2015-07-01

Your Next Opportunity

Macaroni Kid was founded with two very specific goals: enrich communities and empower moms. They call it “E2,” and it is the driving force behind all that they do.

Macaroni Kid publishes weekly, hyper-local e-newsletters and websites featuring events, activities, products and places for moms, kids and families. They host local events and parties, and connect with their communities via rich and extensive social media channels.

Each community is managed by a local publisher mom or dad. They are the go-to parents in their communities, and connect both online and off. They know their local communities, and their local communities know them.

On top of 500+ local editions, Macaroni Kid publishes seven national editions focused on special-interest content: Macaroni Kid Family Travel, Macaroni Kid Family Fitness, Macaroni EATS for the family foodies, Macaroni Kid Family Safety, Macaroni Stork, Macaroni Military Family, and Macaroni Kid National.

Melissa Alcorn, Vice President of Macaroni Kid started out, and still publishes, Macaroni Kid in her community, Bloomington-Normal. She was considering starting a blog when a friend told her about Macaroni Kid almost four-and-a-half years ago. She has been embracing it ever since and shares a bit more about what makes Macaroni Kid such a unique opportunity.

MACARONI KID IS NOT A BLOG

Technically, no, Macaroni Kid is not a blog, but it has a lot of similarities, and a lot of differences. At its core, it’s a local resource full of local events and activities for kids and families, so that’s different. There’s a weekly email that goes out to local readers, so that’s different, too. But since each local edition is published by a local mom who’s an influencer there are some similarities … bloggers are influencers and so are Macaroni Kid Publishers.

WHY MACARONI KID INSTEAD OF A BLOG?

One of the main reasons is location – Macaroni Kid is local-based. The publishers are totally engaged with their communities, and they become a resource for local families and local venues and businesses. In addition, there are income opportunities from the start with Macaroni Kid. With a very targeted local audience, local businesses are willing to pay for ads and support. It’s easier to create a unique position within the minds of local advertisers. Also, there are some great perks; local tickets; and the ability to barter for local kids’ classes, services, and the like. Finally, there is such a sense of community. The Macaroni Kid sisterhood is pretty tight, and since each location is geo-specific there’s no competition among publishers.

The publishers are totally engaged with their communities, and they become a resource for local…
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BLOGGERS AND MACARONI KID

First, bloggers do not have to give up their own blog to participate if they do not want to do so. Macaroni Kid does ask them to keep things separate, but they have had several bloggers sign up and start publishing. A few have stopped blogging to focus on the Macaroni Kid edition, and a few have kept up or even grown their blog thanks to what they have learned.

PUBLISHER OPPORTUNITIES

There are several opportunities for publishers, just as there were for Melissa Alcorn. She started publishing locally and now takes on a lot of responsibilities with the main office. Just about all of the headquarters staff started as a local publisher and now has a bigger role. There are also all the paid opportunities from national partners, from which the main office will pay and task our publishers with a variety of programs – from reviews to hosting events and more. Last but not least, Macaroni Kid features an annual meet-up. There are three days of speakers, parties, fun, and more. Last year’s highlight was taking everyone to see Blue Man Group in Las Vegas. The year before was at Club Med in Florida, where a bunch of the moms were asked to leave the adult pool for “excessive fun.” Yes, excessive fun. I guess when you get 100 women together and away from their kids, stuff happens …

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