Photo by Secret-Agent-Mama
So you missed out on the fabulousness that was BlissDom ’09? Mom 2.0 Summit came and went a couple of weeks ago while you sat at home? With BlogHer ’09 on the horizon as the next big women’s blogging conference, perhaps you’re starting to formulate a plan on how you might actually attend one of these events that are key networking opportunities.
If finding the funds to attend one of these conferences in your already-stretched-thin budget these days is an impossibility, let’s look at another option: conference sponsorship. Having a company sponsor your attendance at a conference is a win for both you. You get to attend without incurring much in the way of costs out of pocket, and you’re providing additional valuable and targeted exposure to a key demographic that many companies are looking to hone in on.
You’re probably thinking, “That sounds fantastic, but I haven’t the faintest idea where to even begin looking for a company to sponsor me.” The reality is if you’ve been blogging for any length of time, you probably have several prospects buried in your email inbox, but let’s start at the beginning.
Create a Media Kit for Your Blog
If you don’t have a media kit for your site, you’re missing an important tool for promoting yourself. A good media kit will include such key elements as:
- An overview of your site
- Traffic metrics
- Audience demographics
- Social media footprint
- Ad formats and pricing
- Policies pertaining to ads, reviews, and giveaways
Mandi at OrganizingYourWay.net has a fabulous comprehensive media kit template available to guide you in creating this document.
Choose a Conference and Estimate the Costs
Determine which conference would benefit you the most, and start pricing out how much it would cost for you to attend. You’ll want to include conference registration fees, hotel accommodations, and travel expenses for sure. You might also consider including a per diem for meals and incidentals, but you’d be wise to look at this cost as negotiable. Once you have a firm grasp on the costs for attending, it’s time to look at companies to target.
Select Companies to Target
Now is the time to dig through your email to suss out all the companies you’ve worked with previously either directly or indirectly through PR contacts. Think about contacts you’ve made on Twitter or Facebook. Choose the top three or four that you feel are the best fit for your niche and, most importantly, that you would be able to promote enthusiastically.
Brainstorm on Benefits and Ways to Promote
Now that you have three or four companies to target, first consider what benefits you have to offer them. Just a few questions to ask yourself:
- What makes you a unique fit for their company?
- How would connecting with your audience benefit them?
- Will their competitors be in attendance?
And how will you promote the company that sponsors you? A few suggestions:
- Give them ad placement on your blog.
- Write a blog post or posts featuring them before and after the event.
- Live Tweet the event mentioning the company occasionally.
- Pass out samples or other media.
- Wear clothing with their logo.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. Get creative and really put yourself out there, but leave it open ended for suggestions coming back from the sponsor as well.
Write Your Proposal
Using the information you just brainstormed, write a proposal letter to email each company along with your media kit. Include important information about the conference, the benefits you brainstormed and why your blog is a good fit for them, your proposed costs for sponsorship, and what those costs will garner them in the way of promotion at the event. I’ve created a sample proposal letter to give you a starting point, but you’ll definitely want to completely rewrite it to make it your own. Companies will start to notice if they get three or four proposals that are nearly identical.
Now take a deep breath, attach your media kit, and send the email. If you really want to stand out and have a good relationship, you may even want to follow up with a phone call after sending. Be prepared for a lot of questions, and keep in mind that you may ultimately have to accept less than a full sponsorship in this tight economy. You might even consider accepting more than one sponsorship, but full disclosure to all company involved is crucial to ensure that there are no conflicts of interests.
Above all, be true to yourself and your blog. Just because one company turns you down doesn’t mean there’s not a company out there that will be a perfect fit. As cliché as it sounds, I believe that everything happens for a purpose. Perhaps a company doesn’t have the funds in their budget now, but a good impression today may lead to bigger things in the future!
Linda Short Pump Preppy
thanks Tara! great info! I need to get to work!!!
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Tiffany
Great post Tara! Somewhere I had read some things on media kits, (problogger perhaps), and this is just a reminder to what more I need to do. More like a reminder of what I have not done (smile)! Thanks!
Tiffany
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rachel-asouthernfairytale
I adore you.
This is fantastic hon.
A Cowboy's Wife
Really good info Tara and I love that it’s FREE info!
A Cowboy’s Wife´s last blog post..The Importance of a Demographic Survey for Your Media Kit
Amy
Oh, such a good post, Tara!You should see if you can guest-author somewhere and reuse it and get even more traffic from it. It is such valuable information!!
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Nicole-frugalisfab
Thank you for the very clear and fabulous information. The sample letter was really helpful! I’m working on my media kit right now, this is definitely not my strong suit. I can do it, I can do it. Maybe if I keep saying it, I will believe it!
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LB Moore
Thanks for this article, it was very informative for me.
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Heather in Beautiful BC
Great post – thanks for all the information! I love how you finished it on such an upbeat note :)
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Jane - Mom Generations
Stumbled this. Great info that will certainly help many bloggers navigate the uncertain conference sponsorship waters!
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uppervalleymom
Fantastic post — thanks so much for the great advice and direction. Very timely!
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cassie
I love how detailed this was! Very helpful! Thank YOU!
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Dana
Thank you, thank you! Securing a conference sponsorship is one of my 2009 goals, but I just wasn’t sure how to go about it. I appreciate the information.
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Plussizemommy
Thank you for this wonderful information ! It is hopefully going to help me out a lot !
Beth AKA plussizemommy
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Tia @ Tiasavingcents
What a fabulous and understandable breakdown Tara! THANK YOU! I agree with Amy…this will be helpful to so many!
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Jennae @ Green Your Decor
Thanks for the reminder that I need to get cracking on finding a sponsor for BlogHer. And thank you so much for the template. You have saved me hours of agonizing about what to say :)
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Cher
Awesome kit and list. Just wondering how much others charge for ads?
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Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting
Great information, thank you so much!
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Ana
Thank you very much for this *extremely helpful* and well done article–I’m so happy I came upon it by chance and will stumble it for sure.
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Chauna
I apprecipate your insight and vested time in offering this very helpful info.
Thanks,
Chauna
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Charlene @ My Frugal Adventures
Thank you for sharing your experience with new bloggers!
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Ashley
Great post! I really want to go to the Casual Blogger Conference, but I can’t afford it. I think I’m going to draw up a Media Kit and start contacting companies.
TaxGuy
Great Post! I’m always looking for ways to promote blogs and this is good information.
seriouslyahomemaker
This is really good! Thanks
Alecia @ Savings & Stewardship
Whew – exactly what I was looking for! Hope this info will help me gain some sponsorship for BlogHer ’10!! Thanks!
Becky @ Our Peaceful home
This is awesome! I needed this! I’m hoping to go to Relevant 10!
Samantha @ RichSingleMomma
I’ve been looking all over for information like this. With all the upcoming conferences the letter and media kit sample will give me a good start in approaching companies.
T.v Serials
This is all information I’ve been searching for!! Thank you SO much!! I’ve never been to a blog conference, and would LOVE to find a sponsor so I can attend one (or more). Not having ever been, makes it hard to understand getting a sponsor – this post really helped!!
My question is – do you set a price in your initial contact with them? or do you wait for them to ask or make an offer?
Jade
This is such a great article Tara. The fact that it’s free makes it so much better.
Taline
Great post! Thanks for all of the great info! Will definitely be using it as I have a blog :)