Welcome

Dear Diary,

Yesterday, I hosted my first Diary of a First Time Mom Lunch & Learn event in partnership with The Motherhood for Pittsburgh mom bloggers. The company connects brands and bloggers to create smart, original and engaging campaigns. My goal was to get to know my favorite bloggers better, meet new bloggers and introduce their blogs to others. I hoped to create a community and a support group.  There are endless opportunities in the blogging business. Sometimes an advertiser doesn’t select my site to participate in a campaign, but I may know another mom who is a perfect fit. I once heard someone say that networking isn’t about what you can get. Often, you have to give, give, give before you get anything in return. One reason I launched my website  was to help other moms. Now, I hope to help other bloggers as they pursue their dreams in the writing world.

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About 15 Pittsburgh mom bloggers attended the event. They each received a personalized name tag and a necklace. If anyone said the word “blog,” another blogger could take their beads. Jaquie from The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood racked up the most beads and won five tickets to Phipps Conservatory. She can take her family or visit the Pittsburgh Botanical Garden to write stories for her site in peace.

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To get to know each other, we played a game called What’s in your blog? Kim from Crafty Mama of 4 scored the most points and scored four tickets to the Pittsburgh Zoo courtesy of Pittsburgh Urban Media. Rachel from Third Stop on the Right came in second and received tickets to Triple B Farms upcoming peach festival.

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I shared my thoughts about why I began to blog and how I attracted brands to my site. My takeaway–Don’t compare yourself to others. Instead, create a niche site of your own. You don’t need major numbers to attract major attention. Create quality content, and build relationships with your readers.

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I then turned the floor over to The Motherhood co-founder Cooper Monroe, who talked to bloggers about how she and Emily McKann turned their blog into a business. She told the moms to go with their guts. Is writing for free worth it? Is it driving traffic to your site? Is it establishing a relationship with the company, or building a reputation among PR firms that you work for free? If not, prioritize your work, and focus on your site. She warned against writing posts just for money. Your readers know what’s authentic , so don’t back brands you don’t believe in. She also shared how brands often look for specifics. For instance, you won’t land a Lactaid campaign if you’re not lactose intolerant. Cooper also shared how a simple post can make a lifelong impact on others. Maybe your shining the light on a charity or telling a mom’s story that saves others time, effort, stress or frustration.

Since we had limited time, bloggers wrote questions on sticky notes and posted them in the parking lot, or in this case, the Ask Your Mother board. By the way, that’s a picture of my pretty mama.

Giveaways

I wrapped up the event by announcing giveaway items.  Chaton from Chaton’s World won the grand prize–a two-hour blog consultation with The Motherhood and a goodie bag.  Becky from ‘Lil Burghers also took home a gift bag from The Motherhood.  Heather from My Tales With Two took home a $100 gift certificate and product prize pack from EsSpa Kozmetica Organic Skincare, an award-winning spa in Pittsburgh.  She definitely deserved it, since she has twins! The spa also gifted everyone a $20 gift certificate, which you too can receive by signing up for the EsSpa email distribution list on the spa’s website.  Stephanie from When Crazy Meets Exhaustion won two autographed copies of Co-parenting 101 from author and blogger Deesha Phillywaw.  In addition to the book, Stephanie’s readers can win a one-hour co-parenting consultation with Deesha or her ex-husband.  And they say the early bird gets the worm. In this case, the first blogger to arrive, Rachel, got a Max & Erma’s gift card.

Before the women bounced and blogged, the filled out a feedback form and received information on how to keep in touch with all the bloggers, like Christine from More Than Mommies, Cynthia from Pittsburgh Brown Mamas, Elizabeth from From Practice to Parenting, Elizabeth from Try it as You May, Kelly from Pgh. Momtourage, Mary from Everyday Baby Steps, Nadine from Pittsburgh Mommy Blog and Rhonda from Raising Her Right. All awesome sites! Big thanks to everyone who attended! If you’re a mom blogger in the Burgh or the surrounding area, email me to receive an invitation to attend the next event.

Hey bloggers!  What’s the best advice you’ve ever received to make your blog better?

About The Author

Vlog Mom/DFTM Creator

Not long ago, Heather Hopson hosted a television show in the Cayman Islands. Today, she's back home writing a different kind of story as a new mom. In her 15 years working as a professional journalist, this by far is her best assignment! Growing up, she dreamed of becoming Oprah Winfrey. She was the features editor for her school’s newspaper and a teen talk show host for her city’s most popular radio station. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University. After graduation, she worked as a television producer and reporter at CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates throughout the U.S. Instead of heading to Chicago to join Ms. Winfrey on her set, she bought a plane ticket to the Cayman Islands instead. She arrived five days before a category five hurricane! She lived in paradise for seven years, hosted an award-winning television show and traveled the globe with a government delegation. She also served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters and spearheaded a Send a Kid to Camp campaign. Then, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to obtain a teaching certification and instruct 8th grade reading at a high needs middle school. She later returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to raise her daughter Caitlynn, now 4-years-old. During her 10-month-stint as a stay-at-home mom, Caitlynn inspired her to create this blog, and Diary of a First Time Mom was born on Mother’s Day 2012. Two years later, she expanded the family to include 20+ writers. Currently, Heather serves as the communications director at Allies for Children. In addition, she is the owner of Motor Mouth Multimedia, which ranked #49 in Startup Nation’s Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Discover Card and Sam’s Club. Recently, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments selected Heather to receive an Emerging Black Artist award to develop Diary of a First Time Mom.

17 Responses

  1. Jenn Rian

    Well, this just made me more jealous that I couldn’t be there 🙁 This is awesome! I look forward to attending future events!

    Reply
  2. Christine @MomsNCharge

    Woot! Woot! Congrats Heather on hosting what looks to have been a FAB first event! So proud of you mama and look forward to seeing and hearing about the next one. I’ll have to say ditto to what When Crazy Mom Meets Exhaustion wrote about making sure you stay authentic. It’s so much easier to write when you’re not trying to be someone else.

    Reply
    • firsttimemom

      Thanks Christine! Can I officially be in your Moms ‘N Charge crew? lol

      Reply
  3. Val

    I love this recap and the take aways are on point. Just produce quality content and be genuine. The relationships will come.

    Reply
    • firsttimemom

      So true Val! People see through fakeness. You know when someone is reaching out only to get something from you. Bloggers gotta stay true to themselves, because that’s all we have when we shut down the computer at night.

      Reply
  4. Heather Coleman

    Thanks again for hosting this fantastic event! I feel like I learned so much from all of the ladies there and am inspired to “get serious.” I’ll say it again – you’re a woman of vision Heather!

    Reply
    • firsttimemom

      Aww, you’re making me blush! lol Thanks for coming. I am sooooo happy that you won the spa gift certificate. With twins, you deserve a little pampering (versus changing Pampers:)

      Reply
  5. Janeane Davis

    Thanks for sharing how your event went with us. I am happy for you that things went so well. I look forward to hearing about the next one.

    Reply
    • firsttimemom

      Thanks Janeane! You were a big supporter from across the state!

      Reply
    • firsttimemom

      Do like Oprah and Gail did, and bring your talk show on the road for the next event! lol

      Reply
    • firsttimemom

      We had a fabulous time! My only complaint–I wish it was longer!

      Reply
    • firsttimemom

      Thanks! It brought everyone such “joy”. Thanks for giving me the idea to have a Lunch & Learn event!

      Reply
  9. femmefrugality

    Looks like you guys had a great time! Would love to participate in the future! Looking forward to meeting you on Friday at OVBloggers!

    Reply
    • firsttimemom

      Can’t wait til Friday! Seems like so much fun! Get to put faces to all the blogs I read:)

      Reply

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