Bantering Blonde

Wordless Wednesday ~ It's Crazy Hair Day!!!

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:18:00 +0000

Ye Olde Random Tuesday

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:09:00 +0000

Ye olde bloggy has not been abandoned ... ye blogger has been tending to life's little miracles and debacles....

I love the oatmeal at Jamba Juice with bananas ... and it's only 4 WW points if you don't get the brown sugar. Who doesn't get the brown sugar? I want the brown sugar and I'm willing to do an extra mile or two for it!

I'm doing two-a-days for 5 days this week - this means I'll be hitting 2 power yoga classes a day. Time to kick my bootie and shake it up a little. I love boot camp challenging myself. It's sick, I know... but it's fun and much healthier than say ... playing drinking games or entering a hot dog eating contest.

I just finished painting Kat's room pink but somehow it turned out purple-ish. I'm really not good with colors... at all.

I almost hung a cute little chandelier in Kat's newly purpled room, but I got the old light down, took one look at the wires and stuff and ultimately decided I'd need to call a husband in. Not mine of course, someone else's because we don't let my hubby play with tools anymore.

They found head lice in the 2nd grade. I have a 1st grader and a 3rd grader .... someone please pray really hard that those suckers stay in the 2nd grade.

Speaking of bugs, I took Kat to The Butterfly Pavilion last week. She'd been begging to get there forever. It was fun but Rosie the Tarantula is still creeping into my dreams at night.

Soccer started last week. WTF? Ski season isn't even over yet and it is still kinda cold. I think I hate soccer now.

And there ye have it. A wee bit o' random!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Weight Watchers and McDonalds?

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:54:00 +0000

Forget Wordless ... I'm freakin' speechless.

Wordless Wednesday ~ #DisneySMMoms A little rain never hurt em'

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:59:00 +0000

This is my blog and I'll post twice in one day if I want to. So there.

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:25:00 +0000

Two posts in one day? This is my space and now you are my personal shrink, so belly up and listen to me, suckers!

My "how do I find my passion" question earlier today has been nagging at me. If I keep looking and pursuing, reading, digging, and blindly trying to fit my square ass into every triangular space that appears, maybe something will click. 'cause that is how it happens, right? I know it isn't true and that my passion will "hit me on the head" some day when I least expect it but damn it, it makes me feel good to put my head in the sand and dig. That's what I do.

I have this nervous, annoyingly manic need for resolution. I never go to bed mad and it drives my husband crazy. How are men able to have an argument and then just close their eyes and fall into REM sleep within minutes? If you are mad at me, I'll nag you until we've resolved it. I don't let things go and, while it might be considered a weakness, it works for me. I think. Maybe not, but shut-up and let me finish writing....

It's at times like these that my inner yogi needs to get of her ass and smack me around a little.

It occurred to me, while standing on my head during yoga class this evening, that I actually have been pursuing a passion of sorts. I love what I do - I've proclaimed my love for what I do all over this blog and twitter. I love to read, write, talk, tweet, and gush about marketing, networking and social media. There are parts of what I'm doing that I really really love .... like giggle, hug myself when cool stuff happens, love. The fact is that I need to pull up my big-girl panties and realize that I'm headed in the right direction but that there are bumps along the way. One impossible project cannot derail me. I still think there is some passion searching to do but I'm not sure that we aren't supposed to be continually evolving and searching throughout our lives. I recall a famous quote, "It's not a very big step from contentment to complacency." We must strike a balance and keeping complacency at bay. I like this idea.... especially because it justifies my need to keep moving.

Activity, exercise, sweating and breathing are things I can't live without. My travel schedule over the past few weeks has not allowed for this and I'm 120% sure that my state of mind is always directly related to the state of affairs with my physical being. I'm not an ohm, chanting, earthy yogi but there is something about yoga that puts me in a great place.

So the lesson here is this: when facing personal, emotional, life questioning crises, head straight to a yoga class and shake your junk upside down 'til it moves from your ass to your brain.

Namaste, peeps.

How does one find their passion, and where does passion hide?

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:30:00 +0000

What is your passion? Someone commented yesterday saying, "You know your passion, it's what you wake up thinking about.. what gives you the jolt and the thrill and makes you scrabble around for a notepad, laptop, camera....". I totally get that, it makes sense. Well, it seems like it would make sense except that I don't wake up thinking about anything lately. My first thought is "ugh".

I am passionate about things. I am passionately in love with my husband. I'm passionate about nearly everything involving my children. I'm passionate about reading and learning.... I'm passionate about a lot of things, but are those "my passion"?

When I listen to people who have followed their passion to great success, I am inspired and.... a little envious. Mostly because their passions seem clearly defined. What if I never find that thing that lights my fire? What if my fire is unlight-able?

I've listened to many wise people speak and have devoured their every word, determined to find myself in "that place" where everything just fits and feels right. I've been fortunate enough to listen and speak to people like Maxine Clark @chiefexecbear, Chief Executive Bear of Build-a-Bear, Scott Stratten @unmarketing, Stacy Julian @stacyjulian (who is apparently the Tom Cruise of scrap booking!), and so many other people who really seem to have nailed what makes them tick. I want that, I desperately want that. I've spent a lot of time in my life chasing things I thought I wanted. Passions in disguise... or maybe I've just changed.

If you google "find your passion", pages upon pages of "how to find your passion" articles, blog posts, and videos come up. I think I will spend some time playing about in this little garden of all-knowing passion finder peoples. I'll be sure to share what I find, but in the meantime, if any of you have insight into where my passion might be hiding, let me know!

What you do Matters ~ What I WANT to do Matters

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:01:00 +0000

I have that Monday after a conference, can't seem to get out of bed and get my brain moving, hangover. If you've read my live blogging, or just noticed the annoying posts, you'll know that I was at Mom 2.0 in Houston. Two of my readers got so disgusted by the live blogging that they dropped me from their feed readers. Guess What? As much as my mouth really wants to apologize for that, I'm not going to. I actually truly enjoyed live blogging my experience during those sessions and I feel like it was some pretty good information. Read it or don't. Unfollow me or don't. What I do matters. That is the takeaway and maybe it doesn't matter to you but it does to someone.

Now all I really need to figure out is what it is that I do.
And who does it matter to?

Yes, I'm in one of those introspective, what am I doing with my life, modes.

What do I do?

The most important thing that I do is mother my children. Now comes the question, how well do I do that? I'm not asking you to answer that question, I'm just saying it is something I've been thinking about a lot. Just because I work while my children are away does not necessarily mean that I'm doing the best for them during those hours. Part of the equation is my sanity and my fulfillment - but if I'm not doing right by my family neither of those things are going to be in balance.

My experiences with Disney and Mom 2.0 over past two weeks have really gotten my juices flowing. Not just my creative juices, but those annoying head game juices, that start asking you at random times of the day, "So, what are you doing?", "Is this what you want to be doing?", "How does this help you reach your goals?", "What are your goals anyway?".

What am I doing? I'm not sure I really know anymore. In my efforts to create a career for myself I have ended up walking into a number of opportunities that I thought were moving me in the right direction. I'm not so sure anymore. While I was in Houston, I had to handle emails and phone calls concerning aspects of a particularly challenging project. As I sat in different sessions, one half of my brain thinking of solutions to my project problems, and one half being thoroughly inspired by the panelists, I began to realize that I'm not doing what it is that I want to do. I want to be one of those people who knows what my passion is and let's it drive me to this place of great self confidence. What I do matters, but until it matters to me it doesn't really do anyone a whole lot of good.

How does one get to that place? What is my passion?

Creating Experiences Combining Online and Offline Campaigns ~ Live Blogging Mom 2.0 Summit

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:34:00 +0000

Professional Track: Creating Experiences Combining Online and Offline Campaigns for Maximum Impact and Results (Three Mormons and a Blogess Panel .... too funny)

Rachael Herrscher, Jyl Johnson Pattee, Allison Czarnecki, Jenny Lawson

Inspire real life engagement from online relationships ....

Mayor of Martindale Texas welcomes us to Houston. Tells a story about how Martindale was founded by a woman and the first mayor was a mayor. 7 women have been mayor and only 2 have been men. Bestows official title - great great granddaughter of Nancy Martindale. - proclaims Bloggess as Czar of Nothingness for her ability to make something out of nothing. Too funny!!! Jenny goes on to tell us about the shorty awards, where popular vote deems winner. Joke was to enter her in the government shorty award to prove that they were popularity contest... they pulled her out and disqualified all the votes. Filled out official complaint .... ok, I'm going off to read her blog to read about it because this is way too funny.

How to incorporate online and offline: Social Luxe Lounge at Blogher - had votes for bloggers and people came and got really great awards - successful party.

Today's Mama - handbooks started with physical product in old media and then social media came along. Take it social - keep local data bases - use twitter, facebook etc. social media promotion involving technology.

#GNO (started as Tuesday Twitter Parties) - people wanted to go from online to offline and campaigns would be reinforced by the offline. Did the Office Max parties to help fund teacher classrooms. Went to bloggers around country and had them plan for their own communities. Online/Offline mix works.

Associating brands with positive experience gives major ROI. Mix on and offline is great longterm ROI. Creating experiences. Experiences are everything and interaction or experience with brand is so valuable. You can still do this just online but integrating on a live level it is about the brand and the overall experience associated with it.

What are the wacky things we can do that are going to create the emotional experiences. Girl Power ... you want to have those memorable experiences and emotional connection thinks about the brand or experience. (The Texas Beet Jello Story .... you'll have to ask the Utah girls about the Beet Jello because I'm still recovering from the Texas taco truck episode last night and just can't bring myself to land here for long.... Moving on)

Questions:
Do you remember Facebook Bra Color meme? Ya .... of course, didn't participate but the whole random color thing was interesting. BTW Nude... but how do you take it offline? Have a bra party! Get a sponsor involved....

Non-profits and cause campaigns - as much as you love a cause you have a "what's in it for me"? factor - so to get someone to get babysitter and leave house there has to be something in it for them. Whether discount or product etc there has to be something that gets it to spread.

What is the objective of the brand? This is important because it helps pinpoint things you can do ...

Local email lists? What do you use to localize list - add field for city and state so that you can think local. Huge opportunity to do something locally to build real live lists etc.... Update often!

Conferences are a great way to get word out. Bigger scale but depending on objective gets word out.

Cause related marketing - When you are working on a cause do you look at the cause and then look at the brand? How do you consider the all the potential ramifications? ie bras and cancer - well, if you have a mastectomy you don't wear bra ..... who are your current brand partners? Get the cause history and find out who they've already vetted to an extent. Dig into their needs more ... ie make a wish foundation sends kids on trips - what about having people come to event donate miles etc because airlines are in trouble right now. Make sure you go to the people who benefit and get guidance so you don't run afoul. You have a big voice - you get great exposure and someone benefits but do a little background research first.

Using Your Right Mind to Market ~ Mom 2.0 Summit Live Blogging

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 20:46:00 +0000

Tracey Clark
Katherine Center
Stacy Julian
Donna Novitsky

This is what happens when the English Dept crashes the Business School. A look at how people are using the right side of their brain to create left-brained results.

Lots of buzz about engaging brands so this exciting time to merge the left brain and right brain crowds. Moving out of the information age and moving into the conceptual age.

Important for women now to have internet because being a mom can be isolating. The ability to connect with others elsewhere is powerful. The validation of our daily live is starting to be appreciated by brands.

Sometimes you start and you don't have your vision - we need to be focused but it takes time. It's ok to jump in and following your heart leads you to different places.

If you have a problem you are not the only one. So you can then reinvent your idea to fit you and your passion will allow it to grow. Just solve your own problems - This is how Stacy Julian started. Not knowing where you want to be 6 months from today is ok, but what are you going to do today? Be authentic and ooze that so you speak to the people that resonate with you. Be yourself and you will become a magnet for those who want the same things in their life.

CEO of Big Tent, Donna Novitsky - how do we make it happen for us? Look at different channels SM has to reach consumers, and consumers have the power now, this changes dynamics of how to reach people. Engage differently on different types of SM so opportunity to come up with rich programs where you build relationship between program and consumer. Shutterfly, holiday cards sneak peak for members of Big Tent - call to action. Tell shutterfly what you think and vote on the ones you like. Gives value to members and results in good information for shutterfly. Invents programs for her members and thinks what would she really like so they are beneficial to bothmembers and brands.

It is important to assess things and say no if it isn't a perfect fit. We do have power to say no to what may not feel right. Sometimes you'll get creative and if you put yourself in shoes of readers look to what would be helpful to your readers. Talk about what you love.

How do you get someone to approach you or how do you make it happen?

Seth Godin book Lynch Pin has been referenced many times this weekend....

If what you are doing supports your passion you will stay true to yourself and your readers.

Product Track - Using your Toolbox to Power Success

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:08:00 +0000

Marie LeBaron
Deb Averett

Activity: Take a piece of paper and draw a box - in 140 characters or less write down one of your successes on the web.

What tools do you use to keep organized on the web and how to structure your work flow on the web?

Marie: Started out with good vision of what she wanted to do. She knew from day one and set goals for how to achieve the vision. She schedules and plans ahead by two months. Mondays - is one topic Tues- another Wed- etc.... Editorial calendar where you can plug things in.

Deb: Fresh Nest Design - help readers design homes. Succeeded fast. Schedule on excel spreadsheet and has everything blocked out. Color codes her different things and has priority list. Drill down on priority list. Control time she is online - learned how to skim emails and if they don't catch eye she deletes.

Any specific tools you use to keep you on task/work flow?
iphone is curse because connected all the time. Google docs great for collaborating. Base Camp, Huddle, Freckle, Cozi, Remember the Milk, teuxdeux. Try them for a month see what works with you. Time management system Freckle seems to be a popular.

How do you quantify success - how do you know when you are successful?
Marie: 80% are not on your website - happening in the social space. Get lots of link backs so being part of a conversation - people want to see more or share that is a success for .

Top Three Tools to Market yourselves?
Talk about your topic/niche
Important to keep in mind when marketing self that different people use SM in different ways. So a combination of different platforms. Try different modes because everyone is comfortable in different areas.
Submit posts a LOT of places. Stumble, Kirtsy,
Get outside to events where you meet people in person. Different events networking sessions etc. Bring cards with you go back and then send them specific information that they would find valuable. IRL is huge - found a local group. Touch base with local groups.
Facebook has lots of moms.
Hootsuite
Seesmic

How do you have self control with all of the online disctraction?
Gwen says she checks email once a day - not sure that this would work for me but I can see that checking only once an hour or a few hours might be helpful... sorta. No, not really because sometimes I'm waiting for correspondence.
Finding your own balance of what works but remember goals.
Do your To Do List before you check your email because it becomes very easy for your email to become your To Do List.
Blog .... minimalist.com zenhabit.com (not sure about those spellings)

Live Blogging Morning Keynote Mom 2.0 Summit ~ Brands and the New Publishing Paradigm

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 16:36:00 +0000

Heather Armstrong (@dooce)
Gabrielle Blair (designmom)
Maggie Mason (@maggie)
Stephanie Smirnov (@ ssmirnov)

Brian Solis says that capturing an audience is artful.

What's next?
What's the new gold standard of collaboration? (between bloggers and brands)

Heather (@dooce) - taking advertising with Federated Media. Developed community as she was having her second baby and FM went out and looked for brand that could sponsor the launch of this community. Suave stepped up and now 20K members strong. Advertisers are afraid of bloggers because it is so raw and unfiltered. Evolving to we want to be associated with this voice - we are confident enough in our brand that we thing it's ok. Artfulness may be on the line ....

Gabrielle Blair (designmom.com) - content campaigns happen over longer period of time where blogger and brand begin to associate with one another. Experimental and it's a partnership that is pretty good but not perfect. Partnerships will make more and more sense and that will get better. Why is it hard to pair a blogger and a brand that makes sense... funny pairings of popular blogs and not so great fits. VERY FUNNY. For example - she found out she was moving and they didn't have employer to fund the move. She thought she'd be writing about it so she approached a sponsor and she approached moving companies and Mayflower was perfect fit. 1. They were the most visual (designmom) 2. Very wholesome company reputation and Mayflower was well respected by her audience. 3. They made themselves accessible - pr person specific name and email address. 4. Wrote back write away and they were able to move fast. Moving forward we are looking for the right fit.

Maggie Mason (Might Girl .... lots of sites and then shopping site) Campaigns she things is that ads are truly starting to become information because you can target things so specifically with someone who truly understands their audience. We may get to point where advertising isn't annoying.
Microsites - content lives on some other site but idea is that she refers to it from her site. Gap asked her to do interviews with other design bloggers in the design space - they wanted the "born to" message statements to begin. The microsite content is definitely more involved she is looking to develop a better product so that she is directing her readers to good content - clear on that it is an but her readers know the deal.
Next level: she wrote a life list. Wanted to sell a sponsorship to the list and it took a year and a half but a creative sales person had Intel to sponsor a number of items on her life list. She rolled in a Kayak, sent her to Greece.... Intel paid to make her site more interesting. Bloggers can put faces on PR people and recognize that the brands are looking to do something... they are people. She was able to introduce sponsors as people and they are a team.

Brands are not people but brands are trying to act like people. Relate and engage - so this gives them a voice.

Advice to bloggers newer to content campaigns?
Even tiny blogger works with smaller vendors and a great way to experiment. Maggie said she was trying to think of a way to get people to comment. Engaged a small designer and conducted a giveaway and that was a small content campaign but write interesting content and make readers more confident.

Join forces with 4-5 other blogs to create more "oomph" and that becomes part of your job. You are a highly paid copywriter but if it isn't what you want to do it is more difficult to profit. Smaller blogs can offer sidebar gem ads. Blogads engine - sign up and it puts you in a thing people can search and when spaces aren't full you can fill them with attractive things.

Heather says that back in 2005 she was scared to take advertising because of "sell out" mentality. First advertisement was small ad for $400. Have to be passionate about what you are writing - if you aren't it won't work. It is a lot of work. Get involved in communities that you want in your audience. Make a name for yourself in those communities. Build a network - find the people you want to read your site and interact with them.

Suave - owned by Unilever - people want to know how they were bold enough to partner with an authentic voice such as Heather (@dooce). She has a hard time not messing with her hair... her hair is part of her brand. Suave called her and asked if she use Suave -- she said her impression was that it was cheap stuff so they sent it to her and their new thing is that the cheap stuff is just as good as the really expensive shampoos and conditioners. Her audience was who the were targeting.

Last year the talk was all about Life Casting .... Gabrielle is dissing the "Life Casters".

NOW people are saying Blog is landing page, more of hub and so really more of aggregation. People are thinking that long form writing is maybe taking a back seat to this.

Maggie - actual influence of mothers on society - nothing compares to the impact that we have in society. BUT our relative ability to be heard has never come close to reflecting our actual influence. Social Media has grown and we are on trajectory that it is possible that our ability to be heard could equal our influence.

Gabrielle - Somehow - people who don't understand think that internet is fake friends etc. - internet has expanded her understanding of what life could be like. If we can just look at each other - look to blogs for insight on how people turn things around or different things you relate to. Look at each other as an individual point of inspiration.

Heather - Shift is going from brands telling us what our lives should look like to "this is my life" how are you going to fulfill me. It is us saying "how do you fulfill what I need". Women and mothers have power because we are the ones making decisions. Just being involved in social media means you are influential and powerful.

This was the best most informative panel I've ever seen speak. So nice to see that @dooce is a real person, I like her, never read her blog but I think I'll take a peak at it!

Mom 2.0 Live Blog ~ Personal Track: Redefining Success

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:51:00 +0000

Personal Track: Redefining Success

Brene Brown

Alice Bradley

Coert Vorhees

A writer writes. Rejection is proof that you wrote. Writers string things together all the time and then try to work it into something that people may or may not read. The great writing moment is when the faucet is pouring and the bucket is ready. Difficult time is when you don't have bucket and it is pouring or ….. faucet is pouring and the bucket is at the school program, doing mommy stuff.

Balance: Balancing creative life of writing with real life happening around us. Just write - time becomes more valuable when you are a parent. We want to do right by our kids, live life that honors and serves as role model. Time is more valuable and it is more important that you use it well.

Uncomfortable parameters and confinement in time sparks creativity. We apologize to our kids too much for our work. Nothing wrong with our children seeing that we work and are not available all the time. When your work is creative that kind of work fills up whatever space you give it … new kind of work environment we live in - we can always be "sort of working".

Creative endeavors have a perceived self indulgence. If we dig deeper it comes to the fact that we live in a culture that connects success to money.

Great dialogue going on about "what feeds your soul" and having balance. Someone says that what feeds her soul doesn't feed her children.

It is essential to feed your soul - it is never wrong to feed the soul. Dominant paradigm - movement of women is exploding the media world from the ground up so there is pushback. They say: Who do you think you are?

Comparison can be the thief of absolute joyfulness. What do you need to be happy? Do you need a million followers etc? Be honest about what it is that really makes you happy, not what others think should make you happy.

SM can make you feel small and scarce. There is value in building community - building market share and community are different. Amazing things can happen when you make connections.

We have this Idea of perfectionism and making sure things are perfect before we send them out. Perfectionism is not about being your best, it is a way to protect yourself from criticism, blame, and judgement. We are turning it on ourselves. If you are writing and putting things out there so people will love you that is fine but at the same time you need to realize that they won't all like you! Some people will be totally turned off by you.

Dealing with negativity. It won't go away and you don't get used to it but if you are writing for other people's approval you will feel that you have failed when you don't please them, but if you do it without that goal it still hurts but it doesn't dig against the very purpose of your writing. Not everyone has to like everyone.

Our capacity for connection is what makes us effective. Much easier to criticize than it is to contribute. When you stop caring you lose the connection so it is a thin line. Sharing makes you vulnerable and it feels risky but don't share what is intimate - starting 4th and 5th grade is very shame vulnerable age for children. Different kids have different boundaries so it is critical that we teach children to protect themselves in a world with so little privacy.

Authenticity is not compartmentalizing ourselves. But there are still spaces that are appropriate for certain things but we do need to integrate.

Mom 2.0 Live Blog - Professional Track - You Can't Spell Progress without PR

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:40:00 +0000

You can't spell progress without PR:

Building positive relationships with PR and bloggers.

Amy Schwab
Amy Adams
Stephanie Pomponi Butler
Ciaran Bloomenfeld

As PR people what should we know about marketing to Moms?
All moms are not created equally, we are not the same person. Know who you are marketing to, get to know us before you pitch. Develop a relationship - we want to have great relationships. We are really technically savvy so appeal to us that way and meet up with us in the networks where we are. Many of us had careers and were professionals before we had children.

Give some examples of a positive roadmap for PR people to build relationship with Bloggers??
If you start a relationship with a bad pitch you don't get to the relationship stage - what stage you are at and what your courtship level is. Superficial? i.e. share press release.   Ask someone to attend an event or be a brand ambassador is an entirely different relationship. No specific road map for those types of things but definitely some protocol for behavior and some expectations. We must define what we want and expect.

Media Kit? PR Pitches
People have moved beyond having a rich about me section and now they have Media Kits - we are our own pr people. Pitches from bloggers have client lists, quotes, sample posts, ways they'd like to work with us (objective) -- media kit can be helpful to both sides. (there are also bloggers who are not very savvy but market well so PR must be careful about hooking up your brand with no substance - look at the writing!) People who are influential don't necessarily have the biggest numbers so don't discount someone. The quality of the relationship the blogger has with audience is key. DIg deeper - who reads the blogs are they buyers, will they click through on coupons etc.? Be honest in your media kits.
When blogger pitches PR it is impresses when they show a connection to product etc.

What is the thing with bloggers wanted to get paid?
We don't pay traditional journalists or editors.... How to counter bloggers that want money -- the first take away is that bloggers are not journalists. Bloggers are an extension of your marketing department so bloggers are the same way as your graphic advertising budget etc. Bloggers would like recognition whether it is money, or a connection to your product brand or service, maybe being invited to an event. Up to you to figure out which way to go. If you are going to use material provided by blogger you are using them as a copy writer and you need to give them credit. Time is valuable and respond accordingly. Brand ambassadors, advocates, etc. trend gives the blogger recognition but be careful to examine the amount of learning and materials you are producing but you should be compensated if you are performing the role of a spokesperson. It is a consulting relationship that we can build - hopefully the review is part of a bigger relationship so that later on you are thought of to run event, or talk to client and how we can build lasting relationships.

How can PR people communicate with clients when the client wants to target the BIG sites??
What is relatable and what is real? Who are they coming back to every day because the really identify with that person - this trust is powerful and has value. Influence goes beyond the blog. Value in the authentic relatable blogger. After a point you are saturating the mom community and then it seems that every blog is giving away the same product and so how much of that message is getting beyond those blogs. Put messages on blogs where the author goes out into the community IRL and also do they participate in different online communities that would have a deeper reach? Educate clients that measure of influence goes beyond the stats of blog. How do you convince a client that does not have online based sale measurement - you must explain engagement to the brand.

What would you like to see in a media kit, do you want to see a media kit?
WHY is my company a good match for you. Stats are fine but tell me why you are a good fit, why this is valuable, what my products do for you.   What are your objectives maybe we can segment ourselves? Describe our demographic - what our interests and niches are? Yes.

What about the "brokers" that match bloggers and PR/product to each other - do these work?
These don't work in creating a stronger relationship …. Social media is about relationships and you need to invest in those relationships.

Live Blog Mom 2.0 Summit ~ Morning Keynote Conversation

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:38:00 +0000

Welcome and Opening Remarks...

Moms: what you're doing matters. Being a woman is a gift.

Keynote Speakers: Gretchen Rubin and Heloise

Gretchen Rubin ~ author of Happiness Project #1 on NY Times best seller list.

Heloise ~ Heloise Hints - 11 books and lots of TV etc. Now she's starting a blog!

Heloise is gorgeous and funny! Her mother, the original Heloise, was essentially blogging 50 years ago. She wanted to help other mothers like herself - she would do it for her friends and thought why not do it in the newspaper. If you have a problem you ask her, and if she didn't know the answer she would go to an expert to find the answer. If she can't find answer she put in newspaper column and someone out there would have had the same problem! But 1958 military wive with two kids... at a party general said "who do you think you are, you are nothing but housewife." They made a $25 bet that she could not get a non-secretarial job writing. She did research and asked women she met, what is it you want to know. She dressed up and in those days high heels, stockings, girdle, gloves and hat - she went in when she knew the editor would not be there. She left a card, editor called her back and she said there was nothing in the paper that helps a woman. She worked free for first several months and "when you pay me, I can only earn $25 or my husband sells it will put us in a higher tax bracket".

She is lovely - she says women then did not have advantages but that we are an extension of that but it is instant. "Before you blog, post, think about it twice, once it goes up there it is out there forever and it can change peoples lives. Think in terms of longevity, instant but what you say today may effect you and your family today and tomorrow."

Publishing - sounds exciting. Heloise says like giving birth to a child three times. Concept, publisher - contract negotiations. Write the book send it in. It comes back and a copy editor will have little teeny post it note and they send it back flagged. Send off final manuscript and then book tour and in interviews they say (always remember a tv segment is like royal family engagement they remember entrance and exit) start of good and have something to wrap up with. Hope for a slow news day because your book gets over shadowed by the news.

Gretchen's book came first the blog second - for many the blog comes first and then they move on to a book. She started her blog because she wanted to test the novelty of happiness - it was an unfamiliar thing for her. Blog became gigantic source of happiness for her. Blog readers read different than a book so you have to recognize the difference. Big advantage to having a blog and audience because it proves people like to read what you say.

The person and the idea determine what medium your writing will do best in - what is the style/voice? - if you want to approach a magazine study it's style. So whatever media you are interested in study it. Gretchen notices that people want to come to you in a different way - ie some people watch video, some prefer radio, some people prefer print. Gretchen's FB page is active with different people than comment on her blog. They leave lots of comments on blog but not of FB or vice versa. Reach different people - know the audience.

Question/Answer

What is most difficult or scariest thing to overcome to get to where you are?

Gretchen started as a lawyer - clerked for Sandra Day O'connor. But she realized that she wanted to be a writer but had never acknowledged that - but her parents were tolerant of risk and supportive. Decided I would rather fail as a writer than succeed as a lawyer. Willingness to attempt and try - scary kind of happiness.

Heloise grew up watching her mother be the original Heloise at home - office in 1959 at home. She taped radio vignettes in closet. Did photo shoots in her home so she grew up with that. She worked hard from home, worked all the time. SHe worked with her mother for three years and really saw the business side, not the glamour side. She had to decide if she was going to take over for her mother on evening her mother died because syndicate wanted to get press release out.

When did you know this was going to be a big thing {gretchen}

Had no idea that it could grow as much as it has. Many people had told her she wasn't that interesting but what she realized that you learn the most from other people and that just by talking about her and her experience others learned about themselves and it helps other figure something about from themsleves

Heloise says that is key - we share information. Having a sense of humor in all things will get you through.

Is it always true that you should be true to yourself in life?

(Gretchen) Hard to maintain something fake online but profound question because .... difference between authentic and trying to be positive. Can you try to work within your nature to emphasize the positive? In the end you burn out because it is too exhausting not being true to yourself. You can only build a happy life on the foundation of your nature.

Heloise - her hair is just hair - we voted bangs! She has beautiful natural white hair. True to yourself because it is

How many people write to you weekly and how do you respond to them, do you have help? Heloise.

3-5000 letters and as email increased print mail decreased, still gets print mail. 800-1000 or more emails a day. Fear is that they want response right away - she can't answer 24/7.

Hilarious Heloise has micro-fiber cloth and is always prepared - helped someone in the audience remove a raspberry stain from their pants!

Gretchen, What can people do to be happier in their own lives?
1. Get enough sleep!
2. It matters more than it should but CLUTTER ... make your bed, self medicate by cleaning the closet.
3. Learn how to do something new - stretch yourself, be willing to fail and take risks.

Heloise says pick three things in your house that are important to you and do those and the rest can wait. Make bed, clean sink, etc whatever matters to you. She also says SLEEP - take cat naps. Go in bathroom shut the door, tell kids to leave you alone put bath mat on floor and have 5 minutes of quiet!

"Not who you go out with our where you go it is who you might meet when you get there" Heloise says we all need to interact with one another and wishes us success.

NETWORKING BREAK ....

Live Stream coverage of Mom 2.0 Summit

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:25:00 +0000

Hi Ya'll! Greetings from the 2010 Mom 2.0 Summit in Houston, Texas. Conferences are always an excellent opportunity to network and learn. I'm really excited to be able to share some of this summit with those of you at home. Michele McGraw and I will be covering the conference on MomTV. We'll be live streaming all of the key note speakers and select sessions on Friday and Saturday. Tonight we attended the Mad-Men-style welcome reception and networking party sponsored by Volkswagen. We taped a number of conversations with attendees and speakers where it was clear that all sides are looking forward to "An Open Conversation between Moms and Marketers". We'll continue talking to people over the next few days and you'll be able to view all of it very soon!

For a full schedule of events visit Mom2summit.com. Keynote sessions will live stream on the Get Your Geek On MomTV channel. Fridays keynote includes Gretchen Rubin and Heloise, Saturdays keynote will feature Heather Armstrong, Gabrielle Blair, Maggie Mason, and Stephanie Smirnov. We will begin coverage at 9am Central Time, 10am Eastern Time both mornings.

Michele and I will be live streaming select sessions throughout both days. You'll be able to access those on both the Get Your Geek On and the MomActive MomTV channels. Follow @momtv @scrappinmichele @banteringblonde for session titles and times.

Enjoy, and please tweet or email any questions you would like us to ask speakers and attendees!

DisneySMMoms ~ Breakfast with Guy Kawasaki ~ Don't UFM because I'm beautiful

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 20:56:00 +0000

Our first day at Disney was mostly spent with our families in the parks but we were treated to breakfast with Guy Kawasaki. He spoke about how he uses Twitter. I'll preface my observations by saying I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Guy Kawasaki speak and I did take away some really useful information from his talk. But.... Let's face it, neither you nor I are Guy Kawasaki and the chances that we could get away with some of what he does on Twitter are pretty slim. Like zilch. He may be able to tell people to "UFM" (unfollow me) but the rest of us would be roasted on a Twitter stake if all we did was tweet links all day long. I'd be tweeting UFM a million times and at the end of the day I'd have 7 followers: my husband, my mom (who has updated exactly 0 times in the 10months she's been on twitter)and the Five clients that I ghost tweet for. Besides, I like my "twitmigos y twitmigas" we are "friends" of a virtual kind!
In building my personal brand it would be Twitter suicide to never say things like "I'm drinking coffee" ... well, I don't drink coffee so I'm more likely to tweet "I'm on my 9th Diet Coke of the day, giving up quitting is going well". The followers that know me well, that I've built a virtual relationship with, are going to laugh knowingly and in turn, my personal brand as a geeky blonde Diet Coke drinking mac freak becomes a bit stronger. (all mac peeps drink Diet Coke ... go ahead and test my theory) I've been quitting Diet Coke since I started Tweeting a little over a year ago. My struggle with the addiction to Diet Coke is well known and documented. The business part of me as a brand benefits from the original quirky personal tweeting because it makes me real; however, my clients hit the jackpot from what I took away from this session. They are in it for the sell, and they can get away with a little more Guyness than @banteringblonde could, but I still argue that the personal interaction on Twitter has great value and I'd be doing my clients a disservice if I did not interact on their behalf.
I'm not out to be known as a social media "expert" and most people usually comment more on my humor than my knowledge so at least I make people smile? It is only natural that I would like people to follow me and find value in the things I tweet, otherwise what is the point? I don't amuse myself, well that's a lie, I totally crack myself up at times. So...
What did Guy Kawasaki say? He uses Twitter to sell. That's it. He sells by driving traffic to AllTop.com (which is quite the informational clearing house!). He maximizes his selling capacity by using different tools. Other than ghosts and people he hires to rewrite cool information ... The two he mentioned were Twitter Feed and Objective Marketer (which I checked out and actually think is really really super cool... but someone should run a webinar on how to get the most out of it because I played around a bit but am certain I could use it better). Essentially, in order to gain the most benefit from a tweet you really ought to repeat it every 6-8 hours, never tweet the same tweet more than 4 times. I tested this out for a client yesterday and I almost wet my pants when I saw the return. I almost quadrupled my results for the same amount of work - now I'm more valuable! I wasn't shocked by the result, I was shocked at how easy it was.... Thanks Guy!
So, Guy Kawasaki operates a well oiled money machine and does it very well. He lives on page views. None of his content is original and trust me, the dude is not offended that I just said that, he's smiling and winking and counting his money. And I'm working on getting some of my sites to be cranking page views the same way.
The big BUT here is that I do not intend let the personal side of BanteringBlonde be overshadowed by linky stuff and while I'll likely schedule contest tweets and blog link tweets and @momactive will likely play the Guy Kawasaki game, @banteringblonde will still be tweeting about Diet Crack, I mean Coke several times a day. I like my BanteringBlonde - I like her wit and her original content and she's a pretty smart blonde that lives to interact with others. Without that personal contact I'd have no reason to tweet @banteringblonde and then I'd have to find something else to do with my nervous energy.... AND gosh darnit the twitterverse likes her!
Now Go Forth and Banter friends.....

Disney Social Media Moms Celebration ~ WOW

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:32:00 +0000

We arrived home from Orlando late last night, exhausted, exhilarated, and inspired. I've sat down to write and do not know where to start. This will likely be the first of several posts over the next week or so because between the speakers, the entertainment, the hospitality, the fun, the people, the everything, I have much to say!
I have to thank Disney for inviting my family to enjoy the magic. My eldest son Will, came out of his shell on this trip. My daughter Kat was enchanted, and even Henry who was not feeling well the first few days, enjoyed himself. We were spoiled at every turn and even my husband and I were surprised to rediscover the magic that is Disney!
I also have to say that Disney really and truly "gets it". I've always admired Disney's pr and marketing, but on this trip I was able to see that they understand and respect the "social media moms". We were considered as members of the press and the professionalism with which we were treated went way beyond anything I've ever experienced as a blogger. As a professional I've always been able to see the stark difference between the way I am treated when I wear my blogger hat vs. consultant hat and it was just really refreshing and exciting to experience being respected as a blogger/social media influencer. I can't wait to sit down and share some of the exciting new things that Disney will introduce this year. I'll also be writing about the speakers we were treated to, the entertainment, and yes of course, you know that I'll be pulling apart and looking at the different observations I had from a business/marketing/pr sense.
Stay tuned!

Happy 7th Birthday to my Valentine Baby!

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Worldless Wednesday ~ Bon Voyage for now....

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:08:00 +0000

Michele Obama will launch nationwide initiative today

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:15:00 +0000

Michele Obama will launch a national campaign against childhood obesity today. I, for one, think this is a good thing. I was interested to read that the effort, pegged "Let's Move", will focus on "four key pillars": Educating parents about nutrition and exercise, improving the quality of food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable and accessible for families and an increased focus on physical education. Whether you agree on the extent to which she has used her own children in as an example or not, you have to admit that this is a good thing. Our kids are growing up eating crap, watching TV that reprograms their minds to eat crap, and they are also getting outside to play far less often than they did while you and I were growing up. Drive down any street, anywhere in the country, and the number and variety of fast food joints, where half of the food options contain more fat and calories than most of us need in an entire day, is overwhelming. I'm not a "Big Government" fan but I do think that convenience and crap has become the norm and it will be interesting to see what impact this initiative will have.

I couldn't help but laugh when reading the following excerpt from ABCnews.com:
To help parents, the first lady said she's working with the Food and Drug Administration and major food manufacturers and retailers to make it easier for parents to identify healthier foods by placing nutrition labeling on the front of the package.

Did we not have that earlier last year with the Smart Choices Campaign, in which Froot Loops donned the fabulously attractive and trendy green Smart Choices check mark? I wrote several fiery posts here and on momactive.com blasting the program and the greedy scoundrels behind it. If you missed it you can read about it right HERE and HERE. The quacks behind this ridiculous marketing effort have since stopped labeling foods with the Smart Choices check mark because the guidelines were so laughable that the FDA announced that it was looking into the "scientific criteria" used to designate foods that manufacturers who participated (read PAID) to take part in the labeling program. The uproar surrounding the whole thing created a massive PR disaster for all involved and served as a lesson putting the big corporations on notice that consumers aren't as stupid as they'd like to think we are. I would love to hear what Michele Obama thought about Smart Choices.

What Michele Obama is trying to do isn't exactly new. We all grew up with the Kennedy era President's Council on Physical Fitness (which was actually just a renaming of the President's Council on Youth Fitness started by Eisenhowerin 1956). Remember the test? The one where you have to try to touch your toes and where they measure your arm fat with the calipers? I remember very clearly that I outran every boy in my class but I didn't like the arm fat thing... In any case, "Let's Move" is similar to past government efforts, but perhaps the effort to increase nutritional education and improve the availability and cost of healthier foods will achieve a reduction in our country's obesity rates. Those of you that watch my show on MomTv will remember our discussion last week about a study that showed people responded more positively, and as a result purchased a greater amount of healthier foods more often, when given access to a reduction in the cost of healthy food choices in addition to nutrition education, versus those who only received the nutritional information.

So, what do you think? Will "Lets Move" make a difference?

Win a $150 Gift Card From SkinCareRx.com

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:35:00 +0000

If you are a regular BB reader you'll know that I have a thing about skin care and that the one thing I always tell people, besides to drink a ton of water, is that the product you use on your face is more important than any other single beauty item you could possibly use. So, you can imagine how excited I was when one of my sponsors, SkinCareRx.com, asked if I would be interested in running a $150 gift card giveaway for ya'll! Of course I said, "You betcha!".

SkinCareRx.com isn't just a sponsor on my blog, they are where I go to purchase all of my skin care products. They care 100's of the most high quality brands and everything ships the same day it was ordered. I live in a dry climate and spend a lot of time outside so sun damage is a concern for me, particularly during ski season when my face gets more sun than any other time of year. Nothing is more damaging to skin than the sun and my one "can't do without" product is Skinceuticals Vitamin CE Ferulic. It is on the pricey side but I purchase it at SkinCareRx.com because they guarantee the lowest price, and this stuff is worth every penny if you are fair skinned and spend a lot of time exposed to the elements. Skinceuticals is a well known high end line of professional product. Their network of top scientists in molecular biology, chemistry, biophysics and medicine, are pioneering treatment for anti-aging, photoaging, and a number of other skin care problems.

Enter to win a $150 Gift Card from SkinCareRx.com
(Leave one comment for each entry - one comment for tweet and one comment for blog post is fine)
1. Become a fan of SkinCareRx.com on Facebook
2. Follow @skincarerx1 on Twitter
3. Earn 2 entries Tweet the following message:

I just entered to win a $150 gift card from SkinCareRx.com @banteringblonde http://bit.ly/b5IrGG

4. Earn 15 Entries!!! by writing a blog post about this giveaway and the Skinceuticals skin care line. a. Link back to this giveaway and b. link to this url at Skinceuticals

~All entries must be received by 11:59 EST February 22nd~

CONGRATULATIONS TO: Heaventrees YOU WON!

I have a date....

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:43:00 +0000

That's right folks, I have a date! With a man and a mountain! Can I get a "woot woot" ***dorky arm/hand gesture***? (Oh no I didn't! Oh yes I did!)

Instilling a Love for Books in Your Children

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:35:00 +0000

If there is one thing I'm proud of that we've been able to give our children, it is a love of books. Our house is full of books and we are always reading. My kids are proof that modeling a specific behavior works. Thankfully this is a behavior that I definitely want my kids to adopt. Reading can open your mind and your heart to endless worlds full of ideas and concepts. The beautiful thing is that all three of my children have adopted this love for reading and books. As wildy different and unique each of them are, the common theme that we hear about all three of them is that they love to read and have such a passion for it. Reading aloud to your children from the very beginning of their lives benefits them in so many ways.

Reading aloud to children helps to develop their imaginations and inspire creative play. Children will often act out stories that they hear and pretend to take on the identity of their favorite characters. This can help them learn to negotiate different social situations and develop a sense of empathy or compassion. They learn important problem solving skills from the actions of characters in the books that you read to them. I love how much I learn about what interests my children when they become particularly animated or excited by a book that we are reading.

Do you read aloud to your children?

Successful "Businesses of One" Outsource

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:39:00 +0000

I'm a fairly friendly and talkative person. I find it easy to converse with people no matter where I am. Almost every conversation seems to turn towards what I "do". I have three kids and I'm a stay at home mom...... who works.

Really?

How does that work?

They always want to know how I got started, how I find time, how I find clients, and many times they will say things like, "Wow, it must be so nice to be your own boss." or, "I've always had this idea to do {fill in the blank}". Many of them have a romantic notion of what a "business of one" entails. There are definitely a lot of really great things about working for myself but those things could easily be overshadowed by the not so great stuff. I'm responsible for all the book keeping and budgets etc. and even although I'm only one person, I still outsource all of my graphic design and web development. I've built relationships with professionals that I can trust with my outsourcing needs. This is all great but I have to be careful to document all of those jobs well so that people get paid what they are owed.... and so that my records are accurate come tax time! I also have to bring in all of my own work so, while I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off two weeks ago, now I'm not quite as busy and really need to focus on generating new business.

My husband has often said that some people just have that "entrepreneurial spirit". The desire to eat, drink, sleep, breathe their business. Many of them fail several times over before they succeed.

Us? Not so much. We like heading to the mountains at 3pm every Friday to ski for the weekend.

Me? I like being here when my kids get home from school. Just today I was able to head over to school and watch Henry's presentation on the Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula, and trust me, it was not to be missed!

I'm a "business of one" simply because it works best for me and for our family. I definitely do not want to be slaving away 24/7 but I could easily end up doing that if I did not have BOTH on my side. Back Of The House has my back, so to speak. They take care of all of the back of the house operations like book keeping and monthly financial reports that keep me focused. I have a personal adviser that takes the time to talk to me about my goals and answer any questions I may have. In fact, I would not be surprised if I got a friendly call or email later today because I just made a payment that will take my account balance scary low and the money transfer I made from Paypal probably won't have cleared yet .... (cash flow is a whole post on its own that we can save for another day) she will likely want to be sure that I know I am running out of money and will remind me to deposit the stack of checks sitting right in front of me!

The challenges of running a "business of one" can be overwhelming and let's be honest, those of us who choose to go out on our own are making a lifestyle choice. With that choice comes responsibility, and recognizing where to outsource is absolutely critical to the success of any "business of one". Right now the biggest relief for me is not having to worry about the day to day accounting because I know that my BOTH adviser has my back!

Are you a "business of one" or thinking about starting one? Why not visit Bothpro.com? Give them a call and let them answer any questions you might have.

*This is a sponsored post. The opinions are mine based on my experiences.

Monday Mingle ~ February 1st

bryan.fiona@gmail.com (Banteringblonde) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:42:00 +0000