Home Based Business Mom

Are YOU a blogger???
Are YOU attempting to be one of these women that starts writing about her daily life…and the next thing you know you’re a cyberspace superstar?? The movie studios are calling?? The publishers are calling! Good Morning America wants to interview you??

Sit down!

Grab another cup of coffee….and chill-axe.

Do you know how many blogs are out there?? Maybe a 100 million or more??

Now…I am not going to burst anyone’s bubble and tell them they can’t be the next “average mom makes it big” story.

It DOES happen.

But….seriously…100 million or more blogs are out there. How do you make yours stand out?

I think the first thing to do is not try so hard. Don’t “try” to be funny or witty or become someone you really aren’t. If you bite your toenails and really love the movie ‘Muppets in Space’- then that’s who you should be.
You’re going to come off as phony baloney if you try to be “too cute”. It’s annoying. Stop it. You are not THAT fabulous. And if you are….we’ll probably hate you anyway because we’re jealous.

Just be you.

Secondly - tell your real story. Don’t make them up. And….honestly…they should be somewhat interesting. Come on…..look at how much crap people can read on the internet. You can look up ANYTHING, at ANY TIME. What makes your story so damn interesting, entertaining…or riveting??

Most good bloggers have a way of making the most boring blah blah sound cool. So…even if you’re changing the baby’s diaper..and it stinks really bad…..don’t just say, “Boy, did baby Winnie make a stinky poo poo today.”

::YAWN::

A lot of babies made a stinky poo-poo today. You and I probably made a stinky poo-poo today. (Unless I’m on vacation - then I guarantee you…I haven’t been pooping.)

How about….”Baby Winnie needs to go in for her first colon cleansing because I think if I have to cope with one more of her potentially dangerous HazMat Craps, my retinas will melt and my nose hairs will singe - and I’ll probably have to projectile vomit. I prefer not to tinker with the roll of Linda Blair in the “Excorcist’ - but I feel like my head just might screw off if poopy has to become a significant aspect of my life. Especially when this poopy isn’t even my own.”

WARNING: I am not a professional writer. I have never been published. So take my advice with thoughtful consideration and a big ole honkin’ grain of salt. I am your friend in all this….not your enemy. And I loathe boredom. Don’t you?

Be sure to use colorful adjectives, analogies and maybe a cliche or two. But don’t get all crazy with the cliches. Seriously - they get annoying. Grab a dictionary, a thesaurus and maybe even a book of quotations…

I don’t personally use any of those things above…but I would think they might come in handy. I bet “real” writers use them all the time.

I searched the internet today and read a couple of “mom” blogs. To tell you the truth…I was bored to tears. I found my own booger more interesting. Yes…I picked my nose…but only this ONE time. I got to thinking about how the words booger and blogger are very similar words….
Then I got distracted…see….you lost me. You lost me to my own booger.
So please….I beg you to write more flamboyantly because I don’t want to have end up at a Booger Picker’s Anonymous meeting.

I WANT to meet the next “mom with a blog goes red carpet to attend the Oscars where a movie, based on a screenplay, based on her blog” is being nominated.

I WANT to KNOW this woman. Because hell…if we can’t have our own fame - it would still be cool to know someone else that IS famous. Shallow? Kinda. Have you seen the stack of celeb magazines that I read each week??

If your blog has no intentions. If YOU have no intentions of anyone really ever reading it….and it’s just a little creative outlet for you - then don’t fuss. It’s a blog to fulfill your own desires and who cares what anyone else thinks.

But if you want some attention - you want an audience….a growing audience…and some buzz. You better start writing like you want those things. Because writing about mundane housework is mundane. And writing about how your husband won’t eat last night’s leftovers might make a reader ponder Russian Roulette.

Of course there is camaraderie among us women. Especially those of us trying to make a living at home. But you better believe - most of them are hoping to score the big time with their blog. Whether it’s with traffic that pays big ad dollars, or HOLLYWOOD come-a-courtin with a big ole $money$ deal.

Erma Bombeck is a great example. Have you read her stuff?? She had a way of telling a story that made you WANT to know more. It could be the most insignificant aspect of life. But she made it damn funny. Not that you have to take a humor-istic route…..your story could be something extremely heartfelt and personal. Sharing your experience so others going through the same experience feel they are not alone. I admire those blogs as well. Many are raw and filled with emotion - those take guts.

So….
In closing…
I am excited for you. I’m excited for your blog.
We all are.
(But really I am MORE excited for you than anyone else….so when you make it big, please introduce me to Patrick Dempsey or at least send me one of those nominee goodie bags filled with all that expensive celeb-only stuff.)

And one more thing. When I read your blog tomorrow…I promise to not pick my nose if you promise to hold my attention.

Share This Blog Post Today!

Ever surf the Net and see really cool websites and think…..”I want one!”

I remember back in 1995…..whoa, my first website that I built. It was ridiculously
elementary. Looked so unprofessional. But I was SO proud. And even though it was
hideous….I was learning. Every step, every mistake was a lesson. That’s the incredible
thing about really “wanting” something. You’re willing to do the grunt work to learn “how” to do it well in order to achieve what you want.

Which brings me to one of the most asked questions I receive…

“Kelly….I want a website like MoneyMakingMommy.com - where can I get one?”

Now…I used to not smile when I got these emails. But now I do. Let me explain. Most of these emails aren’t from people wanting the same design or layout….they are wanting MY site. MY content actually. I’m not sure if they think I magically ‘bought’ MoneyMakingMommy with every single word already written on it or what!?

MoneyMakingMommy.com is a culmination of YEARS of work. So far….8 years. I bought the site from another mom back in 2001. It was much smaller and less than 2 years old. The design was completely different and there was not a lot of content. It was the domain name I really liked.

And now after FIVE re-designs and an addition of about 350 pages, scripts, search engine optimization (LEARNING search engine optimization!!!!), advertising and much more….MoneyMakingMommy.com is what it is. I made a lot of mistakes. I still do. But you better believe my hands are in there getting dirty.

I get ripped off a lot. They steal images, content, scrape my blogs…..it’s annoying. REALLY annoying. But that’s part of the whole online beast. Once you get to a certain point of success - having a intellectual property attorney on retainer is an option. And a good one. Until then, using a company like Copysentry and setting up Google alerts will help you keep tabs on who might be stealing from you. Also….become familiar with your logs. See who is sending you traffic and using bandwidth.

But…now…back to those that are longing for a site of their own.

If you’re wanting your own truly genuine and unique site - then be genuine and unique.
Stop worrying about ‘her’ site and ‘his’ site….they have this and I want that….

That is not a good plan.

Sure…getting inspiration from another site is fine. But don’t get caught up in “it’ll take me forever…” or “how can I be unique”. YOUR personality can be your uniqueness and as far as time consuming…trust me….the path has been forged for you. It’s much easier and quicker to design a site these days than back in the ice age of the internet. I was there….it sucked.

If you want to start out like I did….and just jump in by buying a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) type of web design software, then go for it. I have used Frontpage for years, many use Dreamweaver. Microsoft now has come out with Web Expressions. I was eager and willing to read everything I could on web design. That helped immensely. Desire can certainly ignite the fire to succeed.

Start writing some stories….or researching a topic. Find your writing style. Is it formal, laid back, really laid back, sarcastic, poetic?? It will feel natural to you.

Study up on SEO - you’re gonna need it. Search engine optimization will drive you bonkers. It’s a dance that takes constant fine tuning. But don’t let it keep you up at night. Algorithms change all the time and you have to learn to roll with the good and the bad. I have spent MANY a sleepless night frantic over my search engine rankings. I finally had to let it go. Now my motto is….”Add 500 fabulous new words each day to my site!!”

CONTENT IS KING. PERIOD.

You will do more for your rankings by offering something worth reading that any other “meta” trick or linking strategy.

In the end it’s not about how super slick, or cute or flashy your site it. It’s about people really wanting to
read what YOU have to say. So pick something you care about. You don’t have to be the absolute premier, super big noggin, oh my gosh expert on it - just CARE - really care. Others in the world are bound to care about it too. Lord knows there is an audience for everything.

Just get started.
Take that first step.
I promise….I have never looked back once and feel it was time spent worthwhile.
You will too!

Share This Blog Post Today!

Like many women out there - I have to market my home business.

I advertise both online and offline….networking with other women….and word af mouth.

But today I want to talk about specifically online advertising.

My first, obviously way to advertise online is through my own websites.

MoneyMakingMommy.com has a great direct sales directory that gets 1000’s of visitors a month. So I have my business promoted there and of course the MoneyMakingMommy message boards are a good place to post specials that I might have.

I also place my business in TheWAHMConnection.com direct sales directory as well.
A lot of exposure for little money.

Articles….
Writing articles is a good way to promote your products and business. Letting people read about how you run your business, what it takes as far as time and effort - and your income level and goals. Giving people true insight is invaluable. This also helps build rapport and bridge the gap that the internet can sometimes create since you’re not talking to someone in person.

As I said before - message boards are a great way to advertise for no cost. You just want to make sure you understand the rules of each board and that you don’t just spam boards with your ads. You’ll get banned….not a good thing!

Yahoo groups….
Create one or join one that sparks your interest.
But set your rules up front….and stick to them!!

I get so irritated with one of my WAHM yahoo groups for The WAHMConnection. Every week….same ole people, with the same ole ads…..over and over again. They never contribute any “real” info - they are just hell bent on getting THIER “specials” out. I certainly don’t mind ads - but I state clearly in the description that it’s a list to help women grow their business by offering advice, suggestions and tips. It was never meant to be a recruiting forum! Now if I get more than one ad a week from a member - it’s deleted. Plain and simple. The list now has more to offer and the real members like it much better!

Starting your own yahoo group might be a fun way to connect with others that have the same interests as you. It’s free - so doesn’t hurt to try. Just keep spam under control or your members will jump ship.

Finding low cost ad options like 2 Buck Ads can work for some. I have used it and it’s worked well for me. He has been around forever and seems genuine.

Look around for wahm sites that have GOOD exposure. A LOT….and boy, do I mean a lot of wahm sites are create every day. So if Sally Smith starts a website and slaps it on the internet tomorrow - and offers $5 for a lifetime ad - well…….who is seeing your ad? She’s not getting any traffic, she has no google page rank…..she’s not in the search engines…
So be careful of these LIFETIME ads. Ask what you’re getting for the money, their traffic and stats and research yourself where they rank in the search engines under key terms that you think your potential cusotmers are looking under.

You really need to sift through the real wahm sites and the wannabes.

Create a marketing budget and plan. Try to stick to it. Make sure you track ALL ads to find out where your dollars are being spent best. That way you can discontinue the ones that aren’t working and use that money to try something else or get more exposure or time with something that was working.

I would go into it strategically and stay on top of it. Otherwise you’re kinda shooting in the dark.

Share This Blog Post Today!