“There are many ways to identify a bubble. The one I like best is to eyeball the self-importance of its participants and their tendency to congregate in cultish packs; make inflated claims about the revolutionary nature of their ideas; and assume that anyone who criticizes it “doesn’t get it.” — Heidi N. Moore, “We Have a Social Media Bubble,” New York Times
There’s an old saying about how the only people who made real money in the gold rush were the people who sold picks and axes. I’ve heard that claim bandied about by people looking at mommyblogging as a business, and though I’ve always felt there’s a little bit of truth to it, I am hesitant to dismiss the significance and business potential of building a large following online. It seems to me that, if you know what you are doing, anybody can turn a good amount of attention into a profit. It just takes a little ingenuity and talent, and for many people I think there could be a solid future in building that type of business.
That said, it’s getting harder and harder for me to not view the enthusiasm and faith in social media in general as being a reminiscent of an economic bubble. And if social media is susceptible to a bubble, then it seems to me that mommyblogging for cash is in even worse shape, what with the fact that most participants cannot continue in it longer than they have young children about whom to write.
The central argument for social media (in general) being a bubble at present concerns the ridiculously high valuation of a privately funded company that doesn’t disclose financial records (Facebook), and its trickle-down effect on other related social media start-ups that have not demonstrated any value to speak of. That venture capital can be thrown at social media companies left and right, using Facebook as a model for what social media might become, is really familiar: it’s what happened with the dot com bust in the late 1990s. Google emerged from that bubble an extremely powerful and valuable corporation, but many of the others who were strongholds back then are now gone. Who is to say the same thing won’t happen now, with Facebook at the helm and everyone else out of business?
This inevitably makes me think about mommyblogging and its monetization. There are a few entities that have proven track records when it comes to driving commerce, and there are pockets of influence where working with (I think mostly smaller) brands seems to have actually worked for all participants. But for the most part I’m wondering how long this can last — how long can sponsored posts be placed on barely trafficked blogs for pricetags in the thousands of dollars? How long will companies feel they need to pay “ambassadors” for information about what moms like, when they can just collate the information available from the thousands of blogs that are out there already? And how long, most importantly, will companies keep paying “social media consultants” to tell them how to engage with their consumers, particularly once they have figured out the landscape themselves and hired far more proficient people to serve as their in-house social media advisors?
I’ve started to think there might be a little bit too much faith in the traditional means of making money through mommyblogging — sponsored posts, brand ambassadorships, display ads, conference and event 
planning — all of these things have a short shelf life and a questionable future for people who are moving into their post-childbearing years. Are you going to be hired as a Lansinoh mom board consultant when your kids are starting to have their own children? It seems unlikely.
I think the only safe way to make a living — using social media or otherwise — is to figure out the thing that you are best at, that nobody else can do, and figure out a way to market it. And the thing about being a mother (or parent) is that it is the opposite of that — it exists as a coveted demographic precisely because nearly everyone (in some shape or form) can do it.
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Excellent points. And the quote is perfect in light of the ongoing mobbing of critics in the mommyblogger sphere. The childishness of the MB business culture is another thing I believe will contribute to bursting that bubble. No conventions tech based, media based , business based outside of MB’s consistently spends as much time hula hooping, swag rioting, or whining about how the cool kids left them out. Can you imagine ? Scoble or Kawasaki “apologizing” to a convention goer who posted about how butt hurt they were that they didn’t get face to face time with them ?
Mommybloggers, I think, made it about …I’m blogging about MY KIDS not motherhood in general. And that is showing a definite expiration date. I’m interested to see what happens 10 years from now when many of these subjects will hit 18 ..I would JACK my mom for putting a photo of me sleeping eg, on line…not to mention how not funny the kids are going to find all the sarcastic remarks or depreciating “humor” their parents put out there, forever, in the name of building a brand, or an audience or a group of donators. I just cited Amalah today as a mommyblogger who rarely/never makes a wrong move. I stick to that. She also has different income streams that do not revolve around her kids..on her personal blog she is most often using the voice of .. This is my story and I have these children NOT “here’s my kid She is the INTERNETS own”…makes a difference. I can’t even begin to think about the reactions I would have if my mental health status and details , sexual proclivities, etc were searchable on line. Mistakes have been made by these women but the full extent of damage done won’t be known for quite some time. I do not buy into “I asked my (minor) child of 8 or so if they minded and NO, they were happy and gave me PERMISSION. ” It’s ridiculous to think that an elementary school kid can make an informed decision on how many private details they are ok with being published on line, they can’t know how they will feel about it years later. It disingenuous and seems to me, to be self serving , in that, mom makes money off of this, I want to continue the focus on my child, questions have been raised , therefore the answer is to ask my minor child for permission….??? There is no other parenting situation I can think of that I would ask my kids permission about in terms of possible negative repercussions years later. I do agree with the idea of a shelf life on mommyblogging. I also believe there will be some seriously bitten asses in the future and with some of these moms? Heck, yeah, I’m going to enjoy seeing that.
Amalah also appears to like her children. Imagine that! She is also good about making herself the butt of the joke rather than making jokes at her kids’ expense. I agree with your assessment of her blog, though I had never really thought about it before.
I’ve have believed for a long time that this is, is in fact a bubble. I’m watching even the more prominent bloggers writing a LOT of sponsored entries lately. I don’t know what’s prompting them to do this, lack of advertising money, lack of ideas and the companies prompt them with their products? Whatever it is, it’s pretty clear that this mommy blogging thing is going to end for a lot of these women when there’s no more diapers and tantrums to write about. There is not the same interest in relating to mothers/parents of teenagers, because they’re not all cute anymore. Well I think they’re beautiful in a diffrent way, but I’m biased as the mother of a 13 year old.
Also it’s really rather disturbing to have a mother be called a “Mommy’ blogger when their kid is 17.
I absolutely think this is a bubble and bubbles burst eventually. And it’s strange, I was happy to write about my children, up until they hit about two, and now I’m less comfortable with it. Being called a Mummyblogger doesn’t upset me, but honestly, as my kids get older (and they’re only 2.5 and almost 5 now) I feel less and less like a Mummyblogger. Instead I write things and my children are part of that, but they’re not the whole story.
Does that make sense?
One of the reasons I started a different kind of blog instead of a mommyblog is that I knew there would be a very short shelf life. My oldest is almost six now, and she’s already at the point where I would have had to stop blogging about her. It’s a temp job…which is fine, but if you want a temp job, there are way better-paying ones than this.
That quote from the New York Times is brilliant.
Is it sad that I’m gleefully hoping the bubble bursts?
There are some savy women who looked at blogging as a platform to becoming something more–and they ran with it. They worked it like a business and I really don’t see them as “bloggers” anymore. I mean, when your site runs mostly on guest posts, confessionals, and message boards–it’s not a blog. It’s a website. It’s a BRAND. And…good for them.
But on Twitter, I’m running into so many new (post 2009) mommy bloggers that aren’t in it to write, or connect with other moms, or find a “community”. They want income. They want their site to take off and let them stay home with Jr. They want a free car from Ford, sponsors for conferences, $5,000 per month ad revenue from their side bar, and a slot on the Today Show.
I want to shake them and tell them that if they aren’t big RIGHT NOW, the ship has sailed. How many parenting experts does the media need? Or tongue-in-cheek Erma Bombecks? Or Martha Stewarts?
When mommy blogs die, either from some new form of internet media cropping up or our generation of young moms growing up and moving on, it will be interesting to see where the Top 50 Bloggers end up. Working for Ford? The Bump? Babble? Selling their sites and retiring?
Somehow, I don’t see Grandmommy Blogging becoming a big hit.
You know, I don’t know that it’s accurate to say that they won’t ever be big, but I do think it’s accurate to say that even if you do get big you need to diversify because at some point nobody is going to care what you have to say about breast pumps, because you’re in menopause.
So, I’d say FOR SURE, but I would also say that I called this bubble in 2005, and instead of bursting THEN, it got BIGGER. So, it’s obvious how much *I* know.
It’s funny, I get a LOT of work from my blog. A LOT. But it’s rarely the kind that most people would expect — I get the same kind of work I’ve always done, but more of it. But it’s all behind the scenes writing and editing, and it’s nothing that really anyone would EXPECT me to get through a blog. It’s old-school traditional stuff, not new media stuff.
I will say, too, that I work as a PR/social media consultant, but I don’t advertise on my blog (this isn’t on purpose, just that I haven’t had to). Like everything else I do, I earned it through non-blogging means — as in, I actually was an agency/corporate PR flak for 10+ years, a journalist for four, and a blogger for eight. The stuff that makes me qualified, though, and why I get hired? The first two, not the last. Well, and the vast network I built doing those two things, too.
I’m exhausted — exhausted! — at the lack of professionalism displayed by many “professional” hack consultants and bloggers. I am FRUSTRATED, because it does reflect poorly on the medium as a whole, and I DO get flack from clients and acquaintances because of the crap they pull. On the flip side, though, I should hope that they keep it up, because when this bubble does burst, they won’t be the ones people want to work with.
I was blogging and working long before the bubble grew, and I’ll still be here after it bursts. ::shrug::
Yeah, and you’re talking about using blogging in the most lucrative way possible for nearly everyone — as a marketing tool for your skill set. That aspect to it, I don’t consider a bubble. I consider that to be something that will have lasting value. It’s like when you hire somebody to do work for you, you feel better if it’s somebody you “know” or feel like you “know.” Or who has done good work for somebody else you know. Blogging helps you get your name out there for opportunities, even when you don’t write on the particular topic at hand. That’s the way most people will use it in the long term I think. But this attending PR events and just posting a picture of the movie premiere crap? I don’t think that’s of value to anyone, except *maybe* on a blog that nearly never does it and has very, very high traffic. And even that has a shelf life that corresponds to the age of children (usually).
Excellent analysis
I find this especially interesting in light of the reveal today of what Catherine “Her Bad Mother” was hired to do over at Babble. They’ve created a new site about the business side of blogging called Mom Crunch http://blogs.babble.com/momcrunch/.
Yes, what a clever and original idea.
Anna, I would love to read your take on the new site, given that you have been at the forefront of the blog analysis business.
Well, I mean there’s always room for more analysis on this stuff, and there IS material that could be shared that would be valuable. However, I haven’t seen stuff like that yet in the few posts that have appeared. One of the reasons people like this site is that they can give me information on how much money they are making and I publish it here, without names, and nobody has any idea who I’m talking about, they just know general page views/stats and how that translates into money. I would be interested to see what the woman who used to work at Edelman (@foodmomiac) has to say, I think she might have access to more information than nearly anybody else. But will she share it? I don’t know — it seems like it would be against her best interest to do so.
It doesn’t bother me that the site exists. The posing and pretense that nothing like this has ever existed before, even within this “community” does annoy me. Even if you don’t want to read here, there are two other sites devoted exclusively to the business of mom blogging. And I was crucified for writing about this very topic within last two weeks. That is a little bit much to take, but what is new?
My thoughts EXACTLY. I guess that brand isn’t about original content. EVER.
The new site doesn’t seem to be analyzing the business side of blogging at all. So far we’ve gotten an essay on why you shouldn’t blog through your divorce, how to not overdo it on the conference circuit, how to eliminate distractions to focus on your blog, etc. So far it doesn’t appear to be anything you haven’t read somewhere else already. What people who have been consistently blogging want to know is how do I make money at this? How do I pitch a company, show me a sample of what my pitch should look like. How much should I charge for a sponsored post and give me numbers. Show me a good example of a media kit, etc. At least, that’s what I would assume. This blog is heavy on the analytical. MomCrunch seems pretty light so far.
Yes, they want numbers, and they want to know exactly how to go out and get deals. I don’t know if everyone is willing to write on that topic in specifics. If they do, then it might be interesting. But Babble is a corporation, and I have a feeling they are not going to want to take a lot of risks on what they publish. So I’m not sure how that will work out either.
I’m not sure their primary audience is made up of people who need that kind of a site, frankly.
Great article. I think it depends on what your goal is. If you want to blog and make some money while the kids are young and then go onto something else – perfect. It is a wave and like the tech. bubble people rode the wave and then it ended. I think it was Jessica Gottlieb that said mommy bloggers need to work on getting hired if they want to really make money. I think she is right on.
Momcrunch is bland, boring and vanilla — just like the press release copy service that is ShePosts. But, their primary audience is probably people who either (a) worship people like Ali W. or (b) need these kind of 101 posts on how to use about.me. Although, using Cecily for an article about how to run a business is pretty hilarious.
While I can come up with 50 sarcastic remarks about Cecily writing a Tips on running your own business article what I REALLY think is this. It’s upsetting to see her revise her own history. It bothers me that she signs off with a sort of ..”I turned everything around and you can too !!”… conclusion when in reality her finances are better because she GOT A JOB, not because she “learned” from her business mistakes. She doesn’t mention the personal bankruptcy or reader donations (neither of which I have any problem with ) that kept them semi solvent.
The article comes off as a here’s how you do it thing, and she never did it . Dishonest and revisionist and self rationalizing . Not good for her, not good for anyone thinking of starting an online biz who doesn’t know her history. I have no idea where the several “years experience of PR and marketing ” references come from either. Vet tech, book store clerk and co- ordinating poetry readings do not equal marketing experience. It’s sad and not as ethical as I prefer my business analysis sources to be.
Not being a Mommyblogger–can you tell from the name of my blog?!–I’ve been shut out of much of the monetizing hoohah until recently. So for the past four plus years (I had ByJane before that), I’ve just been doin’ my thang as a writer. Until recently–when the marketers started reading the research that the babyboomers have the most discretionary income and have come calling. It’s gratifying, yes, but the best part of blogging is getting to write what I want when I want and having people read it. I was a journalist before I started blogging, and when the bubble bursts, I’ll still be a journalist.
I do tend to agree.
I think that when mom blogging does wander into the world of $ it has to be viewed as a learning experience. That what you can get from it is ideas on how to expand yourself career wise for future ‘real’ work.
I also feel that the write for free or write for stuff boat is sailing as more moms do want $. And to a point rightly so…we have been courted as the juggernauts of online branding and now moms want something in return for that that is more than free samples of cleaning products.
BUT….until the marketing world evolves to deal better with social media in general…this won’t happen.
The make big money from ads world died years ago.
Make big money from sponsored posts will just end up losing readers (I think) UNLESS it is handled in a way that doesn’t have PR agencies bullying people on what to exactly write.
Australia seems to be at the beginning of the bubble, it’ll be interesting to see if we can learn from some of this. I’ve personally just had a break and have decided not to put more effort into blog promotion. I won’t put less, but there is no point in getting bigger for the sake of getting bigger.
Instead, my blog is now my archive and resume. The people who can pay me enough to turn this into a career aren’t going to find me through the blogosphere, I’m writing proposals to them. So I don’t need an enormous audience, I need the proven track record and credibility the blog has given me.
I agree, most people need to find unique talents or something they can do off-blog, I can’t see how pure blogging can sustain the lifestyle to which I would like to become accustomed.
The idea that a new person can create an empire with pictures of their toddler eating spaghetti is so 2003. That does not make my blog worthless, however-it’s a jumping-off spot. A thousand page resume, so to speak. But I agree–the opportunities are not going to come knocking at our door. Unless we define success as a new CD of infant lullabies that, in turn, requires a sponsored post.
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