I am not posting a PR Monday post today because I found this instead and as I am typing tears are running down my face. I didn't have a particularly fabulous Mothers Day. It wasn't for lack of trying on my husbands side. It was teenage drama and lots of work. But when I opened my feeds this AM, Laura's post just struck me as something I needed to share as a belated mothers day to all the Mothers in the Children With Special Needs Sorority. I hope every mom out there had a wonderful day and to my special 'sisters' I hope this brings you happy tears.To You, My SistersBy Maureen K. HigginsMany of you I have never even met face to face, but I’ve searched you out every day. I’ve looked for you on the internet, on playgrounds and in grocery stores.I’ve become an expert at identifying you. You are well worn. You are stronger than you ever wanted to be. Your words ring with experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world. You are my “sisters.”Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority. A very elite sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members. Some of us were ...
PR Monday: Balancing Act
UGH! It is 5 pm on Monday and I still don't have my PR Monday Post up. I usually write it on Sunday but we spent the weekend unsuccessfully furniture shopping. This AM I ran to Boot Camp, then ran home, picked up one kid for an appointment, dropped him off, turned right back around and picked up the other. Spent almost 4 hours at the eye doctor and ordering glasses for them both. Looks like the youngest is blind as bat. I feel like a great mother. I swear his eyes were checked two years ago. Then it was off to grab something to put in their growling stomachs and back to Barnes and Noble to get Romeo & Juliet in a version Con could half way understand and A Tale of Two Cities, both need to be read ASAP for K12. PHEEWWW! I am exhausted just typing all that and I still have dinner to make. Which brings me to why Dustin's guest post could not be more timely!Spending Too Much Time Online? 5 Tips to Master the Virtual Balancing ActIf you are reading this post, it's probably safe to assume that you enjoy spending time online. You're probably a busy parent, and you may even be a fellow blogger.Do you sometimes feel like maybe you are spending too much of your time on the internet? I ...
How To Ask For Blog Conference Sponsorship
Last week Tamara talked about why a newbie blogger should attend a conference. This week, I want to look at the nuts and bolts of how to attend a blog conference on someone else's dime(s).Let's face it. Conferences are EXPENSIVE and if you are a mom making just enough to pay for your monthly coffee habit from your blog it may seem like a crazy way to spend your money. If you are serious about your blogging goals, the money you spend on conferences can be well worth it. If you are just trying to update your family on little Susie's latest word, it probably isn't. Either way, looking for conference sponsorship is a great way to make it do-able (doable?? hmm.....)If you have been to at least one conference, you know it seems like everyone there is sponsored by someone. Sponsorship to a conference basically just means that a brand has helped you to defray the costs of attending the conference. I have seen all sorts of sponsorships, from a full sponsor who would pay for everything including your ticket, airfare, hotel and misc. expenses to those that partially cover your expenses or give you a product you may need for the trip.The first thing you should do in looking for a blog ...
Why Newbie Bloggers Should Attend Blog Conferences
Please welcome Tamara as our fabulous PR Mondays guest poster today! She has some wonderful insight on conferences for you. This summer I am planning to be at the following conferences: EVO, Savvy Blogging Summit and BlogHer. I wrote a beginners guide to BlogHer last year.Let me know if you are going to any of those and please leave some wonderful comments below with your own advice to newbies or questions/thanks to Tamara!Tamara is the voice behind The (Un)Experienced Mom and Blog Conference Newbie. In addition, she is the co-creator of Our Mommyhood...where motherhood meets bloghood! If she's not online chatting or connecting others, she's probably working out, sleeping, or changing a poopy diaper.---------------------------------------------------------------Why Newbie Bloggers Should Attend Blog ConferencesWhen people first get into blogging, it usually starts off as a casual hobby. Some people post when they can while others start off posting daily. But no matter how often you write, the realization that blogging is a bit addicting and can require a lot of time eventually hits us all.In the short time I’ve been blogging, I’ve learned a lot about the craft. There are blogs for ...
PR Mondays: Good Advice Part 2
Following on from last weeks great advice from mom bloggers who successfully work with PR, let's get to it:Don't sell yourself, or your audience short. Only give your honest opinion. If you lie, your audience will eventually figure it out (after all EVERYTHING can't be the most fabulous thing ever) and they will leave. If you have no audience the companies won't be interested in you any more. . . everyone loses.Not every blogger is born to morph into a review blogging-butterfly....if reviews aren't your thing- be honest- there other ways to work with a brandMake the company ship the prizes. "It's my policy to have the company do order fulfillment-I will provide you with the name of the winner when the giveaway is complete."Saying yes to every pitch is not the road to "big time blogger" status... its road to sleepless nights of writing about toothpaste and posts that readers are probably skipping overImportant Reminder: I, also, wanted to let you know that I was asked by a good friend who is a PR rep in the mom blogging world to do a monthly twitter chat. The Blog Frog will be there participating as well. More info to follow but save April 5th at 9 pm EST for our first ...