UW-Green Bay grad is a ‘dot com mom’

Lisa (Stache) Martin, a 2001 Interdisciplinary Studies grad (and Business Administration minor) through UW-Green Bay’s Adult Degree Program, has developed a fan following and part-time income as a dot-com mom.

In her four blogs, the Green Bay native offers hints on saving money, finding useful household products and dealing with tough family situations.

“I write about everything. Basically, you name it, I’ll write about it,” said Martin, a married mother of two kids, ages 5 and 2, living in suburban Chicago. She says she writes for the other “everyday moms” like her out there.

Listen to an audio interview with Lisa

1.6 MB | 2:45 | Download audio file | Skip to transcript

Martin, a stay-at-home mom, at least until her kids get older, makes a few thousand dollars a year through blogging. It’s not much, but “it pays for the extras, really,” she says. “We’ve been able to go to Disney (World). We remodeled the basement last year. It helps in this economy where you never know from week to week.”

She got started blogging in 2006, writing for family and friends so she could to keep them up to date about her own family of four.

In time, she pursued blogging more seriously and more consistently, eventually developing four popular blogs — MyThoughtsIdeasAndRamblings.com, LisaReviews.com, LisaCooking.com and LisasTravels.com — that are supported by a blogging management company that sometimes provides her with ideas, products or things to write about.

Products come to her unsolicited — she’s been flown to Sony’s offices in California to review digital cameras, and she’s been to the corporate headquarters of Stouffer’s and Procter and Gamble (the makers of Pampers diapers) so she could learn about their products.

Usually, she writes about the things in her everyday life, from the meals she makes at night, to the toys her children play with, to the weekend trips back to Green Bay’s Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.

Martin doesn’t know what kind of job she’ll want to do when she re-enters the traditional workforce after her kids are older. But the blogging has put her Interdisciplinary Studies major to good use in the interim.

“With the Interdisciplinary Studies program, it was really good (for me). I got a good cross-section of all the different disciplines,” she said. “I would have to think that it helps with what I’m doing now since I write about everything.”

Interested in Martin’s blogs? Here are the links:

http://mythoughtsideasandramblings.com/
http://lisareviews.com/
http://lisacooking.com/
http://lisastravels.com/

Audio Transcript

Questioner
We’re on the line with Lisa Martin, a UW-Green Bay class of 2001 grad and a ‘dot com mom,’ who runs four blogs about a mom’s life, products, travel and cooking.

Lisa, how did you get started blogging?

Lisa Martin
I started my blog in 2006, and I basically did that just to keep my family updated on my kids and all that kind of stuff. So it started off as a ‘keep-in-touch-with-people’ type of thing. Then I found out you can make money with it.

Questioner
Tell us about your blogs. What are they and what do you write about?

Lisa
I write about everything. Basically, if you name it, I’ll write about it.
My personal blog is my thoughts, ideas, and ramblings. That’s pretty much about my kids and my family, what’s going on in my life.

Lisa reviews is my review blog. It’s just products that I like. Just what my thoughts are on different products.

Lisa’s travels is my travel blog. Basically, if I find out different events that are going on I put them up there to let other people know and I blog about where we’ve been.

Lisa cooking, that’s one everybody laughs at because I’m not really that good of a cook. But I’m picky, I have semi-picky kids, and I need recipes that I can do with two kids, 5 and under, under foot.

Questioner
Does the Interdisciplinary Studies degree you earned from UW-Green Bay help out with your blogging?

Lisa
It was really good. I got a good cross-section of all the different disciplines. I would have to think that it helps with what I’m doing now since I write about everything.

Questioner
How did you develop a following to your blogs?

Lisa
If you want to get noticed, the easiest way to do it is check out other people’s blogs and comment on them. Read their posts. Leave a good comment. Don’t be just, ‘Hi, I like your blog.’ Comment on what they wrote about. Most bloggers will look at your comment. When you leave a comment, you leave your (blogs) domain or URL (web address) in the comments.

Questioner
Any advice to aspiring bloggers?

Lisa
Be yourself. The best thing is don’t start a blog to make money because you won’t. You have to be interested in what you’re writing about, and be true to you.

Questioner
Thanks, Lisa, and happy blogging.

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