Mom Content Entrepreneur Rises Above Crowded Microinfluencer Space

Entrepreneur: Renee Reina

Biz: The Mom Room

Tilt: A frank view of motherhood from a mom (who now has a Ph.D.) 

Channels: TikTok (134.K) Instagram (41.7K) Podcast (10K weekly downloads)

Our Favorite Actionable Advice

• You’re not alone: Look at how people respond to your early content to see if the topic you’re interested in resonates with others. 
• One platform helps all: Get your audience to expand their relationship with your brand by not limiting themselves to interact where they first found you.
• Don’t flatter yourself: It can be tempting to take every brand deal that comes along (free T-shirt or paid posts). Resist the temptation and evaluate each offer on how it affects your audience and your business.

Renee Reina, a wife and mom of one, has no problem making her unique voice heard. In the saturated mommy blogger and influencer space, The Mom Room stands out.

As her podcast bio explains: “She isn’t a parenting expert – she’s just a girl with a Ph.D. in psychology who had a baby and decided it was time to stir sh*t up in the mom community.” 

Her content tilt

She’s changing the narrative of motherhood. From the good to the bad to the outright ugly, this content entrepreneur finds humor and relatability in everything about being a mom. Renee has moms’ backs, from how to fix your baby’s unibrow to the struggle with mom-imposter (momposter) syndrome.

@themomroom tackles topics from how to fix your baby's unibrow to mom-imposter syndrome. Click To Tweet

 And people are responding. The Mom Room podcast receives over 10K downloads per week. On Instagram, 41.7K follow her and her TikTok boasts 134.7K followers. 

Newly minted doctor in psychology

In high school, Renee received a full scholarship to play volleyball at a Division I school in Florida. “Coming from a small city in Northern Ontario, I was so excited to live in the sunshine. Unfortunately, I ended up hating it,” she says. In 2006, she moved back home to finish her undergraduate degree in psychology at Laurentian University. In 2020, she earned her doctorate just days before Ontario went into quarantine. 

But her mom-content creation began in 2018 after her son’s birth. “I was experiencing so many things as a new mom that no one ever talked about. For example, I had never heard anyone be honest about how difficult postpartum recovery is,” Renee explains.

When she mentioned these topics on Instagram, her DMs exploded with fellow moms going through the same struggles. Renee knew she wanted to write about her experiences as a mom honestly and entertainingly and her blog reneereina.com was born. She shared original motherhood quotes and personal stories and posted similar content on Instagram. Then, her wildly popular TikTok account and podcast came on the scene. 

Audience response to her new mom issues on Instagram posts led @themomroom to start a blog, then a content business. Click To Tweet

TikTok grows audience

“In quarantine, I started regularly posting on TikTok because I had nothing else to do. It was such a fun way to connect with people and share struggles that I was going through in a funny way,” she explains. 

Her rapidly growing TikTok audience found her blog and Instagram channels too. 

Four months later after she became a TikTok content creator, she started The Mom Room podcast. It has been at the top of the kids and family category on Apple Podcasts in Canada ever since. Renee recently signed with Podcast Nation. 

“The podcast (is) really the perfect way for me to dive deeper into all the topics that I wrote about on my blog and talked about on TikTok. I also love that I can have professionals and other content creators on to talk about motherhood, relationships, and life in general,” she explains.

More than free T-shirts

Early on, Renee created and posted Instagram content on behalf of a brand and got a few T-shirts in exchange. But that changed quickly. Brands began regularly messaging her to ask about her rates. 

“I had no idea what I should be charging. I finally reached out to a fellow mom influencer and she explained the entire business of influencing to me. My mind was blown,” Renee says. After that conversation, she created a media kit in Canva that outlines her analytics, services, and rates to hand out when she got those brand partner inquiries.

“I think there is a lot of pressure put on influencers to share a product on social media in exchange for a free product. It does become overwhelming,” she says. 

You can’t say yes to everyone, especially when you get over 50 requests a week like Renee does. “I turn down many unpaid and paid offers. I also share many things I love without being paid. It comes down to respecting my followers and podcast listeners. I don’t want to be a 24/7 advertisement,” she explains.

"I turn down many unpaid and paid offers … I don't want to be a 24/7 advertisement," says @themomroom Click To Tweet

Her sponsored TikTok and Instagram posts generate most of the revenue for her content business. Sponsorships and ads are picking up for her 10-month-old podcast. “Right now, I put everything I make from brand deals and sponsorships back into the podcast,” Renee says. Helping her on The Mom Room team are a video editor, audio editor, Instagram account manager, and web designer. 

Next up? The Mom Room merchandise.