Here is the link to my notes from session one on building content and readership to your blog.
I’m so self sacrificing.
I’ve only had 3 hours of sleep but I am up tying out notes from yesterday’s second Blissdom session which was all about:
Social Media and Marketing.
That is a dedicated blogger. : )
One of the things someone mentioned yesterday is that if you want to have loyal readers, be a loyal blogger. If you don’t show up for work (blog) everyday you’ve disappointed your readers. They showed up to read your stuff, the least you can do is to post something.
The moderator for this discussion was Casey Mullins of Mooshinindy and the panelists were Jessica of Jessica Knows, Michelle from LikeMerchantShips, and Amy from Resourceful Mommy.
The ladies mentioned StumbleUpon and Tumblr, but most of the conversation seemed to revolve around Twitter and Facebook.
The ladies talked about the benefits of syndicating your content, and the issue of duplicate content came up. I stood up and said my piece about that issue. I’ve written briefly about that before here and here but basically I said duplicate content was not really understood and that if you’re worried about it, you’re not doing it. LOL!
Sites like EzineArticles.com get awesome search engine rankings and it’s full of duplicate content. If you’re in doubt, read Google’s guidelines for webmasters and see what they say on the issue.
If you find a “scraper” site who is stealing your content without your permission, contact the website owner and send them a firm cease and desist email. One way to keep abreast of this is to use Google Alerts, which I am a big fan of for several reasons, this being one.
Much of the conversation revolved around Twitter which seems to be every mom blogger’s favorite social media tool.
The gist of the input was that with Twitter, there really are no rules. Although Jessica said to think of Twitter like dating (don’t give it all away right away, tease a little), Allison then said that Twitter is like sex (everyone does it differently, and it’s all good) which seems a little contradictory again! The point being that there really are no rules. Use the tools the way that works for you and your niche.
That, by the way, was pretty much everyone’s favorite quote of the day and probably the most Twittered thought from the session. 
Some of my tweets from the session:
On getting free stuff from marketing people:
@carrielee do not be afraid to say no to free stuff if it sucks up your time w/ less roi
When you first start blogging and hear about all the free stuff mom bloggers get, it’s pretty exciting. But more than one mom blogger expressed her fatigue with all the free stuff. It takes time to review and noone wants to have nothing but reviews on her blog. Really evaluate product pitches when they come your way and see if they truly fit into your niche and are something you would actually purchase and use before accepting the item in question for review.
Conversely if there are products or companies you want to be affiliated with, blog about them and see what happens. Jessica Knows is getting a free car for a year thanks to Ford! (I only got a van one for a week. Hmmph!)
@carrielee if the opps do not fit, send the pr person to another mom blogger
If a company contacts you with a product pitch and the opportunity doesn’t fit your niche or you’re just not in the mood to review yet.another.body.lotion, send the marketing person to another mom blogger you know for whom it is a better fit.
I’ve done this myself on several occasions and have had others do it for me.
@carrielee some PR people do not do their homework
This was a personal observation. As bloggers we’re really in a position to teach some of these marketing folks how stuff works. Sometimes I get product pitches and I’m all, “Didja spend five seconds actually looking at my blog?” Whatever.
If they don’t “get it” and are sending you, a mom of teens, a baby blanket to review, then try to educate them nicely about your target market. Some of them see “mom blogger” as being one generic niche but we know we are all somewhat different and speak to different audiences. Tell them what do do so they can learn something new!
@carrielee keep your true voice out there, opps will come (free stuff)
If you want free stuff, just keep blogging and be yourself. Don’t change your writing for these opportunities. Keep being yourself (even if yourself is WhiteTrashMom!) and companies will find you.
And finally, when it comes to Facebook:
@carrielee facebook rules and annoyances. stop sending busy mom bloggers gifts on FB
No offense, but we’re too busy for ‘lil green patch requests, umkay?
A couple thoughts on networking:
It’s about authenticity and friendship, not selling.
Network “side”, “up” and “down”. Meaning reach out to bloggers who are more, less and the same as you in terms of popularity.
Use your given name when creating social media site profiles.
Don’t forget to send PR people to non-mom bloggers, too! I’ve yet to find a network for my demographic that compares to the amazing networking mom bloggers have and I”m not really up for kids yet.
More great info! I love your tip about keeping your true voice. I totally agree.
Looking forward to checking out some of these mom bloggers you posted about.
GREAT points, Carrie. I’m glad I’m not the only one that got burned out on doing reviews. I’ve become a lot more selective too.
And I totally agree about Facebook. I even stayed away from FB for a while because it was just too much, going through all of the requests and invitations.
Nice points Carrie!
These are really great points and I agree Facebook and Twitter are where it is at right now, but will that stay?