I read a lot of mom blogs. It's inevitable. Owning a site where thousands of mom bloggers convergegives me a keen look at the digital mom space and who's in it. Most mom bloggers, I've noticed, really aren't blogging for the cold hard cash. Rather, they are newer bloggers with small children who might review products on occasion, but who mainly tell stories about their everyday lives. Many of these blogs remind me of how the mom blogging community was seven years ago when all we did was talk about our families and daily lives.
 

That said, what I have also noticed is when these same bloggers who start out to write as a hobby want to turn their blog into a business there are problems that arise. The main problem I see is they lack the vision to craft a viable brand. That's not a bad thing. If you don't come from a business background you can definitely stumble along the way. I know I have.
 

If you are a blogger who wants to hone your brand and turn your blog into a business you have to do certain things for brands and PR firms to take you seriously and really recognize you for the brand you have created. The number one way to craft is brand is by using brand consistency.
 

1. Own your domain. I cannot express this enough. If you have a .wordpress or .blogspot blog you won't go as far as those bloggers who have bought and registered their domain name. It's really that simple.
2. Create your blog's email address. For example, make sure that your email address it you@yourdomain.com instead of you@yahoo.com. This helps to further solidify your brand.
3. Make sure your blog's title and URL are consistent. Believe it or not, it is difficult for brands and their PR reps to wrap their head around your blog's brand if you have a URL, but the title of your blog is something completely different. That's like me have www.momblogmagazine.com and naming my blog "Top Kitchen Recipes". It doesn't work and is confusing, so make sure your URL and blog title are the same or virtually the same. It helps to wipe out confusion.
4. Make sure your social media presence is also consistent with your brand's name. If you are serious about building your blog's brand you also have to make sure your presence is consistent across the Net. That means your Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, Tumblr, and Google+ accounts should all be the same or have slight differences only if you cannot secure the name of your brand on a certain site. Make every effort, however, to grab your brand's name the moment a new service comes along that you use for your blog.
5. Keep your branding consistent off-line as well. If you get business cards made make sure you have all of the aforementioned done so your branding is consistent on the business cards you will be passing out as you network with brands, PR reps, and fellow bloggers.

While this advice has been churned out by me and others over the years it definitely bears repeating as I see the same mistakes over and over and over again. When I work with bloggers on large brand campaigns through our sister site, Mom Bloggers Club, I can only work with those who understand that branding is important to their blog and I know I am not alone. Be sure to implement these tips if you want to turn your blog into a business.