The Mommy Diaries: How I am Surviving Parenting Without Killing Anyone

Dominique Book Review, Parenting and Kids, Recommendations Dallas Louis, Parenting Views, The Mommy Diaries

Mommy Diaries book cover
The Mommy Diaries: How I’m Surviving Parenting without Killing Anyone by Dallas Louis is a book which I can really relate to. The book chronicles Dallas journey through motherhood from being a new mom of one to a mother of three within 26 months.

In the book Dallas Louis talks about how she went through 3 difficult pregnancies one after another with each one worst then the previous. During her 3rd pregnancy she had to have full bed rest due to the extreme nausea that she had. She also talks about the horrific experiences she had during their family vacation to Disneyland where her youngest tackled Cinderella to the ground.

Kids have their own agenda and propaganda as compared to how we, adults, try our best to plan for them. It almost (never) works out the way she plans or expects them to be when they meet up with their relatives. Or the time when the kids take turn to fall sick with the roto-virus and it really sent her world into a spiral.

My thoughts

I’m lucky that I didn’t have the same experience that she had during my 3 pregnancies as I was working full time and didn’t have the help from the grandparents or hubby on a regular basis. It would be certainly catastrophic

I can really relate with the lack of sleep on a continuous basis and being paranoid about the kids and their safety when out with them. I also agree hands down on the part of the Daddy being able to sleep through all the past midnight demands from the kids and they look for Mommy first before anyone else to settle their wants and needs.

I too am one of the moms who have got an animal backpack (leash) for my kids to use when they started running away from me and refusing to hold my hand when we go out. I really find it very effective and am still using it with the youngest.

You learn a lot about yourself and parenting after you have your kids. Reading about Dallas story really reminded me about how my live too have evolved after the kids were born.

In all I found this a fabulous read and certainly recommend this book to any parent.

You can purchase a copy of this book from Amazon

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are 100% my own.

This post has a compensation level of 3. For more information visit our Disclosure Policy

April 25, 2012

10 Things to Consider Before Doing a Sponsored Post

Dominique Recommendations blogging tips

Blogging

I have been blogging for quite a while and have taken on doing sponsored post as a form of revenue for maintaining this blog. Recently I’ve had a rather bad experience with a company who was unprofessional and unethical and it left a bad aftertaste in my mouth. It only shows that there are still many dodgy and unprofessional people in the blogsphere. Based on my experience I am sharing some tips to look out for before you do a sponsored post so you will not have to undergo such experiences.

Get your blog up and running
Many advertising companies do not accept new blogs with little content on it. Set up your social media accounts and relevant links to your blog while adding content to your blog. With regular content on your blog people and PR will start noticing your site.
Set up a Google Analytic account and a Statscounter account.
I have both setup for this blog so that I am able to track the needed information required by PR.
Create a Media Kit
Have a page or a PDF of your blog stats and blog info as your business card for you to use when you are approaching sponsors.
Check the credibility of the company.
Even though they maybe a big brand name it doesn’t mean that they are more credible then the small business down the road. It always pays to do a thorough check especially if they approach you.
Adhere to FTC Disclosure Guidelines
Disclosures are a must if you do a sponsored post. There are several companies who think that it is not important to follow rules. Ditch them!! It is not worth the $$ if the FTC comes a knocking at your door.
Go with the reputable blog networks.
If you are starting out doing sponsored post SocialSparks is a good place to start. I have been doing ops from that company for a few years now and they do have great opps for my blog and payment is prompt.
Do follow links are a no-no
I don’t work with companies which require do-follow links. The other party is the only one who benefits from it and Google does penalize you for doing so. I recently received an e-mail from a company which I did a sponsored post a few years ago asking me to change their links from do-follow to no-follow. Upon further inquiry they mentioned that Google had send them regarding unnatural links so they were adding no-follow to all paid posts links to comply with Google’s rulings. I’ve have personally seen sites drop from a PR 3 to 0 overnight as they were being penalized for “do follow” links.
Check if it is a good fit for your blog
Here on Dominique’s Desk I interject my normal posting with reviews/ sponsored posts so that there is a healthy blend of articles/post for every reader. As my blog is a family friendly one I only accept doing reviews of items which families can use and am personally interested in.
Negotiate time frame and payment.
I have experienced companies who go AWOL after you have the sponsored post up and drag on their payment. It is best to have these stated clearly especially if you are dealing with sponsors on a one-to-one basis.
Set your advertising rates
You need to decide what you are worth for the time and effort that you would need to invest in creating the post. You will only be doing yourself a disservice if you sell yourself cheap and work for peanuts.