Disclaimer: I’m by no means an expert on brand ambassadorship or sponsorship or how to be all business-y with your blog. In fact, my blog isn’t exactly a cash factory. I made $16 with it last month. When you do the math, that means I’m getting paid about $1.25 an hour, not including time spent on Twitter or reading other blogs. In short, it’s a hobby.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t worked professionally with small businesses and corporations. (I’m also a semi-professional opinionated big mouth.) Most of my experience comes from work, not bloggy fun, but I think it applies. So! Here are some things I’ve learned and observed regarding sponsorship for blog conferences:
- Be aware of the rules. BlogHer has announced their regulations regarding individually sponsored attendees. Don’t make a deal with your sponsor if you can’t deliver the goods. And before you get cranky about the new regulations, think back to the epic drama and fallout that clogged up your feed reader after last year’s conference. And if you were there, think about the volume of wasted materials left on every flat surface available. The rules are good. Read them.
- Don’t ask for sponsorship on Twitter. If you have a success story regarding saying something like, “Looking for sponsorship for BlogHer ’09, DM me for details,” by all means, please share them. But in my opinion, this is a half-assed and goofy way to try to establish a working relationship with a business. It reads way more like panhandling than you probably intend it to sound. If you must use Twitter to land a sponsor, use it to network or find the right contact info. Then send a nice email and go from there.
- Have something to offer. Wearing a tee shirt or slapping a small logo on your business cards isn’t really going to give your sponsor a huge return on their investment. In fact, I don’t think most conference-related activities will give your sponsor any return on their investment. I’ll even hazard to say that if you annoy people inadvertently while trying to subtly pitch a product, you could do more harm than good. Instead of acting like a billboard, offer something useful. You’re a pro! You’re valuable! How about:
- Ad space on your blog.
- Professional services. (Copywriting, copy editing, social media consulting, tweeting from a corporate account.)
- Research or detailed product feedback. (The kind you send right to them, not the kind you stick on your review blog.)
- Sponsored posts. (For example, are you pitching a gadget company? Don’t offer to write a “paid post” or slap a press release onto your blog. Instead, write about how technology is a passion or how you’ve saved time or whatever is true. Then close with a “Sponsored by _____” text link.)
- Choose (and pitch) a sponsor wisely. Please don’t pitch a company you don’t care about. And please please please don’t pitch a company you’ve never heard or purchased a product from. Sponsorship can be about establishing a real partnership and working relationship. Work with brands you care about. Consider your lifestyle and budget and consumer-y morals. Fake enthusiasm can be spotted from a million miles away, so don’t bullshit brands (or your readers).
- Package yourself. I know this sounds yucky. I write this blog for fun, and I don’t like trying to sum up my “presence” or “influence.” But I also know that I work my ass off and pour my soul out and network somewhat successfully—and I know that I also have a non-blog-related resume that gives me a fair amount of cred in the marketing/copywriting world. So, when I contact a company I love, I sum up the eclectic package that is me, swear words and rough edges and long hours and rambling lists included.
- Or just save money. If you don’t work out a sponsorship between now and August, start saving. There’s still time. Check airlines frequently for discounts. (Tuesdays often have the best prices.) Grab three roommates. Take advantage of the early bird discount. Avoid buying a whole bunch of new outfits. And save up. If the conference means a lot to you, you shouldn’t guilt yourself over filling up your piggy bank with a BlogHer fund. Read Dawn’s awesome breakdown on costs and sponsoring yourself.
Some more random thoughts: You don’t need to be a “big deal” or have a ton of traffic or Twitter followers. You need to be flexible, realistic, and willing to work. You need to know your strengths. You need to be conscious of whether or not you’re going to annoy your friends/followers (and you need to acknowledge that not everyone is going to love everything you do on the Internet). Sponsorship can be little (a laptop bag to casually show off) or big (your room and flight paid for) depending on the nature of your working relationship with the brand.
I can’t stress this enough from personal experience: When you’re at the conference you’re going to want to have fun, you’re going to want to learn, you might be freaking out for three days straight, and you’re going to be extremely busy. I really recommend that you arrange your sponsorship-related obligations around the time you’re not actually at BlogHer.
(This post has pretty much been brought to you by the fact that I want to see everyone in New York this August. Hugs! Crying! Maybe I won’t have a panic attack this year!)
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