Blogging 101 | Mom Spark™

My New Venture

So, after many months of planning, brainstorming, and late nights, Mom Spark has officially launched Mom Spark Media. This is my most exciting venture thus far and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!

What is Mom Spark Media?

We are not a traditional media company because we offer more services than a blogger network and outreach to brands. Our bloggers come first and because of that we not only offer brand ambassador programs, online campaigns (via blogging, social networking, video, home parties, etc.) and the like, but we offer online blogging/social networking courses and one-on-one consulting to our members. We are also in ongoing communication with our members in our MSM forum, which connects us directly to our members.

Why we charge a fee.

Our ultimate goal is to help bloggers grow their blogs and businesses. Biweekly, we will host courses that serve as “semesters” in our forum, with a new topic regarding blogging, social networking, business, and more every semester. We will provide instructional videos, written content, one-on-one consultation and bring in experts during those two weeks. It’s the cheapest college you’ll ever attend!

In addition to our courses, we also work with brands to offer our members special product review opportunities, campaigns (even paid ones), ambassador programs, sponsorships and more. Mom Spark Media offers the tools, support and opportunities for bloggers to explore their full potential. Our membership dues are $5/month (via subscription & cancel anytime) or $40/year. [Read more...]

BLOGGING 101: Custom Domain Names for Free Hosted Blogs

When I first created Mom Spark, I was using the free Blogger platform, so my blog address was http://MomSpark.blogspot.com. When I started taking myself more seriously, I wanted to simplify that url. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat right now or similar (maybe with WordPress.com) and want to officially change your blog url to a simple, custom address. I’m here to save the day! It’s not difficult to do and makes a world of difference regarding the professionalism of your blog or website. In this post, I will be provide a few tips and websites I have used to help walk me through the process of setting up a custom domain for free hosted blogs.

BLOGGER USERS

You have the easiest instructions!

Go to the Settings tab in your Dashboard.
Click on the Publishing link.
Click on “Need a domain? Buy one now!” From here you can search for your custom url. Check to see if your blog’s name is available, and if not, try to pick something that is similar, but easy to remember. (I have more suggestions below, as well) Blogger uses GoDaddy or eNom registration sites and will automatically configure the DNS (Domain Name System) and attach your new custom url to your current blog. It’s also inexpensive, starting around $10/year.

If you would like to use a registration service other then GoDaddy and eNom, or use an existing domain name, you will need to configure your DNS and CNAME manually. Blogger has step-by-step instructions on how to do this HERE.