Cision Makes Working With Mom Blogs Easier With List of Most Influential Blogs in the Category

Extensive research delivers list of blogs by moms; company urges PR pros to do their homework and use common sense when approaching bloggers

CHICAGO, IL, June 23, 2008 — Cision, the leading provider of media research, distribution, monitoring and analysis services, continued its expansion into new media, announcing it has compiled information on hundreds of “mom (or mommy) blogs” – blogs written by moms for moms – for its Cision media database. Blogs authored by mothers are one of the more influential social media communities, engaging with a market of more than 30 million women in North America between the ages of 18 and 42 who directly influence household spending estimated at more than $1 trillion a year.

Mom Blogs Download

At the same time, as part of its ongoing effort to help its customers improve communication with the media, eradicate email PR spamming, and establish other best practices for the PR industry, Cision released a tip sheet covering the do’s and don’ts of engaging with moms who blog. (A copy of “Ten Tips on Reaching out to Mom Blogs: How – and How Not – to Join the Online Conversation about Motherhood, Childrearing and 21st-Century Family Life” can be downloaded at us.cision.com/momblog).

In compiling the list for its CisionPoint media database customers, Cision researchers interviewed numerous mommy bloggers to gain insight into the information they need, as well as what kinds of pitches they want to hear. The Cision list includes only those blogs that accept advertising, write about products and services, or are open to being contacted and provided with information that would be relevant to their blogs. Cision excluded from the list blogs that are more personal in nature and not receptive to information from PR pros.

“Mom blogs comprise one of the most popular blog categories, and they provide an excellent opportunity to reach mothers, fathers and families,” said Peter Granat, Cision Executive Vice President. “However, PR professionals must take great care in how they communicate with mothers who blog, or any bloggers for that matter. Spamming a news release or email to a list of bloggers will result in nothing but grief for both PR pros and bloggers. There is a right and wrong way to approach blogs, and it begins with common sense and relationship development.”

Estimates are wide ranging as to how many mom blogs there are. Blogher, the number-one community for and guide to blogs by women, lists nearly 3,300 self-described mommy blogs on its website http://www.blogher.com/blogroll/mommy-and-family-blogs. Other estimates range as high as 15,000. However, only a subset of these are appropriate vehicles for PR messages. Cision’s highly qualified list based on careful research helps eliminate the guesswork about which are the most important or influential.

In Cision’s research interviews with authors of popular blogs for moms, some welcomed contact from PR people, while others offered words of caution. “I’m tapped into PR companies and media outlets,” said Whitney Wingerd of Mommies with Style. “People submit products to us. They’ll send us products either to me or one of my writers and then we’ll test it out. And if we like it, we’ll write it up.”

However, Elizabeth Thielkeland of Busymom.net warned that poorly prepared PR people will pay a price: “Don’t pretend you’ve read my site when you haven’t. And reading what I write about is more than taking the first post or second post and throwing it in the pitch.”

Overall, the number of women using the internet has tripled in the last three years to more than 32 million, according to industry studies. Mommy blogs cover a wide range of topics, including parenting, child safety, medical concerns, the environment, financial management, shopping tips, fashion, education, activities for children, etc. A small sampling of the blogs included in the Cision database:

The Cision database is updated regularly with new blogs and new information for existing blogs. The database also includes details on how, when and why these bloggers should or should not be pitched.

About Cision:
Cision is a leading global media intelligence company, serving the complete workflow of today’s communications, social media and content marketing professionals. Offering the industry’s most comprehensive PR and social software, rich analytics and a Global Insights team, Cision enables clients to improve their marketing and strengthen data-driven decision making. Cision also represents the Gorkana Group, PRWeb, Help a Reporter Out (HARO) and iContact brands. Headquartered in Chicago, Cision has over 100,000 customers worldwide and maintains offices in Canada, U.K., France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Finland and China. For more information, visit www.cision.com or follow @Cision on Twitter.