Successful Blog

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

by

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.

  • Great sponsors come as learners to build relationships, not to hunt buyers.
    AND

    John Andrews from Walmat and Tara Anderson from lijit were panelists, attended the sessions, and participated in event activities. Though their companies are hugely different in size, scale, and offering, they related to people in the same one-to-one fashion. They were building relationships. I had personal conversations with each of them. It was obvious they were both there to learn and connect. I’ll be using them as examples when people as how do to do it right.

    John and Tara were about building relationships with their customers — current and future.

  • If they send a product, it’s the right one.

    I didn’t met a representative from Little Debbie, but I didn’t see any reason that one needed to be there. The product — 100 calorie snacks — fed us during the breaks and movie party. Simply providing it for us to sample was enough for me to see that I liked it. I’ve already bought some. I like the peanut butter ones. More please!!

    Little Debbie let their product speak for them.

  • They give more than they might get.

    I’ve always been a LandsEnd evangelist. I love their jeans. The catalog they included in the swag back introduced their new line with free shipping. I paged through their catalog. I didn’t buy. I kept thinking that a $25 gift would have been a better investment. I was disappointed that LandsEnd didn’t reach out more.

    Free shipping from LandsEnd? Not exactly a sample of their product. UPDATE: My apology to LandsEnd What I was thinking? HOW COULD I OVERLOOK THE LANDSEND TOTES? Thank you, LandsEnd. I must have conference totebag blindness. I sure would have noticed if I had to carry that stuff without them. The inside pockets are particularly cool.

    Crocs added a $50 gift to the package. $50 was enough for me to go to their website to realize that they have more than just plastic shoes with holes in them. I think they might have a new customer. I’ve already told three people about the gift and how Alli showed off her crocs boots the audience.

    Crocs offered an invitation to experience more than shoes with holes.

  • Great sponsors know people remember experiences, not demos and speeches. They invite us to participate in unforgettable ways.

    • Sony showed up in the form of Chris Mann, who talked with BlissDom attendees on Twitter as @iamchrismann long before that weekend. So when he took the stage at BlissDom, he was already a friend. Here’s a clip from the private concert he did. Chris stayed, talked, and shot video.

    Sony let us help launch a career!

    Disney Pearl brought a massive HD plasma screen, 4 small ones, a complete sound system and production team for what might have been the most entertaining break of the the event. They were introducing YANNI VOICES — an event in which the famous musician chose 5 solo voices to put lyrics to his music and developed a performance around them. Who would have thought a DVD of a music show belonged a blogger conference. But the experience was exciting, moving, and entertaining. THEN, to make us feel special, it ended with a chance to meet the vocalists in the show.

    Disney made us part of a huge event.

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
Work with Liz!!

Thanks to Week 173 SOBs

by

muddy teal strip A

Successful and Outstanding Bloggers

Let me introduce the bloggers
who have earned this official badge of achievement,

and the right to call themselves
Successful Blog SOBs.

I invite them to take a badge home to display on their blogs.

muddy teal strip A

FAT KID'S IRONMAN FITNESS BLOG

They take the conversation to their readers,
contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger.

I thank all of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on.
Good conversation shared can only improve the blogging community.

Should anyone question this SOB button’s validity, send him or her to me. Thie award carries a “Liz said so” guarantee, is endorsed by Kings of the Hemispheres, Martin and Michael, and is backed by my brothers, Angelo and Pasquale.

deep purple strip

Want to become an SOB?

If you’re an SO-Wanna-B, you can see the whole list of SOBs and learn how to be one by visiting the SOB Hall of Fame– A-Z Directory . Click the link or visit the What IS an SOB?! page in the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

SOBCon Comment Conference Recap: Thanks for a Fabulous Day of Q&A!

by

An Expert Every Hour and Q&A for 12 Hours

Information was flying and people were moving from blog post to blog post to hear what everyone had to say about the topics being explored last Tuesday when comment box flew open all day. Think theater of the imagination meets speakers and attendees in the comment box for conversation.We purposefully set aside the video and moving technology so that folks could take time to ask a question and answer question at their own leisurely pace and worked as we hoped bringing out some of the best conversation in a while.

Thank you to all who participated!

You’ll find two links below for each speaker
The names take you to each speaker’s blog. The title links take you to each individual conversation that took place.

When and Who:

11:00 – Liz Strauss on How to Build a Personal Development Network
12:00 – Mark Carter on Saving The World With Social Media
1:00 – Lucretia Pruitt on Twittering the Way that Works Best for You
2:00 – Andy Sernovitz on Amazing Word of Mouth for Your Blog
3:00 – Mary-Lynn Foster on Podcast and Blog Interviewing Tips
4:00 – Easton Ellsworth on Visionary Blogging Improvements
5:00 – John Haydon on Social Media and Trust Online
6:00 – VickyHennegan on Writing for the Web
7:00 – Becky McCray on Successful Entrepreneurship
8:00 – Shannon Paul on Internet People and What They Do
9:00 –Angela Maiers on Literacy and Learning in the 21st Century
10:00 –Terry Starbucker on Pitching Social Media to Clients — 5 Key Questions for Potential Clients

Thank you, everyone again! Relationships make things happen!

C’mon Let’s Talk!

— ME “Liz” Strauss

Register Now for SOBCon09 Explode your network!

SOB Business Cafe 02-13-09

by

SB Cafe

Welcome to the SOB Cafe

We offer the best in thinking — articles, books, podcasts, and videos about business online written by the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers of Successful Blog. Click on the titles to enjoy each selection.

The Specials this Week are

PR 2.0 sets the Twitter Bar on quality of relationships.
The surmounting ploys, friending races, theatrics, and contests to tempt those into following individuals can be fun, but short-sighted, when in fact the true technique for building relationships, regardless of volume, is the genuine act of earning and investing in them. It’s rooted in selflessness and rewarded with a rich stream of relevance and a network of valuable contacts that can also help you in the real world.

the paisano sets out useful social healthcare sites.
We’re not just talking about the traditional WebMD type of service either. This new breed of health service has incorporated many of the cool and useful social media tools we’ve come to expect from web 2.0 startups and social networks. Here’s a roundup of some of the best.

All Things Workplace sets up a series on Influence within and into an organization.
When you want to influence into or within an organization, it’s almost mandatory to find out what style it has and adjust your approach accordingly. If you are an employee or part of the organization, this may help you understand why you feel totally at home or out of place.

Patricia Martin sets out research on colorful thoughts.
What color most improves brain performance and receptivity to advertising, red or blue? Both can, it just depends on the nature of the task or message. According to a new study undertaken at the University of British Columbia, red is the most effective at enhancing our attention to detail, while blue is best at boosting our ability to think creatively.

SEOmoz sets out the 500 Most Linked-To
First off, we’re launching a free Linkscape API to access two of Linkscape’s most popular metrics – mozRank of a URL and the number of external links to a URL. Second, we’ve launched a list of the top 500 sites & pages on the web, ordered by the number of unique root domains linking to them (alongside other interesting SEO metrics).

Related ala carte selections include

@ColderIce recommended that we read this and I agree.

@dubster2k recommended this. It’s just plain fun!

Sit back. Enjoy your read. Nachos and drinks will be right over. Stay as long as you like. No tips required. Comments appreciated.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

The Trans-Atlantic Class at the Legendary School of Journalism

by

A Virtual Class, A Virtual Brief Case

At Twestival last night friends asked me about my experience teaching a class on the social web and blogging for the Masters Degree students at City University of London. They suggested I blog about the details of it — the software applications, the equipment, the people who were present, what worked and what didn’t. This blog post is meant to do that.

A Virtual Class with Virtually Everything

The journalism school at City University London, which “Has accrued legendary status within the media,” according to The Independent, was the scene for a cutting edge student experience on February 4th — a transatlantic class on the power of digital publishing. Course Director of MA Publishing Studies, Mary Ann Kernan, arranged for her MA students in the Work Placement Module to meet virtually with publishing veteran and social web strategist — Liz Strauss (um, me) — in the university lab.

The purpose of the class was a direct connection with an industry advisor who understand the uses of digital publishing in this time of rapid change as students begin their own “placement blogs.”

Preparation — the Materials: With limited time to cover a huge subject, I wanted to offer students lingering value toward developing their placement blogs –a requirement for their degree and placement in future employment. I invited students to join a group at YUDU.com group (a client site) which is built out as a “virtual briefcase” of resources. The online group would allow them to access the materials from any computer at any location. Rather than a single class syllabus. It was filled with examples of publications, resources, and links to webpages to help students see the motivation, depth, and breadth of opportunities for expression and connection that digital publishing allows. The students could review the materials at their leisure before, during, and after the session. They still have access to everything.

Preparation — the Application and Equipment: The day before the class we met via the Internet, using the lab’s Adobe Connect application, my dual screen PC, and the City U’s lab equipment, which would included every student on their own computer. After several hours of attempting a full connection, the video only worked in one direction — from the UK to the US. We weren’t quite sure what caused the problem. The audio was up and working. The chat was fully functioning. We moved forward.

I wasn’t entirely disappointed. The Chicago to London time difference meant I would be meeting the next morning at 4 a.m. Perhaps we saved the students a sight in the dark hours of my early morning …

Class Content — The class was an exciting conversation with the next generation of digital publishing professionals. We discussed the use of blogs, Twitter, the variety of e-commerce opportunities for publishers. The YUDU collection made it easy to demonstrate uses such as, groups, publishing, linking — the hyperlink feature is a standout for web users — messaging, and most importantly, the ways that the e commerce and digital publishing can be professional and easy for publishers of any size.

Class Participants The City University of London Work Placement class enrollment is half male, half career changers, with world citizens that include two from India, one from Taiwan, two from Brazil, two from the US, two from Ireland, one from France. They’ve had a thorough grounding in the strategic impact on the publishing industry of the digital shifts; several will be doing digital projects on their imminent placements (from 16 Feb) – Penguin, HarperCollins, LittleBrown, a literary agency, CUP, Haymarket Mags, Sage, Wiley; in a variety of depts and potential roles.

Also participating were Professor Kernan, the lab staff, myself, and Jonathan Cornwell, COO of YUDU, who had graciously accepted our invitation to be a part of this use of his company’s product.

It was the second City University of London session, I’ve been a part of. The first was last year (and in person) with both the school of Journalism and the Cass Business School. We look forward to continuing our ongoing relationship as we both learn more about each other and how the technology can serve us across the Atlantic.

It’s virtually thrilling to share a real-time conversation about publishing from Chicago to London with an entire university class and to finish before the sun has risen.

Any questions?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

The Company that Owned a Nation

by

The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. To underscore the importance of relationships in business and to have a chance to make and celebrate a few while we’re doing that, I’ve opened up this series by successful and outstanding bloggers like you.

by Jean Gogolin, WordWright

Elizabeth I of England is remembered for a lot of things – her virginity and defeating the Spanish Armada to name two – but not many people think of her as the backer of an early experiment in capitalism called the joint stock company.

But by granting a royal charter to a bunch of London businessmen intent on beating the Dutch at the spice trade, she set the stage for a business deal that shaped a nation – one that could teach Wall Street and the U.S. Congress a few lessons.

On December 31, 1600, the Queen granted a Royal Charter to “George, Earl of Cumberland and 215 Knights, Aldermen, and Burgesses” to form what eventually became the East India Company. Shortly thereafter their ships set sail for the Indian Ocean, and the rest is quite literally history.

Initially, the company stuck to trading cotton, silk, indigo dye, saltpetre (for gunpowder), tea, and that big profit maker, opium. Back home, various acts of Parliament renewed the company’s charter, in return for which the company made large loans to the government. Over time, the Company acquired Indian territory, minted money, collected revenues, maintained forts and armies, made war and peace, made treaties, and administered justice – of its own kind. Eventually, it ruled virtually all of India.

Of course, all that power corrupted. Despite its revenues from trade and other sources, the Company found itself burdened with massive military expenditures, and its future seemed bleak. Desperate, the directors tried to avert bankruptcy by appealing to Parliament for financial help.

[Sound familiar?]

State intervention put the Company back on its feet, Parliament took greater control over the Company’s affairs, and placed India under the rule of a Governor-General in an arrangement called the Raj. [See “A Passage to India,” available through http://www.Netflix.com]

For the next 50 years, the British tried to eliminate Indian rivals, beating back Tipu Sultan of Mysore and the Marathas, and subjugating the Sikhs.

Finally, of course, India rebelled and eventually won independence.

British histories of the Raj tend to focus on the regimes of law and order installed by the British, the bringing of the railways, roads, and telegraph to the natives, the institution of formal education, the introduction of British political traditions and institutions. Not to mention cricket and gin. To hear them tell the story, relationships between the Brits and the people of Indian were cordial.

But according to one source, at the same time that near-sainted Winston Churchill was waging a valiant struggle against the Nazis and Japanese, he complained to Leo Amery, Secretary of State for India, “I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion.” Churchill, you remember, spent considerable time in India.

No wonder Indian historians describe the Raj, and the reign of the East India Company, somewhat differently than the British do.

The East India Company was finally dissolved in 1874 – though interestingly, it still has a 1-page website leading nowhere: http://www.theeastindiacompany.com/

Two small remnants of its existence remain. One is the East India Club in London, now a private gentlemen’s club in St. James Square. The other, surprisingly, is the design of the American stars and stripes, which was influenced by one of the East India Company’s flags.

But the real legacy of the Company, for good and ill, is India itself, forever shaped by those 16th Century businessmen after the wealth of the East.

Jean Gogolin can be found working at WordWright and at Word Tales where she
writes about writing, the news, and the business of words in an intelligent, strategic and slightly edgy way.
Her twitter name is @jgogolin

Register for SOBCon09 NOW!!