MomsLA

When the world shut down in 2020 because of the pandemic, Sarah Auerswald had a tough question staring her in the face: what do you publish on a site built around family outings when nobody’s allowed to go out?

MomsLA had always been about fun things to do with kids in Southern California. Then suddenly, there wasn’t much “fun” to be found anywhere — at least not the usual kind.

But giving up wasn’t an option for Sarah.

“We had to scramble,” Sarah says. “We started covering safe options like drive-through experiences, outdoor hikes, virtual museum tours, anything parents could actually do with their kids at the time.”

It wasn’t the first time the site had to shift gears either (and it likely won’t be the last). In fact, reinvention has been baked into MomsLA from the very beginning.

“Back in the mid-2000s, I joined this big network called the Silicon Valley Moms Blog,” she says. “But there were writers from all over the nation too, New York, Colorado, LA. We were part of this great little community.”

But in 2010, the whole thing just vanished without a warning. “The network just shut down overnight,” she says. “No heads-up, no goodbye… nothing.”

The LA folks weren’t ready to call it quits just yet, though. “We kind of looked around at each other and asked ourselves, ‘how about we go do our own thing?’”

And so, MomsLA was born — a website dedicated to all things parenting and family in the Los Angeles area.

They originally kicked things off with about 40 contributors, each juggling their own personal blogs while adding content to the new site. Over time, most of the group wound up going back to focusing on their solo projects, but Sarah stuck it out.

Now, more than a decade later, MomsLA is still going strong. In fact, the site has become a sought-after resource for families across the region, especially for its “Best Things To Do This Weekend in Los Angeles with Kids” and summer camp lists.

“We cover everything from puppet shows in Pasadena to night hikes in Griffith Park,” Sarah says. “If it’s fun and family-friendly and happening in LA, we want people to know about it.”

From the start, Sarah was clear about one thing: MomsLA would be free.

And that philosophy made ad revenue a natural fit. “I love being able to give the content to our readers for free,” she says about ads. “And at the same time, I can make a living without having to put up paywalls.”

“We didn’t start monetizing right away,” Sarah recalls, “but when we did, it was through display ads. Eventually, we partnered with Mediavine, and that really helped us grow.”

To this day, ads shown with the help of the Google Certified Publishing Partner keeps the barrier to entry at zero. “Most of our readers are parents juggling a million things. They’re not going to subscribe to a dozen blogs — they just want helpful, free info. And ads let us deliver that.”

Thanks to an ad-supported model (and the Mediavine partnership), Sarah has kept the site free and operational for a decade now, and counting.

Ad revenue has even paid for the small team that keeps MomsLA running these days, not to mention that Thursday night email blast that thousands of SoCal families count on.

And that clarity has never been more important, especially with so much uncertainty around the world these days. Sarah remains committed to doing what MomsLA does best: serving its community.

“Our audience is mostly SoCal moms and dads. They’re looking for camps, kid-friendly events, beaches — you name it.”

Plus, with a solid reader base and a loyal email following, Sarah’s reach nowadays is meaningful. But for her, it’s about more than just the numbers.

“Sure, this site started as a blog,” she says. “And now, it’s a business. But it’s still about connection, always has been — helping parents find a little bit of joy in this big city of ours, even if it’s just a park outing or even a new playground.”

So, when families discover something new through MomsLA, "That's the best part,” she says. “Knowing we’re making a difference.”