The Momosphere And Why Companies Want To Hire YOU!

For almost twenty years, my professional career has been in Human Resources.  My world outside of the home has been recruiting, organizational development, compensation analysis, mergers and acquisitions, and I have probably managed every benefit plan humanly possible. (This means that I have a LOT of opinions on managed health care, employee benefit plans and how it is a lose/lose situation for employees and employers, but that will be left for another post!)  Yes, I have played with the big boys of Silicon Valley both in high tech and bio tech.  But for the past few years, I have kept my blogging identity pretty quiet in these circles.  At first, Silicon Valley Moms Group was just a "hobby".  It was just my "side project".  It was not meant to be shared with them.

Slowly, my clients and past employers started to learn that I was part of a "moms blog". 

They smirked.  They said, "aw, isn't that nice".  They thought it was cute that "mommies got together to write about their children.  Who would really read this except the grandparents?"  Yes, that was a direct quote.

But a funny thing has happened along the way.  "Mommy Blogging" became all the rage.  Blogging is "in" and you can bet that every company who targets women and "Mommies" are all trying to figure out how to tap into the "Momosphere". 

Yup, collision of my professional world and my hobby!

So the phone calls have been rolling in from these same clients.  Yes, the ones that smirked and laughed at this "pet project", years ago.  Believe me, they are no longer laughing.  They are now eager to know more about you, the MOMOSPHERE!!

One of these companies hired a Berkeley summer intern to create lists of every major mom blogger.  The list had over fifteen hundred mom blogs noted.  They found these bloggers through Alltops, Technorati, and going to the popular "mom sites" and copying down blogrollsl. 

Now, they ask me, "How do we tap in to these sites?  How do we reach out to these bloggers". "How do we get them to write about US?"

Another client wants to hire a mom blogger for an upcoming project.  We put together an initial list, and I sat in on a meeting as they reviewed one hundred sites.  One by one, they pulled up mom blog after mom blog on a big screen and analyzed the content. 

Silicon Valley companies, both large and small want to know what the mommy bloggers write and say.  Some like your snark.  Some squirm at the posts that talk about sex.  Some get scared when they do a search on Google and see that you mentioned their company or product.  One told me that they have a Google Alert set up on their company name.  Every time he sees an alert pop up in the box, his heart jumps a beat.  "Will we get blasted by a mommy blogger?  You know that  bloggers can be ruthless. A positive post about us is priceless.  A negative post can destroy us.  We sometime spend thousands of dollars with our PR firm doing damage control. Don't you know how viral one post can get through the internet?"

Yes, I answered... I know.   

And ladies, most of these Silicon Valley companies (and this is probably true for companies all over the world) are run by men.  Most teams reviewing your sites are men from the engineering, scientific, finance, sales, marketing and business development departments that still don't "really" understand this power, but want to be tapped in to YOU.  They both love and fear you.  Strange, isn't it?

So what does this all mean?  Well, that mom bloggers are HOT....surprise, surprise and these companies are spending time and money to recruit and hire YOU!

From my personal experiences, here are some friendly hints and insights into the world of Silicon Valley employers:

• Companies want to know about your pageviews and audience.  How many RSS feeds do you have?  Do you know anything about your audience?  Do you have a way to track your stats?  Have you put out surveys to learn more about your audience?
• Most companies that pay for post will want to leverage your audience and site to help drive traffic back to their site. Questions to think about:  Will you put up a "button" on your site about this company?  Will you help drive traffic back to the company site if they are willing to pay you?  Or, is your site "pure"... meaning, only for your personal posts about your family?
• Besides your personal site, are you willing to use social media tools to get the world out about this company? If a company will pay you to write/blog on their site, would you be willing to use social media tools (such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace...etc.), to help get the word out?  Would you be willing to put information out on community sites and forums?  (Yes, companies are starting to ask this question!)
• Consider your personal blog and/or site YOUR resume. Employers want to see your writing style and the type of content you can create, from your personal blog or site.
• Are you an "active" writer? Do you update your site regularly (at least once or twice a week!)?
• Have you been published on other sites, newspapers or magazines? Make sure you highlight this on your personal site!
• If you have not already done so, become part of collaborative blogs or communities. (No, I am not pimping SV Moms Group!).  Being part of any collaborative community shows that you can blog/post with other writers and that you work well in a group setting. It is also a great way to network or connect with other writers!
• If asked for writing samples, don't be insulted.  I know, this sounds like a "duh" answer, but a company asked for writing samples from an "A List Mom Bloggers". This blogger refused or said, "look at my site".  In the end, this incredibly talented bloggers did not get hired.
• Writing well is your best revenge!  Need I say more? 
• Companies ARE starting to pay mom bloggers.  I have heard the range of $10 a post, all the way up to $500 per post.  I know, that is a pretty large range.  From what I have heard, many Silicon Valley companies are paying approximately $50 per post.  At least the ones that I am working with.... If you know of a different pay ranges, I would love to hear from you.  (Heck, leave a comment below so all of us know!)
• Leverage one "writing gig" to get another. In my almost twenty years of working in Human Resources, I have noticed that women do not do a great job of networking and leveraging their experiences.  If you have been hired by one company, TALK about it on your site.  Believe me, this will help future employers know that you are serious about your freelance work and may contact you directly for other writing gigs. (When sitting in a meeting I saw a hiring manager ask if one mom blogger ever did freelance work.  I knew she did, but we could not find that information on her site.  She was passed over for another mom blogger, who in my opinion was not as strong as the first.  But ALL her writing samples were easily accessible on her site.
• Network, Network, Network... and highlight your site! Many companies are using grassroots efforts to find you.  They go to one site, check out their blogroll and then start clicking to other sites.  Do your best to network with other mom bloggers, and get listed on their blogrolls.  Try to increase your traffic and awareness, so you can have hire Technorati rankings.  Make sure that if you are writing on a collaborative blog, THEY list your site either in a bio or blogroll.  Basically, do what you need to get others talking about YOU! 
• Don't over (or under) sell yourself!  Many companies that look to hire mom bloggers have a very specific need.  Maybe they only want moms of large families or they maybe they only want to bring in mom bloggers with children who have special needs.  Maybe they want mom bloggers who has a large following..... whatever the need, make sure you fit that niche.  If you don't meet the requirement, don't try to sell the company that they must hire you.  Believe me, I see this happening all the time, it just starts to annoy the recruiter or hiring manager.  This is kind of like... when job seekers send out their resume to EVERY posting on Monster.com.  (garbage in, garbage out....).  Employers get fed up.  So apply if you fit the description!  If not, put your energy into finding another one. 
• Act professional.  I know, this sounds like another "duh" answer, but I have seen many people (both male and female) act irate, hostile, defensive or even like a "prima donna".  For those of you living in SV, this is a small valley.  People know people.  People talk.  I can promise you this, your reputation will follow you. With the use of the internet, employers will find out if you were difficult to work with... so, I am just saying....
• Make sure your email address or contact information is clearly noted on your blogs! PR, Marketing and Recruiting firms are all actively hiring bloggers.  Make sure they have an easy way to contact you!
• Why didn't I Get Hired?  Alright, this is kind of a tough one.  You spent a bazillion hours turning in writing samples, maybe met with the team of hiring managers, already thought about how you would be spending those freelance dollars... and then, you get passed over.  I know, it hurts.  Heck, it SUCKS!  Again, act professional, even though you may want to punch someone.  Let the company know that you appreciate the opportunity and would like to be considered for future assignments.  From my experience, this WILL go a LONG way... and crazier things have happened.  You might just get a call the next time they have another need to hire a blogger.
• I GOT THE GIG!!! If you do indeed land the writing gig, make sure you fulfill the requirements (barring a family or personal emergency).  Another point that seems like a no-brainer... Time and time again, I have seen Contractors turn into "flakes".  So if accept a writing gig, meet that commitment.  Again, your reputation will follow you... and hopefully, it will help you land project after project!

And now, I turn this over to you... the wise (mom) blogosphere to share your thoughts and experiences.

This is an original post to Silicon Valley Moms Blog.  Jill Asher is the Co-Founder of Silicon Valley Moms Group.