The moment I heard about BlogHer I wanted to go, but we really didn't have the extra money to fund a $200 a night hotel room for 3 nights, a $300 ticket and the gas it would take to get to and from Chicago, but deep down inside I wanted to go so badly that I knew I was going to get there one way or another.
Now, let me back up a bit to BB (before BlogHer).
I started blogging in October of 2008 as a product reviewer for Peekaboo Picks, an online magazine for hip Moms. Then in February of 2009 (yes, only 5 months ago), I started my own blogs Life in the Hills and Giftfully Simple and most recently The Digital Mommy.
The reason I started blogging...the real reason I started...was because I had started meeting amazing women via Twitter that all seemed to be a part of this really cool virtual world and I wanted in! I wanted to be contacted by PR reps to try out cool products or get tickets to review a concert or event. I wanted to be in "that" crowd and I did it...I got in.
The women that are a part of the blogging community that I have grown to love have been interviewed on the Digital Mommy...these women are the ones I look up to, gain knowledge from, go to for advice and I extremely admire. So, if you've been asked to be interviewed by The Digital Mommy or have been featured on the Digital Mommy it's because I truly admire you.
These women that I'm talking about are the women I can't wait to meet at BlogHer '09!
Now, back to the joyride I mentioned above. I had to get sponsors if I had any intention of attending BlogHer '09 and I felt that even before buying a ticket, these sponsors had to be secured. My "friend" Trisha from Mom Dot helped point me in the right direction in finding a sponsor. This conversation was via Twitter one late night and was one of the keys that helped me in securing sponsorship, but it was only one of the keys in the entire process.
Oh, and by the way, the process got easier and easier, but the initial start up was a hurdle.
The first thing I did was write a post about why a company should sponsor me for BlogHer '09 and posted it on my blog Giftfully Simple. I thought the next day my inbox would be full of sponsors and I'd be on my way to BlogHer, but boy was I wrong! Little did I know at the time that this was only one step in the entire process in securing a sponsor.
When the first sponsor came along, I had enough to buy the tickets and attend the MomDot dinner, but when I went to buy the ticket...they were all sold out! So, what did I do? Only the most logical thing...I tweeted! I tweeted that BlogHer sold out, but I really wanted to go, "Does anyone want to sell their tickets to BlogHer?"
Guess what happened... Kelby Carr retweeted my tweet and someone responded, but the problem was that I was starting to feel like I should secure the entire sponsorship and at this point I had half of the money I needed to be completely sponsored, but because I had never done anything like this before, I wasn't at the point where I could convince myself that I could raise all of the money, so I declined the ticket and continued to find sponsors.
The next blogger who fits the term Digital Mommy to a T and played a part in helping me secure my BlogHer sponsorship was Sarah Burns from the Ohana Mama. She suggested I contact Mom ran business owners that I knew from reviews that I had previously done and/or women I had a relationship with through an online forum where Sarah and I met called Mompreneurs Online.
I took her suggestion and contacted a few Mompreneurs I knew and secured two more sponsorships. Yes! I was finally feeling confident I was going to attend BlogHer '09, but what about the ticket?
Well, yes, I did not have a ticket in hand at this point, but my name was on the wait list and I figured I could secure the sponsorship and always cancel if I didn't get a ticket.
Then the email came! BlogHer opened up more tickets and because I was at the top of the list, a "golden" ticket was mine! Woohoo! I had the money to get the ticket and I was confident now that I could secure another sponsor to cover the last bit of money I would need to make the trip to BlogHer.
This is when Jessica Smith from Jessica Knows and the Buzz Coopererative comes in.
Basically, the Buzz Cooperative puts PR reps in touch with Bloggers and vice versa and one of the cool things about the Buzz Cooperative is that bloggers can "pitch" PR reps, so I decided to "pitch" the PR reps requesting a sponsorship to BlogHer and guess what...it worked! I got two more sponsors through that "pitch" and was secure. I had fully paid for my trip to BlogHer! I even landed a beautiful tee from Paperlili, $100 to pay for the MomDot dinner I was invited to attend and a LBD (little black dress) from SlimPerfect to wear to the parties I was to attend Thursday night.
So, you see...it can be done! I got my BlogHer experience completely paid for, I get to meet women that I extremely admire and make connections not only with my fellow bloggers, but also with PR reps from numerous companies. I also get to learn things that are going to help me as a blogger and the companies I am representing.
I can't wait to go to BlogHer '09 and want to thank my sponsors for giving me this opportunity!
Thank you:
&
Thank you so much for this! You are making my YEAR!!!!!
PS. I almost secured a car from Ford to drive to BlogHer '09, but that should have an entire blog post of it's own.
That's great that you were able to get all of those sponsors. Congrats and I look forward to seeing you at BlogHer
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