With BlogHer ’10 Conference starting this week, the women of the Internet, especially the “mommy bloggers”, are getting excited for the big trip to New York City, and you can bet that companies around the globe are getting excited over having all these influential women in one spot at one time.  But even if you are not planning on attending the Internet’s largest MNO (Moms Night Out), you can still effectively market to this ever-growing group.

Think of it this way: Moms are known for giving advice.  From baby-rearing to cooking dinner, your Mama definitely has an opinion that she will give regardless of if you asked for it or not.  According to Technorati, 70% of bloggers organically talk about brands on their blogs. From restaurants to dishwashing detergent, 46% regularly post about brands they love or hate, while 38% of them do proper, brand-pitched product reviews.  That’s a lot of advice-giving going on. Being a mom, and a blogger, I’ve come up with the top three things a brand can do to effectively market to this outspoken group.

Give them something to talk about
While many Moms online may not be “expert critics”, keep in mind neither are many of the people reading most critic’s articles. Can you tell when your local restaurant adds a pinch too much cumin to your entree? Probably not, but you can sure tell when your waiter is rude or your food is cold.  And the tale of both stories may get that restaurant equal amounts of attention.

Mommy bloggers want a good story, they want an experience, they want a picture to post that makes others out there think “Oh, how cool is that?! I want to do that too!” Brands obviously want to be mentioned with a good story– but remember that stories and experiences that are not good also get a lot of attention. A great example of that is last year’s Dooce vs. Maytag conflict. An outspoken woman with a huge national following gets a lemon of a washing machine that keeps breaking while she’s trying to wash clothes for her newborn daughter – great story for Heather Armstrong, but disaster in the making for Maytag.

While that is definitely the extreme case scenario, it’s a good thing to keep in mind. When going after a mom blogger, try and give them something positive to talk about, something to brag about or something that they can’t wait to tell their readers about.

Respect them as you would other audiences
Like Maytag has now learned, never underestimate the power of a blogger you are reaching out to. If you think a blogger has only a local, niche release, think again. With the majority of bloggers on Facebook and Twitter, you can never be sure which particular post will get picked up on Digg, re-posted and re-tweeted. Treat every blogger as you would treat CBS Nightly News, with respect and professionalism.  With that also comes doing your homework. Just because someone is a self-described “mommy blogger” doesn’t mean she is still your target audience; a mom who writes about her teen sons is probably not the best person to pitch for the latest trend in disposable diapers. Read past posts, and get to know the blogs and the writers that you are pitching.  When you do pitch, point out past posts in your outreach or why you think this particular story or product will be interesting for them. Keep in mind the wrath of an overtired, cloth-diapering Mama on a rant can generate a lot of negative attention.

The Truth About Gifts
Where your research will also be important is seeing who takes but maybe not gives…or perhaps who gives too much. While the new FTC guidelines impose rules on disclosure of gifts, it can’t make a blogger tell the truth about a product, nor does the FTC require a blogger to write about products that they receive.  Putting it in basic terms, everyone likes to receive things for free – and some will talk each gift up for days just to continue to get free things. While it’s not a bad thing, it’s something that a brand should monitor. You want someone to genuinely be excited about your product – not just excited to get something.  When researching the blogger, note the previous reviews and make a careful decision before handing out your goods. Also, make sure that you check to see if that blogger has a disclosure and review policy posted on their site.

While seemingly simple, many brands seem to forget these basics when going after parent bloggers. When in doubt, just remember to be professional, respectful and polite – just like your mother raised you to be.