Momspresso has shut down. Content creators take note: Discover why having your own platform is essential in this day and age.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Momspresso was previously known as mycity4kids and then they started the MyMo app the Momspresso money app and the Momspresso blog which was using user-generated content from parents. It turned eventually into a barter and some pay-for-content model. But the company has now retired the Momspresso wing. Bloggers who were exclusive to them will be left high and dry and will have to start again from scratch if they don’t start their own websites. If you are a content creator in this day and age it’s best to have your own exclusive platform too.
Did you know Women’s Web gave up too ?
Starting out, I did a few barter here and there but since I had to pay my blog bills(hosting, domain, peripherals ) I couldn’t continue working with platforms that exclusively paid-in shampoo, conditioners, and face washes. There’s only so many products you can buy (even at a discount) and the amount of jumping through loops needed in some cases made the barter deals unattractive for me.
Currently, the Miss Malini app(the good creator) which showed tremendous promise has fizzled down into a barter-gaming-constant challenge app where exactly when and how much one gets paid with what remains a challenge.
Indiblogger was once good with nice Amazon vouchers but they wound up. Blogchatter is going strong. They too have a point system where redeeming points happen after a threshold. They also have interesting campaigns where the pay is good. Their business model looks stronger and more sustainable.
When I asked Geethica a friend, blogger, and long-time content creator for Momspresso and now a Blogchatter friend, about her thoughts regarding this she said:
Momspresso or as I remember it better as My City for Kids will always remain close to my heart. As every mother who wants to search work online and loves to write signs up on their website. I started sharing my experiences on their portal and soon got many eyeballs as I wrote the truth in family issues. Soon I got my first paid assignment and from there I started my journey as a professional blogger.
Geethica https://thoughtsbygeethica.com
They gave me community of mothers and respect as a mom blogger in events they organaised. With them only, I tasted the feel of professionalism attending work events.
They were my initial years of hand holding and from their I picked up on my own. Today, the news of Momspresso shutting down didn’t come to me as a surprise. They were maintaining a very low profile for a couple of years now. Things changed when they replaced their human team with their app and quality of work with social following.
Nevertheless, every milestone is a learning and I am proud to be once associated with Momspresso.
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When I asked Deepa another blogger friend who was a regular with Momspresso she expressed her sadness Docdiva traveler also known as Dr.Mandira Adhikari, shared how she too was disappointed with the way the Momspresso blog ended. Remember the blog folded up. Not the Momspresso website. The Money app folded up because the company was running into loss. Mamaearth acquired Momspresso in 2021.
The My Mo app folded up.Not Momspresso.My Mo App a venture of My Momspresso was retired and I have written about my sad experience with the platform.
The many brands which the parent company owns are all still being marketed. But all the heartfelt posts that moms shared on Momspresso are no longer hosted on the Momspresso website. Because it is a long run. The data can be huge and so is the cost of upkeep. If there is no monetization plan what is the use?
The issue with brands spending lakhs to rope in “celebrities” who endorse anything and then expecting bloggers to work for peanuts no longer surprises me. It’s okay when you are starting out but when you are self-hosting your blog, you need money for the hosting, domain, and everything required for content creation. How will you pay your blog bills with soap, shampoo, or free water bottles? Remember I am not even talking about maintaining family expenses, but just the website-blog entity.It’s not something anyone cares to even care about.
I have worked with several marketing websites and except for Blogchatter, most make you run after them for your money, while many believe in amazing coupons challenges, and products as payments, just like Momspresso. The good thing was that Momspresso allowed bloggers to download their content as a zip file with adequate notice. But it was sad that content that helped them earn money and few people earned real revenue share . That’s like today’s social media where people share content with hardly any revenue share from the platform. Now Twitter will let you monetize content if you are a paid X customer. Facebook is letting you earn coins, and Instagram is helping sell directly. But how easy is it all?
Lesson for bloggers
Have your own website to publish your content, not a third-party free platform that way you can charge for the work you do. Digital media includes blogs and having your blog as your business is a business model. But it’s not just write-publish-money in the bank. But that’s a conversation for another blog post.
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