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 ...
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 ...
PR Mondays: Good Advice Part 1
I reached out to some amazing bloggers that I am happy to have as friends on your behalf. I asked them, "What is the one thing you wish someone had told you when you started working with PR?" and boy did they deliver! From post worthy comments to some of the best one lines of advice, here is what those who have "made it" have to tell you as you start this journey:Brands need you!... you don't need brands!Don't be afraid to ask for a giveaway when you are doing a review. Keep it simple "My policy is only to do a review if I do an associated giveaway. Would you be able to provide one for a giveaway?"Remember-your time is worthwhile-you should only do things that give value to you and your blog.Its ok to not like a product- brands that do social media right, appreciate your honesty and try to use your feedback on improving their product... and if they don't have that outlook with their reviewers, eh- Who needs them?Your readers come back to your site because of the content you write about, if its not relative- its ok to say no. There will be plenty, and I mean PLENTY of relative pitches coming your way. Don't get side trackedDo not agree to review a product and then drop the ball. ...
PR Mondays: What Do YOU Bring To The Table
Last week I reached out to some of my amazing blogger friends that I feel have 'made it' in a way that I would be proud to tell you about. My friends ROCKED with their advice and I will be sharing that here over the next few weeks. But one of my friends wrote back a mini post with what she is passionate about. It was written roughly, as an email between friends usually is, but I wanted to share it because I think the questions she poses are so valuable. This is one blogger who I personally really look up to so I hope that you all can glean some wonderful advice from her.So much talk is going on about monetization. The conversation is good, because strong and honest dialogue between bloggers and brands is key to building successful relationships. However, without assessing what you, as a blogger—regardless of how long you've been blogging—can offer the brand and the ways in which you can track your success measures, how can you really demand compensation for your time?I think it's important to ask yourself: What are you offering? What is your unique difference? Do you have reach and influence? If so, what is it? Are you passionate about the product or have a unique way in which your ...