Are bloggers killing off parenting magazines?

Last week two key parenting magazines, Practical Parenting and Pregnancy, and Junior announced they were shutting shop. Made For Mums, the website run by their publisher will remain, but the magazines will close after the next issue.

Naturally, this got me wondering about the future of other parenting magazines, and if ultimately, bloggers are killing them off? While I appreciate this is a bold suggestion, it does feel like for every parenting magazine that shuts, 20-30 new parenting bloggers appear from the unknown.

Look at any toy PR or marketing plan and you’ll find an inevitable blogger outreach programme. Whether its providing products for review, exclusive preview trips or including blogger feedback into product development; the impact of this group of online writers is undeniable.

I would normally say that there is a place for everyone within a toy PR campaign. Magazines provide more of an objective overview, whilst parent bloggers are more likely to report on what works for their family. Magazine articles are by professional journalists, who adhere to strict editorial guidelines, so you’re arguably getting a higher quality of writing. Also, some parents like having everything in one place instead of having to scour different blogs for different topics.

This is all well and good in theory, but in practice it does feel like you get more from bloggers. When a parent blogger writes about a toy brand, it’s not just a piece of coverage, it’s feedback from a potential customer. They go the extra mile by initiating conversations on social media about the topic and publicise the post to their fans and followers.

With more and more groups working to support bloggers to improve the quality of their content and monetise their blogs, there’s now an emergence of the ‘professional parent blogger’, who writes as well as some journalists and is so well established, they could influence thousands of UK parents.

We’ve worked with thriving parent blogger communities including Brit Mums, Tots 100, Izziwizzi Kids and seen results comparable to that of media relations campaigns. From a reader’s perspective, the appeal of parent blogs is clear: it’s peer to peer advice from someone you’ve come to know and trust. With something as personal as family life, a professional or expert’s advice doesn’t cut it because there is no right or wrong. Parents want to know what other parents think.

So, in answer to the question – are bloggers killing off parenting magazines? I think the answer is no. Bloggers are offering a wider variety of information to parents and more opportunities for PRs. They add a further dimension to the marketing mix and most importantly are read by parents. Parenting magazines need to adapt in order to continue being valuable and relevant to both readers and PRs.