2011 March | Theta Mom®

03.15.11

Top Ten Ways to Create Great Blog Posts

My guest post today is the fabulous Erin, author of the blog Erin Margolin. I’ve been blogging with Erin since Theta Mom’s inception and it’s been a pleasure to watch her come into her own both as both an authentic writer and blogger. Today, she is sharing some practical advice to help you get your own writing in great form.

Instead of gettin’ all Shakespearean on you, I’m here to give you some ideas to help you write kick-ass blog posts. While I don’t claim to be any kind of expert I’ve been in Blog Land for a few years now, long enough to learn at least a little bit. I know what I like to read and I know what I like to write. So thank you, Heather, for sharing your space with me today. You are someone I look up to and admire, and hopefully one day I can build an amazing empire as you have!

Top Ten Ways To Create Great Blog Posts:

1. Good grammar is essential to great blog writing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped reading a post because of improper subject/verb agreement, the use of “their” when it should’ve been “there,” or even basic spelling mistakes that can easily be remedied by spell-check or www.dictionary.com. Run-on sentences also drive me batty, especially when there are no paragraph breaks. I get visually overwhelmed and I can’t read it. Chop things up into smaller, more digestible bits. Really caring about your writing AND your readers means consulting your dictionary or even that old grammar handbook hiding in the back of your closet.

2. Shorter posts are very attractive to readers. We’re all busy with our lives outside of Blog Land. If I open a post and see that it’s lengthy, I’m less likely to read it all the way through. There are certainly exceptions to this, but for the most part I try my best to keep my posts brief, two or three paragraphs. Challenge yourself to get your point across in fewer words!

3. Be different, be unpredictable. I’m not interested in your parakeet’s horrible head cold or seeing photos of your children every day (sorry). Dare yourself to mix it up. If you are killing yourself trying to think of something to say, DO NOT POST. Posting daily will not necessarily retain readers. It’s about the quality of your posts, not the quantity, remember? Followers will not disappear just because you skip out for a few days here and there. In fact, if you make them wait, they may get really antsy and eager to see what’s coming up next!

4. Read your post out loud to yourself a few times before you publish. This will help you catch errors and maybe even “see” something you didn’t earlier. Find a buddy or a writing partner, someone you can bounce ideas off of, or someone who’s willing to proof your posts and give you constructive criticism.

5. Read a lot: newspapers, books, magazines, and other blogs. I’ve always thought that reading is the single best way to improve your writing.

6. Read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. She talks a lot about writing through the crap to get to the good stuff underneath. Get your thoughts down first, edit later.

7. Keep it light and interesting. Toss in a vlog, a guest post, a Top 10 something, a recipe, even a short story or a poem. Save the drivel in your drafts, please. If you’re scraping the insides of your brain and coming up with nothing, chill out: the world will not come to an end. If people love you and your writing, they will come back. You don’t have to force it.

8. Write the truth, what’s in your heart. Write what you know and in the words of Cheryl @Mommy_Pants, ”Write what you don’t know!” In fact, why don’t you check her out @TheRedDressClub where she posts weekly writing prompts. Whenever I need inspiration all I have to do is hop over there.

9. Look at your language. Do you use metaphors, similes, personification? What about your verbs? Did you simply get up? Or did you “jump” up? Did you pop up out of your seat like a piece of toast from the toaster? Or did you clamor over the person next to you and trip over her purse? Bring us into your post with your words. Use vivid description and details to draw us in, make us feel like we’re there.

10. Last but certainly not least: BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. Be authentic. Be you. Don’t try to imitate anyone else. No one is youer than you (Dr. Seuss). Just relax and let your real self shine through.

Please send me an email if you are interested in guest posting at Theta Mom® for TMC Network. Full details can be found on the Network page.

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03.11.11

The Search is On for COMM: Council of Media Moms

Ever since I began this blog I’ve been partnering with brands that I know and trust. In addition, working as a social media consultant I developed a strong sense for what women in business want and need. I’ve been introduced to so many amazing entrepreneurs who started their very own companies. This was the very moment I decided to create a space on my own platform to feature talented women who are doing exactly that – inspiring other women, especially those in business which is when The Marketplace was born.

I couldn’t be more thrilled about the direction Theta Mom is moving toward and when I announce another opportunity like the one I’m about to announce, it makes me so proud to be an integral part of this evolving mom blogging/social media collaboration.

I was recently hired by momAgenda, an amazing brand that I have worked with numerous times before. But unlike the community managing/consulting that I perform with other clients, this position is quite unique; I have been specifically hired to create, lead and manage the most amazing, talented team of Media Moms ever established in the industry.

That’s right – momAgenda® and I are looking for YOU.

We are seeking established, influential and engaging bloggers to become part of an amazing team to continue building true brand awareness for momAgenda®. We are looking to collaborate with professional and passionate media moms to lead this mission in properly marketing momAgenda to a wide-spread audience through the momAgenda blog and social media platforms, including the Facebook page which currently has an audience of 12,000+ fans!

Council of Media Moms at momAgenda® (better known as COMM) is an online initiative that has been established to garner important insight into the needs and wants of the momAgenda community, fostering a true brand/blogger relationship. The connections formed will be paramount; momAgenda strives to cultivate a supportive community of bloggers and media moms that embraces this mission and is dedicated to high standards of integrity and excellence in the digital world.

So, do you want to be a member of the COMM team at momAgenda? Of course you do, because it’s an absolute unbelievable opportunity!!!

We are currently accepting applications now through April 1st. For further information and full details about this program and the benefits of being a member of COMM, be sure to check out the momAgenda website. If you have any questions about COMM, please feel free to email me anytime: HeatherR {at} momagenda {dot} com.

We really look forward to collaborating with you!

***Please help us spread the word about COMM on Twitter: Copy/paste the following and tweet as often as you like and be sure to tell your friends! You may be just what we are looking for!

The search is on to build an amazing team: Council of Media Moms @momagenda Deets & App http://bit.ly/hS9uDD #momAgendaCOMM

And as always, thank you for being an integral part of this blog. Especially in these moments, I am SO proud to call myself a mom blogger.

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03.8.11

The True Power of Blogging: Finding a Voice for the Unspoken

My guest post today is Devan from Accustomed Chaos. In this piece, Devan reminds us that our words do create meaning and the voice we share has a direct impact on others. I hope this post inspires you to think about why you first hit the word publish on your own blog.

Blogging came into my life just over a year ago. I didn’t really think I was going to get too much out of it. I certainly was not planning for anything more than having a few people read my words and having some general conversations on Twitter and Facebook. As I started to write more and feel comfortable sharing more about myself and my life, I began to open up more about my struggles and my pain…

Society does not talk about grief caused by miscarriage – society at large does not even think we should grieve a miscarriage. We are told to just go on with our lives and ‘try again.’ We are left feeling embarrassed, isolated and alone. A pain and isolation I had been walking around with for years surrounding my multiple miscarriages and a pain that is still very real to this day. Blogging and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter break invisible boundaries that are present in real life that should never be there.

Blogging gave me a voice for that pain.

The more I opened up on my personal blog the more I received “me too” comments on my posts and personal emails from women looking for support – looking for connections from someone who had been there. My passion started to grow as I started to see this very real need being forgotten, unspoken. A community was forming, though I was the only one who knew it existed because the real words were being spoken through private emails. I realized that I was not the only one dealing with the depth of my perinatal grief – I was not the only one who craved a connection and a voice.

The incredible power of blogging and connecting through social media is that you are never alone in what you are going through and you will never be alone in your pain. I decided to follow my passion to help women, families, friends and anyone who has been touched directly or indirectly by miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal loss – through blogging and social media; to give those who needed a connection and a voice a safe place to share.

I formed a new site dedicated to support and understanding and to give others a platform to share their stories, their grief, their hopes and dreams. My passion collided with blogging when Unspoken Grief was born. It’s a group contributing site for those looking for a voice for their perinatal grief. Allowing women, partners, friends and family to speak their words and raise their voices, tell their stories and connect.

Blogging and sites like Facebook and Twitter are more powerful then at first glance and I am still daily learning the true power of how it can connect people in different parts of the world who share very similar experiences. THAT is powerful. In no other way would we be able to reach our virtual arms out to someone who feels so alone in their pain.

Connecting people together can do a world of good breaking the silence of miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal loss can heal; supporting each other through our pain, through our hopes and dreams and to have someone who understands and somewhere for your voice to be heard – THAT is the true power of blogging.

Please send me an email if you are interested in guest posting at Theta Mom® for TMC Network. Full details can be found on the Network page.

{ 37 Comments }

03.4.11

Featured TMC Blogger: Things I Can’t Say

TMC welcomes Shell, author of the blog Things I Can’t Say. Shell has been an avid Theta Mom reader for quite some time and I was thrilled when she joined us here at TMC. She writes from a very authentic place on her blog, sharing her motherhood experiences in a way we can all relate to. She prides herself on building relationships in this bloggy space so be sure to show her some TMC love! Here is how she describes her blog in her own words:

“I’m so excited to be here on Theta Mom today. Heather’s tagline really speaks to me and what my blog is about.

I’m Shell and I blog at Things I Can’t Say. My blog name came to me one day when I was telling a story that I thought was hilarious on my family blog and my family did NOT find it hilarious. I realized there were “things I can’t say” on my family blog, so I started a second, anonymous blog to share things I might get judged for by family: total mom fails, marriage issues, and how hard this whole motherhood thing is!

From trying to make new friends after having kids (I have a special name for what happens to the mean girls from junior high after they grow up and procreate – you can find that on my memes tab) to trying to figure out how to not only take care of my family, but to take care of me, too. I pretty much spill it all on my blog.

Every Wednesday, I host a Pour Your Heart Out linky where I encourage everyone to pour out something that has been weighing on their mind or an issue that is important. It’s like a mini-therapy session and a great way to really get to know other bloggers.

It’s the fabulous friendships that I’ve made that make this whole blogging thing worthwhile. And I can’t wait to meet you!”

Be sure to check out the blog and follow her on Twitter! New to TMC? Join us! We LOVE new members!

*To be considered as a Featured TMC Blogger, be sure to comment on this week’s feature! Have a great weekend ladies!

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03.3.11

Petit Couture: A Must-Have for Stylish Girls

Petit Couture is owned and lead by mom of three, Rebecca Kaykas-Wolff. Rebecca was inspired to begin her own clothing line when she recognized that there were so few children’s brands available that were both modernly fashionable and affordable. In addition to being a mompreneur, Rebecca is no stranger to digital marketing and conducting business online. In fact, she worked as a senior manager with large companies such as T-Mobile and Microsoft. She launched the Signature Collection of infant layette and toddler basics in 2009 and since then, Petit Couture is sold in high end boutiques across the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The name of this brand, Petit Couture, truly says it all. I am confident that one look is all it will take for you to fall in love with this company. For starters, check out the line of Petit Couture dresses such as the Simone Pleat. This dress is so appealing because of its fun detailing, fabulous colors and flutter sleeves. It’s a gorgeous dress for any little girl, especially this spring and summer! The photo above includes the cardigan which is actually sold separately. This dress can be ordered 12-18 months through size 6, making it a perfect fit for that special little girl and is offered in five vibrant colors.

Another perfect item to shop for your little girl this spring season is the Kennedy Pleat Skirt. I am loving the sunshine color of this skirt but it’s also offered in three other colors. The skirt is designed for tons of twirling and movement for your active toddler which can be paired with an adorable shirt. She will look ultra chic as she sports this complete look.

And a product that immediately caught my attention is the Waffled Thermal T because this is a staple in any little girl’s wardrobe. She could wear this with pants or a skirt or even stretch pants and her look would be complete! The Waffle Thermal T contains a rib collar and banded cuff which is cover-stitched throughout. Adding the bling of the Petit Couture owl creates this superstar look. So couture!!

Finally, the Signature Collection Organics is perfect for that eco-spirited baby! The hat comes one size with an adjustable knot. Ink treatments are water-based and the hat is sold separately or paired as part of the Organic Baby Must-Have Set. The Short-Sleeved One-Piece is designed for a mom with ease getting it on and off the baby in a snap. This set is also offered in four different colors.

Petit Couture offers a little something for every baby and girl from Infant Loungy Gowns to Ruffled Cardigans and now is the perfect time to purchase because Rebecca is offering a special discount to Theta Mom readers: 15% off your entire order with the use of the following coupon code entered at checkout: THETAMOM15% To stay updated on the latest designs and future discounts, be sure to follow on Twitter and “like” Petit Couture on Facebook.

Theta Mom® abides by word of mouth marketing standards and believes in honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. Petit Couture is a proud sponsor of Theta Mom and I was compensated for this post. However, all opinions expressed are purely my own and the content of this post was not influenced in any way.

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