Part-time dot-com mom earning money by blogging
Lisa Martin, a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan and Wisconsinite whose fate is to live in Oak Lawn, is gaining a following and part-time income as a mom blogger by offering hints on saving money, finding useful household products and dealing with tough family situations.
"I started blogging as a way to keep in touch with my friends and family in Wisconsin," said Martin, mom to 5-year-old daughter Madison and 2-year-old son Will.
(Rich Hein/Sun-Times)
Martin, who earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies with a minor in business administration at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, had no writing experience when she started blogging three years ago.
"I taught myself. I started on Blogger, which is a free (software) platform," said Martin, who has developed a 200-word-maximum writing style and now uses a WordPress software platform (WordPress.org).
Martin writes four blogs, and cautions that blogging is hard work that requires constant, consistent updates, as well as posting Twitter and social-media links to generate buzz.
"You have to interact with people. That’s how you get people to come to your blog," said Martin, whose blogs are MyThoughtsIdeasAndRamblings.com, LisaReviews.com, LisaCooking.com and LisasTravels.com.
Martin doesn’t mind getting personal, and is constantly reminded how many people appreciate sharing similar experiences. She has written about topics as diverse as losing her cell phone, dealing with grief after she suffered a miscarriage, and her children’s wracking up more than $20,000 in medical bills this year.
She is careful never to mention her home address and her children’s schools or to post potentially embarrassing photos.
For product reviews, Martin works with Izea, an Orlando, Fla.-based middleman that provides software to manage thousands of bloggers in company-sponsored "conversation campaigns" online.
Izea operates PayPerPost.com and SocialSpark.com, online marketplaces that let advertisers find bloggers willing to pitch their products, and bloggers looking for work, respectively. Izea’s network includes 265,000 bloggers and 25,000 advertisers worldwide. Advertisers pay bloggers either flat rates or by the number of clicks the blogger receives.
Martin set up an account at SocialSpark.com, where she chooses among a lengthy list of paid opportunities to blog about products and experiences. She advises that would-be bloggers start by posting comments on products they use around the house, and the manufacturers may notice. Companies will start mailing products to review.
"When I get kids’ toys, I try to incorporate what my children think (of the toys) and photos of my children with the product," Martin said.
Perks pop up in other ways: Martin was flown at no cost by Sony to La Jolla, Calif., for a digital-camera demonstration, and to Stouffer’s Foods headquarters in Solon, Ohio, for a chef-prepared dinner and a review of a study about the benefits of eating dinner with family.
"I’m now an expert on my cameras," Martin said, noting how bloggers leverage the expertise they gain.
Though Martin claims not to be a cook, she posts "simple, easy recipes" at her cooking blog and describes how she saves money on family trips on her travel blog.
Martin makes $8,000 to $10,000 a year from blogging, enough to be a stay-at-home mom and pay for nice extras such as a trip to Disney World.
Izea founder and CEO Ted Murphy says online users are more likely to click on links and buy products when the recommendation comes from a trusted source, such as a blogger. Izea, which makes money by taking a percentage of each successful transaction between advertiser and blogger, crafted a blogger "sponsored conversation" campaign for Kmart that doubled Kmart’s "social media index," or brand awareness inside social-media sites.
The 800 bloggers hired last Christmas on behalf of Kmart, which is owned by Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp., wrote about their experiences with layaway, gift cards, on-line holiday deals and unexpected store merchandise like a woman’s bicycle, Craftsman tools and a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
The Internet has become so filled with paid bloggers that the Federal Trade Commission is proposing that bloggers and the companies that pay them be held liable for misleading claims. The commission is expected to decide the issue this summer.
Murphy said Izea insists on blogger disclosure, lets bloggers write what they want, and audits bloggers for compliance.
"We have some bloggers who regularly make hundreds or thousands of dollars for writing a single post, depending on the blogger’s site traffic and influence," Murphy said. "If you’re not passionate about blogging, you won’t make money."