Mom blogs are immensely popular. In fact, according to the most recent data available, there are about 4.4 million mom bloggers. It’s a profitable and growing blogging space that is only going to get bigger.
Parenting, and more specifically becoming a mother is something best learned through experience. Mom blogs provide this knowledge and have been one of the most sought-after avenues of information or advice for new parents.
Mom blogs help create a community of mothers who can share their experiences and opinions. As a result, mom blogs are often a valuable resource for new parents looking for advice, help, or product recommendations.
Mom blogs are usually small business websites, so you should consider using a website builder for small businesses.
There are several reasons you might want to start a mom blog. As a parent, you may have valuable knowledge that you wish to share. Or you might simply be looking for a way to share your journey as a mother with the world. Starting a mom blog is a good idea.
Here are some top reasons to start a mom blog if you’re considering it:
- With a mom blog, you can build a valuable and vast community of interested readers, experienced mothers, to-be parents, and so on.
- A mom blog could be a place to share the lessons you learned in your journey as a mother. It’s important knowledge that could help others in their own parenting journeys.
- You can make money with your mom blog too. Some bloggers even earn a full-time income, and you can too if you take the right steps.
Technical Glossary
Here are a few important terms to keep in mind before you start your mom blog:
Blog: A blog made up of blog posts. It’s a collection of published content on the internet that you control.
Content Management System: Content management systems also referred to as CMS, help you manage and control your site.
URL: URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. These are the links in the address bar and point to a webpage.
Domain Name: Your domain name is the name of your blog. You own your domain name and it is a major part of your blog’s URL.
Hosting: Hosting refers to the service that stores your website on web servers.
WordPress: WordPress is a highly recommended and popular CMS. It is used by millions of websites and is great for both beginners and advanced bloggers.
Decide the Focus of your Mom Blog
The focus of your blog is the direction it takes and determines the type of content you create. To decide the focus of your blog you need to understand the purpose of your blog. Why are you starting your mom blog? Or what do you hope to accomplish with it?
Here are some directions for your mom blog you could consider:
Community Blog: A community mom blog brings mothers together.If this is your focus you would aim to build a community of mothers. Your content would be rich, varied, and collaboratively compiled.
Reviews: You might choose to review, rate, or rank products and services designed for mothers. This is certainly useful for new parents and can also be an opportunity for you to make money.
Recommendations: You could recommend products and services that have been useful to you in your journey as a mother. With this as your focus, you also open up opportunities to make money.
These are some of the directions your blog could take, there are of course several more you might consider. However, note that the primary purpose of your mom blog should be to help others. So, a good strategy to identify your focus is to first identify the problem you aim to solve with your blog.
Pick Your Niche
The next step to starting your mom blog is picking your niche. A niche is a specific area that you wish to target with your content. It helps you find your audience and create relevant, focused content.
The subject of motherhood is extremely broad and choosing a good niche can often be a challenge when it comes to mom blogs. However, these are some ideas that could inspire the right choice for you:
- Health and fitness for mothers
- Photography
- Recipes and diets
- Parenting tips and advice
- Earning an income as a mother
- Pregnancy
- Traveling for mothers
- DIY and crafts for mothers
- Home décor
- Fashion
- Education
- Personal finance
Remember to be as specific as you can when you pick your niche. A specific niche helps you find a targeted audience and helps you create unique content for your mom blog.
Choose a Blogging Platform
To get your blog started you need a blogging platform. A blogging platform helps you control and manage your site. It’s also what you use to post, edit, and create content. Needless, to say choosing a great blogging platform is vital.
When it comes to blogging platforms, there are both free and premium options to consider. Some of the free platforms out there include Wix and Blogger. While these platforms are certainly useful, anything free comes with its limitations.
For example, with a free platform, you’re most likely to have watermarks on every page. Your monetization options are very restricted and the features you have access to our basic. For your long-term success and especially if you plan to make money, a premium blogging platform is the best choice.
But which premium platform is the best? The most popular and most trusted is WordPress. The WordPress platform is used by millions of blogs, it powers 14.7% of the world’s top websites, has over 60% market share in the CMS market, and has been downloaded over 16 million times.
WordPress has all the features you need. It’s easy to use, simple to set up, fast, secure, and reliable. It’s the preferred choice for both beginners and advanced users so it’s probably the perfect choice for you.
Domain Name Tips
Your domain name defines the identity of your blog. In other words, its name. A great domain name is memorable, meaningful, and creative. It strengthens your brand and is a way for your readers to recognize you.
Creating a domain name is a very important part of starting your mom blog and it can often be a challenging task. Here are some domain name tips to make the process a bit easier:
The Shorter the Better
Your domain name needs to be as short as possible. Keep it to a few words and avoid turning it into a complex sentence. Your domain name needs to be easy to remember. That’s more likely to happen when your domain name is short.
Think about some of the popular blogs you know, their domain names are likely short and that’s because shorter domain names always perform better. Keep your domain name short, save the depth and detail for your content.
Stick to a .com Domain Extension
The part of your domain that immediately follows your domain name in the URL is your domain extension. The most common extension is “.com” and that is what you should stick to.
Blogging may be all about being unique, but your domain extension is one place where it’s best to stand with the crowd. Use an extension that your readers are going to be familiar with and avoid extensions that are not easily recognized. The best domain extension to use is “.com”.
Choose a Broad Domain Name
Avoid a domain name that is too specific. In a few years or even months, as your blog grows, you might want to explore different directions with your content. Do not restrict your growth with a domain name that is too narrow.
A very specific domain name could also limit your reach and prevent you from finding a wider audience. Choose a name that is relevant to your niche but that is also broad enough for your blog to expand in the future.
Do Not Use Symbols
Finding a domain name that hasn’t been already purchased can sometimes be a struggle. If the name you want is taken, do not use symbols, numbers, or hyphens as a workaround. It might seem like a creative strategy, but symbols immediately make a domain name more difficult to recall.
Remember, your domain name is a way for your readers to find you so it must be memorable. There are better strategies to use if the name you want has been purchased.
Do Not Buy a Name That is Owned
Another bad idea is buying a domain name offered on sale by the owner. If the name you want is taken, sometimes the owner might sell it for a considerably higher price. Especially as a beginner, it’s not an investment worth making. Instead, use alternate strategies to come up with a new name and use the money towards your content and site.
Use Extra Words
Adding extra words is a useful strategy to use if a domain name you want is taken. Extra words are minor additions to a domain name that could free it up while preserving the overall meaning of the name.
You could add words such as “the”, “club”, “blog”, “life”, and so on. This is a far more effective strategy than using symbols or buying an owned domain.
Creativity is the Best Tool
Much like the content, you will write, creating a domain name requires your creativity. Use synonyms if a domain name you want is taken, consider similar sounding words, and use creative strategies to build the perfect name.
For example, alliteration is a proven advantage in a domain name. Starting each word in the name with the same letter instantly makes the domain more memorable. Alliteration can also make a longer domain name easier to recall.
Do Not Overthink
There’s no denying it, creating a domain name can be a tedious and frustrating task. That being said, do not trap yourself at this stage in the process. Remember the most important part of your blog is the content.
Beginner bloggers often spend weeks to months and sometimes even close to a year trying to create a domain name. As important as it is, it’s not worth your time to spend a year at this stage. Brainstorm ideas, make a short-list, and decide your domain name as quickly as you can. Dedicate no more than a few hours or days to the task.
Use Generators If You Need to
If you’re stuck without ideas, there are plenty of online tools that could help. Use an online domain name generator tool for some inspiration and to help you find available names you could consider.
Instant Domain Search is a useful tool you could use. Simply enter keywords relevant to your niche and the tool will display available domain name options. Using these tools is completely free so don’t be afraid to use a little help if you need it.
Buy Domain and Hosting
Now that you know how you’re building your site, you need to store it securely too. That’s exactly what hosting is. A good hosting provider stores your website on its servers for as long as you need. It’s essential to choose a provider with hosting that is secure and trusted.
There are a few options you might consider but the best hosting provider especially for beginners is Bluehost. Bluehost has been the recommended hosting provider since 2003, powering over 2 million websites. They have affordable hosting plans, incredible tools, and 24/7 customer support.
Setting up your blog is no sweat at all with Bluehost. But it gets even better, your domain is completely free for the first year. Hopefully, that has convinced you that Bluehost is really among the best out there.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started with Bluehost:
Step 1: Visit the Bluehost Website
Head over to the Bluehost website at this link. Here you will see the Bluehost hosting packages.
Step 2: Choose a Plan
Bluehost has 4 shared hosting plans.
- Basic – $2.95/month
- Plus – $5.45/month
- Choice Plus – $5.45/month
- Pro – $13.95/month
For beginners and as you get your blog started, the Basic plan at just $2.95 a month is perfect. This plan includes all you need to get your site rolling. It includes 50GB SSD storage, custom themes, and 24/7 customer support.
Bluehost also allows you to set up and use a domain completely free for the first year. Considering the features and benefits, it’s the perfect plan at an affordable price.
Step 3: Choose Your Domain
After you pick a hosting plan you will be prompted to set up your domain. Here you have two options, you can create a new domain name or use a domain name that you already own.
You may also choose to skip this step and return to this page later if you need more time to finalize your domain name. Remember, for the first year your new domain name is totally free.
Step 4: Fill Out Your Information
The next page requires your information to set up your account. Fill out the necessary details such as your name, address, phone number, and so on.
Step 5: Package Details and Extras
On the following page, finalize your package details. Here you can select the duration you want your plan for. There are 3 options: 12 months, 24 months, or, 36 months. Choose the period that works best for you.
You can also add package extras here for an additional cost. Some of the extras include additional security and privacy features. As a beginner these extras are unlikely to add value to your site however, they are certainly worth considering as your blog grows.
Step 6: Your Payment Information
Next, fill out the necessary details to finalize your purchase.
Step 7: Terms and Conditions
Read the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Notice, Cancellation Policy and check the required boxes.
Step 8: Set Up Your Bluehost Account
Create a password for your Bluehost account and confirm your login details.
Step 9: Pick a Theme
Before you get started you will be prompted to choose a theme for your blog. The theme of your blog is an important factor for your success and there are several aspects to consider before making your final choice. For now, since you’re only setting up your blog, choose a free theme. Choosing and installing the perfect theme is discussed later in this guide.
Step 10: Get Started
With everything set up, you can now get started. You should now see the WordPress Admin Panel. From here, you can control every part of your site from posting new content to adjusting layouts and designs.
Explore the options and play around with the WordPress tools and features. Once your site is ready to go live, hit the button “Launch your site”.
Choose and Install a Theme for your WordPress Blog
Think about the very first thing your readers see when they land on your site. It’s not the content or any of the text. It’s the visuals, the designs, the layout, and the overall aesthetic. This first impression matters. In fact, studies show that you have a fraction of a second to make a good first impression and hook your readers. A great theme can do exactly that.
The theme of your blog determines the visual designs and layout of your site. You can have great content but unless it’s presented in an appealing way your readers are not going to stick around.
There are great themes you could use for your mom blog, both free and premium. Choosing a free theme might seem like a cost-effective choice but it’s not a good idea for your long-term success. Free themes have their limitations when it comes to features as well as functionality. Choosing a premium theme is an investment certainly worth making even for a beginner.
Here are some of the best themes for your mom blog:
SeaShell – Modern Responsive WordPress Blog Theme
The SeaShell theme is bright, modern, and highly customizable. It includes custom color options, smart categories, a variety of post format options and is fully compatible with a range of plugins.
Price: $49
Buzz – Lifestyle Blog & Magazine WordPress Theme
With their magazine-style layout options, Buzz is the perfect WordPress theme for lifestyle blogs. It includes 40 post and page layout combinations, integrated social sharing buttons, a range of menu options, and much more.
Price: $34
Carrino – An Exciting Gutenberg Blog Theme
Carrino is a vibrant and bold theme. It includes several layout styles, a variety of sidebar options, widgets, among other great features. It’s a professional, clean theme that is optimized for speed.
Price: $39
Ruki – A Captivating Personal Blog Theme
Ruki is a colorful, minimalistic theme with playful and exciting designs making it perfect for mom bloggers. There are several theme options, color options, category options, and more. Ruki has fully customizable color schemes and is optimized for performance and speed.
Price: $39
Charvi Coach & Consulting – Feminine Business WordPress Theme
Charvi is a sleek, professional, and bright theme. It’s easy to use, requires zero coding experience, and includes a range of design features and options. It is SEO optimized and highly customizable.
Price: $59
Create Essential Pages and Logo
There are three pages every blog should have. These are the essential pages: The about page, the contact page, and the privacy policy page. You’ve probably seen these pages before on other websites and it’s crucial to include them on your mom blog too. They benefit the credibility of your site and play a significant role when you monetize your blog.
The About Page
The about page is the place to tell your story. Tell your audience who you are, what drives you and why you started this blog. The about page is the personal side of your blog and reveals the person behind the content. It’s also generally the most visited page on blogs and that’s because audiences want to know who you are.
Include your name, a description of yourself, and a picture always helps too. It’s really up to you but treat it as a place to express yourself. It’s also a good idea to use this page as an opportunity to tell your readers how you are different from other bloggers out there.
You can also include links to your social profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and so on. This tells your audience that you’re always open to a conversation and eager to engage with readers.
The Contact Page
Especially as your audience grows, many of your readers might want to get in touch with you. This could be for a variety of reasons, to ask a question, provide feedback or even discuss a business opportunity. Regardless, your contact page should allow your readers to easily get in touch.
Include details such as your email address, phone number, physical address, and so on. Ensure all the details you include are updated and accurate. To make it even easier for your readers, you could include a contact form on this page. The contact page can help you make valuable connections, and it further emphasizes your approachability.
The Privacy Policy Page
This page describes how you use your audience’s information. It protects your readers in the event of a privacy breach, and it protects you from legal liability. From a legal perspective, a privacy policy page is necessary for any website. This page is also necessary to include in order to monetize your mom blog.
Create Your Logo
Another essential aspect of your website is a logo. Like your domain name, your logo to represent your brand. Great brands always have great logos too. Create a logo that is memorable and that is in some way relevant to your domain and niche.
This doesn’t mean it has to be complicated. If you can, design a logo yourself but you can also use free online tools to create great logos. When it comes to the design, the best strategy is to keep it simple but professional.
Start Blogging
Now you’re all set to start blogging. But writing your first post can often be an intimidating task. What do you write about first? To make things easier, first, create your categories.
Categories help organize the content you create. It makes navigating through your site easier and your readers can find relevant content quickly. The categories you create depend on your niche. For example, if your niche deals with fitness and health some of the categories you might consider are diets, workouts, recipes, fitness products, and so on.
Once you have a list of categories it is much easier to create your first few blog posts. Brainstorm topics under each category and plan your posts. It’s also important to brainstorm the type of posts you plan to create.
Here are some styles you could consider:
- Review posts
- Tutorial posts
- Interviews
- Lists or rankings
- In-depth articles
- News and updates
Again, the type of posts you create depends on your niche, but it is helpful to plan out the ideas you have.
As a practice, it’s a good idea to stick to a routine or schedule. The key to success as a blogger is quality and consistency. Make sure you post regularly and the best way to do that is to follow a schedule.
How to Promote Your Mom Blog
Now that you’ve gathered and published some content, it’s time to promote your mom blog. Note that, it’s best to have at least 10 to 15 published articles on your site before you start aggressively promoting your blog.
Here are some of the best ways to promote your mom blog:
Friends and Family
Share your blog with your circles of friends and family. Friends and family are probably the first people to support you in your blogging journey. Ask for feedback and get them to share your posts and articles with their networks. This is the easiest way to reach a larger audience and gain some valuable exposure.
Social Media
It shouldn’t be a surprise that social media is one of the most powerful tools you could use to promote your blog. Social media helps you connect to a large and potentially global audience that could make a substantial difference to your traffic numbers.
Share your blog on all your major social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and so on. Regularly share the content you create on these platforms and look for communities in your niche.
For example, if your niche is health and fitness for mothers, you could look for Facebook groups dedicated to that community. Engaging with these communities helps you find an interested audience and establish your brand as a credible source of information.
Share relevant snippets from your articles and new posts in these communities. Creating an active social media presence is an effective way to drive traffic to your blog. It’s also helpful to have a good social media following across platforms when you begin monetizing your content.
Forums
Join relevant forums in your niche. Members of these forums show interest in your niche, therefore they are likely to find your content interesting too. Engage with these communities, answer questions, and share links to your blog. This is also a great way to build your credibility as a mom blogger.
Guest Posting
As a new blogger, you need to get your name and brand out there. Why not use the help of other mom bloggers out there? Connect with other successful mom blogs and offer to publish content as guest posts.
Blogs that allow guest posting will most likely share your guest post content with their networks. You not only reach a larger audience but you’re also reaching a new audience. With a more diverse audience, you have an opportunity to diversify your content too allowing your blog to grow.
Dos and Don’ts
DO Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of identifying the words and phrases your audience searched for in your niche. It is an essential part of any SEO strategy, and it is something you should prioritize as you create content.
Create a list of the most popular keywords and phrases in your niche. When you create your content find ways to naturally include these words and phrases. It’s also a good idea to look at other popular mom blogs and observe how they use keywords in their content.
DO Be Unique
There may be millions of blogs out there, but a successful blog always stands apart. Especially in an area as competitive as mom blogs, it is important to be unique. Make sure your content adds value to your niche in a fresh way. Look at other mom blogs for inspiration but make sure you’re creating something different.
DO Be Authentic
Remember, the primary purpose behind mom blogs is to help others. Most of your audience likely comes to your site looking for answers so it’s vital that you provide authentic solutions.
Although you certainly can make money through your blog that should not be at the top of your priority list as you start out. Focus on creating high-quality, honest content and build authentic relationships with your readers.
DON’T Restrict Your Content
As your blog grows, a good way to keep things fresh is to diversify your content. Consider creating videos or exploring different themes, ideas, or styles in your writing. Diversifying your content keeps your readers interested in the long term and it can help you reach an even wider audience as you grow.
DON’T Stop Promoting
Promoting your blog is not a beginner’s strategy. It’s something you need to do for as long as you want your blog to exist. Never stop promoting. Use social media, find communities, and stay active on all the forums you are a part of. Your audience can always be bigger and a consistent routine of promoting your content is one of the best ways to improve your traffic.
How to Monetize your Mom Blog – 4 Ways
Once you have a good volume of traffic consistently arriving at your site you can start monetizing your content. Here are some of the best ways to monetize a mom blog:
1. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is an especially successful technique for bloggers. It doesn’t require much effort, but the rewards can be huge. It’s also an approach beginners can use because you do not need a massive audience to get started with affiliate marketing.
Sign up with an affiliate program. Then place links to their affiliate products throughout your content. Now each time your readers buy a product using your links you earn a commission. All you need to do is find a trusted and reliable affiliate program. Affiliate marketing doesn’t require too much set up and the risks are fairly low.
2. Advertising
To potentially earn even more, you could consider approaching advertisers directly. Partner with brands and sell advertising space on your blog. Reach out to advertisers who sell products that are relevant to your niche and that will interest your readers. Note that advertising is only a good idea once you’ve built significant and consistent traffic to your site. Advertisers need to see the value your blog could provide.
3. Sell Your Products
Mom blogs often create the opportunity to sell merchandise. If it is relevant to your niche, you could sell merchandise in the form of T-shirts, mugs, posters, hats, and so on. You can set up an eCommerce store on your site and sell directly to your audience.
4. eBooks
As a mother, your experience is valuable knowledge. One way to express that in a comprehensive manner is through an eBook. eBooks can be a compilation of tips, advice, guides, and personal stories. The readers you have built through your blog will most likely be interested in an eBook written by you.
Final Words
With that, you have all the tools and tips you need to start a mom blog. Your success depends on the consistency of your efforts and hard work. But if you’re a mother you’re probably already great at that. It’s a competitive space but with the right niche and a focus on quality content, you can make a noticeable and valuable contribution.
