Here’s a question.
What happens when you mix two moms, biology, a glossy magazine and the Internet? Momologie, of course.
Well, not exactly, of course, but that was the thinking behind a new maternal-oriented Web site and online newsletter that was launched last week by Gia Russo and Michele Adams, former veterans of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.
“The idea is when you receive it in your inbox, it is like opening a page of a lifestyle magazine,” said Russo, 38, who first met Adams, 39, more than 10 years ago when they worked for Martha Stewart. “There is a necessity for this information.”
The free Web site includes tips on topics such as home décor and cooking as well as links to places where items can be purchased. But the business model is based on the daily newsletter, which is the main source of revenue through display ads and sponsored links.
The two mothers, who live in Pacific Palisades, started the online business with $250,000 of their own money. Their Santa Monica business employs up to a half-dozen people, when needed, to create content, sell ads and perform back office functions.
But they are up against some stiff competition. One of their top competitors, MomLogic, is part of the Warner Bros. Women’s Digital Network. However, the two certainly aren’t novices.
Not only did they work for media maven Stewart, editing her magazine, but they collaborated on several books about entertaining and parenting, appearing on the “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” They also host a television show called “The Art of the Party” on the Fine Living Network. And they sell a line of children’s bedding.
The Web site and newsletter already have caught the eye of Jen Levinson, who runs L.A.-based parenting newsletter Jen’s List. She said Russo and Adams have a homespun touch that could help them compete against corporate sites such as MomLogic.
“They’ve worked in the field, they are married, they own homes and they obviously have children,” Levinson said.
As for the name Momologie?
Adams said that being a mother is like a science, so she came up with a name – which ends in the “-ology” – that evokes this sentiment.
