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Marketing Your Blog in the Real World

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By Kelly Edwards

Blogging is not limited to cyberspace, and neither is promoting your blog to boost its recognition. In fact, marketing at events is an opportunity to access a whole range of readers and contributors that you might not have otherwise interacted with. But how do you assess if an event is worthwhile for your blog? Traveling to a networking event, paying for a ticket to a convention and even renting a stand to promote your blog are all factors that can make event marketing a more expensive choice, so how do you track if it’s the best choice to make?

Define Your Goals

While calculating the profit made from an event isn’t as simple as counting receipts for a blog, there are still ways you can attribute success to your event marketing. Tracking how many business cards you give out or flyers taken is a good start. You can also take a list of names interested in joining your mailing list (if you have one) or offer entry to a competition. These are all goals that you can measure throughout an event, however any positive effects in traffic or subscriptions may take a few days, perhaps even weeks to be felt.

Choosing the Right Event

Not every event is going to bring in the correct audience for your website. You may be tempted to attend a very large blogger event but will you be finding an audience that will actively want to engage with your blog? If you’re a niche site then it can be more effective to look into more specific blogging events, especially those in tune with your blog’s ethos. If you talk a lot about your local area then have a look into local tourism events which you could attend. If you post on a specific hobby or interest then look into events or exhibitions around these topics. This will lead you to a large group of attendees who are also a relevant part of your demographic.

Combining Real World and Online Marketing

Event marketing can still be supported by your online fans by promoting your attendance in advance. This can be on your own channel as well as outreach into other areas. If you’re attending a local event then would they appreciate some content on their website from upcoming attendees? Get in contact now and promote yourself and the event you’ll be spending time at. You can continue this after the event as well, offering posts on how you found the event and your experiences.

If you met people and exchanged business details then get in contact ASAP whilst you’re still fresh in their mind. You invested in networking and now it’s time to be proactive about all the new contacts you may have made.

Promoting at the Event

There are many ways you can promote your blog at an event and nothing is easier than wearing a branded t shirt. You can also give away branded goodies to those who show an interest in your subject of interest as well as cards and flyers. Ensure that your logo and brand colours are proudly on display and mesh with the blog itself to make the transition for the attendee as smooth as possible.

If you’re attending an exhibition or event with a stand then your promotional displays should be choreographed and also include the URL of your blog. A large and attractive banner will also grab more attention. If you’re promoting your blog at an event or exhibition that is traditionally more focused around sales or crafts then try to get a spot near a refreshment area so that attendees are more likely to slow down and look at your blog. Having an optimised mobile site will also mean that attendees that look up your blog on their phone will be able to quickly access your site.

Improving Your Approach

After your first event you will most likely realise where you can make improvements. Perhaps you were somewhat shy about approaching so many people so quickly. Perhaps you don’t feel as though you explained your blog succinctly enough and people lost interest. Perhaps you regret spending too much or not enough setting up an attractive exhibition for your blog. Whatever ideas enter your head for how you can improve next time, ensure you write them down now! You can also start mapping ways that you can approach these challenges and improve your marketing strategy.

Combining these elements will lead to excellent promotion of your blog at an event and hopefully some greater recognition for your brand.

Author’s Bio: Kelly Edwards writes about promotional display materials and helping businesses at http://www.marlerhaley.co.uk. You can find her on Twitter as @MarlerHaley.

How to Start Speaking at Corporate Events

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By Stephanie Lynch

When most people start thinking about speaking in front of hundreds, if not thousands of people, they often think of their worst nightmare. However, there are a handful of us out there that would love to speak in front of groups about a particular topic or issue.

If you have been wanting to share your advice for quite some time now, a great way to start is via corporate events.

These events are designed to talk to people who want to learn about what you have to say. While starting out may not pay much, you may find down the road that if you become good enough at it — it could lead to some great money, potentially leading to a full-time gig. So if you have been thinking about speaking and don’t know where to really start, here’s how you should get started:

#1 Start Online

The best place to start is the Internet. Try to find some blogs or even consider starting one up yourself. The key here is that you’re going to want to start building a following that appreciates your knowledge of the topic. Once people start finding about you, they will be more likely to attend your speaking event.

If you don’t know where to find these blogs or even start with building a website, there are countless ways to do so. For starters, creating a website today is easier than ever. Content management systems, such as WordPress, can make your website look like the professionals. Most web hosting companies will be more than happy to install this system for you. Once it’s installed, play around with the themes and learn how to post. If that sounds like something that is too challenging, you may want to become a contributor to a handful of popular websites on your topic. As long as you provide value, 99 percent of the owners out there will be happy to take you in.

#1A Creating a Website for Speaking

This one kind of goes with number one, but I will label it as “1A.” If you’re serious about speaking, it’s important that you create a page that explains what you can do.

Since most organizers or conferences are going to ask for a “resume,” this website that you build will be a great way to give them all the information that they need. On this website, be sure to include the following:

– Overview: Talk a bit about yourself.

– What topics can you talk about?

– Show some sample videos or speeches you had done in the past

– Have people brag about you

– If you’re going to charge, let them know how it’s done.

– And lastly, don’t forget the contact information. Make sure that they can contact you through various methods.

If you can’t build a website, consider investing money to have it done by someone else. This can potentially be a deal breaker for serious speaking gigs.

#2 Network

Ah, the word “network.” This is a word that we just can’t get away from when it comes to the corporate world. If you want to learn how to speak at events, it’s so important that you network with other professional speakers and event organizers. This can be done via social media outlets, blogs or better yet — in person at the events. Some of the best people that you can get to know are the actual professionals who run the events.

#3 Submit your Ideas

No matter what industry you’re in, there are going to be a handful of conferences every year throughout the world. If the conference is serious enough, they should have a website, and on this website, there should be a “speakers wanted” page. If they have something like this, be sure to take advantage. Like applying for a job, take your time and make sure that everything is perfect.

Speaking at corporate gigs and events will take time. You can’t expect to make tens of thousands the first time you do it. Since I can’t cram everything into one post, I wanted to leave you with these amazing books as well:

– Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun

– Magic of Public Speaking by Andri Sedniev

– No Sweat Public Speaking by Fred E. Miller

Have you considered adding public speaking to your skill set?

Author’s Bio: Stephanie Lynch works for howmuchisit.org, a collection of cost helping guides. The next time you need to know what a surgery, professional service or something else costs in life, there’s a good chance it will be here.

If You’re Skipping the Smaller Conferences, You’re Missing Out

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Walking the exhibit hall at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is an awe-inspiring experience.

Look! There’s CNN’s camera crew. Look over here, there’s a drawing to win a new car! Come over here, there are hovercrafts you can pilot yourself. And Debbie Gibson is performing in this booth…

smaller conferences are better

The exhibits are huge, the keynotes are standing room only, and conference sessions are elbow to elbow. From what I’ve heard, SXSW is heading in the same direction…possibly too big for its own good.

That’s why I like to focus on the smaller, more intimate conferences, like SOBCon (back in 2014), Social Slam, or the upstart ConvergeSouth. There’s still plenty of room for learning new stuff, meeting new people, and forming quality relationships. There’s less swag, and more value for your money.

Why Smaller Conferences are a Better Investment

  • You can focus on a conference that dives deeply into your niche. Rather than a huge, generic marketing conference, try one that focuses on content marketing.
  • Have better conversations. When you can actually hear yourself talk, you can have those great hallway discussions that often turn into long-term relationships. With fewer people milling around, you have a better chance of having more than a quick chat.
  • Get access. Some of the smaller conferences pull in heavy hitter speakers, and you can have much easier access to meet them. Especially if you spend the little bit extra for a VIP pass.
  • Enjoy the adventure factor. Sometimes things are just more loose at a smaller conference. You might find yourself in a dive bar at the after-after-after party building memories with people you only knew online. Not that that ever happened. I’m not allowed to say.
  • Anticipate the “let’s put on a show” factor. Smaller conferences often have a hardy band of local volunteers who are shouldering the burden of hosting. It’s a fantastic opportunity to offer your help with the little things. If a speaker flakes out, you could be there when you’re needed to jump in (I’ve seen that happen). If the audio-visual hookups are wonky, you can jump up and troubleshoot. Earn the eternal gratitude of the conference team, and make some friends.
  • Spend less money. The newer, smaller conferences are cheaper, and sometimes even the peripheral expenses are lower since they are held in smaller cities. A hotel room in Greensboro, NC is much more affordable than one in New York City. And do I need to mention food costs? At a small conference in Portland, I had the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich for lunch from a food truck. Cheap and mind-blowingly delicious.

Are you ready to pack your bags? What are your favorite smaller conferences?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

5 Must-Attend Events to Understand Online Business Growth

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Ann Smarty

Understanding Online Business

If guiding your business startup to the point that you’re breaking even is your first major hurdle, the second is focusing on sustaining that growth in order to turn your business into the profitable machine that you’ve always known it would be.

Just like the first leg of your entrepreneurial journey, the general idea of growing an online business covers many complicated fields and endeavors, often leaving you in the dark as to the best possible step to take in a given situation.

If getting bigger is what you’re about then you’ll need all the help you can get; check out these five must-attend events to understand online business growth:

1. SOBCon NW 2012

Business owners of all kinds are invited to attend this year’s SOBCon event, a conference that offers education and inspiration to startups, entrepreneurs and small business owners. Starting off with its theme of Starting Up Strategically, SOBCon NW 2012 will offer six unique “Mastermind Models” that focus on the key elements of a successful startup alongside interviews and talks with those in the know and panel discussions to allow you to benefit from others in your niche.

For those focused on entrepreneurial non-profit efforts, Give Back Sunday is set aside to provide you with the kind of information and insight that you need in order to achieve the best possible results with your charitable efforts.

When & Where: SOBCon NW 2012 is set to be held at the Urban Studio in Portland, Oregon, from September 28-30, 2012. Live chat with Liz if you have any venue and location questions.

2. The Conference Board – The New/Next CMO: What it Takes to Win in Marketing

Startup success and business growth depend, in the end, on marketing and marketing alone; buyers rule. With this fact in mind, it’s easy to understand exactly why a strong mind for advertising is a necessity, especially in today’s crowded business landscape, and The New/Next CMO conference offers marketing professionals big and small the tools and ideas they need to help their business to excel.

This event will help you to better spot and leverage marketing opportunities in your business, focusing on how to achieve real world results while giving you the take-home ideas and inspiration you need sell your brand to the world.

When & Where: The Conference Board Conference Center in NewYorkCity will play host to The New/Next CMO conference on November 8, 2012. There’s no official venue information at the event site but you can book a hotel using NewYorkHotels.org

3. Pivot Conference 2012

Speaking of marketing, Pivot Conference 2012 is another great event for brand builders and marketers, helping online entrepreneurs to gracefully tackle the many challenges and risks to be found in the rapidly evolving world of social media. Attended by some of the biggest and most successful names in social marketing and engineering, you’ll learn how to take advantage of emerging platforms in effective ways while never losing focus on the good old-fashioned art of connecting on a meaningful level with your customers.

When & Where: NewYork, NewYork is the city that Pivot Conference 2012, to be held on October 15-16, 2012, calls home, offerings attendees an exciting travel opportunity in itself! Here’s the official hotel and travel information.

4. Ignition: Future of Digital

In a world quickly moving towards paperless money, digitized business and technology-fuelled everything, digital media professionals need to stay educated in order to stay on top of their game! Ignition: Future of Digital promises to give attendees the information they need to stay ahead of the competition, no the matter the niche in question.

When & Where: New York City continues to hold the spotlight as it hosts the Ignite conference on November 27, 2012 at the Time Warner Center. More location information and registration is available here.

5. Business Growth Conference

Visit a city on the cutting edge of technology and digital media and rub shoulders with the best and brightest minds available by visiting the Business Growth Conference, a full day of professional development activities designed to help any business owner to grow surely and steadily.

When & Where: A visit to beautiful San Francisco, California on October 17, 2012 will be in order if you’d like to attend the Business Growth Conference. More info on the event location is available here. Union Square also boasts many other hotels.

Are you visiting any of the above? Please let us know in the comments!

Author’s Bio: Ann Smarty is a blogger and guest blogger with 6 years experience. She is a control freak and she loves when she is busy, so her hands are always full. One of her largest projects is My Blog Guest, the free community of guest authors and blog owners who preach the “high-quality” approach to guest blogging. Follow Ann on Twitter at @seosmarty and Google Plus


Thank you, Ann! Great information, Great guest post! Great birthday present to include SOBCon among them! 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss