Blogging | Mom Spark™ - A Blog for Moms

January 1, 2012 By Mom Spark

GIVEAWAY CLOSED – Winner is Randi K.! Reviewer’s Retreat is the first conference geared specifically toward the issues and challenges faced by bloggers in the product review genre, a topic that is lacking from most conference agendas. Review bloggers, those who conduct product and resource reviews on their site, will converge to take part in sessions on a variety of topics including brand-blogger relations, website design, perfecting the pitch, statistics, photography and more. This brand-friendly conference welcomes company and agency representatives as building and strengthening…

December 8, 2011 By Mom Spark 15 Comments

When I decided to make blogging and social media a career for myself, I didn’t realize how tough it would be. Although I was an experienced business owner, having managed an online eBay store for many years and assisting my husband’s traditional media business, I was not prepared for the business side of blogging and working with brands. It was a completely different world. With eBay, managing my business was somewhat easy. It did take tons of time and labor, but was more or less…

July 10, 2011 By Mom Spark 13 Comments

Amy Bellgardt, Jyl Johnson Pattee, Rachael Hersherr - photo credit Julie Monday

We are officially in the thick of BlogHer ’11 planning. The #blogher11 Twitter stream is fluttering with activity, including questions about wardrobe, what to pack, and which parties to attend. Here at Mom Spark, we have a few BlogHer ’11 resource articles, like.. How to Prepare and What to Expect at BlogHer ’11 BlogHer ’11 Official and Unofficial Parties and Events BlogHer ’11 Community Forum (BlogHer ’11 talk, 24/7) BUT, I wanted to create a new article that just including bits of advice from those…

June 30, 2011 By Mom Spark 20 Comments

You know what I’m talking about. Those “Top 10 Bloggers” list that we try not to care about, but do. Here is why I think they are dumb. 10. They are biased. Writers of “Top 10″ lists already have their favorites and stick to those. 9. They are repackaged. Many lists are just copied/pasted from other lists. It’s an epidemic. 8. They are inaccurate. There are just too many bloggers to only choose 10 great ones. Plain and simple. 7. They create drama. Awarding…

April 8, 2011 By Mom Spark 5 Comments

Welcome to our “Dear Mom Spark” advice column. Have a question you would like featured? Simply submit your question to us and we will feature. (articles are published bi-weekly) Please feel free to submit anonymously. Dear Mom Spark, I am a new blogger. Well, I’m trying to be a new blogger anyway. The problem is that I have set up my blog all nice and pretty, chosen the catagories that I would like to write about and now I’m stuck. I can not get past the About…

March 9, 2011 By Mom Spark 8 Comments

There is nothing cooler than a comic strip about you. Fortunately for me, my friend Michael Corley creates a comic strip for Nerd Girl Central (one of my sites) three times a week. I thought you would enjoy this one.

January 25, 2011 By Mom Spark 45 Comments

I have heard the term “lurker” often in the blogging community. You know, people who read your blog but don’t leave comments or participate in conversations. You’ll see them in your blog analytics. Actually, most people who do stop by your blog are lurkers. Not to be confused with “stalkers”, of course. Lurkers are also present in forums and private communities, much to the dismay of the community owner. In most cases, lurkers will be removed from such communities as punishment for not speaking up. …