Our Mommyhood

There is no denying that Facebook is a major player in the social media marketing strategy. Additionally, social media marketing is one of the strongest marketing strategies in Internet marketing. However, many business owners cannot seem to grasp how they can market their company and product on Facebook. The one absolute thing that small business [...]

Mompreneurs are the world’s new superwomen. If you’re a mom starting your own business, you probably feel like you do it all between running the errands, keeping up the house, interacting with your kids, and, of course, keeping up with your business. Sometimes, it’s difficult for mompreneurs to use social media tools like Twitter simply because they feel they don’t have time; other mompreneurs end up getting sucked into the feeling of connectedness they get from social media, and they let it dominate their time way too much!

Blogg-ing – Defined as the act of blogging? Consistency

I don’t think I’m alone when I say that of the blogs I love, I never, ever miss a post of those that post on a regular consistent basis. I read so much about how crucial it is to blog X amount of times per week, or that more people are more likely to read if you post on Thursday instead of Tuesday, etc. But what I think we should be focusing on is the consistency. I don’t really care so much if you blog once a week or three times a week, as long as I know which day/days that it’s going to come live. There are countless blogs that I love,

With Facebook as the ultimate social media hub with the most devoted users out there, it’s a no-brainer to advertise on such a platform. The site is a honey pot for marketers to successfully promote their products. Just because Facebook is perfect for targeted messages to their markets, doesn’t mean throwing up ads or a business page is pretty much money in the bank. It’s a lot more than that! Here are some marketing tips to get your products and services out there on the largest social media network

There’s nothing worse than working all day in front of your computer only to walk away with a terrible headache and red, achy eyes. If this is what’s happening to you after spending long hours at your computer, you may be experiencing eyestrain. A study by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health discovered [...]

With the current down economy, women have found themselves in long unemployment lines – and are still generally offered far fewer positions than their male counterparts. As companies have downsized or even bankrupted many workers have been left “out in the cold.” Though you may have always been a survivor, undaunted by changing jobs, raising babies and “making do,” times have changed—and if you’re not flexible and diligent you could be headed for desperate times.

When most of us made the decision to become a stay-at-home mom, we definitely didn’t expect to have to “work” as well. After all, a mom’s job is never easy and a stay-at-home mom is the busiest of all—aside from the immense job of caring for the children, their needs, education, transportation and illnesses, there’s cooking and laundry, paying the bills, etc.

Are you one of the bloggers who weren’t able to attend Blogher 2011? I am and I HATE it! Conferences are so much fun and a great way to network. During my short time in blogging, I have attended two conferences – Blissdom 2011 and Type A Mom (now Type A Parent). It never ceases to amaze me to see so much talent in one place, it is a little daunting.

If you are a small business and looking for a way to make a name for yourself or find your market, it is so much easier than before. Now you can get on Twitter, Facebook, and FourSquare to find the decision makers and start showing them your genius. No longer is it necessary for companies to be big and international to be on the web, FourSquare has made it possible to target your local markets.

I just finished a social media summit last month. I learned a lot of great ideas to help boost your social media exposure. One of the tips I wanted to share with you is how to gain more followers for your business pages.

Tip #1 – Joining the pages of groups that are within your target audience. You can’t ask people to join your page using the identity of your business page, but you can comment on posts using your business identity.

We want your feedback on how we are doing.

6 reasons why moms are starting to appreciate email marketing. They are full of savings. Moms across the country are receiving coupons for groceries, kids clothing, family

I am sure some of you have noticed that something is different about Our Mommyhood.  You are right!  Things are changing here.  The great part is that they are changing for the better.  Due to some conflicts in schedules and other commitments, the previous editors handed over the reigns to me.  Betsy and Liz have [...]

Alyson, Contributor, Commonsense, Dancing (@amlanders) I passed my one-year blogging anniversary with little fanfare recently. Little fanfare because I was blissfully unaware of it. I wish I could be so together as to have this kind of date marked on a calendar somewhere, but I’m not. Passing that milestone was not unlike realizing you’re another [...]

By Kitty Holman, Guest Writer It isn’t all that strange that knowing journalistic writing strategies can aid in blog writing. After all, both journalists and bloggers, like it or not, are professional writers set with the task of conveying a message and (essentially) selling that message. Three must-know journalistic writing concepts for bloggers are: the [...]

By Alyson, Contributor, Commonsense, Dancing, (@amlanders) I got a notice from WordPress.com the other day that made my palms sweat a bit: Your domain ‘commonsense-dancing.com’ will expire in 90 days time on May 8th, 2011. Well, you say, that’s nice. A timely reminder, one that’s not all “OMG! It’s the end of the world! You’ve [...]

By Ashley, Contributor, Just Another Mom of 2 (@Another MomOf2) Some people read only a few blogs. They read an occasional one here, an extra there. They remember the urls, know how to find them and pull them up instantly. Or, they read so few that they simply email subscribe to them all. I’m not [...]

By Alyson, Contributor, Common Sense, Dancing (@amlanders) We’re a month into the new year, and if you’re like me you’ve been working on – or at least giving some significant thought to – making your blog the best it can be, whether that be stepping up content, refining the design or incorporating plug-ins. While all [...]

By Honey B, Staff Writer, The Honey B (@thehoneyb) Now that Marmot and I have actually made the decision to try to get pregnant, I’m onto the next big question: How do you decide when to announce that you’re pregnant? And should you do it on Facebook? * My BFF Junebug told me at 9 [...]

By Ashley, Contributor, Just Another Mom of 2 (@AnotherMomof2) While putting your creative, funny, thoughtful posts together for each new blog entry, it can become easy to overlook small enhancements to your blog. However, in both Blogger and especially in WordPress (self-hosted, remember) there are various plugins and add-ons to install to make your blog [...]

By Natalie, Contributor, Mommy of a Monster and Infant Twins (@mommyofamonster) Have you ever heard of blog scraping? It sounds like it might be a joke, but it’s a real term and something that you need to know about. I had never heard of the term until a month or so ago when I read [...]

By Alyson, Contributor, Common Sense, Dancing (@AMLanders) Happy New Year! A time for beginning anew, forming new habits and making resolutions. I’ll spare you my list of things like “eat better,” “iron more”  and “shave my legs at least 2x/week.” Instead, I invite you to consider one of my blogging resolutions: in addition to simply [...]

By Liz, Editor, a belle, a bean & a chicago dog (@bellebeandog) I consider March 2010 to be the beginning of my (public) blog career.  Like many people, I began blogging just for family and friends in order to keep them informed on our lives, and later ventured into the public blogging arena. After publicly [...]

By Ashley, Contributor, Just Another Mom of Two (@AnotherMomof2) My post about choosing a blogging platform convinced you to move to WordPress. Except, there are all these terms that sound like a foreign language when you try to google doing just that. Let’s start with the basics, shall we? There are a few points that [...]

By Mama M, Staff Writer, My Little Life (@5crookedhalos) I like to consider myself a fairly intelligent person: I schlepped my way through college. I can solve simple math equations. I might even, be able to write out the chemical makeup of water. But, there’s something I just can’t wrap my mind around. Maybe you [...]

By Ashley, Contributor, Just Another Mom of 2 (@AnotherMomof2) Once you decide which blog platform is right for you, prepare to share your thoughts with the world (or at least your mom). Of course, we know you already have amazing ideas and brilliant content ready to share with the world. But, is your blog actually [...]

By Kristi, Contributor, Live and Love…Out Loud (@tweetingmama) Halloween came and went and I couldn’t be more excited; Thanksgiving is finally upon us and ’tis the season to be thankful! Around this time each year, millions of people across the U.S. take a moment to reflect on the things they’re most thankful for. Family, love [...]

By Alyson, Contributor, Common Sense, Dancing (@AMLanders) You can find a lot of information or opinions about what to blog about; seems like everyone has their slant on a subject. Even the so-called personal blogs would appear that they’ve got no shortage of fresh, profound, humorous or life-affirming subject matter. This kills me because I [...]

By Ashley, Contributor, Just Another Mom of 2 (@AnotherMomof2) You have things to say- that’s why you want to have a blog, right? Well, while it would be nice to simply type out our words and have millions of people read them, that just doesn’t happen. There are a lot of considerations when deciding what [...]

By Honey B, Staff Writer, The Honey B (@thehoneyb) I set out to write this post to encourage positivity in the blogosphere. Why? Because the world is just full of it and nobody likes negativity. Until I realized nobody, except blogosphere. We LOVE negativity! Half of us have entire blogs devoted to it; at any [...]

By Alyson, Contributor, Common Sense, Dancing (@amlanders) Hey! You’re new to blogging? Or newish? Me too! And here I am, on Our Mommyhood, writing about being new! I began blogging as a way to find my creative self, do something l love (write), and record my memories and my life for all eternity. Or something. [...]

By Lindsay, Guest Writer, Happy Housewife Designs (@lindsayintx) I have been asked a lot lately about making a “grab my button” box for your blogs. First, you will need the button (How you choose to make one is up to you). Don’t be overwhelmed by the HTML code because it is really easy to change [...]

By Mama M, Contributor, My Little Life (@5CrookedHalos) That IS the question. Here in Minnesota, the birthday cut-off for attending kindergarten is September 1st. If you happen to have a child with a summer birthday, I promise that you will hear every argument for and against sending your child to kindergarten when they are five years old. It’s [...]

By Lindsay, Guest Writer, Happy Housewife Designs, (@lindsayintx) Have you noticed that Blogger now requires a title for some of the sidebar widgets? Previously, you could add your content to the widget box, save and go on.  Now, you see this error: For those of us who have cute sidebar labels and designs, this could [...]

by Brook, Contributor, Baby & Sofia (@babyandsofia) In August 2008, my husband, Giuseppe, and I moved from Naples, Italy to Newport Beach, California. The hubs had just graduated from veterinary school and had accepted a position as an intern at a radiology clinic. I had also just finished graduate school, with an MA in Human [...]

Betsy, Contributor, Funky Mama Bird (@funkymamabird) Two very well-known and widely-read bloggers with both older children and toddlers have recently made statements to the effect that they will not be publishing as much content about their older kids. Their reasons for this announcement varied, with one blogger saying she didn’t want to publicly “label” or [...]

By KLZ, Editor, Taming Insanity, (@TamingInsanity) My blog doesn’t rake in a profit. Nor does it get an exceptionally high number of hits a month. It’s a hobby, a way for me to write, to remember, and to connect with like-minded people. But if I were to live in the city of Philadelphia, my blog [...]

By Liz, Editor, a belle, a bean & a chicago dog, (@bellebeandog) The September 2010 edition of Parenting magazine includes a list of the Top 10 “Must Read” family-oriented blogs. The list is a collaboration between a Parenting.com panel of bloggers and a BlogHer.com panel of bloggers. Here are their 10 chosen blogs, in no [...]

By Mama M, Contributor, My Little Life (@5CrookedHalos) I am always trying to keep abreast of what is appropriate in certain situations. Like, I know that when I’m eating out for supper, I’m supposed to use the silverware that is placed farthest from my plate, and work my way in. I know that I’m supposed [...]

By Dalia, Guest Writer, (@GenXMomBlogger) I ask myself often, when did this happen?  When did my life become so busy?  I remember when it was so easy…I remember when I had so much time.  I continually search for the tips on how to balance it all.  You see, I want to do it all.  Most [...]

By Liz, Editor, a belle, a bean & a chicago dog, (@bellebeandog) I’m a convert. Back in May, I made the switch from free and easy Blogger to “scary” and learning-curve-required WordPress. I got a lot of questions back then about why I did it, and what was WordPress like.  I had never written a [...]

by Honey B, Contributor, The Honey B (@thehoneyb) Sometimes you come across a warning on a post about What Does a Mucus Plug Really Look Like Anyway? and there is the disclaimer at the top about TMI, and a plea to the father of said blogger begging him to please skip this post?? Oh the [...]

By Poppy, Guest Writer, Funny Or Snot (@funnyorsnot) Blogging is time consuming. My husband is not the jealous type and he is pretty relaxed.  I won’t gush, but I usually do my own thing and he doesn’t complain.  He’s quickly becoming irritated with the time I’m spending on the computer.  I try to limit my computer [...]

By Sue, Guest Writer, Mommy’s Pen We all want to be better bloggers. And goodness knows, there are plenty of websites out there telling you how to master SEO and publicize your blog eight ways from Sunday. Yet, all of these are as useless to you as free concert tickets for a Saturday night (how [...]

By Liz, Editor, a belle, a bean & a chicago dog (@bellebeandog) Greetings and welcome to the *New* Our Mommyhood!! Our Mommyhood is a vibrant, diverse community of women who are moms, bloggers and writers.  It is a place for moms  - regardless of their stage in the game of Motherhood - to share their experiences and ideas about being [...]

Greetings from the Editors of Our Mommyhood! As you may have noticed, things are starting to look a bit different around here.  Myself and 3 other women recently assumed the position of Editors-in-Chief, and have been working tirelessly ever since. But before I get into some of what we have in store for you ladies, [...]

By Liz, Editor, a belle, a bean & a chicago dog (@bellebeandog) One of the exciting changes we, the new editors of Our Mommyhood, have planned for you is to provide you with blogger resources.  We already have a meme list and a place to list your giveaways.  And we’re adding a blog conference page as well [...]

Short of owning a one piece bathing suit for mommy and me swimming classes (and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to take a pair of scissors to the thing. I mean it has an attached skirt for crying out loud), I haven’t really hitched a ride on the “typical” mommy wagon. And I have a feeling you haven’t either.

I love to learn. I can easily sit in front of a computer for hours and get lost in “cyberspace”, trying to soak up all the information I can find. Sometimes I even lose track of time and suddenly it’s 3AM and I haven’t gotten anything done other than bookmarking twenty new websites for me to revisit every day.

I often get asked (being a full-time working mom of a 2.5 year old and 1 year old) how I manage to post on a daily basis, run giveaways and host challenges. But to be completely honest, I don’t have it all together all the time. But when I do these six things, my blog seems to run itself.

I’ve been faking it.

There I said it– and do you want to know something? I feel a little better now that I did.

Let me stop your mind from wandering though and clear things up before it gets too far into the gutter… the thing that I’ve been faking is…

I’m a mom. I’ve given birth. I know (all too well) what labor pains feel like. And let me tell you… this– as in, this BLOG– has definitely been a labor… of love.