SOBCon 2008 Marketing Contest Report: Day 13

Hi all! Terry Starbucker here, reporting on the latest results of our 2008 Marketing contest.

We have 19 contestants going for the grand prize, a free registration to SOBCon08 plus two hotel nights thrown in for good measure. Let’s also remember and thank our contest co-sponsor, Plante Moran Financial Advisors!

For those of you not entered, there’s still 22 says left in the contest, so if you’d like to jump in send me a note at terrystarbucker(at)gmail(dotcom).

Here are the Top 10 linkers as of 6PM EST on 2/23/08:

1) Todd Jordan - 71
2) Alex Shalman - 49
3) Jesse Petersen - 46
4) Joanna Young - 22
5) Char Polanosky - 20
6) Phil Gerbyshak - 19
7) Troy Worman - 11
Stephen Smith - 9
9) Becky McCray - 5
10) Chris Brown - 4

Looks like quite a contest we have going here! Keep up that promotion - there’s a long way to go.

Thanks all, and tune in next week for the latest results.

Oh, and don’t forget to register!

(PS: I’m so pumped about this I’m going to put out a little hint on our very imminent hotel announcement - just think Petula Clark!)

Read All About it: SOBCon Opens Invitations, Hotel Choice Forthcoming

From SOBCon Founder Liz Strauss:

Thanks to 07 Attendees
I’m pleased and delighted to announce that we’ve updated the front page of the official SOBCon08 event blog. The new information on the page includes a formal invitation to join us in Chicago for this event.

Also included is some information on why we’ve not yet named the location — the hotel. Our choice is close to contract, but venue has to live up to the experience that was SOBCon07. We’ll have things set in days (not weeks), and you’ll be the first to know when we do.

I can’t wait to let the cat out of the bag.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!! SOBCon08 is May 2,3,4 in Chicago. Register now!

250+ Reasons YOU Should Sponsor the SOBCon 08 Business Blogging Conference

You already know what those reasons are, don’t you? If not, here’s a hint.

Too abstract? Okay, okay.

According to a poll of 5,000 recent brand-sponsored event attendees, purchase intent rose 11-52% after attending such events. About 50% of the time, people actually bought things they had learned about at the events.

The poll also found that business-to-business events (like SOBCon!) are especially good for selling to potential customers. 54% of 2,000 trade show attendees reported an increase in purchase intent because of those events.

There are at least 250 reasons why you should sponsor SOBCon.

We hope to bring in 250 smart entrepreneurial minds and stir them together for 3 days.

And have you considered the word-of-mouth marketing power those 250+ souls possess?

Together, their blogs and websites reach over 80 million people every year. That’s about 7 million people a month.

And these business bloggers - these SOBCon 08 attendees - are some of the most well-networked people in the world. When they hear about a great product or service, they can’t help but tell their friends about it.

I can think of only 2 legitimate reasons why you shouldn’t be a SOBCon sponsor:

1. You don’t have anything to offer an intelligent, business-minded audience.
2. You don’t have any money to be a sponsor.

In both cases, you’ve still got well over 2 months to come up with what you don’t yet have.

And I promise it will be sooooooooo worth it for you. The ripple effect alone could be staggering.

Right this way.

The 2008 SOBCon Marketing Contest: Test Your Promotional Skill for Prizes Worth $750

Want to get a free registration to SOBCon08, plus two night’s hotel thrown in for good measure?

The SOBCon founders and the good folks at Plante Moran Financial Advisors (www.pmfa.com) are co-sponsoring a SOBCon Marketing Contest, where the blogger who can refer the most traffic to the SOBCon website (www.sobevent.com) between February 11 and March 15 will win:

• A free registration to SOBCon08 in Chicago, from May 2-4 ($450 value)
  
• Two nights hotel accommodations ($300 value)
  
• Podium recognition by the SOBCon MC, Terry Starbucker(promotional value for your blog and business – priceless)

Let’s get to the rules, but first a quick word about our co-sponsor, Plante Moran Financial Advisors (www.pmfa.com). They’re a group of financial professionals that are all about “you”, just as it should be. In their own words, “In saying “you” we encompass every aspect of you, such as your family, business, and personal interests into your investment strategy – today and into the future. You are our first priority and that is why our approach to your wealth management is as unique as you.”

OK, here are the rules:

1. To be eligible you must register your referring site, via e-mail to terrystarbucker(at)gmail(dotcom). You can do this anytime before or during the contest period, but the sooner you’re “in” the better.
2. We will count the referrals to SOBCon08 (defined as a “hit” to the site that comes from a link on your site) beginning on February 11, and running through March 15.
3. The referrals must be from a sufficient variety of network and geographical locations (as determined by Google Analytics), as determined by the SOBCon contest committee.
4. Speakers at the conference are not eligible, as well as the founders.
5. If you’ve already registered, you can certainly enter, and see if you can win your money back (and then some!)

So, do you think you have the promotional moxie to promote SOBCon and get your readers to check out our site, and find out how irresistible and compelling this year’s conference is going to be? Are you looking for a way to get to SOBCon but all you have is a blog, and not the cash?

Than sign up and start promoting SOBCon!!

Good luck and have fun.

Networking: How to Find Great Bloggers in Your Niche

By Easton Ellsworth

Whether or not you’re going to the Successful and Outstanding Bloggers Conference (SOBCon08) in Chicago May 2-4, it is critical that you know how to find and network with professional bloggers like you - bloggers who blog about the same subject.

And since blogger networking is one of the topics this year’s SOBCon Biz School for Bloggers will cover, I thought you might like to learn (or refresh your memory on) how to find bloggers with whom you can relate, visit, chat, buddy up, talk, laugh, cry - y’know, “network.”

In this post, you’ll learn:

- Why networking with other business bloggers is important
- How to use tools such as BlogCatalog, StumbleUpon, Technorati and Google (yep, Google) to find bloggers like you
- Where to go for networking advice

Plus I’ll give you some nice homework when we’re done.

How Networked Are You?

Quick! Name 10 bloggers in your niche.

Okay - now tell me when you last talked to each one.

How often do you get links from other blogs like yours - blogs with audiences who enjoy the topic you blog about?

How much traffic do you get from other blogs?

All right, enough grilling. Let’s talk about networking.

Why Network With Other Bloggers?

When you get linked to by another blog, it not only sends an instant surge of traffic to your blog, but it also increases your blog’s authority in the eyes of every search engine out there.

Not only does networking help your blog traffic and search engine rankings (which in turn generate more traffic), but it also helps you write better content. The more bloggers you know and communicate with regularly in your blog’s niche, the easier it is to get post ideas by asking them directly or just reading their blogs.

Plus networking is just plain fun and it’s a totally natural human thing to do. Don’t be a loner; get out there and talk to people!

… Except maybe you don’t know where to look.

Well then - here are 4 great free online tools that can help: BlogCatalog, StumbleUpon, Technorati and Google. Of course there are others - LinkedIn, Facebook and Yahoo! Groups, for instance - but these 4 will collectively help you discover bloggers like you and blogs like yours faster than any other combination of which I am aware.

How to Use BlogCatalog to Find Bloggers Like You

What: BlogCatalog is a big blog directory.

How: Go to http://www.blogcatalog.com/search - Simply type in a keyword or two related to your blog.

Example: http://www.blogcatalog.com/search/investing

For multiple keywords, just add a + sign between each word:

Example: http://www.blogcatalog.com/search/auto+industry

How to Use StumbleUpon to Find Bloggers Like You

What: StumbleUpon is a big community of people sharing things that interest them.

How: Simply paste this in, replacing keyword with a phrase related to your blog topic: http://www.stumbleupon.com/tag/keyword/

Example: http://www.stumbleupon.com/tag/accounting/

For multiple keywords, just add a + sign between each word:

Example: http://www.stumbleupon.com/tag/software+news/

How to Use Technorati to Find Blogs Like Yours

What: Technorati is a major blog search engine.

Technorati rocks. It ain’t perfect, but for finding relevant blogs, it’s great.

How: Simply go to this URL, replacing keyword with a phrase related to your blog: http://www.technorati.com/blogs/keyword

Example: http://www.technorati.com/blogs/marketing

For multiple keywords, just add a + sign between each word:

Example: http://www.technorati.com/blogs/Asia+business

How to Use Google - Yes, Google - to Find Blogs Like Yours

What: Google is, um, a search engine. And there’s a reason Google’s the most popular search engine. It’s actually very good at identifying relevant stuff - like blogs in your niche!

How: Simply type in a keyword or two in Google. (Include a word like blog, blogs or bloggers in your search for best results.)

Example: http://www.google.com/search?q=ebay+blog

If you want to search for an exact phrase, here’s the format:

Example: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22blog+about+ebay%22

More Tricks to Find Bloggers in Your Niche

Every time your blog receives a comment or trackback:

- Visit the URL of the commenter/linker. See if it relates well to your topic.

Every time you find a blog like yours:

- Read it. Leave a comment. Maybe email the author. Maybe subscribe to its feed. Get to know the blogger there and (gulp) just ask her who else she knows that has a blog in your niche.

- Check its sidebar for a blogroll or other list of related links. Visit all of them. Check their sidebars too.

How to Get Help Finding Bloggers Like You to Network With

The easiest part of networking is getting help. How do you get help? Just ask for it. Ask anybody and everybody you can for it. Get their thoughts and ideas on how to network, who to network with, what networking tools to use, etc.

If you’re really lost, just leave a comment below and ask the SOB crowd a question. We’ll be happy to help - isn’t that what we SOBs are here for?

Lesson’s Over - Here’s Your Homework

Your assignment now is to take 15-30 minutes today or tomorrow - pick a time right now, I’ll wait - and do these 2 things:

1. Find at least 10 bloggers in your niche using the 4 tools we’ve just discussed. They must be bloggers you’ve never networked with before - bloggers you might have heard of, but don’t yet know.

2. Contact each one of them personally. The simplest way to do this is by making comments on their blogs or emailing them directly. Say hi and introduce yourself and your fine blog.

That’s it. You’re well on your way to becoming a much better networker and blogger. Do this exercise at least once a month and you’ll be amazed at how many high-quality individuals you’ll discover who have blogs like yours.

And you’ll make lasting friendships along the way.

Thanks for reading this article. We hope to see you at SOBCon 08!

Got anything to add?

Photo: Swarm of bees by Melissa&Shane