The one where I talk about conferences, sponsorship and how to put the two together. :)

When I first started blogging, in May of 2007, I almost immediately began seeing all of these bloggers writing posts looking forward to something called ‘BlogHer’, and even though I hardly knew what it was all about, it looked like a really good opportunity to learn more about blogging, meet other bloggers and just have a good time. Of course, I was too late by that point, even though the conference was being held fairly close by in Chicago. I took the “there’s always next year” approach and kept blogging, learning and meeting other bloggers (online, of course) on my own – and still having a really good time.

Fast-forward to 2008 when the same rumblings about BlogHer began, only this time the conference was being held in San Francisco – way, way across the country from me, here in Michigan. And with a full-time job, three little girls and a husband working all kinds of crazy hours, the idea of making a cross-country trek and spending oodles of (our own) money just didn’t seem feasible. I was used to being sent to conferences by my employer, without any out-of-pocket expenses. But wow, do you suddenly realize how much a plane ticket or hotel room truly costs when it’s your own dollars you’re needing to spend to go. And for what, really? After all, I was still a blogger even if I couldn’t go to California. I could still learn, meet others and have a good time just in my own living room. Because that’s what the power of the Internet is all about after all, right?

Last year, in 2009, I was determined however – especially once I found out that the conference would again be held practically in my own backyard, a mere 2-hour drive to Chicago. And by that point I had discovered that companies and brands were looking to partner and team up with bloggers to help send them to conferences with the blogger promoting them like crazy in return. So I put out a few feelers and wrote a post or two asking for sponsors, and was fortunate enough to end up with two partial sponsors (thank you so much!!) who ended up basically covering the registration cost of the conference between them. I also had the opportunity to ride along with one of my good blogging friends in a BlogHer-sponsored vehicle both there and back, with no out-of-pocket costs (thank you, Elizabeth!), and was offered the chance to room with another amazing blogging friend (and THE best roommate – thanks, Jen!) in her sponsored hotel room, for minimal cost to me. I attended the full conference, learned an incredible amount (about blogging, brands, relationships between the two, and more), met so many other bloggers and PR folks that I’d only known online before (along with many new faces and names as well) in person, and had a truly wonderful time – something this introvert can rarely say about a social event or gathering.

(Me last summer with my wonderful roomies – Jen and Stefanie)

By now, there are many other blogging conferences that have sprung up along with BlogHer – BlissDom, Mom 2.0 Summit, Type-A Mom Conference, Blog World Expo, Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, and a whole list of others. I’ve heard that many of these are even better opportunities to learn, meet others and have fun – because they are smaller and you really have the chance to get to know the other attendees better and attend more sessions without so many other things going on during the conference. But I still feel incredibly guilty about the thought of taking any of our much-needed income away from things like bills and groceries, leaving my kids for days at a time, and forcing my husband to take time off from work that he doesn’t get paid for, just so that I can have these experiences, build these relationships and yes – have fun. On my own, not as a wife or a mother, but just me. Ah, that whole mommy-guilt thing – it does us in every time, doesn’t it… And so I sit back to watch enviously the posts and tweets and Flickr streams as others learn, meet, build relationships and have fun without me. Trying not to feel too sorry for myself, of course – because after all, spending time with my kids and family really isn’t second place.

So here we are again, into 2010, with the end of early registration for BlogHer staring me in the face next month, trying to decide if a trip to New York City (!!!!!!!!) this August is something I can even aspire to try for. Oh don’t get me wrong – I WANT to go. So badly that I can taste it. I want to take New York by storm, cram all kinds of new thoughts, ideas and insights into this head, get to know my blogging and PR friends even better (not to mention meeting more ‘new’ faces), and even just have a few days off from mommyhood and worrying about bills and everything else that comes along with life. I want to go. I truly do. Yes, it’s a bit selfish with everything else going on today, but for once I’m giving in and just being selfish in this one teensy way.

But I can’t get there without help, especially for a longer trip like this one will be. And so I am once again reaching out to those brands and companies that I’ve worked with in the past – or whom I haven’t worked with yet at all, to see if I can be of assistance to you in any way. I can offer similar value as last year to potential conference sponsors, with the exception that BlogHer is not allowing attendees to pass out materials during the conference this year. But I am still well able to provide things like these:

• Prominent advertising in my sidebar (above the fold) and in a banner at the top of my site for a period of 6 months in 2010 (you choose which months), along with a permanent text or graphic link in my sidebar afterward in an area thanking all conference sponsors.
• A minimum of two unique blog posts about your company or product, including any reviews or giveaways that you’d like to host (optional). This site receives on average, over 10,000 unique visitors per month.
• Links and mentions at the bottom of every conference-related post to disclose and thank conference sponsors, along with tweeting before, during and after the conference about your brand, company or product, and linking to you from this site’s Facebook fan page. Currently I have well over 5,000 followers on Twitter and there are over 300 fans of the Facebook page.
• I’m happy to wear (tasteful) attire promoting you and to place your logo or graphic on the back of my business card, to be passed out to as many of the 1000+ attendees as I can meet in one long weekend.
• Any other type of promotion we can mutually agree on – I’m open to your creative ideas!

If you’d like to talk about how we can help promote each other via a partial (or full?) conference sponsorship this year, please contact me via e-mail at deb@momstakeonthings.com. I’d love to work with you! 

Not sure what, if anything, I need to disclose here. Just read the post – it pretty much says it all.