Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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February 16, 2009

BlissDom09: How to Be a Successful Sponsor at a Small Conference

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:17 am

Great Conference

Last weekend I had the pleasure of being part of BlissDom09. As it says on the Blissdom Conference website:

We came. We saw. We learned. We bonded. We had the most wonderful time!

BlissDom09 brought together outstanding speakers and panelists and new bloggers, blogging professionals, writers — women mostly from all over the country — Michelle Lamar — Buy her book and embrace your inner trailer park. Ghennipher who is grace and intelligence, Lori Falcon who’s brilliant about making money with a blog, Jessica Smith who asks great questions and knows more than I’ve forgotten. Carole Hicks a friend already, Debba Haupert who didn’t bring the coffee!! and especially Beth Rosen, who knew everyone before she left there. And this is only a few of the cool people I met.

BlissDom is the brain child of Alli Worthingdon who runs Blissfully Domestic and Barbara Jones, who masterminds One2OneNetwork. Congratulations to Alli and Barbara who are clearly about making sure that everyone gets even more than what they came for.

One way that they did that was to forge relationships with the best sponsor-partners.

How to Be A Successful and Outstanding Sponsor

Any conference is an investment for conference producers, attendees, and sponsors. I’ve read a lot about how to run a good conference, learned a bit by doing just that. I’ve written about the value of attending a well-run event — how it can change a business. But I’ve not seen much on how a sponsor can add to and make the most of a event — though I’ve seen sponsors do silly things that have really turned attendees off.

If you’re running a conference or about to sponsor one, look to do more than just se

What I saw at BlissDom was a partnership, much the same as that we work for my own event. Successful and outstanding sponsors are the ones we remember because they fit seamlessly into the event.

It’s a week past. These Blissdom09 sponsors are the ones I’m still talking about.

Granted I’m only one person, and this is only my opinion. BUT … I’m one person with a few Twitter followers, a few blog subscribers. I run a conference, use a telephone, speak and teach about relationships in business, and attend more meetups and tweetups than most. I also like talking about the folks who get it right, but reminding folks who the best of the best are.

It’s great to see sponsors showing that they understand that experience is that way to share their products. They understand how build a fiercely loyal fan base. When they get right, it’s only right that we point it out and give a little of that love back.

How has a sponsor at a conference ever gotten you talk about them?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
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27 Comments to “BlissDom09: How to Be a Successful Sponsor at a Small Conference”

  1. February 16th, 2009 at 9:29 am
    Allison Worthington {@fussypants} said

    LOVE IT!

    Thanks Liz.

    It was an honor to have you there.

    {rockstar}

    LOL.

  2. February 16th, 2009 at 9:34 am
    Poppy Buxom said

    “Peanut butter ones?” Those were Nutty Bars, baby!

    N.B. Little Debbie: feel free to follow my link and offer to send me some more.

  3. February 16th, 2009 at 10:14 am
    Leighann said

    I agree with a lot of what you said about BlissDom.

    The majority of the sponsors really did have a meaningful presence.

    I would just add that Land’s End did provide the tote bags. But free shipping isn’t really much of a bonus for attendees to really talk about their products. It would have been nice for a Land’s End rep to be there.

    I did meet two charming young men who were part of the PR firm representing Little Debbie. One even showed us pictures of his daughter (and a picture of himself at the same age–they looked crazily alike!)

    Thanks for the great PR wrap-up!

  4. February 16th, 2009 at 10:41 am
    Jessica - Jessica Knows said

    Liz, I totally agree!

    Wonderful sponsors that are still being talked about, blogged about, and tweeted about. Blissdom might have been small compared to most conferences but the experience was HUGE! And I think if you ask the sponsors that engaged…the ROI was huge too.

    Also, wanted to give a shout-out to Care.com, a Blissdom sponsor as well. They provided an icebreaker with the lanyards and buttons and the result was quite a few winners. (Plus, I’m biased since MomForce wouldn’t be a reality without Care.com).

    Liz, it was wonderful to see you again and I look forward to the opportunity to speak with you again at future events.

  5. February 16th, 2009 at 10:47 am
    David Griner said

    Liz,

    Great post on the sponsors at BlissDom09. I coordinated the Little Debbie sponsorship (and was there, but sorry we missed each other!). It was a tremendously rewarding experience, especially as a follow-up to the blogger outreach we had been doing recently for Little Debbie 100 calorie snacks.

    I wanted to thank all the attendees who gave us feedback, shout-outs and space at their tables. As great as the blogosphere is for conversation, there’s just no replacement for actually meeting face to face.

  6. February 16th, 2009 at 11:00 am
    Alpaca Farmgirl said

    Great insight Liz! I had the same reactions to the sponsors. Lands End offers FREE shipping to everyone all the time. I think they did donate the bags, but I was disappointed they didn’t do more as well.

    I got a free book from Cherish Bound and will definitely be using that and promoting them.

    Thanks for putting it in perspective. When I sponsor something, I will be mindful of your thoughts.

  7. February 16th, 2009 at 11:58 am
    Todd Smith said

    This is interesting, Liz. To be a successful sponsor you have to really think what people would want as a gift. Sometimes it’s easy to give a simple discount, but is that really motivation to get people buying? I think this holds true on all our special offers (whether we are sponsors or not). Does my discount really make a difference to my customer? Or am I offering a virtually valueless come-on? You’re making me think about what kind of promotions I should offer.

  8. February 16th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
    Lori aka A Cowboy's Wife said

    Gosh *blushing* This coming from THE Liz Strauss..WOW! :) It was absolute honor to meet you and I’m counting the days until we can meet again.

    And I agree about Lands’ End. Slightly disappointed they didn’t do more but was extremely happy with the sponsors from Lijit, Little Debbie…as well as the others.

    Great to meet ya!

  9. February 16th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
    Tanna said

    Great points Liz and I enjoyed hearing you speak! I have to say that I did love the tote bag from Land’s End, but I am an organizer so that’s my thing. Perhaps they could have given people an option but then we wouldn’t have had such a great swag bag. I even carried my laptop in it at one point.

  10. February 16th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
    To Think Is To Create said

    It was seriously awesome to have the opportunity to chat with you and especially to speak on the same panel. You are a special soul, I’m honored every time we speak.

    Love your thoughts on the sponsors, I also thought it was cool that Geek Squad had the big set up to help people with their laptops and even had the Guitar Hero station for some gamer time.

  11. February 16th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
    Chris Cree said

    Heya Liz! I’ve dialoged with Tara on integrating Lijit for a couple different projects and she’s always been incredibly helpful connecting us to the right tech person to get our questions worked out quickly. She is a great example of a company evangelist.

  12. February 16th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
    greg said

    I love the bit about selling the experience so true!

    Greg Bowen
    FOCUS ID

  13. February 16th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Allison,
    All of your sponsors were awesome! I’ve been just going through things as I put the last of BlissDom away!

    Thank you so much for having me!

  14. February 16th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Poppy!
    The Nutty Bars were great!
    But I was just now eating those chocolate cakes. I’ll be having more of those too!

  15. February 16th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Thank Leighann,
    For bringing to my attention what I missed. My goal was to see what I remember after a week away. Obviously some things stuck more than others.

    I’ve updated the post to include the LandsEnd tote bags. Conference bags are so important. I wish there was a way to recycle them.

    I wish I’d met the Little Debbie guys, especially now that I’ve just had another one of those chocolate cakes. ;)

  16. February 16th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Jessica,
    Care.com were a totally cool sponsor. I’m sorry I didn’t include them. I was sick for the icebreaker so I missed that part of the program. They’re presence was felt by many. I know that. I just wasn’t there to see it. :)

    It was fabulous to see you.

  17. February 16th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    David,
    I’m sorry I missed you at BlissDom too! We’ll catch up at the next one and now I won’t be able to pass a Little Debbie’s cake without thinking of BlissDom or of you. :)

  18. February 16th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Tanna!
    Nah, I’m with you! I just missed the totebag completely. I can be clueless like that. Duh, what was I thinking? I should have recognized the tote bag as LandsEnd quality immediately.

    As I said, I missed the opening, I was little “green” and sick at the beginning of the conference. ;)
    LandEnds did come through.

  19. February 16th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey Lori!
    It was great that all of the sponsors made it so that we could meet at an event like that one!

  20. February 16th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi To Think!
    Thank you for bringing up the GeekSquad. I didn’t realize that’s what those folks with the computers were doing. What great service they brought to the party. Kudos to them.

  21. February 16th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Yeah, Chris!
    Tara is brilliant and customer friendly. I so enjoyed the time I got to spend with her. ;)

  22. February 16th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Yeah, Greg,
    It’s the experience we remember. ;)

  23. February 16th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
    Ghennipher said

    I think Blissdom’s success shows that small conferences are the new big conference - and brands should take note. At a small event like Blissdom, the corporate sponsors had a much greater impact on my views about the brand than sponsors at large conferences ever could. Every sponsor at Blissdom helped make the conference memorable, and the buzz about them still continues a week later.

    I also enjoyed so much finally meeting you and chatting with you. I’m definitely your biggest fan! ;-)

  24. February 16th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
    Dawn @ My Home Sweet Home said

    Liz, this was a great post! The sponsors did a fantastic job: my kids loved those Little Debbie gingerbread men; I agonized over my Crocs purchase for days, but have ordered a pair of sassy sandals I’m thrilled to receive; the Lands End tote is perfect; I went home and joined the Beyond Eleven Moms group that John Andrews told us about; I’ve listened to the “he’s just not that into you” soundtrack continually and saw the movie the night I got home from BlissDom; Chris Mann, Ender Thomas, and Nathan Picheco aren’t just recording artists - I have a connection with them now. Kudos to all the BlissDom sponsors.

    I loved meeting you!

  25. February 17th, 2009 at 1:02 am
    Beth Rosen said

    Liz thank you for the shout out and for your excellent post about letting companies know how much they are appreciate by continuing to invest in sponsorships, and how to be successful when doing so. Having been in a position of trying to convince businesses why they should sponsor an event, conference, speaker, or program I know that many companies still don’t understand the full value of these sponsorships. In your post you gave some excellent concrete examples of why companies should, and how they could benefit from such sponsorships. Companies today are quick to say their ad dollars are spoken for, and often they become so concerned with how dollars spent in sponsorships will turn into dollars spent by the attendees back in their stores, on their products, or using their services, they don’t see the whole value of these sponsorship. I believe that now more than ever when companies are pulling back on such sponsorships, the ones that continue to support these events will be the long-term winners in the end. The attendees know that times are tough for all business, but the ones that are still reaching out and helping these conferences continue to run are really noticed by the attendees. We all know the power of “Word of Mouth”; I believe that a well-placed sponsorship in today’s economy can lead to more costumer loyalty, and build a buzz that will continue even after the event is over. We all feel the crunch, but that personal touch today is going to carry any brand big or small a bit further. So Kudos to the sponsors at Blissdom and sponsors who continue to support other similar events, because we do appreciate your investment in us and in return you will see us continue to support your businesses, products, and services. So please sponsors continue your support of these events I promise you will love the Buzz you get…

  26. February 17th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
    Tara Anderson said

    Ummm–Liz Strauss just wrote a blog post mentioning my name? Wow. Blissdom is right.

    Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it. Your blog was recommended to me by Stan James when I first started with Lijit. He said I’d learn a lot from you and he was right.

    It was great having a chance to hang out and talk–most definitely a benefit of being at a smaller conference. I’m lucky that I work for a company that understands the need to have a presence in places like Blissdom because I get to meet the women using Lijit on their blogs. We need all the feedback we can get and I love that part of my job involves building relationships with people who can help us to become better at helping them.

    (Did I mention I ate too many of the Little Debbie snacks?)

    And I own Chris Cree a favor. ;)

  27. February 18th, 2009 at 6:41 am
    Sandy said

    Thanks so much..you are so right. It was a wonderful conference and for me all those things were completely unexpected and greatly appreciated! I did meet the 2 guys who were there from Little Debbie and they were great. Actually they didn’t work for Little Debbie, but they were the marketing guys for Little Debbie (I think)…I was quizzing them on calories on some of their other Little Debbie products and they weren’t sure…that is when they told me. Poor guys…they were very nice and loved them. I received my Crocs already and they are wonderful!! The CD’s and surprise visit, the concerts and T-shirts…all of it wonderful. The Geek squad was also wonderful to be there! Thanks Barabara and Alli, it was great.

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