Waking Up Like a Dog
Kara Mia taking a nap
Yeah, it’s been a while. I know. I’ve been in the process of re-invention for too long and it’s time to pull the trigger on a few things, even if they’re not perfect. Anyone relate?
The topic of this post seemed like an easy way to ease back into regularly blogging for the Breakfast Blogging Club. Although, I can tell you that future posts will likely NOT be about just blogging. It feels too narrow and there are SO many other blogs doing it better.
Besides, it still stings when I recall telling some snobby Oakland blogger a couple of years ago about BBC, and he sniffed, “Oh, how refractive.” I think that was the word he used. Yet another Blog Snob encounter.
But I digress.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m still a HUGE proponent of blogging for business, and it can work well when incorporated into an online and social media strategy. Happens all the time.
So as I peek out, one eye open, gearing up for full blog consciousness, I thought I’d start with this easy beginning step. I’ver already committed to going to WordCamp in August, and now I’ll throw my collar in with The Media Awards coming to San Francisco in October. (This Oakland girl thanks the organizers for not picking a south bay venue!)
Here’s the scoop.
The World Media Awards and Event
Learn how to use the latest technologies and techniques to boost your blog and publishing results. The purpose of the event is to gather people and knowledge to celebrate the best in blogging and media creation. If you get the importance of a content startegy – regardless of the size of your business – you’ll want to be there.
At this event, there will be a series of workshops and events hosted by some of the world’s leading publishing experts. The event takes place on Wendesday, October 26th at the PayPal building in San Francsico.
Tickets are $50, but you can blog about this event for a chance to go for free. Yes, I’m going this route myself. But you need to be one of the first 100 bloggers to post about it. Wish me luck.
Space is limited to 500 attendees and you can contact the organizer, Murray Newlands. Murray is also the organizer of the San Francisco Blogging Club Meetup. Sorry to say I haven’t been to one of their meetings yet.
If you’re part of the Breakfast Blogging Club circle and either follow this blog (really, thanks for hanging in there), are a member of our Meetup, or get the weekly emails from our Quick Start Guide of juicy blogging topics (HUGE thank you), then this event is for you. I also think folks in PR, media marketing, authors, business bloggers and content creators will benefit from attending.
Here’s what Murray Newlands says about it:
“I love blogging and wanted to create an event to celebrate the best in blogging and media. I meet lots of publishers and want to be able to create an environment where they can exchange knowledge and creativity.
“We are pleased to have eBay as lead sponsors of the event. eBay is keen to support the publishing community.”
More to be said about the event includes:
The eBay partner network is increasingly reaching out to support bloggers. Other sponsors include Growmap, VigLink and Trancos.
World Media Award judges include Steve Hall, Sarah Austin, Chang Kim, Pierre Zarokian, Cheryl Contee, Krystyl Baldwin, Adrian Harris, Jeremy Wright, Rob Bloggeries, Dave Duarte, Tanya Alvarez and Dana Oshiro
Media partners include Adrants, The Affiliate Marketing Awards, Read Write Web, mediavisioninteractive.com and Bloggeries.
And just who is Murray Newlands? Seems like a busy guy, doesn’t he?
Murray Newlands is author of “How to Make a Blog Book” and “Online Marketing; a User Guide.” He is also founder of the Affiliate Marketing Awards. Born in the UK, he now spends his time in San Francisco and New York. Murray works for Audience Mindshare and consults for Trancos Ins as well as being an advisor for VigLink.
Would love to see some of our Breakfast Blogging peeps there. Let me know if you’re planning on going.
And I promise not to hit the snooze button.
P.S. That’s my dog Kara in the picture. She’s about 10 months old. Got her from the Oakland SPCA. They told us she was a border collie mix, but she looks a lot like a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. She seems to like herding and loves water…well, mud anyway.
Blogging, Branding and Building Your Business
photo courtesy of Carla Yashiro
“Eighty percent of success is showing up.” – Woody Allen
If this truly is the case, then there’s about 25 women in the south bay who are destined for greatness, not to mention the two exceptionally engaging and smart gals at Gather Your Crowd.
Last Thursday, Beth and I had the honor of sharing the stage with Cherie De Carlo and Carla Yashiro at the Women Entrepreneurs of the Bay Area meeting in San Mateo. Cherie and Carla specialize in helping small and medium sized business use social media tools to build their brand, get found online and engage meaningfully with their prospects, customers, partners and vendors.
Far from being a whitewash of how useful blogging and social media is for business – duh! – Cherie and Carla shared specific tips and tools you can use to have a blog that serves your business goals, gets found by search engines and is consistent in it’s message. Read more
Cook Your Way to a Better Blog
Filed under: Blogging, Writing Tips
Blogging and cooking are a lot alike.
Both require a minimum of planning, the right ingredients, some time, and a state of emotional readiness, a desire to please, and an end goal of pleasure. Both also create a tangible end result that creates an experience for the audience.
What are the ingredients for a good blog?
- Know who you’re cooking for? Who is your target audience?
- Know what your end result will be. If you’re cooking an omelet, you need to know that at the start. If you’re writing a list of do’s and don’t’s you need to know that, too.
- What experience or result to you want you readers, your audience, to have? Just like you want to offer a savory or maybe a sweet meal to you and your loved ones, you need to know what kind of flavor or emotional experience you want to offer your blog readers. Read more
How Often Should You Blog?
Remember that Tootsie Pop commercial with the owl?
“How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?”
1……2……3…….CRUNCH!
3!
So, how many blog posts does it take to make a sale?
1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…11…..yep, keep going.
While I’m sure there’s some blogger on the planet who can claim to have gotten a lead or made a sale after 3 blog posts, for the rest of us hard-working mortals, it takes more than that. Lots more.
Wanna know how many? Read more
8 Reasons to Say Thank You
First of all, a HUGE thanks to all the folks who’ve come to our Breakfast Blogging Club(BBC) meetings and workshops over the past year and a half! We’ve been slowly and steadily getting the word out. So more and more people are hearing about us and joining in the blogging fun. Cool!
As of this month(April 2010), we’ve had over 25 meetings and have helped over 200 entrepreneurs with their blogging efforts. That’s a modest number, I know. But I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge some of the people and establishments that have helped us get this far. Read more
