Go Blog or Go Home and Dare to Disclose - Weekly Wings

Terry had the great pleasure of attending the BlogHer (a community of women who blog) ’10 conference last week where 2,400 women bloggers filed into the Hilton New York for two-days worth of inspiration, empowerment, to network and to learn a thing or two about a thing or two (amidst sightings of Padma and Bruce Jenner who were there supporting the brands Hillshire Farms and Tropicana, respectively).

Thing 1 - FTC Rules: According to Stacey Ferguson (on Butterfly’s hit-list for 2011 mom mentor interviews), Attorney in the FTC’s Division of Advertising Practices, bloggers and their relationships with brands must be disclosed. Simply, if you are being compensated to review or endorse a product you must let your readers know. Be clear. Be prominent without being overt. Disclose naturally/organically (ie: Twitter) even if you received a product via affiliate link or if you are getting paid to run a contest or giveaway. Know that it is the brand’s responsibility to ensure monitoring and compliance. As such, it is the brand that will be in hot water with the FTC.

Thing 2- Standard point of view: Communicate to the reasonable consumer – even the one who doesn't watch TV. Attending experts in marketing to women included Susan Getgood and Holly Buchanan. Holly states, “Real life is far more wacky and entertaining than fiction. And yet, look at ads targeting moms. They are full of bland, predictable, cliche-filled dribble.”

And of course, there was the amazing Lisa Stone, co-founder and CEO of BlogHer whose favorite topic was the topic of COURAGE. Courage to put your voice on a page- “Brave act!” Memorable women and moments continued at BlogHer with Yahoo! Shine as they filmed women who told their "inspiring stories of reinvention." You can check out Terry’s video interview here! Learn how Terry spent over 30 years in Corporate America trying to climb the corporate ladder and break the glass ceiling until she was approached by yours truly (that’d be me), to build a place where moms could go to get all the support they need. Terry has since learned a new kind of success - Making a difference in the lives of mothers.