Ashland Working Moms Take On Podcasting
PHOTO/EILEEN KENNEDY
Erin Kane, left, and Kristin Brandt, right, are the two women behind the Manic Mommies podcast.
Nearly every mother feels manic some days.
But it's the entrepreneurial mothers that find a way to make a buck from the frenetic pace of their lives.
Such is the case for Kristin Brandt and Erin Kane, who together make up Manic Mommies Media of Ashland.
The pair produces a weekly, one-hour podcasts that humorously details the trials and tribulations of working moms. They chat about their own lives and they interview people that other moms might enjoy, such as actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards. They also include audio letters from listeners.
What started out small, has now morphed into a complete web site (manicmommies.com) and sponsorship opportunities from corporate giants.
Humble Beginnings
The online effort grew out of Kane's interest in learning about new media.
"I really just wanted to understand the technology of podcasting, so I asked Kristin to help me with the technology," Kane said.
Podcasts are audio programs that people can download (for free or at a price) off the web. The most common portal for publishing podcasts is the iTunes online store, which is where you can also find the Manic Mommies.
The Manic Mommies' efforts have caught big business attention. This year's show sponsor is Saturn, GM's former car division, which has been sold to Penske Automotive Group in the wake of GM's financial problems. The sponsorship agreement remains in effect until the end of the year.
Saturn approached Brandt and Kane after becoming aware of their podcast. GM is very progressive for a large company in web media, and is also a sponsor of Her Blog, a directory of women bloggers, Kane said.
Most of the mania in the pair's lives comes from being full-time working moms. Kane runs her own public relations company, EMK PR, from her Ashland home, and Brandt is vice president of Sundin Associates of Natick, an advertising and marketing company owned by her father, Roger W. Sundin Jr. They each have two young children.
"There are these grand visions of motherhood and family life - that once you have a child life is easy and wonderful," Kane said. "And it just ain't that easy, it's not."
Brandt said Manic Mommies tries to bring out the nuances of working motherhood. She noted that the media typically portrays working moms at two extremes: those that handle it all wonderfully and those that are complete train wrecks. There's not much written about the good and bad days and weeks, complete with mistakes and regrets, she said.
"I think the reason our podcasts are popular is that we're honest about how hard this is," Kane said.
Listeners seem to agree. A number of them interviewed in a short video clips on the web site say that the Manic Mommies podcasts show them that others are also struggling with full-time jobs or school and being a mom.
The first podcast was four years ago, and as their listeners have grown, from 300 or so the first week to the thousands that now tune in, the business opportunities have also grown.
In addition to the podcast and web site, the pair also runs a yearly Manic Mommies Escape. This year it will be in November in Napa Valley, Calif. It's now so popular that within a week of posting the details on their web site, it sold out.
They've bonded over their careers and children, but neither woman sees themselves quitting the work-a-day world to focus exclusively on Manic Mommies. And they're amused by the way it all turned out.
"We had no aspirations," Brandt said. "We were just following the technical directions by putting the first podcast in iTunes."
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