For brands that are aware of and seek to associate themselves with the almighty power and influence of mommy bloggers, thou shalt better treat them with dignity and respect, according to a study by Wendy Hirschhorn, CEO of Wendy’s Bloggers, a firm that helps brands create relationships with influential mommy bloggers.
She asked the 200 mommy bloggers in her network to each submit one commandment on how brands need to work with them to get maximum results. “The mommy bloggers rejoiced and responded in droves,” said Hirschhorn, in a press statement.
(Editor’s note: On the topic of dignity and respect, we’re not exactly fans of the term “mommy blogger” and, from what we’ve read and heard, neither are some of them. So, if we could add a commandment to the following list, it might be “Make sure they don’t mind being called a mommy blogger.”)
These are the top 10 commandments and the mommy bloggers who submitted them:
1. Respect the opinions of mommy bloggers.
“Allow us to write our reviews in our own words. Our readers trust and respect us because of it.”
- Cassandra Looper, SoCal Coupon Mommy
2. Treat mommy bloggers as a valued partner.
“We want to contribute to your success and we want to do it over and over.”
- Sara Breuninger, Dealicious Mom
3. Compensate mommy bloggers fairly.
“Do not expect us to work for peanuts – unless those peanuts come with chocolate and a fair amount of compensation. Mommy bloggers spend hours writing, editing and formatting a post and then promoting your brand over the course of days or weeks. Would you do all that for a few bags of chips or a trial size?”
- Christine Tolhurst, Saved by Grace
4. Post mommy bloggers’ reviews on your company’s social media sites.
“Share our reviews on your corporate Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Google+ accounts and tag the mommy blogger so she knows. Only a handful of companies do this, which is odd because you want us to help spread the word on our social media accounts, yet you don’t promote mommy bloggers on your social media sites.”
- Jackie Griebel, Miss Jackie’s Views
5. Send mommy bloggers what you agreed to send.
“If you agreed to send me a black dress in size small to review, please don’t assume that a pink and purple striped top in medium will be close enough.”
- Emily Evert, Emily Reviews
6. Do not judge mommy bloggers by one bad experience.
“You may have worked with a mommy blogger and gotten less-than-optimal results but that’s no reflection on the rest of us. We are all different and unique!”
- Sarah Muennix, Coupon Savvy Sarah
7. Read the mommy blogger’s blog before you pitch her.
“There’s nothing worse than getting a pitch to review a product – from a company or its PR agency – agreeing to do it and then getting an e-mail that you’re not a good fit. It doesn’t make mommy bloggers like your brand.”
- Amanda Kaltenbaugh, One Momma Saving Money
8. Do not ask a mommy blogger to include more than three hyperlinks.
“We know the rules about including hyperlinks to your company’s Web site. If we include more than three of your hyperlinks in one of our reviews, Google will punish your Web site and ours.”
- Jenni Shelton, J’s Reviews & Giveaways
9. Value a mommy blogger’s quality over quantity.
“Companies shouldn’t assess the statistics of a blog over the quality of its content. While reach is very important, it shouldn’t be the only factor. Working with a high-quality mommy blogger who has all the right stuff – uses proper grammar, provides unique content, has a well-organized site – but might have less traffic than a lower-quality blog that has more Facebook fans or unique visitors says something about the company. Be discerning and go for the best.”
- Lindsay Frank, Pandora’s Deals
10. Be considerate of a mommy blogger’s time.
“We’re moms, which means we definitely have other obligations on our time. If we have to jump through hoops to meet your impossible deadlines, we might just not choose to do it. Allow sufficient time for us to use your product and enjoy the experience.”
- Cassie Langley, Cuzinlogic