This session is on pulling back the curtain of online advertising. I’m a little worried it will be more basic than I need, but I’m interested in hearing the perspectives of the ad network managers on the panel. Everyone wants to know how to make money from blogging. This one is all about selling real estate on your blog. It is a live blog so it is completely unedited—I’m just taking notes as we go.

Speakers

Mary Anne Beasley, @thestilettomom
Melanie Sheridan, @adramaticmommy
Michelle Lamar (Gloss Inc), @michellelamar
Tsh Oxenrider, @simplemom
Paula Bruno, One2One Network, @paulabruno

Content is king.
Develop a niche. Keep it uncluttered—advertisers don’t want to invest in “real estate” on your blog when the sidebar is full of clutter.
Melanie: Give yourself permission to not write every day. When you do write, write well.

Clean up your act.
Paula: You want to make it easier for advertisers to want to advertise on your blog.
Tsh: You don’t need a lot of sidebar, chotsky widgets if you want to make money on your blog.
Melanie: Consider your theme—be sure it is advertiser friendly. Find something that is clean and supports where you want to go.

Be careful what/how you review.
Mary Anne: Advertisers want to be sure you are not writing things that conflict with their ads.

Know Your Stats
Mary Anne: Be ready to tell people how many people you reach.
Tsh: Be able to speak to your “influencer” status. It isn’t always about the numbers. If your readers are extremely loyal or you are influential in some way, be able to present that information.
Mary Anne: Talk about what kind of social footprint you have.

Key words you need to know
CPM: Cost per thousand pageviews
Market averages: Widely varies, typically higher for a niche. This session is using a $5 average CPM.
Uniques vs. Pageviews: Unique is number of individual people coming to your site. Pageviews is how many times your site was viewed total. You sell pageviews, but advertisers typically want to know about uniques.
CTR: Click Thru Rate—the percentage of pageviews that actually clicked to the site.
CPC: You only get paid when someone clicks.
Comscore: The Gold Standard among ad agencies, but you have to be a big site to be measured. Also use Quantcast.

What do you do when your stat counters are so different?
Mary Anne: Use the one that makes you look better and see if you can get away with it.
Tsh: Most companies understand Google Analytics better so I just use that.

What is an Ad Network?
Mary Anne: Sell ads for a group collectively. (Glam, BlogHer, Juicebox Jungle, etc)
Pros/Cons: You get big brands advertising and it makes your site look good. You also have less control, though.
Expectations: You need to stick with your content niche. Most will require above the fold placement. Some won’t let you have reviews on the site.
Different ways to make money: Some will offer editorial integrations.
Melanie: I have to weigh how much I want to write about the topic vs. how my readers will feel about paid editorial content.
Read the fine print!
Mary Anne: The devil is in the details.
Paula: Think about what you really want to do over the course of the contract.

Tsh: Runs only private ads for complete creative control. More time consuming.
Michelle: Be very specific about your audience to filter out ads.
Mel: “This is why I go through an ad network.” Willing to give up 50% of revenue to ad networks in exchange for extra time to spend on content & community.

How much should be charging for CPM ad?
Tsh: Works with small businesses who can’t afford higher rates, but that’s who she wants to support.
Audience: Federated sells mom blog ads for $10-15 CPM, and pays us half.
Mary Anne: It depends on the blog, the niche and the market.

Final Thoughts:
Michelle: Keep track of your stats. Don’t sell yourself short.
Mary Anne: It’s a business. You have to treat it as such.

Once again, Alli Worthington is in my head as she plans these things! I have a couple different niche blogs, actually, with 2 more on the way later this month. This is a live blog so you’ll see my unedited notes as we go through the session.

Speakers:

Heather Solos, @heathersolos
Nester Smith, @thenester
Jennifer Schmidt, @beautyandbedlam
Sommer Poquette, @greenmom
Rachel Matthews, @sthrnfairytale
Audrey McClelland, @AudreyMcCellan

If you have a lot of frugal aspects on your blog. How does that affect your PR?
Jennifer: Doesn’t shop at a lot of stores so it makes it tough to find sponsors. Goodwill loves her but she’s learning to work with brands, not stores, that have lasting value.

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room—money.
Sommer: Be strategic. Think about your niche. Think about your
Rachel: Makes money with ads but only because she likes the content in them. Works as a spokesperson for some foods, but only when she can support it.
Nester: Think about things that are a great fit for your niche instead of chasing everyone.
Do you see other blogs in your niche as competition or community?
Huge round of absolutely not!
Sommer: Help others in your niche, they’ll help you and it all comes back to you.
Audrey: There’s power in numbers. People get caught up in traffic numbers, but when you come together with 4-5 other women, you can approach a company together.
Sommer: Reading other blogs in your niche can give you inspiration on another post.
Rachel: There’s power in your community. You are a family. Support each other, love each other, share.
Nester: Recommends Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin: Know your tribe and get to know them.
Jennifer: If we drop that competitive edge a little, we’ll all succeed.

Community: How do you define your niche with your readers?
Jennifer: Be specific with your readers in your about page. Define you terms. Use a tag line.
Rachel: Your tag line is powerful. It can lead people into wanting to know more. You can rebrand yourself at anytime.

Can you rebrand yourself and refocus your niche at anytime without losing your readers?
Rachel: They’re going to come or go, regardless. Write for you. Write what you know.
Audrey: People read because you have content they want. The people who will leave aren’t the ones you want anyway.
Rachel: Be you. When people meet you in person, they should already know you through your blog.

Writing in a niche can lead people to view you as an authority. How do you feel about that?
Nester: You should become an authority in your tribe.
Rachel: Own it. If you aren’t entirely sure about something, write is if you are. When people ask you questions about something in your niche, you have a blog post right there. If one person asks, ten more want to know.
Sommer: You do have to be careful, especially when you are writing about products or ingredients. If you don’t know, send your readers to someone who does.
Jennifer: “I totally share that I screw up a whole lot.” This question depends on what kind of voice you want to share.
Audrey: The beauty niche is very subjective. It’s more opinion than fact.

How do you deal with the issues involved in being an expert?
Sommer: Get an LLC and insurance. You can also hire an attorney to help be sure you’re protected.
Jennifer: Also has an LLC. (Me too!)
Heather: Sometimes, it’s okay to say you can’t help.

How do you overcome outside perceptions of your niche?
Jennifer: Do a survey, get some demographics to show potential advertisers.
Rachel: Your social footprint is huge and they should look for that.
Heather: Some of it is on us to know our readers and our numbers to share with them.

What do you do when you don’t want to post in your niche?
Sommer: Ask to guest post with someone in another niche. Write a blog post on a Ning network—it can be about anything you want.
Nester: You can also post unrelated things on your Facebook page, where the fans are more interested in community.

With live blogging, I simply blog throughout the session. You may find my personal comments, direct quotes or quick notes. It is unedited and, therefore, not always cohesive. I do promise to come back later to edit spelling & grammar. One quick note—Kim & Kris are identical twins. Their responses may very well be reversed & I sincerely appologize if they are. I’m sitting too far to read the nametags.

Speakers:

Amy Turn Sharp from Little Alouette, @dooblehvay
Julie Cole from Mabel’s Labels, @juliecole
Kimba from a Soft Place to Land, @kimbaASPTL
Kim Christopherson from You Can Make This, @youcanmakethis
Kris Thurgood from SWAK Embroidery, @jessekatedesign
Lisa Leonard from Lisa Leonard Designs, @lisaleonard

Steps to take (the 5 Bs):
Build the Buzz: You want people to start talking about it now.
Be yourself: Don’t worry about it being perfect—just be you and real.
Be specific: Be specific about what action you want your readers to take.
Bring on the bookmarks
Be appreciative: Thank your readers/customers for everything they do—they don’t have to give you their email address so thank them when they do! Give them something as a thanks for signing up—a free eBook

What social media tools have been affective?
Kris: Get to know your audience. Find out what tools their using! You’ll learn where to focus your efforts.

How do you manage social media?
Lisa: “I do all the social media for the business myself.” It’s more genuine & personal than if it were hired out. Give your readers a sense of who you are. Network like nobody’s business—people are really open to getting to know you, especially if they love your product. Build relationships for the relationships not just to sell.

How much time do you spend and how much is right?
Kimba: Spends several hours per day, but understands each person needs to decide what is right for them. Make decisions about what you will and won’t do.
Julie: Building social media for Mabel’s Labels is actually her full time job so it’s 9-5. However, social media is 24/7. Focus on following up with people who are talking with you.

What campaigns have worked for you?
Amy: Get your name out there. People find you, fall in love with you and tell everyone.
Kate: You have to be passionate. If someone responds negatively in public, respond publicly. Loyalty is key—just because someone is small doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work with them. You could be building a relationship & loyalty with someone who will be bigger later.
Lisa: Network up, down, side to side. Just network a lot, and consistently.
Amy: Treat everyone the same with kindness & love because you never know who is buying your product, or who they know.
Kimba: A single campaign isn’t necessarily going to turn things around for your business, but it’s worth it for building buzz & relationships.

Do you have any personal rules with social media?
Amy: Has a personal account that is truly just her, but still has to be careful about what you say since you’re connected. Kris: “Don’t drink & tweet.”
Amy: Keep the biz account business focused. Don’t get involved in things that are hateful & heated. Uses UberTwitter to keep them separate (I use Tweet Deck with multiple accounts).

Kim: If you can be helpful, you’ll become an expert in your field. Even if you drive people to someone else’s posts, you start to become a resource.
Amy: Uses Tumblr to share photos that inspire her as she’s creating toys.
Julie: Know your readers, your target.

The rest was an audience Q&A. I didn’t always catch the questions but I did my best to write the important points from the answers.

What tools do you use to stay up on your competitors?
Amy: Google alerts.
Lisa: My readers keep an eye out for me. It can drive you insane trying to keep up on what others are doing. Put your energy into being creative instead of trying to police the internet.
Amy: Setup a Google alert for your name just to see what people are saying about you.
Julie: Don’t waste your time & energy worrying about it.
Kris: Just play your own game. Blogosphere has enough room for everyone.

How do you sell your business when it’s you—a service, not a product?
Lisa: You have to find a way to separate it. Define what you do and sell that.

Julie: Branding is important. Make sure your Facebook fan page looks like your website. The content doesn’t have to be identical but the sites should be the same.

If there’s one session I was completely required to take, it’s this one! I have trouble balancing work and home life. Something always gets pushed aside. Lately, it’s been my poor family. They’ve suffered through finishing college, launching a new business and my personal obsession with social media. This is a live blog, which means it’s completely unedited. I’m simply taking notes through the session.

Speakers:

Christine Koh, @bostonmamas
Deb Rox, @debontherocks
Megan Jordan, @velveteenmind
Carmen Stacier, @mttsm

How has balance come to you? (Speaker Stories)
Deb: “I’ve burnt out of a lot of careers because I didn’t have a real balance.”
Megan: What matters will be there, when you come back. “I’m willing to lose if it means I can play by my own rules.” Sometimes that means not worrying about missing opportunities, not getting to take the trips, not being on the Top 50 Mom Blogger lists. Do the things that are important to you, and let the rest go.
Carmen: Stop comparing your insides to someone else’s outsides. “Maybe I don’t make everybody else’s Top 50 lists, but I make my kids’ lists.”
Christine: “Remember. Opportunity can be dangerous. It’s not always the right thing.” Every path brings you to the next, even if you turn things down. There’s a real feeling of needing to always be connected so you don’t miss anything, but it’s okay if you do.

After sharing their initial stories, the panel deferred the rest of the discussion to the audience Q&A. I didn’t always catch the questions, but I tried to jot relevant info out of the responses.

Megan: “I have ‘just a seconded’ my kids out of an entire day.” Social media is fast paced and competitive, but you don’t have to do it all.
Christine: If you are feeling anxious, figure out why. If it’s simply because you are worried about missing something, it might not be the right thing. Go with the things that you want to do because you want to do it, not because you want a gold star.
Deb: We want to be present but we aren’t taking a role in making it happen. “If you’re passive, if you wait, the game will win.”

Megan: Focus on doing a few things really well, rather than doing everything halfway. “How about I just do my current projects really well?”
Deb: “If you do everything just to get the gold star, the first ones will be tarnished before you get the last. Do you really want everything if it means you have to clean it?”
Carmen: Saying yes to everything made everyone else happy except me. Don’t say yes—say, “Can I get back to you?” You aren’t liked because you say yes; you’re liked because of who you are.

Megan: “By not asking for help, you’re depriving others of an opportunity.” Asking for help isn’t showing a weakness.
Carmen: Your way isn’t always the right way. Don’t deprive your family of the opportunity to find their own way.

On scheduling specific blocks of time: Christine carves out time during the school day. When it’s time for one thing, shut everything else off.

“You can have it all, just not at the same time.”

Deb: It’s not just that you can’t do everything yourself; it’s that you don’t have to. There are others with expertise you can tap into.

I’m thrilled to hear about developing real community with my readers, from fabulous gals who got it way right, from the start. One of my favorite old school bloggers is on the panel—meeting Mindy in person was such a blessing. Real life hugs, finally! This is a live blog so you’re reading my unedited notes from the session. I promise to come back later to correct grammar & spelling errors.

Speakers:

Laurie Turk, @TipJunkie
Amy Clark, @momadvice
Stephanie Precourt, @babysteph
Mindy Roberts, @themommyblog

Amy: It’s about writing authentically. “People like to know you’re a real person.” People stick around because they get to know you.
Stephanie: Figure out your niche, what your readers are interested in. It doesn’t always have to be *about* that specific niche, but it’s a good common thread to build community. Your readers can start forming their own relationships too.
Laurie: Blogroll on her sidebar – “Find other creative women”

The Golden Blog Rule:
Stephanie: Be generous, genuine and respectful. To get to know my readers, I read their blogs and leave comments. If it’s always getting comments and not giving back. Don’t leave generic comments; find something relevant to connect with.
Laurie: Be your true self on Twitter & Facebook.

Sharing Your Full Experience:
Mindy: “I write the same way I speak.” It lets people know they aren’t alone. Create triumph out of your trials—if you post about things that you wouldn’t necessarily talk about it person, it resonates with people.
Laurie: People want to be invested in you.
Mindy: Get to know your readers and continue conversations by email. It can develop real friendships.

Building a Blog Alliance:
Laurie: It can really unite all of your communities. “We don’t have to compete with each other because there’s enough to go around.” Collaborate with “competitors” on separate projects. Feature your top 10 referrers—they already love you, but give them a little link love back and say thank you.
Mindy: Email people who send you a lot of traffic.

Landing Page:
Amy: When you are featured in anything—a newspaper, magazine, television show—create a landing page for new visitors who found you through them. Include your favorite links, posts you’re most proud of, info on how to subscribe. Top 10 list at the end of each month—top referrers, best posts, etc.
Laurie: Google already likes your top 10 posts. Featuring your top posts also helps your readers connect.
Mindy: Has started featuring “On this day in…” posts on her sidebar.

Community Tools:
Handout available on Blissdom Conference website
Laurie: Have a Facebook fan page for your blog
Amy: Join every single community that is relevant to you, not necessarily your blog.
Laurie recommends Link Within but I find it to be very, very tough on your database. I use YARPP—Yet Another Related Post Plugin instead.

Engaging Readers:
Amy: The Notebook—features cool things from people in her niche each week.
Stephanie: Do something you enjoy, create linkups. Be original, but establish yourself first. You can’t create an awesome linkup and expect people to participate if you don’t have readers.
Laurie: Email is a great way to establish relationships.

How Your Community Affects the “Business of Blogging”
Stephanie: Your readers know you and pay attention when your ads & revenue are conflicting. Cloth diapers her kids so it wouldn’t make sense to display disposable diapers ads or take a trip sponsored by a large diaper company.
Mindy: Keep your integrity when you write product reviews.
Amy: Really read the pitches you get very carefully.
Mindy: Doesn’t use everything she receives and will only talk about items that she personally uses in her life.

This is a live blog, which means it is my unedited notes as the session progresses. It’s hard to live blog a keynote because, while they are fascinating & often inspiring, there is very little solid information to take notes. Kevin Carroll tells the story of his background, the life of growing up with 2 addict parents. He is a storyteller—funny, captivating and full of anecdotes from his childhood. Kevin is well-dressed, with awesome shoes. (And, a purple tie—sold!)

“You have to find a way to blur the lines between work and play.”

Turn ideas into reality—passion, purpose & intention. Work can be your play if you know what you’re doing. “You can’t talk about it, you have to be about it.”

The story of how he met his wife might be my favorite part. His stepdaughter connived to set him up with her mother after hearing Kevin speak at a take your daughter to work day. Oh, how I love children!

The power of a ball: We need to recognize the role of play in our lives. Children third world countries don’t just need books—they need balls.

It has to be not about us, but about the greater movement. {Enter the bouncy balls! So. Much. Fun.} What’s your red rubber ball? What gets you excited about your day?

How’s your “want to”? You gotta want to seek your dreams. You can’t do anything without a want to.

Sometimes, you should tender your resignation as a grownup. “I believe M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.” Tag, you’re it!

“A closed mouth don’t get fed.” Open your mouth and let people know what your dreams and hopes are. You never know what might be around you to assist in encouraging you to turn your idea into reality.

Expect and respect the unexpected. Eyes of a child, eyes of wonder, will help you.

86,400 seconds in a day—86,400 opportunities to make a difference. “What are you going to do with this day? It’s a gift!”

Rules of the Red Rubber Ball: Find and Sustain Your Life’s Work

What’s Your Hook?: How to Make Your Message Memorable