10 Reasons You Should Become a Mommy Blogger (and 6 You Shouldn’t)

People “stay-at-home” for many reasons, rarely it’s specifically to become a mommy blogger. For example, I lost my job and it turned into a blessing in disguise when I couldn’t immediately find a job that paid anywhere near as much. Often people find themselves staying at home due to financial reasons, child development needs, they simply want to, or even societal pressure. Whatever your personal reason for doing so, be proud of it. It doesn’t make you any less (or MORE!) of a person than someone who works outside the home. BEING A STAY AT HOME MOM IS A JOB.

Let me say it one more time for the people in the back: BEING A STAY AT HOME MOM IS A JOB. 

Now that the obvious has been stated, let’s get on to the good stuff.

When I lost my job, starting a blog was a no brainer. I had developed a unique set of skills and I wanted to share them with the world. I planned for this to be more of a portfolio site to support me in my job search but one thing led to another and here I am, a full-time “mommy blogger”. And I couldn’t be happier! That isn’t why you’re here though.

You’re wondering, “why the heck should I be blogging”?

What is a mommy blogger:

A blog is this unique little corner of the internet that is all yours. You can basically do anything you want with it. You can use any template you desire to customize the look of the site. You can talk about any topic you wish and you can update as often or as little as you want. A mommy blog can be interpreted in any number of ways. You could be a mommy blogging about mommy topics, a mommy blogging about blogging topics, an individual blogging about mommy topics, a mommy blogging about other topics…etc. You get the point. The mommy blogger category is massive. For example, I focus on personal development in an intentional and holistic fashion from a mommy perspective to other mommies. 

Oh, did I also mention you can potentially make money from it?

Why should a stay-at-home mom blog?

First of all, why not? Let’s look at some super good reasons for you to dust off your writing skills.

1 | Freedom – Writing is a sense of freedom! You can blog about literally anything you want. Motherhood? Huge market! Hairstyling? Yup! Dessert recipes? Count me as a subscriber! Can’t decide? Lifestyle is massive! From broad to niche markets, there is literally something for everyone. Don’t worry there is no such thing as too saturated. 

2 | Improve Your Skills – Blogging actually looks great on a resume, so if you’re ever in the job market, you can always mention your blog. Blogging requires self-discipline and commitment. Depending on what and how you’re blogging, it also requires writing, editing, marketing, photography, bookkeeping, being an influencer, and potentially a myriad of other skills! You may even have to learn how to code a website, work with brands, become a SEO professional, or how to use power tools! Wherever your interest lies, there are skills to be learned!

3 | Hello Money – Speaking of all those awesome skills you’re acquiring and sharpening… Are you particularly good at any one of them? How about offering it as a service? Or coaching others on it? Perhaps building a course or workshop around it? Maybe ebooks or branded products?

You could also simply advertise other companies using advertising networks, affiliates, and sponsorships! The possibilities for making money are endless!

4 | Sense of Identity – Blogging provides a sense of identity. Find 15 articles on the same topic by different authors and they all will have their own approach. Their own histories and experiences help to shape the way they approach whatever it is they are writing about. It’s an amazing thing to see and it is the reason there is room for all in the blogging world. The more you write, the more your identity shines through. Blogging isn’t just “another job” – it’s self-employment (IE: YOU are the boss so you get to make the rules) and more importantly, it’s an art form! Writing is a great way of “finding yourself” in this world and blogging is no different!

5 | Sense of camaraderie – My corporate background is employee engagement, so I’m all about engaging with others. The blogging world is tough but it’s also very supportive. A quick search on Facebook groups will show you HUNDREDS of groups dedicated to bloggers helping other bloggers. It’s a beautiful world to be a part of. And if you niche down, you’ll find more specific groups that will connect you with people you can chat with, bounce ideas off of, vent with, ask questions to, collaborate with, and connect with on a deeper level because you have a shared interest [IE: whatever you blog about].   

6 | Giving Back – Call me crazy here but I feel like blogging is a way of giving back to the community. You are sharing what you know, your best practices, your approach, your creative ideas, and whatever it is you blog about (for FREE!) for the world to enjoy. I’d like to think that most people give it their all and are doing so because sharing and teaching gives them a sense of purpose and meaning. It’s true I could be naive, however that’s how I approach blogging and I like to think others are the same!

7 | Changing Lives – Speaking of giving back, that’s the best way to choose what to blog about – what can you “give” to the world? How can you change lives? How can you inspire someone to be better, do better, see better? What special aptitude do you possess that you could teach someone? What beautiful thing do you create that you can bring to an audience? Your blog becomes a tool of influence. It’s important to understand this early on, long before you have an audience, so you can use it appropriately and correctly!

8 | Connections – I’ve touched on this in a couple of other bullets but I feel it’s important enough to call out on its own: blogging can be used to build connections with other people. It could be to used to build friendships with others in the blogging community, with professionals in your industry, or with your family as you travel the world. You could even share stories about your children as they grow with family members who live far away!

9 | Start a Brand – Starting a blog doesn’t immediately require a brand. However, as you grow and scale it may require you to set one up. Who hasn’t dreamt of starting a company at one point in their lives? Something you can call your own? Something you can put your name on proudly and share with the world? Of course that opens up a whole new can of worms for you but for good reason! A brand opens incredible opportunities for you that you otherwise would have never had access to.

10 | Learning – If you love learning, then blogging is perfect for you! You get to research new and old topics to discover things and share them with the world! If you have a DIY blog you may learn how to use power tools, if you have a business blog you may learn new processes and systems, and if you have a technology blog you may learn new software. Whatever your topic there is always something new and exciting to learn about. Blogging is the perfect excuse to soak in all the knowledge you can!

Mommy blogging isn’t for the lazy

Regardless of how wonderful the above sounds, make no mistake mommy blogs are hard work, especially in the beginning. That first view might take an hour, it may take weeks, and they will slowly trickle in (if you’re doing everything you need to be) – but they also, might not. The internet is a fickle place. 

I started my first blog in 2006. It was so much fun and so easy by today’s standards. The internet was EMPTY. All I had to do was write something and I got views from Google by the hundreds daily. I was a beta tester for companies like Pinterest and StumbleUpon because I did so well. Then I completed college, got a “real” job, and left my little blog in the dust. When I started this one I thought I knew everything about blogging, yet all I heard was CRICKETS for weeks. The internet rules change DAILY. It is fast-paced and it is NOT for the lazy. 

Before you become a mommy blogger, know your goals. Are they financial? Are they emotional? Are they professional? Understanding these goals gives you a way to measure success for them. While I won’t dive into creating goals or manifesting them today, it’s important to know your broad goal so you can be honest about how much time and energy you will dedicate to a blog. That way you don’t drive yourself crazy worrying about things you shouldn’t be.

For example, if your goal is just to share stories with family – you don’t need to worry about Pinterest or vanity numbers. However, if your goal is to make a full-time income, you NEED to worry about those things. 

Why shouldn’t you become a mommy blogger

All that being said, let’s discuss some reasons why you shouldn’t become a mommy blogger!

• If you don’t have the drive or time. Blogging takes both to make it successful. If you can’t dedicate what you need to it, then the internet will reward you with zero views!
• You don’t have the finances to start one. Blogging isn’t free if you want to own your domain or be self-hosted. If you blog for sharing photos, a free website is fine. If you want to make money though, you HAVE to be self-hosted.
• You want to get rich quick. Blogging is about commitment. It’s rare bloggers make ANY money in the first three months, much less a ton of money. It’s not impossible but it’s also not likely, so be realistic with your expectations!
• If you need a fixed income. Remember how I said the rules of the internet change daily? Blogging is fickle. You can’t rely on any one source of income. Ad clicks may spike one month and drop to zero the next. You can’t count on anyone clicking each day. Sponsors may jump to work with you during a certain season and ghost you for the rest of the year. You will need to learn to budget your incoming cash and spread it out for slow months.
• You don’t feel like learning. The reality is there will always be new advancements in technology. Plugins will fail, sites will go down, code will break – you will need to learn to fix things or pay someone to do that. If you have the income, no problem! But if you’re just starting out, or short on cash, that might not be an option and you’ll need to rely on DIY to get things done. This will in turn require knowing some basic things in the technological world. In addition, depending on what you’re writing about, you may need to learn more about a specific topic. Some topics require extensive research while others require learning new tools or software!
• You hate writing. There’s no way to sugarcoat it: blogging requires a lot of writing. How much depends on what you write about. For example, a photoblog may only require a caption, while a DIY blog may only require short step-by-step descriptions, while still a business blog may require thousands of words per post. Be realistic – if you hate writing, then don’t build a blog that requires a lot of words! 

So, ready to become a mommy blogger? Stay tuned for my upcoming blogging series where I will cover:

• The Only Blogging Niches List You’ll Ever Need
• 9 Things to Do Before You Hit Publish On Your First Post and 6 Things to do After
• The Essential Bloggers Guide to Batching Blog Posts in 2020

Don’t forget to check out:

• How to Plan Blog Content When You Hate Editorial Calendars
• How Often Should You Blog? Stress-Free Blog Frequency Formula
• The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Content Planning
• Why Hashtags are Crucial to Your Blog
• 50+ Fill-In-The-Blank Blog Titles for Any Niche!