Because we have a successful open adoption, hopeful adoptive parents always ask me, “How do I get expectant parents to view our profile and want to contact us?” I always reply with the same question. “Do you have an adoption blog?” If you don’t, why not?
On average, there are 36 waiting couples for every one infant placed for adoption. You must stand out among other adoptive hopeful parents if you want to adopt. Creating a blog that allows expectant parents to envision what their child’s life would be like with you as their parents will help you not blend in with the crowd.
Most, if not all, adoption agencies have an online gallery of waiting for couples that expectant parents can look through for families to raise their child. These are a great way for adoptive parents to tell about themselves. However, most of the agency formats are the same for each adoptive parent– very cookie-cutter. You and the other 1,800 hopeful adoptive parents look the same– that’s the number of waiting couples, with our agency, in our state. My last article was about creating photos that tell a story to put on your adoption profile. Now you are going to build on those photos, creating a space that expectant parents can learn more about you, see more photos, and gain a sense of who you really are and your personality.
Clear photo as the header with tabs talking about us, our mission, and our adoption journey.
The main purpose of your blog is to share a wealth of information about yourself without writing your life’s history. Share yourself, make yourself vulnerable, and put it all out there! You risk getting scammed, having a failed placement, and getting heartbroken. The reward, though, might be adding a child to your family.
You should have a few different pages on your blog to share about yourselves. You don’t want to have everything on one main page. Make it easy for expectant parents to learn about you. If you are hard to get to know online, you might be hard to get to know in real life, so expectant parents probably won’t look any further at your profile.
Welcome readers to your blog. Not all readers will be expectant parents considering adoption; your family and friends will probably look around, too. Share why you have created this blog: its purpose and your hopes.
Share individual photos of your family members with a few fun facts about each person.
You want expectant parents to imagine what life would be like for their child in your home. You want to share the things that are most important to you, the things you value in your life. Why do you want your kids to play an instrument or sports?
Tell about your parents, brothers, sisters, and close friends. Show photos of your family traditions, the holiday parties you look forward to every year, and the annual family campout. Most importantly, share why these are important to you and why you want to continue these traditions with children of your own. Have an equal amount of photos of both sides of the family. Two of your family, two of your spouse’s family. Don’t show favoritism
Write a Dear Expectant Parent letter They are not birth parents until after they have placed.) Share a few key things about yourself that you feel are important. Short, sweet, honest, and heartfelt is the best kind of letter.
I’ve noticed a lot of people like to share what lead them to choose adoption to grow their family. I don’t think you need to tell your specific reasons; just share your excitement and enthusiasm! Share your hopes for your child and the relationship you would like with a birth family without getting into specifics. Do not try to pull heartstrings by telling your infertility stories. These expectant parents are considering giving you a child. Placing a child trumps infertility.
There is the thought that if you post daily, or weekly you can seem more “real” to an expectant parent: they can see into your daily life. I highly discourage this. If life gets busy and you stop updating your blog, you can look flaky or irresponsible to expectant parents. They can think, “What if they don’t keep me updated on my child’s life?”
My Top 10 Rules for Adoption Blogs
- Each page in the adoption blog should be photo-heavy, word-light.
- If you are a couple hoping to adopt, it should sound like it is from both of you. Write in the first-person plural (we, not I).
- The focus should be on the photos that you have just invested in. Write a simple sentence or phrase explaining the photo. NO slideshows of photos: No one has the time to watch 45 minutes of pictures.
- Keep it clean and consistent. Each page should be organized in the same manner.
- Have the link to your adoption agency and your adoption agency online profile.
- Include your caseworker’s contact information and your own contact information you feel comfortable putting online.
- Create a button to promote your adoption blog.
- Instagram, Facebook, Twitter feed. The first thing expectant parents will do when they have your names will be to Google search for you and see what comes up. Social Media.
- If you want to use the same “idea” as your friend, ask. Do NOT copy, paste and change a few words. Use other’s ideas as inspiration and write it yourself.
- Keep your blog updated!
Create a space in an adoption blog that expectant parents can really gain a sense of who you are as a family and what life would be like for their child in your home. Create a space where expectant parents can feel the love that you have for their children and them. Create a space that is truly you, and you will create a family.
Do you feel there is a hole in your heart that can only be filled by a child? We’ve helped complete 32,000+ adoptions. We would love to help you through your adoption journey. Visit Adoption.org or call 1-800-ADOPT-98.