Successful Blog

5:00 – John Haydon on Social Media and Trust Online

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The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS — in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business.

How do we form the best relationships; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success?

Join the Comment Box Conference. Ask questions. Discuss answers. Meet people in the comment box. Find out.

John Haydon

John Haydon is the Social Media Coach and Publisher of CorporateDollar.Org and his fans describe him well. In the words of Rebecca Leaman of Wild Apricot, “John speaks directly to the needs and interests of small nonprofits.” Chris Garrett, Co-author of Problogger agrees “John’s short ebook gets straight to the point and only shows you the most authentic and ethical techniques, keeping the ‘social’ in social media! I would recommend it to anyone, profits and non-profits alike.”

John’s focus today is

Social Media and Trust Online

  • Social Proof -Book marking, testimonials, number of comments, number of subscribers, community involvement.
  • Consistency – Sticking around for years.
  • Being Honest – Just being who you are.
  • Being Afraid
  • Not Worrying — about what other folks are doing

John has had experience with relationships online. “John absolutely knows his Twittering.” – Michael Martine, Remarkablogger.com

John Haydon is sharing his social media common sense at Socialize your non-profit’s social media where you can learn about all facets of the using the social web for your profit or nonprofit organization.
Follow @johnhaydon at Twitter.

4:00 – Easton Ellsworth on Visionary Blogging Improvements

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The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS — in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business.

How do we form the best relationships; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success?

Join the Comment Box Conference. Ask questions. Discuss answers. Meet people in the comment box. Find out.

Easton Ellsworth

Easton Ellsworth New Media Consultant is the founder of Visionary Blogging, which advises entrepreneurs and businesses on how to use blogs and social media tools with a better sense of strategy in order to generate superior results. He especially loves using the social Web to change the offline world, which he tried to do as assistant event coordinator for Blog Action Day 2008.

Easton is bringing information on

Visionary Blogging Improvements

How to Improve Your Blogger Attributes, Blogging Skills and Your Blog Itself

  1. Helping others think about and use blogs and social media tools with a strong sense of vision and purpose
  2. Writing blog content that generates results that help your business’s bottom line
  3. Creating an integrated blog/social media strategy
  4. Generating buzz for an online event using blogs and social media
  5. Monitoring the blogosphere and social media websites for maximum awareness of a subject.

Easton’s experience ranges from personal blogs to a huge network. He’s helped us all in some way.

Easton currently writes for The Blog Herald and serves as a promoter and community leader for BlogCatalog and Bloggers Unite. Easton lives near Denver, Colorado with his wife and three children.Follow @easton at Twitter.

3:00 – Mary-Lynn Foster on Podcast and Blog Interviewing Tips

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The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships — with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS, in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business. How do we form, them; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success? That’s what this Comment Box Conference is about.

Mary-Lynn Foster

Mary-Lynn has spent 19 years in the radio broadcasting industry, and has had the joy of hosting every shift, in many formats, in five markets. At one time, she co-hosted mornings and hosted mid-days on one station, while simultaneously serving as the Production Director for all five stations in my employer’s group.

Currently, Mary-Lynn is building her own brand in new media, and tapping into her own entrepreneurial spirit as the Vice President and Executive Producer of Bigg Success (biggsucces.com).

Podcast and Blog Interviewing Tips

I have been conducting interviews for 19 years, from when I was a radio show host, to being the co-host on The Bigg Success Show. Over the course of my interviewing years, I have talked with celebrities, news makers, officials, authors, bloggers, experts and more.

An interview is a great way to give your listeners or readers a treat! It is important to keep your audience in mind while conducting an interview, since you are their voice. Here are some tips to ensure your next interview is a home run.

Looking for an interview

  • Make sure the interview topic will resonate with your audience. How can you make the topic fit your format.
  • Look for timely interviews to increase your chances of getting it…i.e. your interviewee has a new book coming out, or has launched a new program.

Requesting an interview

  • Keep your interview request short and sweet. Tell them who you are, why you are seeking them out, what topic(s) you would like to talk about, tell them how much time you’ll need, suggest some times.
  • When suggesting times, keep time zone’s in mind. I usually suggest times and capitalize CENTRAL.

Preparing for the interview

  • Do your homework! Read the book, look for information about your guest online, read their about page on, look for what they have been talking about lately on their blog or in social media.
    • Is there a recent study or news story that ties into your interview topic that you can get your interviewee’s take on?
    • Have a couple solid questions on your topic prepared. Have a couple light-hearted, personal questions to ask as well. It’s always good to bring out your interviewee’s personality.
    • Create a checklist for your interview that includes: time, number to call, your guests introduction, and your questions.
    • Do you know the correct pronunciation for your guests name? Be sure to ask before you begin the interview.

    During the interview

    • Have a conversation. If you don’t get to ask all of your prepared questions, that’s fine!
    • Listen attentively. Your interviewee’s answers will provide you with great follow-up questions.
    • You’ve done your homework, so just relax and have a conversation!
      If you don’t understand a point your interviewee has made, chances are your audience will not either, so don’t be afraid to ask him / her to elaborate.
    • Be careful that YOU aren’t telling the story. Let your interviewee tell the story. Katie Couric did a great with this in her recent 60 minutes interview with Captain “Sully” Sullenberger. She knew he’d said the words “brace for impact.” But during the interview, she said “when you were about to land in the Hudson River, you said only 3 words to your crew and passengers, what were they?”
    • Thank your guest for being on your show / blog.

    Follow up

    • Provide your guest with the link once you have posted their interview, and thank him / her again.

    That’s it! Now let’s talk about it. What questions can I answer for you? What tips do you have to offer?

    Interview Mary-Lynn on her techniques. Go ahead ask!

    Mary-Lynn Foster is an 18-year veteran in radio broadcasting. She is the executive producer and co-host of The Bigg Success Show. She also offers professional voice over and audio production services at Bigg Studio.

    2:00 – Andy Sernovitz on Amazing Word of Mouth for Your Blog

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    The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS — in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business.

    How do we form the best relationships; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success?

    Join the Comment Box Conference. Ask questions. Discuss answers. Meet people in the comment box. Find out.

    Andy Sernovitz

    Andy Sernovitz is author of “Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking” and CEO of the Blog Council.

    He is President Emeritus of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, teaches word of mouth marketing at Northwestern University, and is CEO of GasPedal. An 18-year veteran of the interactive marketing business, Andy has spent years helping the biggest brands and hundreds of entrepreneurs learn how to do better marketing. He taught entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of Business, ran a business incubator, and started half a dozen companies. Today, Andy will let us in on the secrets of

    Amazing Word of Mouth for Your Blog

    • Word Of Mouth Marketing
    • Ethics and Disclosure
    • Crazy Cool Buzz
    • Dealing with Negative Word of Mouth
    • Offline Promotion of Your Blog
    Andy’s name is synonmous with Word of Mouth Marketing. He writes about it and companies that do it well at Damn, I Wish I Thought of That
    Follow @sernovitz at Twitter.

    1:00 Lucretia Pruitt on Twittering the Way that Works Best for You

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    The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS — in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business.

    How do we form the best relationships; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success?

    Join the Comment Box Conference. Ask questions. Discuss answers. Meet people in the comment box. Find out.

    Lucretia Pruitt

    Lucretia Pruitt, also known as GeekMommy has been blogging since she had to hand-code her site’s HTML back in 1997. The advent of push-button blogging was a god-send as it allowed her more time to write needing less to publish.

    Then in 2007, she got sucked into Twitter… and microblogging entered her world in a big way. Already a student of Social Media tools, she’s spent a lot of time analyzing this medium. Catch her hanging around a dozen or more social media sites at any given moment – just look for GeekMommy! She’s here to talk about …

    Twittering the Way that Works Best for You

    • Twittering At Volume
    • Twittering Only To Family & Friends
    • Twittering As A Company’s Face
    • Twittering As An Individual, When Not Representing Your Company
    • Twittering To Get A Retweet – Size, Link, Description

    Folks on Twitter People look to her for leaderships, best practices, outright wittiness, and a huge heart. Who’s got the first question? Let’s get talking!

    Lucretia Pruitt’s Twitter bio says she’s a Random Muse – Social Media Strategist, Speaker, ex-CIS Professor, Geek, Mom, Wife, and Insomniac. Talk to her once or talk to anyone who’s worked with Lucretia and you’ll find out she’s even more than that. Lucretia writes about 21st Century motherhood at GeekMommy’s WebLife and handles social media as one of the Walmart Moms, among other social media projects.
    Follow @GeekMommy at Twitter.

    12:00 Mark J Carter on Saving the World with Social Media

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    The theme of SOBCon09 is the ROI of Relationships. Relationships with customers, employees, colleagues, coworkers, builders, contractors, developers, and CUSTOMERS — in the form of readers, buyers, clients, and others — are the success of any business.How do we form the best relationships; bring our best to them; build environments that nurture them; and measure our success?

    Join the Comment Box Conference. Ask questions. Discuss answers. Meet people in the comment box. Find out.

     

    Mark J Carter

    Mark is a social media maven who’s bent on making the world a better place. He’s spends his time in social pursuits for “Networking for Cause,” and helping Tim Sanders with this new Saving the World at Work Community.

    In the city of Chicago, Mark is the networker to know. Every night he’s at a different event. Mark’s brings us that wisdom on how he’s using social media in the world of nonprofits.

    Saving the World with Social Media

    1. How social media is changing the face of marketing & PR for non-profits and causes

    2. Learn how getting involved and promoting your favorite cause increases YOUR visibility, builds your network and increases your social media effectiveness

    3. Why large scale events (such as www.Twestival.com) and new web communities (like www.SavingTheWorld.net) are focusing solely on causes and giving everyone a voice

    4. How to build your business in less time by teaming with communities (both online and offline)

    5. Roadblocks non-profits & causes face when “getting started” in the social media world (and how to overcome them)

    Ask Mark how he can get so much done. C’mon let’s talk social media with him!

    Mark Carter is a social media specialist. He writes for and manages Saving the World at Work, the popular community that sprung up from Tim Sander’s bestselling book by the same name. Mark is the power behind the Chicago Twestival on February 12th, and many other networking and social media events.
    Follow @mjcarter at Twitter.