Snoqualmie women publish newsletter of area family activities
June 2, 2010
By Lydia Bachmeier
As the mother of a toddler, Diana Reul-Shapiro was looking for part-time work that she could do at home.
Her sister-in-law in New Jersey told her about Macaroni Kid, a growing network of Publisher Moms who produce e-newsletters for families.
A stay-at-home mother, Reul-Shapiro, alongside friend Autumn Spear, looked into it a year ago.
Today, they distribute a weekly newsletter which is emailed to subscribers all over Snoqualmie Valley and surrounding areas.
- Diana Reul-Shapiro, left, chats with her business partner, Autumn Shapiro.
Photo by Dan Catchpole
“I gather everything from the Issaquah, Sammamish and Snoqualmie Valley areas and put it in one location. It’s easy for them to find something to do,” said Reul-Shapiro.
Macaroni Kid is a national website and an ever-growing network that allows mothers to create a free weekly e-newsletter and website for their community.
It’s a one-stop place where parents can go to find out about things to do with their families. Macaroni Kid informs of local events, classes, shows, ideas for things to do at home, arts and crafts, cooking projects and much more.
“I feel like parents are so busy,” Reul-Shapiro said. “Our site allows people to find things quickly.”
Reul-Shapiro began the Snoqualmie Valley Macaroni Kid about one year ago. After about four months, nearly 800 subscribers from the Issaquah, North Bend, Preston, Sammamish and Snoqualmie Valley areas were receiving their weekly newsletters.
Now at its first anniversary, Snoqualmie Valley Macaroni Kid has over 1,000 subscribers.
In fact, the National Macaroni Kid site recently named her Publisher Mom of the Year.
“Diana’s website and weekly newsletter epitomizes the hyper-local, community-enriching ideal that is Macaroni Kid,” according to a press release. “She has built a robust subscriber list in a small community, has been very successful in advertising and has referred several other Publisher Moms.”
According to the national website, Publisher Moms pay a monthly fee that enables them to use the domain name and provides programming, infrastructure, tech support and a media kit for use in selling advertising.
Macaroni Kid sites are popping up all over the nation. When Reul-Shapiro began the Snoqualmie Valley site a year ago there were 17 others but now that number has grown to 130, including four in the Seattle area – Mercer Island, North Sound, South Puget Sound and Eastside.
Reul-Shapiro often assists new Publisher Moms in the process of starting newsletters for their community.
“I enjoy it so much. It just doesn’t feel like work,” Reul-Shapiro said. “I can do it from home and I can work in the evenings.”
Autumn Spear writes half of the articles for Snoqualmie Valley Macaroni Kid and works closely with Reul-Shapiro.
Both are Seattle Times advertising sales veterans and Washington State University graduates. Reul-Shapiro and her husband have a daughter, age 3. Spear and her husband have a son, age 1.
“I love being able to write about things that I think moms really deal with and think about,” said Spear. “Sometimes there are expectations that motherhood, especially new moms which I am, is very dreamy and full of cuddles and babble talk. But it’s so hard and involves so many people, and I like to remind our readers that everyone feels that way, whatever the struggle may be.”
Reul-Shapiro is very thankful that her newsletter has been so well accepted and for all of the support she’s gotten from everyone in the community.
“I feel really lucky to have stumbled upon this business and to have brought it to such a great community,” she said.
Lydia Bachmeier is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory. Comment at www.SnoValleyStar.com.
- To find out more about Macaroni Kid or to subscribe to the Snoqualmie Valley Macaroni Kid newsletter visit www.snoqualmievalley.macaronikid.com
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