Motherhood

Join the Orlando Mom Collective Team!

September 9, 2023

Are you a local mom with something to share? Are you itching to write funny stories or helpful tips for moms? Are you passionate about motherhood and building a strong and supportive community of moms?

Orlando Mom Collective is growing!

We want to add more voices to our already established contributor team, and we would love for you to consider joining us. Here at Orlando Mom Collective, we value the voices and perspectives of our contributor team and are looking to add even more diversity to our group. If you’re interested in becoming a contributor for OMC, please read through the following FAQ and then fill out the application below by September 30, 2023.

We are currently looking for fresh, local, representative voices to join the Orlando Mom Collective team, and we would love to hear from you! Most positions on the OMC team are volunteer*, but there are some really fun perks to make it all worthwhile.

Want to start writing again?

Are you interested in connecting with other moms and rediscovering your love for creative writing? Many past OMC writers rediscovered and restarted their writing careers due to their experience with OMC!

Are you a Mom-In-The-Know?

Are you the in-the-know mom? The one whose friends always text because you’ve got the scoop — whether it’s knowing what’s happening around town or the one everyone is asking for advice when it comes to your baby/toddler/teen? Orlando Mom Collective welcomes your know-how, and we’d love to share your voice!

Don’t see your voice currently represented at OMC?

Do you feel that your voice isn’t represented within the current OMC platform? We need YOUR voice! For this open call, our goal is to give space to the voices and experiences not yet represented. If you enjoy writing, are passionate about motherhood, and don’t see your experience represented by OMC content, we’d love to hear from you.

Guidelines

We so appreciate that you would consider sharing your thoughts, experience, and inspiration with the Orlando Mom Collective readers! Before you think more about the opportunity, please read the following guidelines and feel free to contact us with any questions.

Think LOCAL: We love to keep all of our content relevant to the Orlando/Central Florida metro area…or at least within driving distance for day trips and outings. Blog posts can feature places to go and things to do while more general topics {feeding, potty training, DIY…} can be given a local twist simply because they are written by a local mom — YOU!
Think MOMS: It may sound obvious, but OMC’s target audience is made up of moms, so it only makes sense that our content remains under the broad category of parenting, within which you have a ton of subtopics to choose from: the experience of being a mom, stages and phases of development, tips and tricks, home management strategies specific to moms, and of course, all the locally-focused ideas mentioned earlier. At the end of the day though, we are all moms just trying to make our lives a little bit more enjoyable. If you have an idea that interests you and your friends, our readers would probably love to read about it too!
Most Importantly: Write what you love, and love what you write!

As you consider what content to submit as a sample with your application, please think about these important guidelines…

Your sample submissions should be original to you, meaning you are the author. Please keep copyright infringement laws in mind.
Kinda obvious, but we have to say it — content should be free from the following: profanity, sexual language, political endorsement of a party or candidate, political commentary, op-ed commentary on controversial political issues, and derogatory or inflammatory language.

What We’re Looking For

Writers
Social Influencers
Facebook Group Moderators
Playdate Coordinator

Writers GIVE…

One original post per month that fits within the brand and mission of Orlando Mom Collective
A 6-month commitment from October 15, 2023 – April 15, 2024.
Engage with our content on social media
Reside within the Central Florida area
A passion for moms, kids, and our community
Availability to attend OMC events
A reliable, positive, and fun personality!
Commitment to a monthly team meeting (in person or via Zoom)
An optional social media takeover once a month + an optional Micropost on our social media channels about a topic you feel deeply about

If you are chosen to join the Social Influencer Team…

One original microblog post per month that fits within the guidelines and mission of Orlando Mom Collective
One Instagram Stories Takeover per month (focusing on the micro-blog post)

Facebook Group Moderators…

One original microblog post per month that fits within the guidelines and mission of Orlando Mom Collective
One Instagram Stories Takeover per month (focusing on the micro-blog post)

Playdate Coordinator…

One original microblog post per month that fits within the guidelines and mission of Orlando Mom Collective
One Instagram Stories Takeover per month (focusing on the micro-blog post)

What you GET…

Mentorship from the Orlando Mom Collective Exec Team.
When you join the Orlando Mom Collective team, your photo and bio will be added to the team page (with links to your personal blog and/or social media handles if you choose to share them).
Access to the OMC Contributors Facebook group, Slack Channel, and other internal communications.
Opportunities to attend networking events and sometimes free swag.
Opportunities to test products and/or services before reviewing them on OMC.
Access to free, pre-sale, and discounted tickets to upcoming OMC events.
First pick to OMC annual events (Disney On Ice, Breakfast With Santa, etc).
New friendships and an amazing experience!
The opportunity to gain exposure for your personal blog or social platforms.
Opportunity to have your writing shared on a NATIONAL platform via City Mom Collective.
*Commission is available for anyone who works with the OMC team to secure paid content and/or advertising for Orlando Mom Collective.

FAQs:

Can I earn a commission? Many writers come into our team with great relationships with local brands that you already do business with and are also a great fit for our brand. For any leads you connect us to, we’ll give you a 15% sales commission as a ‘thank you’ for helping us build our brand.

Can I support causes dear and near to me? We want to give our readers an opportunity to learn more about the things that matter to you, our contributor team! We know that you all have causes close to your heart, and we want you to have the chance to share those on the blog. This opportunity is open quarterly on a first come, first serve. Each contributor can choose one non-profit every 18-24 months that you’d like to promote (by writing a post about who they are, what they do, why they matter to you, etc.). Of course, non-profits must fit into the mission of Orlando Mom and make sense from an editorial guidelines perspective (i.e., supporting families and kids in some capacity).

We’ll offer this non-profit the post and three months of image advertisement (a 300X250 image that will be showcased in the Heart of OMC place on our sidebar) for free — which is valued at more than $2000 in advertising value!

Can I promote me and my brand? Many writers join our team to network and get the word out about their own “brand” in some form or fashion. Helping moms in our community is what Orlando Mom does best.

If you want to promote a product or service, we support you! Assuming your business is complementary to our readers (meaning it’s a good fit for local moms or families and follows the national CMN guidelines), we’d love to chat about promotion opportunities.

While we are not able to offer a no-cost formal advertising/promotions to our team (for the same reasons stated above), in general, we offer contributors a discount on our promotional fees, as well as in-kind earned media opportunities including takeover Tuesdays and Saturdays, social media shout-outs, etc.

Can I shout out a business I love? We love and totally want to support local businesses. Please feel free to “mention” a business- or your business- (with a limit of one link) in a post where it makes sense.

Do I get to attend events for free? In most instances, contributors receive free admission to our branded events in exchange for helping at the event. Our playdates are free to anyone, and you get a discount at Mom’s Night Out events. For our larger events (Bloom and a few others), plan to be there!!! You do need to RSVP through the call for attendance, and we expect you to share the event’s Facebook page and posts with your personal profiles and friends so they can purchase tickets through the regular channels. Of course, in-person events are smaller due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

What is the mission of Orlando Mom Collective? The Orlando Mom Collective mission is to provide a positive (and sometimes funny) voice for motherhood by connecting moms to resources and parenting perspectives unique to the diverse communities we serve in Central Florida; by supporting local women in the growth of their businesses; and by creating meaningful partnerships between brands (big and small) and our hyperlocal influence.

Orlando Mom is a hyperlocal digital media platform to connect local parents with local resources and storytelling to inspire a more connected, joyful parenting journey across Central Florida.

Do I need to be a writer? We want local moms with interesting lives, backgrounds, and perspectives on parenthood who understand how to create compelling content to share and connect with others. We want people willing to connect to others, eager to grow their personal support system, and who believe in the motto, “better together.” We do expect prompt communication, however.

What is expected of me?

Submit one *unique* piece of content per month. (We do not accept previously published content.)
Be on Facebook and Instagram (for social engagement)
Commit to us for 6 months to start. If you love it and it is a good fit for us, sign on for a year!
Be comfortable with social media and a little bit of oversharing, generally.

Do you give me topics, or do I come up with them on my own? We have an editorial calendar with topics to start from and build from, and we share hyper-local content ideas monthly, but newsworthy content can change at any time in this 24/7 newscycle. Our audience craves localized, personal, and relatable mom stories the most.

What do I write about? Parenting in the Central Florida area. We look for localized content focusing on parenthood, partnership, friendship, and small businesses around town.

So what’s next?

Apply to join our team!!

Deadline is Saturday September 30th, 2023.

Application is super simple, all online, and linked below. We ask that all applicants include a previously unpublished blog post or written piece for us to review as your sample (you can include more if you want, but one is required). If you are invited to join the team and choose to do so, we will use this submission as your first piece (so you are able to hit the ground running!)

Complete the form below in its entirety, including…

- Basic contact information
- The area of town you live in
- Any social media handles you may have
- Examples of your abilities (if you’ve written before)
- A few sentences about what makes your perspective unique
- Application fee
- Submit a writing sample

Your sample should be:

between 300-800 words (less is more!)
well-edited
profanity-free
Topic: Tell us about your favorite Central Florida “thing” – it can be an activity, a place, a part of town, an event, something for date night, something to do with out-of-town friends, something with the kiddos… the possibilities are endless! If you’re *brand new* to town, it could be something you do at home, a family tradition, a system that works for you, etc. // Please copy & paste a link below to a Google Doc, ensuring it is on public preview and not private! //

Applicant Deadline: Saturday, September 30th, 2023.

Watch for updates via email. You will be notified that we received your submission via an email from owner, Eryn Vargo.

All applicants will be notified of their final status by Friday, October 13, 2023 via email.