Problogging Session Notes – Blissdom 2010 Recap

This session was presented at Blissdom 2010 on Saturday afternoon with @AlliWorthington, @BarbaraJones, @kimmoldofsky, @AudreyMcClellon, @SSmirnov, @nancydsmith

Earned media – traditional – not paid. via pitches and open.
Paid media – Content that is paid, sometimes video, articles, campaign, consulting, etc.

Sometimes one thing leads to another. Just because an opportunity doesn’t pay, doesn’t mean it won’t lead to something else. Think of everything as an evolution and as a stepping stone.

You need to be YOURSELF when you’re blogging. Working with the PR rep about the best possible way to reach your readers might be.

Nancy – Paid Media – If I am paying you I am giving you talking points. The content is MY choice. You’ll get talking points and you can’t stray from your talking points.

Alli – “Rock what you got – find your own way”

Real life meet-up to host a party for a brand. Paid content, sponsored posts, etc.

Nancy says – we’ll need to know the Return on Interest. There are things that are valuable – influence over readers, a new segment that can be of value to tap into and raise awareness to, reach, etc.

In a focus group – prior to the event. Nancy got enough insight to feel it was worth the price of admission. If you offer something special to the brand like an event meetup, a focus group, etc

Have a case study ready – Barbara says “what was the objective. What was the solution. What was the results” We wanted to do this. We did this to get there. And this was the result of the campaign.

EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO SHOULD HAVE METRICS ATTACHED TO IT

Companies are looking for a social media footprint – a social media mom. Can you do a twitter and a flickr and a facebook and your blog AND youtube. Overall knowledge. Overall reach. Everything counts beyond the traffic number on your one blog post review.

Invest in your strong relationships with companies and social media folks, etc. Sometimes these PR companies they are still lobying and pioneering these recommendations and trying to convince the others of the importance. THEY are the ones that are fighting for you. Don’t make them look bad when they have been putting their necks out for you.

When you reach out to PR’s be specific. Not “Hey I want to review your product and here’s what I’ve done in the past”. Mention the brand, your plan, what you have in mind.

Build a resume for yourself in terms of your social media footprint. Prove your worth. Expand what you have out there and your reach.

Be aware of who you are speaking with. The PR is usually not the person who has the budget. ASK THEM who the right person is to talk to for a paid media campaign if you think you have something of value to offer.

There’s always a way to make money for good ideas. It should feel full and integrated and robust. When pitching an idea make sure you present a complete overview and be prepared to wait to hear back.

With a paid content the product has to be vetted and approved. You can’t say whatever you want (Angela’s Note – Watch for future posts on treating your writing like a business. Writing for money, whether you are generally a blogger or not, makes you a FREELANCE WRITER or copywriter…know what that means and entails!)

Present an honest and balanced viewpoint. It’s tone. Don’t go to Twitter and post some passive-aggressive rants. Nancy keeps a list of the vindictive and purposefully hurtful. A negative is totally ok – it can be a helpful post even with negatives or “things they could be improved upon”.

Everything that you do online creates your digital landscape.

Angela’s Note – I think this was a really important session that left some things out because it was SO MUCH information to cover. I’m working on a post in my “Blogging by the Book” series with some additional pro-blogging tips. I was glad at the end to hear Alli remind everyone to READ THEIR CONTRACT and look it over carefully. Web content writers are used to checking out what rights, if any, they retain. Most of the bloggers that I have talked to personally, are NOT. That’s not a bad thing – just an area to be aware of. It’s also one of the reasons why on Untrained Housewife I do not take any rights from a writer at all. Because I AM so aware of these issues.

Anyway – more on all this is to come, as well as additional Blissdom session recaps. So if you aren’t subscribed yet, put your email in the sidebar widget on the right!