Today is our official launch day. We have been preparing for this since before we became an official LLC via the state of Minnesota on April 26th. That may be our official birthday, but this process started years prior to that.
Yes, we’re operational. Yes, we function. Yes, we are ready! But the #1 thing I’ve learned in the process of developing this business is that we need help. I have been shocked by the amount of times we’ve needed our community. The resources, talent, and support within our network has been astounding. Y’all are pretty great people! Our parents have helped with childcare. We’ve gathered photos from our good friends who also shot our wedding. We’ve shamelessly talked business and advice over beer at microbreweries. We’ve asked our actuarial genius friend for pricing tips. I studied abroad with the brilliant woman who created our logo. An old high school friend has been critical in honing our outward appearance. You’ll probably meet her later, but moral of the story is: we need you. We would’ve crashed and burned a long time ago without your steady enthusiasm and help. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Today marks the beginning of our first marketing campaign. It’s 14 weeks long (all the way to the New Year!) and we’re making major pushes and using various tactics to get our name out there so we can start changing the way we do postpartum. We aim to make Marabou – or some form of it – the new norm for supporting mothers in America.
Before now, we’ve received unremitted support without asking for it, but now we are asking for it. During the next 14 weeks, our wheels will skid out if we have no one there to boost us. We sincerely ask for your continued support and when you are able to do the following
Engage on Social Media
First, follow us on social media if you aren’t already! We’re on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIN, and have frequent content on our blog. Social media is a cluttered arena and getting our voice heard has been quite difficult. The only way to break through the dead air is if other people take interest and engage!
Likes, shares, comments, clicks all count as engagement! Without engagement, no one hears about us, and our mission to bring peace to postpartum women will never be realized.
Facebook rewards posts with greater reach based on the type of engagement:
- Shares
- Comments
- Clicks
- Likes
That’s not to say likes are meaningless. Facebook rewards all forms of engagement. So please take the minimal effort to like our posts whenever they come across your feed!
Tell People about Us
Word of mouth is most effective for a reason. People trust real people. They trust what their friends say. As sincere as we are, we are still an online entity. Share your experiences with others and share them with us. My own elevator speech goes something like this:
“Marabou is a service-based gift registry: friends and family can gift an expectant mother any service that she feels would benefit her most during her recovery after childbirth.”
As much as we love face-to-face, this can go even further. The online community – particularly on Facebook – is immense! If you’re part of a mom group, breastfeeding group, bottle-feeding group, any sort of motherhood or parenting group on Facebook, share who we are so that people can use us as a resource. If your Facebook group allows it and you feel comfortable, share your thoughts about this new kind of baby registry along with our website so anyone can learn more.
Start a Marabou Yourself!
It’s a myth that an expectant mom has to start a Marabou herself. Au contraire! Our registry can be started by anyone in her life: her mother, her spouse, her best friend, her boss, anyone! We’ve developed products to minimize the effort someone other than mom would need to spread the word to her family and friends. If you know a pregnant woman, whether it’s her first baby or her sixth, consider giving her the most meaningful and practical gift she could possibly receive: A Marabou service.
Thank you for everything you guys have done and for all you will do. We will never stop pursuing our mission to bring peace to the postpartum experience for every woman in America.
How does Marabou support women?
We live in culture where “bouncing back” is more valued than proper rest. As admirable as it may be for a sports star to get back on the field, the same rules don’t apply to postpartum recovery. The traditional resting period has been stolen from women through pressure to get back to their job or simply through lack of presence.
Grandmas, sisters and best friends who otherwise would have been there to help a woman transition into motherhood often live too far away to be of any help. Household chores and caring for older children inevitably fall on the mom. But she just delivered a new life! She needs rest.
Marabou Services is a unique gift registry which provides services instead of stuff. Most mom’s get too many onesies, too many baby blankets and not enough helping hands. Break out of a destructive cultural norm and start a Marabou registry today.
With a Marabou registry you can sing up for any service which will benefit you or someone you know during the postpartum recovery period.
Postpartum doulas for a first time mom
House cleanings for moms of multiples
Childcare for moms with older children!
Once your registry is created, add it to any other registry or post it to your Facebook and ask friends and family contribute to your postpartum service, rather than buying you more stuff.
More and more moms find they have to figure out postpartum alone. Is it any wonder why PMDs are on the rise? Or women are embittered by the journey of motherhood? We can change that by giving the gift of peace.
