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Archive for the ‘Site News’ Category

A Taste of What’s To Come

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 by Michelle

Here at EverythingMom, we’re pretty focused on a unifying concept: We’re a little all over the map. In fact, EverythingMom exists because of that notion – that every mom out there has off moments, when it can be hard to tell whether she’s coming or going, her head is screwed on straight, or where her keys have gone.

We’re here to offer some guidance. Like to keep an emergency plumber on speed-dial for those kinds of moments when you hear a toilet flush, three seconds after you’ve called out for your keys to a mysteriously-missing toddler.

We’re here to offer some humility. Like when we freely admit that we’re not entirely aware of what regular showers once felt like, and that shaving our legs has become more of a luxury, than necessity. But if we must do it, and do it fast, conditioner and a high counter top will be the best nick-free, preschooler safe method.

We’re here to offer your nourishment. In fact, it’s kind of our little saying – We’re all about Nourishing Bellies and Souls.

Please, join us in our overjoyed welcome to our newest food contributor, Julie Van Rosendaal. You may already know her from one of her many food-obsessed ventures, like her delicious website, Dinner With Julie. But if not, trust us and you’ll see, she’s One Smart Cookie.

Julie lives and breathes food, so it makes sense that she would write about it, too, right? But Julie’s not just a food blogger or a playful chef. This lady’s a food writer, stylist and journalist, and even has four best-selling cookbooks’ publishing credits under her apron strings. She’s also: the Food and Nutrition columnist for the Calgary Eyeopener on CBC Radio One, a Good Bites cooking series contributor, the Food Editor at Parents Canada magazine and a co-host on Viva Network’s It’s Just Food.

Julie’s also a mom, so she knows that it can be so hard to find something tasty to feed your family, and that meal plans requiring extensive shopping journeys aren’t always possible – regardless of how decadent and delicious a dinner may be in the end.

Julie’s here to help us help you make health happen. Delicious, soul fortifying dinners await you, and for those days when you need something less hearty, and not so therapeutic, she’ll be there, too, sourcing and sharing some of the best recipes out there.

Did we forget to mention that each week, she’ll also be giving you one of her very own originals? We can’t wait to dive eyes-first into Julie’s meals and we think you’ll love the freshness she’s bringing to our already-adored Weekly Meal Plans.

Oh, and guess what? Julie’s fifth cookbook comes out this week. Obviously, she doesn’t have enough on her plate, right?! We’re so honoured to be able to share her expertise with our community. Can’t wait? You can check out Julie’s page right here (or tweet her) to send her a warm welcome, share your excitement, or offer to mail her cookies, for once.

Bon Appétit.

Calling Blog Designers and Developers

Saturday, July 24th, 2010 by Michelle

We have just added a new category to our Mom Directory: Blog/Website Help.  If you are a designer or developer who works in CMS platforms such as Wordpress, Blogger, Drupal, Joomla, TypePad, Squarespace etc… we need you.

We get requests all.the.time for help with mom blogs.

If you can make blogs / websites look pretty or make them work properly, add your FREE listing to our new category Blog/Website help.

Hiring: Pregnancy Freelance Writer

Friday, July 16th, 2010 by Michelle

We are on the hunt for a witty, sassy freelance writer who knows Everything Pregnancy.  Our Pregnant Moms Group needs a writer to submit and enlist engagement on relevant topics relating to pregnancy such as:

  • Getting Pregnant
  • Pregnancy Symptoms
  • Giving Birth
  • Natural Birth
  • Pregnancy Wellness
  • Pregnancy Exams
  • Pregnancy Health
  • Pregnancy Products
  • Postpartum
  • Baby Names
  • Birth Stories

Requirements

  • One original pregnancy article per week
  • Participating in our Pregnancy Group at least 3-5 times per week by encouraging group engagement, welcoming members, adding conversation starters etc…

If you love community and you know Everything Pregnancy, please shoot off an email to hi (at) everythingmom.com with the following details:

  1. Your Name
  2. Your email
  3. Your website URL or links to writing samples
  4. Your monthly rate expectations

Thank you for your interest, we’ll contact applicants who we feel are a great match!

Everything is About Relationships

Monday, June 7th, 2010 by Michelle

Stuff, stuff, stuff.  Everything seems to be about stuff:  buy it, sell it, clean it, organize it, cook it, hide it, play it, watch it, spin it, use it, win it…

Stuff is good, and at EM we talk about a LOT of stuff.  In fact, we talk about Everything.  But what has been missing through all this talk is a broader, deeper sense of connection.  Relationships.

Sure, many women have forged wonderful relationships through EM.  But they did that all on their own, not with any help on our part.  (We women are good at that friendship thing.)

But we want to help — more.  We want you to have buckets of opportunities for friendship and connection here at EM.  We don’t want you to have to work at it, sort through all the stuff to find it.

So we’re getting rid of stuff to open up a space for natural connections.  We are replacing our Forums with focused, meaningful conversations.

What would you talk about…

  • If you had a friend who would really listen to you, with her whole heart and soul
  • If you knew that you would not be judged
  • If you knew that she got you
  • If you knew that somehow just by talking to her, you felt wonderful, inspired, relaxed, giddy, energized, peaceful — YOU.
  • Would you talk about something serious, light, humorous?

We’re that friend.  With our new Mom Chat:  Tell us Everything section, we’ve created a space for you to join focused conversations and build relationships with other moms who just get you.  With no fluff.

We’ve hired a new Community Manager, Jen Taylor to help build relationships and community within EverythingMom.com.  Jen will be facilitating our Mom Chats as well as engaging Everything Community.  For those of you who follow Jen through Twitter, you know that she is one of the friendliest gals around.  So what better person to join our team to spark connections?

ALSO!  We are itching to tell you about some terrific online and offline events coming up, stay tuned for more deets coming soon!

In the meantime, please hop over to Jen’s profile and give her big welcome hugs!  Then mosey on over to our very first Mom Chat - we’re talking friendships!  (Fitting, don’t cha think?)

Everything is Editorial. Unless It’s Not.

Monday, May 17th, 2010 by Michelle

There’s been much conversation happening all over the Internet about blogger revenue, paid reviews and what not over the past few weeks.  We were the topic of a recent post entitled:  Bloggers and PR payola: is this the future?

Community rocks.  I love how (most) everyone pulls together through this new landscape in an effort to determine the best way to navigate the ever changing “guidelines”.  For us, this is not a discussion on monetization and revenue, we have built in alternative revenue streams to manage that aspect of our business.

We all have our individual business models, content guidelines and opinions on what makes the wheel turn during this new era of publishing.  As Eden Spodek said, we have much to learn from each other.

A few weeks ago, we launched our paid reviews through our Mom Influencers.  Did that ever stir the embers in the discussions.  Thankfully, mostly everyone saw that we had the right intentions behind our program.  No, we were not trying to make a buck.  We were trying to build an integrity factor into the much debated process of blogger reviews.

Integrity is Everything.  No, this is not about Commerce vs. Credibility.  It is about protecting reviews from the bad apples for both the readers and the brands.  IMO.

We feel that free products = payment for some bloggers who may have felt they had to say something nice because they received the product for free.  Certainly our reviews were not tainted with this brush and nor were many other bloggers providing reviews with integrity.

However, some bloggers don’t necessarily row in the same boat.  I have read terrible stories of bloggers scamming the system by not even testing the product for review, selling it for money, writing a “fake” review and moving on.  (No, I will not post links because we are not in the business of pot stirring.)

We desperately wanted to create a program through our Mom Influencers that would hopefully try and avoid such nonsense.  A program that created a win for both our readers AND the brands that wanted to share their story.

See, we feel there is a difference between an individual blog and a program that gathers a group of bloggers for the purposes of reviews.  No longer is it simply our own integrity on the line but that of numerous other personalities, opinions and styles.

We wanted to find a way of publishing reviews through our network that put a stop to the nonsense.  “Hey, we’re gonna pay you whether you actually like the product or not, so at least do your readers and the brand the decency of fully reviewing the product and sharing your honest thoughts.”

But apparently that has not landed so well throughout the community.

Some, although adamantly disagreeing with us, have supported us in trying to find a better way to manage the process.  (We ♥ you, you know who you are!)

And some have just attacked us.

And yes — it hurt.

C’est la vie.  We’re tough cookies.

We know in our hearts that we are trying to create content that serves the best interest of our readers and brands.

How do we continue providing product coverage with the general consensus being paid reviews = tainted content?

We simply can NOT put ourselves in the tainted content category.  We won’t.

But what is the answer?

We are not a review blog.  We are on online magazine that features relevant, engaging content on Everything Mom, not just products.  We cannot take up a huge chunk of our editor’s time simply writing reviews.  And not pay her for it.

One very smart gal told us that we can just say no.  So that’s what we are going to do.

Say no.  Unless it totally rocks.

Starting now, everything you see on EM is Editorial.  Unless it’s not (marked with ADVERTISEMENT of ADVERTORIAL).  That is what the community wants.  We listened.  We always listen.  We learn, grow and create what the community wants.

We are going to replace our reviews category with a new column - Everything Fabulous.  We are going to pay an editor to find what’s hot for moms and their families.  In this sense, our editor is still getting compensated for her time, but the content is created from a place of service to our readers vs requests from brands.

Sure, brands can send our editor products, ideas or invite us to experience your story through an event.  In fact we’d love to hear about products that might be useful to families.  However, we will not “review” your product.  We may feature it in our Everything Fabulous column, or we might even write a stand alone piece if we feel that would work better.

But there are no guarantees that products will be featured in our Everything Fabulous column.

We are no longer being run by requests for coverage.  If brands want immediate coverage, or guaranteed coverage — we invite you to purchase advertising.

Plus, we will still have our Mom Influencers who focus on reviews. We will, however, remove anyone from the program who does not show as much integrity as we do for our editorial reviews.  Include the good and the bad, put your full efforts into the review for the benefits or your readers etc.  We need to respect our community and since they view paid reviews as tainted content, it does mean our Mom Influencers will no longer be paid. And just like us, our Mom Influencers can just-say-no.

Like social media, we’re young and trying to figure out what works best for you, our readers; the brands who want to speak to them and ourselves. This probably won’t be the last change as this is a growing and evolving environment, but we feel this is one step closer to meeting everyone’s needs. We hope going forward we can all continue to educate and support each other as we learn together.

Sound good?  Disagree?  We’re still listening, we’ll never stop.

Promote your Discount and Shopping Deals

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 by Michelle

We have just added a new category to our Mom Pages –> Discount Codes: Shopping Deals for Mom.  If your business is offering a discount, feel free to add it to this area of our directory for free, with no need for a link back.  As per our submission guidelines, all other areas (besides our Twitter Directory) require a link back in order to be listed for free.  If you have already added your discount to your listing in one of the other areas, you can add your business to this category as well.  We want to make it super easy for moms to find your discount / deal.

So go ahead and add your discount / deal! (You must be logged in to submit listings to our Mom Pages.)

Stay tuned, soon we are launching “The Real Deal” issue of our newsletter highlighting amazing shopping deals for moms.  If you are interested in being featured, please contact andrea {at} everythingmom {dot} com.

Paid Reviews: Why Our Mom Influencers are Paid to Review Products

Friday, April 16th, 2010 by Michelle

EDIT:

We listened to the community.  We are NO LONGER PAYING FOR REVIEWS.  Please see this post for more info >>

Post continues…

This post has been rolling around in my head since we stared our review section at EverythingMom.  I don’t blog often, writing kinda freaks me out a little.

So when the time came that I needed to write this somewhat controversial post, I stalled.  I read the debates around the blogosphere about paid reviews.  Some said paid reviews compromised integrity and others said they did not want to read paid reviews because they did not believe them.  Some bloggers have stopped doing reviews all together because it is too much work.

The general consensus, it seems, is that paid reviews are a big no-no.  Yet here we are, going completely against the grain.  Sure there are sites out there that offer paid reviews.  But generally, when moms jump into the conversation, they say with gumption - no.  No paid reviews for me.

I took each position in, weighing it’s merits, seeing how EverythingMom might fit in to this arena.  We were already playing in it full out with our very own Reviews section.  And we stood by the same position — no paid reviews.  To this day, Carrie Anne has not been compensated (outside of product) for reviews.  But I am out to change that.

Carrie Anne has put her heart, soul and honesty into each and every review.  She shares the good, and the not so good, if applicable.  If she felt the product was not a fit at all for our readers, she did not review it.  (Why waste anyone’s time, including our readers?)  We wanted (and still want) to share what works with our community, not what doesn’t. We are not here to “brand bash” as Christine Young’s husband Rob says.

Carrie Anne is spending more than she is earning.  In time and energy.  Not to mention taxes!  All products bloggers keep for review purposes are to be claimed on taxes.  So it actually costs Carrie Anne money to review the product.

For me, that does not cut it anymore.  I place far more value on her, the brands and our readers.  And I believe you should too.

Let me explain…

I hear all arguments (and there is a lot) and agree with them, for the most part.  But this was a hard one for me to play with.  Generally these are my thoughts –

  • Bloggers should be able to write about what they love, with their readers in mind.
  • Bloggers opinions should not be bought, but their time should.

Let’s talk about the bloggers.
For this program, we are talking about situations where PR companies contact bloggers for reviews.  We are not talking about situations where you found this product you love and you just want to shout it out to the world.  Share, write, do what you want to do.  But when PR companies reach out to you directly, send you a product for review, want your time and your opinion, that is what this conversation is about.

That is what happens here at EM all the time.   Carrie Anne spends stacks of time pumping out quality, honest reviews for both the reader and the brand.  For free, outside of product.  Is Carrie Anne’s time not worth anything but a free product?  How about your time?  There was even a big hubalub about a PR Blackout, that moms were getting overwhelmed with product reviews.  Choosing product review opportunities that work for the blogger would not lead to burn-out IMO.

Let’s talk about the brand.
The value they receive in a review is worth its weight in gold.  They are able to put their product in front of a mom who cares enough to take time out to write about it.  To share it with her community.  To have a conversation about it with her friends, her followers and her readers.  The feedback from one mother is valuable enough, but to spread her thoughts to her network?  Ask for their feedback?  Word of mouth marketing at its best.

The benefits go beyond the blogger’s network into search.  Many moms search for product reviews prior to purchase, so in this way, the value is extended in both time and reach. Brands know this.

Let’s talk about the review facilitators.
You know that there are many companies out there who are facilitating reviews.  “Sign up to be a product tester!  Share your opinions!”  But the facilitating company keeps all the money.  They get paid and — you, as the one who posts the reviews, tell the brands what they want to hear (good or bad) — don’t.  They get paid for facilitating.  Which they should…  But so should you.  Everyone should win.  Everyone should be paid for the time if their time is requested.

I have noodled this for a long time.  How can we ensure value to everyone when it comes to reviews?  How can we facilitate a program with both value and integrity for the blogger, the brand and the reader?

I have tried to find a solution that meets everyone’s needs.  Here is what I have come up with.  The goals we hope to achieve with this program are:

For Brands

  • Put your product in the hands of moms who want to offer their honest feedback about your product (you are not buying their opinion, you are buying their time)
  • If moms like your product, they will want to spread the word to their on and offline networks.
  • If they don’t, they will tell you why.  Directly.  Honestly.  Tell you how they think it could be improved to be a fit within their family.
  • It’s like your own private focus group offering honest opinions without bias.

For Bloggers

  • Get the inside scoop on products that enhance the lives of your family.
  • Enjoy receiving products to incorporate into your family’s lifestyle.
  • Get compensated for your time to review the product and share your honest opinion whether you post or not.
  • That means you blog with true integrity.  You don’t feel you need to post good things about it just because you received the product for free or because you got paid.
  • You can connect with brands on a deeper level.  Truly share what is important to you in a product.  You can share you inner most thoughts about the product with the brand directly, with kindness.  Influence how products are made and marketed.  Brands want to hear your honest feedback.  Here’s your chance.
  • If you love the product, you can post and share with your network.
  • If you don’t, you have the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with the makers to tell them why.

For Readers

  • Read reviews that are written with the deepest sense of integrity.
  • That means, you know if you are reading an EverythingMom review, it was posted because she truly loves the product, not because she felt she had to post it because she received a free product.  (She gets paid whether she likes it or not with no pressure to say so otherwise.)
  • You know that our Mom Infuencers are working with brands, one-on-one to help them make products better for everyone. Win-win.
  • Each EverythingMom review has a clear disclaimer linking to our review policies — that it was a paid review and why that’s a good thing.

As with everything, this is a work in progress.  We are navigating our way through this new territory, just like you.  But we believe in value.  We value our writers, our readers, our bloggers and our brands.

And we value your opinion.  What do you think about paid reviews?  Do you think this program will help build integrity and value into reviews for everyone involved?

The Myth of Balancing Everything

Monday, January 18th, 2010 by Michelle

Balance is not Everything.  I’ve tried all the tricks in attempt to create it in hopes that it will fix everything.  Parts of me still tries to convince myself that balance is the answer, that balance is all I need.

But I don’t.  I need joy.  That’s what I discovered.  24 days in Mexico will do that to a girl.

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When I stopped trying to reach for that thing called balance, and started focusing on what would bring more joy to my life, balance just somehow started to happen.

Rewind to Pre-Mexico:

Everything was pretty messy.  I was in the throws of business negotiations, my marriage was struggling, my kids had piles of to-dos for both school and activities and I would not let anyone near my house for reasons I am sure you can imagine.  (I probably would not even recognize my friends if they rang my bell anyhow…)

We’re all busy, I get that.  But I was unhappily-busy.  I had created all sorts of avoidance techniques to fool me and everyone else that I had it all together.  But in reality, I was falling apart.  And who was I fooling, really?

My joy was lost somewhere between my to-list and my what-the-hell-am-I-doing-with-my-life list.  I didn’t know what I was working towards anymore.  I doubted everything.  My abilities, my dreams, my relationships - what did everything mean anymore?  Is this what I wanted to model for my kids?

Mexico is a very lovely place to have a breakdown.

For so long I avoided that pain, that doubt, that insecurity.  But when I finally gave myself permission to feel shitty, to wail at the ocean, to unload - that is when things started to feel better.  That is when I saw a glimmer of clarity.  That is when I was able to make decisions to shift from finding balance to finding joy.

It does not matter how many hours a week we work, how many piles of laundry we have or how many projects we have on the go.

What matters is that we are happy.  Not grin-and-bear-it happy, but that I’m-good-with-where-I’m-at happy.  That, our to-do list - no matter how long it is - includes those things that bring us joy.  I have forgotten to put these things on my list for a very long time.  Heck, I didn’t even know what those items were.

Sure, there are going to be tasks that we don’t particularly enjoy.  But if we are doing enough things that DO bring us joy - then it does not feel so overwhelming, so heavy.

So, I’ve been making changes everywhere.

One change that I am most excited about is we’ve got ourselves a new Managing Editor here at EverythingMom.com.  I’m sure you all know her very well and love her as much as I do.

Carrie Anne Badov has been a wonderful inspiration to me (and many others) since the dawn of Everything.  I am so thrilled to welcome her to our team.  Carrie Anne will now manage the process of EverythingMom as Managing Editor.  Please welcome Carrie Anne to the team!

Having Carrie Anne take on this role frees me up to be creative.  To build and develop the heart of EverythingMom — compelling content & tools to inspire, empower and support our community.

Having Carrie Anne frees me up to do things for me.  For my children, for my relationships.  For life.

I am looking forward to my to-do list in 2010.  Because it starts with joy.

Thanks for being part of Everything - I love you all.

xoxo
Michelle

Review Blogger Needed for Baby Products Reviews

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 by Michelle

Do you have a baby  (0-12 months)?  Do love free stuff?  Want to have your say?  Yes?  We want to hear from you.

We have just recently launched our review section and the requests are flooding in!   We are looking to add a review blogger to join Carrie Anne to review Everything Baby.  Interested?  Here’s what we are looking for:

  1. You must have a baby 0-12 months old
  2. You already review products on your own blog and like having your say
  3. You like to take pictures and share your thorough, honest opinions on products you test
  4. You’ll help us spread the word about EverythingMom.com

Along with the free stuff, you get a cute little author box at the bottom of each review driving traffic right back to your own blog.

If this has your name all over it, please send me an email to hi [at] everythingmom.com with a link to sample reviews you have done in the past.

Good luck, mamas!

Our Write & Win Winner is…

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 by Michelle

A BIG CONGRATS to Loukia who won our Write & Win Contest for her “Life as a Mom” entry! She has won over$1000 in cash and prizes - way to go!  A close runner up was Kelli with her entry Booby Wars.  Awesome stories were entered by all.

Alice.com also chose their own special winner of an additional $50 Alice.com credit and a feature on the Alice.com blog.   That Dreaded Call was the winning entry!  Congrats to Paula!

Thank you to everyone who participated and supported our Write & Win Contest!


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