BROOKLYN — Former Fort Greene resident Karen Connell has decided to sell her popular parenting blog, A Child Grows in Brooklyn, after she and her family moved to suburban Chicago this summer.
Since she started the blog in 2006, Connell, 42, has steadily gained a loyal following and even a modest revenue. The blog sees 97,000 page views and 44,000 uniques every month, she said.
“It’s a nice revenue stream,” said Connell, who says she spends 20-25 hours a week on the blog. “It’s a part-time salary, and that’s just me doing it alone for six years. I think somebody could take it and do it well.
The blog is popular among parents in the Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens and Williamsburg areas for its family-friendly topics.
“We do everything from local news for parents, schools, district changes, to weekend events, to reviews of products,” said Connell. “It can be kind of like a mini Yelp for parents in Brooklyn.”
When Connell, her husband, and her two kids left Brooklyn for the Windy City, she had planned on maintaining the website from afar. She still has her apartment in Fort Greene, and she was hoping to visit as much as she could.
Soon she grew tired of being two places at once, so Connell began advertising the sale of her blog on her website and Facebook.
Although she says she has still not decided on a price, she says she has received emails from at least 30 people who are interested in taking over the blog and all of its digital assets, including its Twitter, Facebook, Meetup, and email accounts.
The interested parties are either bloggers who are hoping to expand their revenue, or stay-at-home moms who are looking for a new venture to dive into, she said.
Connell is ideally looking to pass the baton to a local parent who shares her same passion for parenting and Brooklyn.
“I hope they not only write about the news and events in Brooklyn, but also that they highlight the local resources that are available in Brooklyn,” she said.
Meanwhile grieving fans posted their laments on the blog.
“Hope you find a buyer, because this is the only parenting blog I ever read, which I do faithfully every week,” one wrote. “It’s made a huge difference in our household and our one and three year olds have benefitted greatly from it.”
