Blogging Conference

Bloggertunities: Blogging Opportunities for Mom Bloggers

“Thinking too long about doing something is often the reason it never gets done.” – Everyday Life Lessons

Love this quote. I do tend to have a tendency to procrastinate… I over-analyze things, I doubt myself, I question my decisions. It’s a terrible habit. But, my goal this year was to dream big. Get gutsy. Grow some lady balls, if you will. And so far – I am pretty amazed with myself. Big example – BlogHer. Last year I felt like I was too small, too unknown, it would be silly to go to a big conference full of blogging rock stars, right? But at the last minute, I committed to splitting a room in New York City with a couple of girls I’d never even met. I bought a ticket for the conference. I had NO idea how I’d accomplish it all, or afford it, or heck – how I’d manage navigating NYC all on my own!!?? But – I got to meet one of my roomies during the Nike trip, and again at Reviewer’s Retreat, and she freakin’ rocks. My other roomie was uh-MAY-zing in scoring us some great sponsors that covered our whole hotel room bill. At the last minute, I was invited to be a part of the new Best Buy Blogging Board, and get to meet them at BlogHer. So, my best advice this week is to stop dreaming, planning, wondering – and start DOING! Just jump into things, even if they scare you. You will ALWAYS have more regrets about things you didn’t try, then things you tried that didn’t work out. Promise :) So – use these tips and links to help you learn & try some new things, and let me know if you’re going to BlogHer too, so I can connect with you there! {There is a whole section of BlogHer links this week too!}

Events and Linkys

Contest: Love this – Link up a post you love before the 28th, for the Bloggers Favorite Post Contest. This is a fun way to find some great new blogs to follow, get a little attention to your fave posts, and maybe be one of the winning posts that gets featured!
Back-to-School Bash: This is a great event from a great blogger – Sign up to join the Back-to-School Bash giveaway event with MomVantage!!

BlogHer Parties, Tips, and Apps

McDonalds: Leave a comment for a chance to join the Listening Tour Breakfast session with the Family Arches team from McDonalds during BlogHer.
Highlights: Missed the invitation to the Highlights Hello Release Party? Here’s your chance to join the fun! Send out a tweet with the #HighlightsHello hashtag, nominating a fave blogging buddy to get an invite. If Highlights chooses them, then YOU get an invite too! Fun, right?
Guide: This is a GREAT guide to help you plan and prepare for BlogHer – especially if you’re like me, and this is your first time! {And, I always love seeing pics of what everyone wore last year! That’s the big part of planning for an event, right? Lol.}
Room Key: Fill out the form for a possible invite to a sweet cocktail party with Room Key at BlogHer. This is at Dream Hotel’s rooftop Ava Lounge on Friday (8/3) from 6:00 p.m. — 9:00 p.m. Sounds good to me!
Portable Charger: Are you ready for the crazed frenzy of texting, tweeting, and Instagraming you’ll be doing at BlogHer? Get this Incredicharge I-11000 External Battery Pack and Charger and you’ll be fully charged all day!
Conference Promotions: Check the BlogHer sponsor promotion page often for updates on new brands to connect with and cool events to attend. {I’m SO hoping for an invite to meet with Harley Davidson!!!}
Mobile App: The BlogHer app is here, with TONS of cool tools and info. Make sure to get this onto your phone asap, to help you stay organized, find your way around the event, and keep updated.

Makin’ Money on Your Blog

Blogvertise: Apply to be a part of this network, and get paid for posting. You can choose to accept or decline each offer they give you, and there are also grab bag offers you can do each day for more cash. They pay out in full once a month, no minimum.
Escalate Media: Easy offers to promote, great payouts, and they pay quickly at the beginning of each month. Learn more and sign up for Escalate Media today.
Monetize Your Blog: Get some of my best tips on earning an income with your blog in this post: How to Monetize Your Blog in 5 Simple Steps.
Paper Coterie: This is my fave affiliate ever. Beautiful paper products, and awesome promotions = Super easy content to promote and share. It’s simple to use and get started – learn more here: Paper Coterie sign up.
Social Spark: I’ve told you guys before – this is one of my fave super easy peasy income earners. The posts are very quick to complete, the payout is great and pretty quick. Love it.
MySavings Media: Promote brand name coupons and free product samples on your web site or blog. Click Here
Logical Media: I admit, this used to be one of my lesser favorite affiliates to work with. But, lately they have had the best banners, great service, and just really good quality offers that I feel comfortable sharing with my readers.

Good Reads & Resources

Paper.li: Sign up for a free account – or upgrade very cheaply – and Paper.li will send out a cool newsletter daily to promote your content. You can see an example by checking out mine here – The Daily Sunshine. I use the free version, but am thinking about trying out the paid version so I can add ads to it. If anyone’s doing that, I’d love to hear what type of results your getting!
Prize Confidential: This is a totally free way to get your giveaways promoted – simply fill out the form with your giveaway details, and get your best giveaways shared with a bigger audience – Prize Confidential.
Social Media: Get a free copy of the Social Media Tactical Plan Template. This is super helpful in helping you put together a comprehensive plan to organize and manage your social media efforts.
Headlines: Love these tips – Great ideas on how to create more clickable headlines for your blog posts. This is something that I often struggle with – so this was a BIG help!
Rafflecopter: If you use Rafflecopter to run your blog giveaways, check out this sweet post on Life with Levi on how to add an image to your entry form. Very cool.

Reviews and Opps

Question Moms: If you’re a business owner, you can get great feedback on your products or services. If you’re a blogger – you can earn incentives for sharing your feedback with the brands, and connect with them for product reviews too.
SheSpeaks: If you’re a member of SheSpeaks, fill out this form to review a sweet new handbag. You get to choose your top 3 choices, and if you qualify for the campaign you’ll be sent out one of your favorites. Cool, right?
Social Moms: This is a fun site that I just recently started getting into. You get reward points for doing things like sharing posts, leaving comments, or writing content – and you redeem them for PayPal cash or fun gift cards. Easy peasy, and it’s actually good stuff too. Join Social Moms today.
Auto Campaign: If you’re an African American blogger who is interested in working with a major auto manufacturer in the future, fill out this form to be contacted for new opportunties.
Gorton’s: Join the Gorton’s Blogging Crew to share cool product info, try yummy new products, and host fun giveaways for your fans. Just fill out the form here to be considered for upcoming opportunities.
OXO: Sign up to be a part of their blogger outreach program! OXO Blogger Resource Sign Up.

Bloggertunities: Blogging Opportunities for #MomBloggers sunshineandsippycups.com/2012/07/blogge… #BloggingTips

— SunandSipCups (@SunandSipCups) July 27, 2012

WANT MORE? CHECK OUT ALL OF THE OTHER WEEKLY BLOGGERTUNITY POSTS TOO, OR BROWSE MY BLOGGING & SOCIAL MEDIA BOARD ON PINTEREST.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 27, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Resources, Weekly Opp's |

Learn about my great new cash-back sponsor – zuuzs.com!

“Friends don’t let friends pay full price.” – Smart shopper… You guys have heard me talk a lot about zuuzs over the last year. I explained to you how you can earn a steady stream of income by using zuuzs to find and share sweet deals with your friends and family {you don’t have to be a blogger to earn big bucks with this – everyone can join!}. You probably remember the sweet Black Friday and Cyber Monday toy deals I found using awesome coupon codes from zuuzs.com. And I’ve heard from tons of you ladies who are using it and loving it too. So if you aren’t zuuzs-ing yet, you’re missing out!

Do you zuuzs?

You know I do! I’ve been a fan of zuuzs for about a year now – the people who run the site are so great, totally helpful and super smart shoppers. The deals and coupon codes they collect for us each day are super cool, and target the stores, products, and sites that I really want to shop at. I totally recommend giving them a look – you can learn more here – at zuuzs.com.

And…. Big announcement!

You know I’m headed to BlogHer ’12 this year, right? I am incredibly excited about it – even though this is a huge, cross-country trip to a city that makes me feel just a wee bit overwhelmed just to think about. {It’s in NYC, and I’ve never even been to that part of the country!} But I’m pretty darn excited to be a part of the fun and craziness that is BlogHer – plus I get to see my girls Mickey from A Helicopter Mom, and Staci from November Sunflower. We’ll be sharing a room, and hitting a lot of the parties and events together during the weekend. And – great big thank you’s to zuuzs for partnering with us to help get us all to this awesome conference!! It’s a first time for us all, and I’m definitely super grateful to zuuzs for helping us make this a success!

To learn more about zuuzs, and stay connected to learn about new deals, updates on cool features and online tools, or to be the first to know about their HUGE giveaway events – find them on Twitter at @zuuzs, “Like” zuuzs and zuuzStyle on Facebook, link up with them on Google+, or – my favorite – follow zuuzStyle on Pinterest!

Big thanks to zuuzs for helping me make my first trip to BlogHer ’12 this year!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on June 13, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Events | No Comments

Connecting Brands & Bloggers at Reviewer’s Retreat #RevRet12

Most of you guys know by now that I’m going to be attending Reviewer’s Retreat in just a couple more weeks. Well, not just attending – I’ll also be speaking at the event! I’m going to be presenting with a couple of other amazing social media gals, teaching our best tips on growing your audience using social media, email newsletters, giveaway events, and more. I’m pretty excited to meet some new people, share some helpful info, and get to see some of my favorite blogging friends again too!

“Position yourself as a center of influence – the one who knows the movers and shakers. People will respond to that, and you’ll soon become what you project.” – Bob Burg

If you’re going to be at Reviewer’s Retreat too, I’d LOVE to love to connect with you there. I’ll be speaking on Monday, June 4th, at 10:30, presenting the Undergraduate session titled Growing Your Audience. {If you haven’t signed up for that session yet, you can visit the site to build your schedule.} And, I’m also going to be helping out during the Sponsor Speedway portion of the event, meeting with bloggers at the Mompact table. The first speedway is during my presentation, but I’ll be at the table during the second one, later in the afternoon.

What is the Sponsor Speedway?

This is a bit of time set aside for bloggers and brands to connect with each other. Bloggers will get to take a seat, about 5-6 at a time, with each brand. You’ll get a little less than 10 minutes to quickly introduce yourself to the brand, exchange business cards, and hopefully make a totally charming first impression. Then your group will move on to the next table, until everyone has had a chance to connect. There will be some really great brands – from big names like Kia and Pampers, to fun brands like Mompact and Uncommon Goods. At Mompact, I’ll be looking for some really passionate and talented new reviewer’s to join our team this year – so don’t forget to stop by and get me one of your card. {Need a card with a totally memorable design to catch all of these great brand’s attention? Check out my very favorite blogging business card company to find some awesome inspiration.} I’ll also have some actual products on hand, if you’re interested in taking something home with you to review on your site later.

“Networking is simply the cultivating of mutually beneficial, give and take, win-win relationships. It works best, however, when emphasizing the ‘give’ part.” – Bob Burg

About Mompact… “It’s time for moms to support other moms in business the way we do in motherhood. The compassion we feel when we meet a mom in need of encouraging words at the check out line, or struggling to quiet a fussy toddler at a restaurant, is the same kind of compassion and connection moms have in business. We get what the other mom is going through: how she has to juggle work and family, sacrifice financially, and learn along the way. We’re here to provide a platform for that support.”

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” – Jane Howard

I’m really excited to be representing Mompact, and some of our amazing partner businesses, at this event. And I know that the mom inventors who work with Mompact are definitely very excited to get their products introduced to some of the most influential review bloggers in the blogosphere – meaning YOU. If you’d like to learn a little more about the brands I’ll be bringing to share at Reviewer’s Retreat, read on…

Twooth Timer: This is a great gadget that has completely changed bedtimes around my house! Kids love it, and it encourages them to brush their teeth much longer, with no nagging. Learn more about the Twooth Timer, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Parking Pal Magnet: This is such a genius product for moms of bigger kids – it keeps them safe when getting in and out of the car, especially in busy parking lots. So simple, but really works. Everyone that sees always stops to comment on it. See the selection of Parking Pal Magnets online, then connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Tidy Tots: This is a new way of looking at potty training – a stage I’m JUST getting started with. These are a potty chair liner that makes clean up quick and easy – just grab the bag and toss the mess. I can definitely see the appeal to this great solution! You can learn more about Tidy Tots online, read their blog for some great tips, and connect with them on Facebook too.
ViveVita: The inventor behind these smart solutions for everyday living is the mother to nine – yes NINE – children. So she knows about challenges! Her products are all meant to make your life a little easier, and all are very clever ideas. See the selection of ViveVita products, and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Nini Baby: Tired of having to pick up the toy/sippy cups/crayon/pacifier/you name it! – that your child just threw onto the floor? Then you will totally appreciate the great problem solvers at Nini Baby! Learn more about their great selection, and connect on Facebook and Twitter.
Liv and Lily Boutique: Love accessories? Then you will just adore Liv and Lily! These are luxury pieces designed by moms with a love of great fashion. From beautiful headbands and hair clips for girls, to adorable fedoras and suspenders for boys – these luxe accessories complete any little fashionista’s wardrobe! See the Liv and Lily designs for yourself, and connect on Twitter and Facebook too.
Buti-Bag: Ohmyheck – while we’re talking about cute fashions, you have GOT to check out the adorable designs from Buti-Bag! She carries a fun line of Belle Bottoms that totally glam up a pair of little girl jeans, and totally gorgeous bags and accessories. See her great goodies at Buti-Bag.com, and connect on Twitter and Facebook today too!
CuddleCloth: I had wished for something like this when Abby was a baby – and it would still be so helpful now – the CuddleCloth is a towel that you wear, making it simple to grab a slippery bath-time baby and wrap her up quickly – without getting yourself wet too! Check out the CuddleCloth in action, and visit them on Facebook and Twitter too.
Babee Covee: This is so smart – it’s a 6-in-1 Blanket and Cover for babies and kids – it’s patented design ensures that it won’t fall off, whether used for a cover in the stroller, over a car seat, or on playdates – this blanket is super versatile, durable, and super cute. Watch the Babee Covee video to see why it’s so cool, then check them out on Facebook and Twitter.
Boogie Wipes: I’m a Boogie Wipes Ambassador, and let me tell ya – I’ve given out hundreds of samples of these great kids wipes, and there is not ONE person who doesn’t totally love them! They’re for more than just colds and allergies – they work as an all purpose kiddo wipe too! Learn more about why Boogie Wipes are a must-have addition to any moms purse or diaper bag, then visit them on Facebook and Twitter too.

If you’re interested in learning more about these awesome brands, and working with them in the future – I’d love for you to take a minute to stop by their social media pages today, and let them know that you’re excited to learn more about them at Reviewer’s Retreat! They’ll love getting to “Meet” you – and I look forward to meeting you soon too. You’ll also get to connect with the Owner of Buti-Bags at the Sponsor Speedway, and learn more about the awesome designs she creates. See you soon!