Mommy Blogging 101

One weekend in the sixth month of my first pregnancy, I spent an entire weekend scrap-booking my soon-to-be-born child’s baby book. Despite a bulging belly and the need to get up and visit the ladies room every 12.4 minutes, I spent hours that weekend cutting and pasting, creating a beautiful work of art waiting to be filled with such important statistics of when baby slept through the night and the exact time and date of his first attempts of rolling over. Then that little baby arrived. I quickly realized I was doing good to get a shower each week. That beautifully scraped baby book collected dust on the shelf as I attempted to survive motherhood. The baby did roll over and he did (finally) sleep through the night. However, such events were recorded well after they happened. I realized I was simply too busy living motherhood to actually be able to record it. That is, until I started blogging. When my firstborn was three months old a friend said something about her blog. I smiled, not really knowing what a blog was. After our lunch date, I quickly went home and googled “What is a blog and how do I get one?”. I quickly discovered that mommies everywhere were banging out posts on their home computers about such important topics as Jr.’s first steps and Little Susie’s midnight feedings. Reading the tales of other moms, deep in the same  parenting trenches with me, was soothing to my first-time mother’s soul. Then I decided to join them. That cute baby book I spent hours crafting sat abandoned on the shelf while I published post after post about all the highs and lows of being a mom. Starting a mommy blog is a relatively easy process, one that most likely can be done start to finish during a productive nap time. Below are some steps that can help you create your very own Mommy blog.

1. Find a voice. Mommy blogs do not merely discuss the ins and outs of diapering a child and feeding a family. Mommy bloggers cover a variety of topics from parenting to saving money to political issues. In order to establish a blog others want to read (readership is one of the goals of a blog), one must first decide the voice that will be used. Draft a few blog posts, attempting to focus the writing on topics or subjects of personal interest.
2. Select a blog hosting site. The Internet is crawling with a variety of sites that will host a blog, many free of charge. Blogger and WordPress are two of the most popular and user-friendly blog providers. Examining a detailed comparison chart of these two hosts can aide in deciding between the two.
3. Choose a name. Give the name of a blog careful consideration. Before simply deciding on “Jo’s Journal” attempt to think of a creative title that will prick the curiosity of potential readers, wanting them to   peruse the content of the blog.
4. Consider design. Blogs come in a variety of designs, from simple free templates to expensive intricate designs. Take time to contemplate the look desired before jumping in feet first to a blog design. Remember that others will be reading the blog and attempt to make the site user-friendly and pleasing to the eye. The best thing about blog designs is that there is an array of possibilities, meaning that everyone can find something to match their personal taste.
5. Write…then write some more. The best way to enhance one’s writing abilities is to practice. Establish a goal for the blog, attempting to generate a particular number of posts each week. Although such an exercise, as with any exercise, can be difficult at first, it will eventually become easier with time.
6. Promote the blog. As mentioned earlier, one of the reasons for penning a blog is to gain readership and experience feedback via comments. List the blog at specific  blog directories that match the content, leave comments on other blogs and tweet about recent posts.

Almost nine hundred posts and 4.5 years later, I am still blogging. And that cutely crafted baby book is still sitting on a bookshelf in my house, waiting for the day that I fill its pages. Do you have a mommy blog? Leave a comment telling why you choose to blog and a link to your site.