Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Top Blog Niches for Moms

If you are thinking of starting a blog you are probably wondering what niche will be best. For those who already run an online business, you already have a niche and your blog should be tailored to the people you create your products for or those you offer your services to.

Choosing a blog niche is important so that your blog is targeted at a specific audience and not left to address no one in particular. But before you decide on a niche you need to know what you are passionate about and then make sure it is something other people would want to read about. Some of the top blog niches for Moms include:

1. Recipe Blogs: These can be further broken down into several sub niches such as crock pot recipes, 5 minute recipes, menu organization and several other areas that most women especially work at home women are concerned about. Most moms want their kids to eat well and to eat healthy meals so this niche is in great demand.

2. Work at Home Opportunities: It doesn’t really matter that you are pretty new to the work at home business. What you can do is that whenever you research work at home opportunities for yourself, you share them on your blog. If you need good, quality opportunities that are not scams, you can be sure that more women out there also need them.

3. Parenting: This is a top niche that gets a lot of readers, especially if you focus on parenting for new moms. But parenting is a niche you should only touch if you have any experience with being a parent. People tend to look unfavorably on a non-parent telling them what to do with their kids.

4. Pregnancy: There are a lot of pregnancy websites and blogs out there but they do not seem to be enough. It is an evergreen niche because women are always getting pregnant and some of them are totally clueless. If you want to work with this niche though, pick an angle and deliver unique content that they might not get elsewhere.

5. Babies: Babies are a top concern and every parent wants to do the best they can for their babies. A lot of new and even experienced parents search online for useful information to help in raising their kids. You could focus on doing reviews on baby products or give tips on baby care.

6. Travel: Vacation is an important part of every mom’s life and many need to know the DOs and DON’Ts of travelling with kids. A blog in this niche would get a lot of interest. Also you could focus on cheap vacation destinations or how to have a budget vacation.

7. Beauty and Style: Especially if you tailor it for the busy mom, this niche is one that gets a lot of attention. Most moms are really busy and have no time to learn all the intricate makeup application processes; if you can create a blog that makes the whole process short and painless, several moms will thank you. This could also be used for a fashion blog.

There are several niches out there that get a lot of attention but before you pick any though, just make sure it is what you are passionate about because you are going to need to blog regularly for an extensive period on that subject.

Aside from your blog niches, it's also a good idea to own a general blog.You will not run out if ideas. You can write anything, from health to automotive, from food to title loans raleigh. You also can rank well on unlimited keywords. However, this also has minus. Your blog homepage will not rank well easily because it is not focus. Then, inter-content linking will not run well because the niche is different. Then, it has few loyal readers because the niche is not specific.


Her and History

How to Set up a Blog

There are many things you can do with a blog. If you are a stay-at-home mom and are searching for an extra income, your blog is the first place to start. If you are already a work-at-home mom with your own little (or not so little) online then you need a blog as a marketing tool and also to give your clients a little peek behind your business.

Setting up a blog has never been easier. There are several free hosts that would willingly set up your blog for you. However, if you are planning to submit your blog to a paid blogging network, you would need to buy your own domain name and set it up on a paid hosting site. Most of those paid blogging networks do not like free-hosted blogs and some of the free hosts don’t like the paid blogging networks too.

If you are just searching for way to market your business and get the word out there, here are some options you could consider:

Blogger
This is the blog service run by Google. It is fast and efficient and incredibly easy to set up. You just go to blogspot.com and sign up for your account. If you already have a google account, that makes it much easier.

They have several templates you can choose from and you are guided through the set up process from picking your blogname to how you want your blog to look like. It has an easy interface that is perfect for those who are new to research.

Wordpress
This service is run by Automattic. It is a sophisticated blog interface and provides great search engine optimization. What this means is that when a keyword that your blog falls under is typed into a Google search, your blog shows up among the results.

It is used by people who understand blogging a little bit because it could be a bit complicated for a novice. However, there are several stunning templates you can use and if you are willing to put in the extra time to figure things out, just go to www.wordpress.com.

There are other free blogging networks, but these two are the top services.

If you want to set up your own blog, you have a few options that won’t break your bank account.

Buy a Domain Name

This is the first rule especially if you want to take paid blog posts. Domain names are quite affordable. If you are looking for a .com, you can get that for less than $12. Godaddy.com is a favorite for a lot of folks. You can also try Name.com.

Get Hosting

If you are using blogger, you can easily buy a domain name for $10 and it would be hosted for you free. This is an option a lot of people use. The only problem with that is that with blogger, sometimes there might be a glitch or something and then you lose all your hard work. You really can’t complain, after all you are being hosted for free.

The other option is to make use of self-hosted WordPress. This means that you buy a domain name and buy hosting. Then you get a WordPress blog installed and you are ready to blog.
If you need hosting and other blog services I could recommend PM Blog Network. This is where I have all my 8 blogs hosted and so far I'm one happy and satisfied customer for over a year already!


If you are ready to begin blogging, it really does not take much. Examine your options and happy blogging!



Her and History
Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pinay WAHMS' $800 Birthday Giveaway!

Three work-at-home moms jointly celebrated their birthdays through hosting a fabulous birthday giveaway with a total of $800 worth of prizes!

Click the contest badge below for more details. Come and join the fun! Contest runs from July 1, 2011 and ends on July 31, 2011.


Pinay WAHMs' $800 Giveaway


GENEROUS CONTEST SPONSORS:





So what can participants look forward to in this giveaway? They have cash, gift certificates, domain names and blog hosting in store for you!

FIRST PRIZE - $230

$100 CASH
$90 WORTH OF GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS
$40 WORTH OF .COM DOMAIN & 1 YEAR OF FREE HOSTING FROM PINAY MOMMY ONLINE

SECOND PRIZE - $175

$80 CASH
$60 WORTH OF GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS
$35 WORTH OF .COM DOMAIN & 1 YEAR OF FREE HOSTING FROM PINAY MOMMY ONLINE

THIRD PRIZE - $140

$60 CASH
$50 WORTH OF GIFT CERTIFICATE FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS
$30 WORTH OF .COM DOMAIN & ONE YEAR OF FREE HOSTING FROM PINAY MOMMY ONLINE

5 CONSOLATION PRIZES - $45 EACH

$20 CASH + $25 WORTH OF .INFO DOMAIN & 1 YEAR HOSTING
FOR EACH OF THE FIVE (5) LUCKY WINNERS

EARLY BIRD PRIZES

1ST TO SUBMIT - $15 BLOG HEADER FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS
2ND TO SUBMIT- $10 CASH
3RD TO SUBMIT - $5 BLOG BUTTON FROM WAHMAHOLIC BLOG DESIGNS

  • Winners will be chosen randomly the traditional way (print , cut entries, video while drawing winners)
  • Winners will be announced on August 5, 2011.
Her and History

High Dynamic Range imaging (HDR) fad

The following are photos taken by my hubby using Sony A200 for the first time. My brother who's into photography and media arts commented that the photo could be improved using the high dynamic range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) technique to enhance the color of the scene-the railways, steels and steel buildings found in the background.As newbies in photography we don't have any idea about HDR so we googled for it. HDR is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.



Here's an example of a photograph processed through HDR:

Sun on the steel building by Dave DiCello

My hubby's determined to learn the art of HDR. The tools needed are a RAW editor such as Aperture, RawShooter, or Photoshop. Secondly, the HDR program. We've been told to use Photomatix. Using software like Photomatix you can create images with a more detail in the highlights and shadows than you can with a normal photo from today's digital cameras. Its similar to the old technique of exposure blending. Taking one photo for the sky and one for the ground, then merging them both together in Photoshop. HDR takes it a step further by increase the amount of detail in the image and allows you to create some unique photos. You can use it carefully to create natural looking photos or you can use it creatively to create atmospheric and emotive photos. The choice is yours as to how you process the end result.


Her and History
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