Colleen Pierre was popular as “Malta Mama” but now she’s even more popular as “Saratoga Mama.” The mother of two has spearheaded two popular blogs in less than three years and made a name for herself in the process.
“I started it to be a resource for families living in Malta and the surrounding area,” said Pierre, creator of SaratogaMama.com. “My intent is to build the best resource for families in Saratoga County.
She’ll share her tips on blogging success at “Blogging 101: How to Create a Successful Blog!” on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Round Lake Library Malta Branch.
Pierre launched MaltaMama.com two years ago and posted daily. Sometimes she’d blog about events, other times she’d showcase a great local park and eventually she was even able to hold giveaways.
“I feel like MaltaMama.com was such a learning process for me. I learned so much doing that and had I known when I started what I know now, I would have done some things differently,” said Pierre.
With MaltaMama.com she built a solid readership base, like Kristen Champion-Terrell of Milton, who looked to her site for family-friendly activities.
“I’ve only lived in the area about three years and was very unfamiliar with what’s going on, so her site was so wonderful in terms of highlighting special events and parks and things I could do with my children,” said Champion-Terrell, who has a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old.
About six months ago, the domain name SaratogaMama.com became available and Pierre quickly scooped it up and switched over.
“I think Saratoga is a little bit more high profile in general, so I certainly had a lot of readers I brought over from MaltaMama.com but with Saratoga the reach is just greater,” said Pierre. “It’s about the county, not just the four blocks of downtown Saratoga Springs.”
SaratogaMama.com has tips on how to live better, how to have more fun and is all about finding family events and connecting with the community, said Pierre. The ability for users to post their own events on the website’s calendar promotes that synergy Pierre strives for.
“If you’re a mom and want to start a walking club in a state park you can submit that as an event so other people can see you and join you,” said Pierre. “Or if a business is having an event you can submit that. … It’s a great feature because I’m getting the community involved and plugging in the community as well.”
That central community resource is what Champion-Terrell said she likes even more about SaratogaMama.com.
“I really love it because not only does she highlight events and blog about different things, anybody in the community who has an event they think would be of interest to families can post it,” said Champion-Terrell.
Champion-Terrell tried out posting for herself and advertised an event her church was holding for families.
“It’s a nice, supportive resource,” said Champion-Terrell.
Pierre also runs a Facebook swap group for Saratoga followers that Champion-Terrell finds useful.
“If you have an item you don’t need you can give it way, sell it, do whatever,” said Champion-Terrell. “It’s just a nice little extra. She’s always thinking of an extra idea and support for moms.”
The success of her two blogs wasn’t immediate and didn’t come easy, something Pierre plans to emphasize to prospective bloggers who attend her library event.
“It takes time, a lot of trial and error,” said Pierre. “I love technology and have always embraced it so I’m never afraid to try things and experiment. … It certainly is a lot of hard work and you have to be dedicated to it.”
Conquering the learning curve can be as simple as reading other people’s blogs.
“I get a lot of inspiration from seeing what other people are doing,” said Pierre.
Another key to finding blog fame (or whatever you consider success) is to post regular, fresh content.
“Really sticking to a schedule and committing to putting out regular content,” said Pierre. “I’d say minimum of once a week and most people want more. … Always give people a reason to come back.”
Blogging was never about making money, said Pierre, but it is a possibility.
“When you have a decent enough traffic you can solicit advertising and I have been fortunate to make some money with my websites through advertising and sponsorship,” said Pierre.
She’s relied on social media like Facebook and Twitter to promote the blogs and attracted both readers and “business partners” that way.
“A lot of times I’ll do reviews and giveaways. People will give me products and services to try and I can give that away to readers,” said Pierre.
Perhaps the most important thing to do when fulfilling a blogging dream is to know your purpose and convey it.
“I think everybody has something they’re passionate about that they’re able to express to others. It can just be fun and therapeutic hobby,” said Pierre. “Some people knit, some people blog.”
