Mothers writing on the Internet about products they like tend to be trusted by other mothers. That’s why marketing and PR agencies try mightily to convert these key influencers into becoming “brand ambassadors” with product samples, contests and the like.

Flattered or grateful, many blogging mommies will go so far as to place advertisers’ banner ads for free on their sites. But because they want to be paid for such activites, some bloggers are becoming more vocal about the stupidity of their fellow bloggers getting nothing but swag or links in exchange for promotional posts. [PRNewser, 5/13/10].

Mom Central CEO Stacy DeBroff says moms blogging for free stuff was not as common as people may think. But she told PR Newser, “The minute you become too commercial, you lose your audience, and when you lose your audience you lose your influence.”