com and was featured on the Today Show as an advocate for mom owned online businesses. She transformed her personal blog into a powerful blog network, selling it to private investors soon thereafter. She was named by Nielsen as one of the 16 most influential moms online and one of the most influential small business people on Twitter by Dun & Bradstreet. Today she runs the Woo! Jr. Kids Activities Blog Network, attracting over a quarter of a million monthly visitors.

Her first book, Mom Blogging for Dummies, is being released by Wiley publishing in July 2011.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Introduction to Blogging for (Anybody) August 8, 2011

By M. Brandon Eley VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Quick disclaimer: I'm not a mom. I'm a dad, and at one time was a SAHD, and know a lot of moms who blog, both about family and children and about other topics such as business, technology and hobbies. Parents who blog about raising children, family, and other personal topics have challenges that other bloggers do not, such as privacy concerns. Wendy covers those issues in Mom Blogging for Dummies, otherwise it might just be called "Blogging for Dummies" as it has tons of information related to blogging in general.

Piersall covers everything from choosing a topic to blog about and setting up blogging software to choosing a business model and growing your blog. She really goes into detail about measuring success, including using Google Analytics and Feedburner to look at visitor and subscriber trends.

A lot of the book is dedicated to the business side of blogging as well, covering everything from working with advertisers and dealing with disclosure and government regulations, to building authority and positioning yourself as an expert so you can sell your own products or consulting services.

Not only is Mom Blogging for Dummies an excellent resource for anyone looking to build and monetize a blog, but it's written by a professional blogger with real-world experience in building, managing and selling a large blog network with multiple contributors.

If you're considering starting a blog, you should definitely check out Mom Blogging for Dummies. It's not just for moms, or dummies... it's for anyone looking to build and grow a successful blog.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mom Blogging Primer August 8, 2011

By Leslie Truex VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Some of the reviews of Mom Blogging show the how easily mothers are discounted. For many years, entrepreneurial mothers were viewed as having "little mommy businesses". The same seems to be true of mommy bloggers. Because they are moms, somehow what they say isn't important. While some people want to discount mommies, big business knows that mommies spend a lot of money and have a lot of clout. In Mom Blogging, Wendy shows you step-by-step how you can take your ideas, create a blog and make money. Besides her own story of building blogs and blog networks, you'll get tips and ideas from other mom bloggers. If you don't know about blogging, this book will show you all you need to know to get started.

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SMART! August 9, 2011

By Cecily Kellogg

Format:Paperback

Wendy Piersall is a gem in the field of mom blogging, and boy does she know her stuff. Even though I've been blogging for a long time, I found her advice to be smart and helpful and in fact reminded me of many aspects of the basics that I've been neglecting. We're lucky to have Wendy in our space, and if you blog or are considering blogging, you cannot start with a better reference guide.