Author Archive
When I first received the invitation to Ford’s Green Technology event at NAIAS, I just set it aside—I’m not really a car person, I won’t be in the market for a car for quite some time and I’m not exactly the right demographic for an international auto show.
Then, the Clever Girls reached out to assure me I didn’t need to be a car person, they weren’t trying to sell me anything and I am exactly who they wanted to reach. And, so I went.
Cat & Fake Scott Monty
It was a little overwhelming at first, especially since I arrived late for dinner due to my flight arrangements. Walking late into a room full of people I don’t know?
Way out of my comfort zone. Most of it was, really, but I put on my big girl panties, got on a plane all by myself and flew off to parts unknown (okay, Detroit) to spend a few days with Ford executives and 100 fellow bloggers from around the world, at the urging of my friends at Clever Girls.
It was an amazing experience on so many different levels. How can you not love a week that begins with a hug from a
bad kitty? Who wouldn’t enjoy 2 days with a
blow-up doll? Uh, wait. Maybe I should backup a little. Because there were cars, too. I promise.
(Dear
Hubby, This was a very important business trip. Honest. Love, Me.)
This is the Vertrek—she’s new, and when Serenity is through, I want one. They’ll still be making it—I’m sure of it. That’s one of the things I picked up on in my time with Ford. They don’t just make cars. They build brands that last.
How long as the F150 been the pickup truck to own? I remember the Explorer (2011 Truck of the Year, props) from when SUVs first entered the scene. And, the Mustang has been the Official Car of the Midlife Crisis for as long as I can remember.
Personally, I would give my left eye to drive a T-Bird—and, not just because it’s nearly useless anyway.
My point is, Ford’s cars will be around awhile. The two cars we drive now, both less than 10 years old (and made by a competitor) no longer exist. The models came and went faster than we could pay off the car loans. But, people get attached to their vehicles—you drive them for so long, they become a part of you. And, when they die their last death, so many people just want what they had before.
I think Ford gets that—they understand it’s not just about the cars. It’s about the people. That just really struck me, especially when I put a little thought into the fact that Ford is bringing its electrified technology to not one brand new car created just for the novelty of it, but to 5 existing vehicles in their line that people know & love—including the hot, little Fiesta the teen has officially added to her wishlist. She’d like it in red, please. Not that I blame her—I was super excited to get behind the wheel of one myself.
Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. My test track dreams were halted by snow & ice (but at least I didn’t get stranded like some of my new friends). I do hope for the chance to put their electrified technology to the test one day soon. (Dear Scott Monty, I am just as much fun the 2nd time around. Honest. Love, Me.) In the meantime, I have plenty to process from my 2 days with Ford—at least another couple posts worth of thoughts in my head.
I was invited to participate in this program by Clever Girls Collective, Inc. in partnership with Ford and Ogilvy PR. Ford Motor Company paid for my travel and accommodations at the 2-day Driving Green Technology event, I was not compensated in any other manner for my time. My opinions posted here are my own.
Tags: Ford, press junket
Posted in Brands & Products | No Comments »
One of the things I hear most frequently when people find out I not only have multiple blogs (8 at time of writing) but manage them all with 3 children at home & no daycare is, “How do you find the time?” My answer is always productivity & cheats. Also, my house is a wreck, so I save a lot of time not cleaning.
Of course, I’m probably more excited than most for back to school time. That’s really going to help, but I’m always on the lookout for ways to make life easier. Here are a few of my latest discoveries for blogging quickly & easily:
- Verizon MiFi—this is going on my list of “things I want to pay for as soon as our budget looks better” for sure! Verizon sent me this cute, little card to take to BlogHer earlier this month. And, had to pry it out of my hands at the end of BlogIndiana last week. I had no idea what it was, but they were looking to send a few on the road to New York—and I took that quite literally! We enjoyed road trip wifi, blogging on the long drive.
Basically, it becomes a wifi hotspot anywhere Verizon covers. It was spotty in the middle of nowhere, PA but worked well for me most of the time. You can even connect up to 5 wireless devices so my roommates, carpool buddies & fellow conference attendees had the luxury of free wifi. I desperately want one for everyday use—I’d love to work from the park or pool while the kids play.
- Shortkeys: Robby Slaughter exploded a few minds when he showcased how quickly & easily you can insert common phrases & links with text replacers. A few days later, I stumbled on someone else singing the praises of shortkeys. So, I downloaded the free trial—but I’m already considering the full software. It’s going to be perfect for quickly calling up the text for things I frequently type (like html for the links to my various sites!).
- Automatic SEO Links: This WordPress plugin is pretty similar to the text replacer idea, but it does it automatically (hence, the name) with a link. Choose your keywords, set the link and never think about it again. For example, when anyone on Team Inexpensively includes the phrase “grocery lists” in their post, it will automatically publish with a link to our grocery lists.
- Lists & Drafts: This one isn’t so much a tool as a technique, but it works well for me. I keep a running list of blog posts as the ideas occur. Then, when I have time set aside to blog, I pick one or two, and get started. Recently, I have started to just enter the topic idea as a draft so it’s attached to the correct blog. If I come up with ideas on a post, I bullet point them in to use as idea or paragraph starters when it’s time to write.
- Voice Recorder: I have to admit I feel like a total douche when I pull out my phone to record notes, but it’s effective! I also have to admit that I don’t always remember to go back & listen, but often the act of saying it out loud burns the thought into my brain. I’ve also been known to jot notes the back of receipts, junk mail envelopes or school notes—but I’m much less likely to lose my iPhone.
Slaughter Development’s classes always send me home with more productivity tips & tools than I can ever manage to implement. Robby Slaughter’s BlogIndiana session was no different & much of this list is straight from his presentation. While I might not be able to write a full blog post in under 5 minutes, I’m getting pretty good at cranking out posts in what little free time I can squeeze out of my day.
What tools or techniques do you use to save time?
Tags: blogging, productivity
Posted in Niche Blogging | 5 Comments »
I always get a lot of great stuff from Robby’s sessions, and the title of this one jumped out at me instantly. I don’t struggle a lot with agony, but I do have a lot of blogs. Finding more productive ways to keep up on them can only be helpful.
Why Blogging is Agonizing
Time
Money—many blogs are now free
Out of ideas—google “blog ideas”
No traffic/apathy
Self-promotion is hard
Not Techie—You don’t have to be anymore, but if you need help, ask.
How to Get Past the Agony
Steal
“Good artists copy. Great artists steal.” (Look at other blogs to find ideas for yours.)
Appearance & Layout
Structure & Patterns
Balance & Post Types
Schedule & Sequence
Examples: Advance Indiana, Coffee Sage, Happiness Project
It’s easier to write blogs if you have to make less decisions.
Coffee Sage uses the words coffee or Starbucks in every title.
Happiness Project has a set schedule—every, single Wednesday is Tip Day. She already knows she has to share a tip every Wednesday. Quote Blogs: shares a quote about happiness & a picture of the person who said it as an entire post.
Cheat
Best time to blog: far in advance. You’ll have less stress if you blog in advance because you aren’t worried about deadlines.
How to cheat at blogging.
Switching tasks kills your flow.
3 Blogging Plans:
“I have to blog now” plan: Panic->Research->Write->Edit->Publish.
“The kids sare asleep plan: Coffee->Research->Write->Edit->Schedule.
“Radical Productivity Plan: Research>Research->Research->Research->Write->Write->Write->Write->Schedule->Relax
Be Lazy
Automate as much as possible:
Use the scheduler—most blog posts will still be relevant later. Post them automatically while you are away. (Checkout Future Posts WP plugin)
Take Advantage of “Press This”
Have a Blogging Checklist—use the blogging checklist plugin to keep it right where you need it.
Use replacement hotkeys
Quickly Inserting Photos:
Skip the download, reupload process by using copy image location, insert and add the link to the file name path. It will still upload the photo to your site from the link. Testing:
Speaker: Robby Slaughter, @RobbySlaughter
This is a live blog—an unedited version of my notes. It is not meant as an exact transcript but I try to capture the highlights along the way (and, you know, add commentary). I’ll fix spelling errors & grammar later, when I get a chance to go back. Be gentle, until then.
Tags: blog conferences, Blog Indiana
Posted in Live Blogging | No Comments »
I’m so excited to have Tricia speaking at BlogIndiana—this is what we need. Tricia has made a successful work-at-home career through internet marketing. She has fun & brilliant ideas for niche content sites.
Working with large brands
How in the world is a small blog going to get Target & Amazon to sponsor them? Advertising is painstaking but you can utilize affiliate marketing programs to earn income from major brands.
Types of Affiliate Marketing Sites
- Coupon & Deal Sites
- Cash Back Sites
- Comparison Shopping Sites/Directories
- Paid Search
- Newsletter Marketing
- Toolbars
- Mobile Ads
- Facebook & Twitter Ads
- Virtual Currency
- Most importantly—blogs!
How Does It Work
Customers visit an affiliate website. Affiliates (affiliate = blogger/publisher) direct customers to partners/brands who complete the sale. Partners pay the affiliates a commission for the referral.
Network’s Role
The network is your directory of merchants to find brands/partners to promote. They handle payment processing (get money from the merchants & send the commission to you), host datafeeds & creatives, negotiate commission contracts with merchants and facilitate communication. Sometimes they will manage programs as well, but you’ll often have an affiliate manager or OPM (outsourced program manager).
Affiliate Manager’s Role
They create the text & graphics (a good one can even create graphics specifically for your website), negotiate custom commission rates & coupons, communicates with network & affiliates, finds new affiliates for merchants, advises affiliates on placement (talk to them about what might work best for your site) and educates affiliates about their merchants.
Steps to Making Money on Blogs
- Sign Up for Networks
- Find Merchants
-
Load Creatives to Your Sites
- Drive Traffic to Your Sites
Finding Merchants
- Search network directories by category or keyword
- Search for products in Google (check shopping results)
- Visit Your Competitors’ Sites
- Ask Network Reps for Suggestions
Choosing the Right Merchant
Products need to fit your site—it should make sense for your content & readers.
Evaluate the EPC (earnings per click)—tells you how well the merchant’s ads convert.
Site leaks—if the merchant website has adsense or links to other merchants, you’re less likely to make a commission on your referrals.
Return Days—how long the merchant will recognize the cookie that tells them your reader visited the site from your link.
Reputation of Network or Manager
Freshness of Creatives—choose merchants that are updating their graphics regularly
Reversal Rates—how often a merchant cancels an order after they’ve already given you credit (happens a lot in shoes, especially with Zappos who have free returns).
Responsiveness of manager
Google AdSense
It’s a bit of an intro to making money on your blog—it is a great way to get started but it has some downsides.
Great for a place that is hard to monetize.
You’re making pennies on the dollar and sending readers to someone else who may be making a commission on that sale.
Banner Ads
Standard sizes (square/rectangle—as small as 120×60 or large as 728×90)
Features name brands & products
Choose rotating banners that the merchant automatically updates.
Product Links/Images
You can use product images & text links to feature specific products. (i.e. product reviews)
Widgets
Merchants & Plugins canl create widgets that autoupdate with content that is popular or fits a keyword.
eBay
They are on Pepperjam, but we prefer the partner network.
phpBay Lite Plugin generates the items closing soon based on keywords you provide.
Video
Conversion rates are high on video. You can create your own, but some networks also provide video for affiliates. I need to find the link of Tricia’s oldest eating vomit-flavored Jelly Bellies. Too funny!
PopShops
Generates product/shopping pages for your own site. They have a free version, but you’ll get more functionality from the paid options. The only downside is everything goes through their links (with your affiliate id) so you don’t have the tracking abilities you would.
GoldenCan
Has coupon directory & search options that will create widgets/pages for your site. They run on a 4th-click system so every 4th click changes to their affiliate id. However, many merchants are now paying to get into GoldenCan so they are “free of 4th click” & you receive full commissions.
SkimLinks
No direct merchant affiliation or understanding of links needed.
Use the plugins for blogs or forums to convert standard links to affiliate links.
SkimLinks keeps a portion of commissions but they negotiate such high rates that you may still make a decent percentage.
Legal & Ethical Issues
Adware—affiliates who install software/cookies on readers’ sites so their affiliate link overrides any other affiliate link in the future.
Cookie Stuffing—affiliates who require you to click something (i.e. click here to see coupon) are probably just getting their cookie onto your computer in case you ever go back to shop.
Disclosure/FTC
Ad Tax/Amazon Tax/Affiliate Tax—I’ve been watching this, especially with the Colorado mess, but we’re lucky this hasn’t come to Indiana yet.
Learn More
Affiliate Summit
Podcasts
Forums (A Best Web)
Network/OPM conference calls
Speaker: Tricia Meyer, @SunshineTricia
This is a live blog—an unedited version of my notes. It is not meant as an exact transcript but I try to capture the highlights along the way (and, you know, add commentary). I’ll fix spelling errors & grammar later, when I get a chance to go back. Be gentle, until then.
Tags: affiliate marketing, blog conferences, Blog Indiana
Posted in Live Blogging, Niche Blogging | 2 Comments »
There are a lot of great sessions to choose from in this hour. I had to go with Erik—I always pick up awesome, actionable tips from him. Today’s session is on promoting your blog through search & social media. My current #1 referral source is Stumble Upon, followed closely by Google. I’d love to figure out why that’s happening & how to get even more traction out of it.
- Keywords
Title: keywords should be in the first 4 words.
Anchor Text: only keywords, not a full sentence
Spiders don’t read punctuation so your keywords can span more than one sentence.
- Backlinks
Even more important than keywords because there is more emphasis on who is linking to your keywords.
- Microsites
Buy a domain with your keyword in it and a single page that points to your main site.
- Photos & Video
YouTube holds a lot of weight in Google’s algorithm. Rather than hosting photos on your own site, use Flickr or Picasa for more social media juice. It can actually make your site load faster because the browser will load pictures & your page simultaneously from the 2 different sources.
- Social Sharing—Stumble Upon, Digg, Share This
Stumble Upon—the toolbar can be the most fun time waster out there.
- Ask for Retweets
Use sparingly but when you have a post you think someone else would be interested in sharing with their readers, ask for a retweet.
- Guest Blog
This one is huge for me—I get quite a bit of traffic & strong backlinks when I guest blog. I get a lot of traffic from allowing others to guest blog because they promote it through their own networks. I love the My Blog Guest forum, though I’ve been inactive all summer. Ann was nice enough to DM me just the other day to ask how I was doing & I’ll be getting more involved again when the girls go back to school.
- Leave Comments
Spend a few minutes leaving 3 comments per day—at the end of the month, you’ll have 90 backlinks & 90 people who know you valued their blogs. Don’t leave generic comments. Leave thoughtful comments that address the post specifically. Use Google’s Blog Search to find blogs relevant to your topic.You’ll be building relationships, but it can have backlink relevance (even if the links are nofollow—Google ignores for pagerank purposes but will still notice the link).
- Ask for comments
Use a call to action in your posts—specifically ask for comments!
- Automate
Don’t automate generic tweets—Twitter is conversation & community. Do automate some of your work. Use plugins or Tweetdeck to send your blog posts to Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, Ning, etc. Schedule blog posts to go out at 8am (this is the 2nd time I have heard this—Shannon Steffen said the same thing at WordCamp). Ping.fm talks to most social media networks and can provide backlinks if you automate link sharing.
- Write Well
If you want visitors to return, write well and check grammar & spelling.
Speaker: Erik Deckers, @edeckers
This is a live blog—an unedited version of my notes. It is not meant as an exact transcript but I try to capture the highlights along the way (and, you know, add commentary). I’ll fix spelling errors & grammar later, when I get a chance to go back. Be gentle, until then.
Tags: blog conferences, Blog Indiana
Posted in Live Blogging | 5 Comments »
So, the Slaughter Development class on email was incredibly helpful. Then, summer happened. And, my life started to unravel.
Michael Reynolds (who, btw, is a fellow Ball State/Botswin alumni) has adapted Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero program and just busted me for having over 1000 messages. I’m attending this session with almost 900 unread messages in my inbox. Wish me luck.
Email is just a medium—it’s a communication tool that you should be controlling. Concert each email to an action, then process to zero. He assures me he’ll be teaching that today. The question is if I can learn it.
Working in Contexts
Writing, Process, Running Errands, On the Phone, In Meetings
Multi-tasking is a myth. (Side note: Only men say this. They’ve clearly never talked on the phone, nursed a baby and cooked dinner at exactly the same time.)
Stop treating email like instant messaging. Keep your email closed until you are acting on it. (Okay, so I got this one out of Robby’s session earlier this year. I guess I got a D, not a total fail.)
How to Act on Email
Delete (or archive)
Will you ever Really do anything about it?
If not, delete it—don’t feel bad about being realistic. Any modern email system can handle a large archive of email, if you need a safety net. (Use search to recover archived email.)
Delegate
Is it more efficient for someone else to deal with it? (CC yourself and place a copy in “Waiting For” folder)
Respond
Can you respond in less than 2 minutes? Then, respond & delete or archive.
Defer
Will this take longer than 2 minutes to deal with?
1. Place it in an “Action Required” folder to address later.
2. Add it to your to-do list, then delete or archive.
Do
Can you act on this message in 2 minutes or less (outside of email)? Then, do it & delete or archive the message.
Turn off email on your phone so you only get new messages when you have time set aside to deal with it. (Done! Another win from Robby Slaughter!)
Keep your email program in offline mode while working with folders—you are in control without new messages interrupting your process.
Migration to Inbox Zero
- Create your 3 folders & organize all your other folders into them.
- Delete other folders.
- Set aside a block of time to process the Inbox.
Tags: blog conferences, Blog Indiana
Posted in Live Blogging | 1 Comment »
Doug stresses these are observations & ideas, not rules. He went through his list of things that make visitors bounce, through the alphabet. I, of course, love alphabet themes! Plus, he pulled actual websites from the attendee list—I’d love his thoughts on some of my sites, but I didn’t make the slideshow.
- Address: be sure your address is available. Especially if you have a physical business. Putting an address on your site builds trust.
- Blog: recognized as the personal voice of a business—be sure it is at the forefront of your site.
- Contrast: keep good contrast between background & font colors to make it easier.
- Cross-Browser: check to see if your site is compatible with all common browsers.
- Depth: let’s move past drop shadows and add graphic depth.
- Emphasis/Elevation: 2-second rule (people will bounce fast if they can’t pick out what it’s about.) Sub-headings, bullet points, bold.
- Fat Footer, Flash Blocker, Fold: Put a background image under any flash so there is something for people to see if their browser blocks flash. Keep important information above the fold but add details in the large footer to help navigate large sites.
- Graphics: Watch bright colors as they can be tough on the eyes.
- Headlines: Concise.
- Internal Linking: Utilize keywords & links to to other pages on your site for SEO & content depth.
- Just Enough to Lead, not Qualify: Every feature doesn’t need it’s own page & link on the home page. Pare the landing page down to usable info.
- Keywords: The landing page needs content the search engines can read. (Verify what can be read at SEO Browser.)
- Landing Page: You need landing pages that convert—have a call to action. When you tell people what to do, they do it. Put a picture of a button on a home page, they click it.
- Mobile: Websites need to be mobile optimized. Give people what they need to know when they visit your site form a mobile phone. Anchor tag for telephone numbers: <a href=”"tel:number”>number</a>
- Navigation: Keep it simple so users can find what they need.
- Originality: You can buy stock web designs, but come up with a unique twist.
- Phone Number: Be sure people have a way to contact you.
- Questions: Your landing page should answer the questions people are coming to ask.
- Registration: Provide a registration form so potential customers can contact you. (Sidenote: Adding an email form on Inexpensively at Jim Kukral‘s suggestion earlier this month resulted in a 20% increase in RSS subscribers in just 2 weeks.)
- Search Engine Optimization: Get off of Blogspot or WordPress.com (P.S. The hubby can totally do that for you!) because all your authority is going to someone else’s site. You want backlinks & Google juice coming to your own domain.
- Twitter: Display your social integration, but don’t let it distract from your site’s content & purpose.
- Ugly/Unecessary Pages: Avoid!
- Video: People click play when they see the arrow. Promotional videos can get people to stick around.
- White Space: Symmetry & space
- eXtra Content: Provide something extra—ebooks, demos, etc.
- You: Get rid of stock photos and use yourself! People want to connect with you.
Speaker: Doug Karr, @DouglasKarr
This is a live blog—an unedited version of my notes. It is not meant as an exact transcript but I try to capture the highlights along the way. I’ll fix spelling errors & grammar later, when I get a chance to go back. Be gentle, until then.
Tags: blog conferences, BlogIndiana
Posted in Live Blogging | 2 Comments »
This was my 2nd BlogHer, 6th blogging conference and who knows what number conference as a whole. It is, however, the only one that seems to be all about the swag. I know it wasn’t their intent. I had the immense pleasure of joining Elisa Camahort Paige, co-founder of BlogHer, on Red Plum’s Viva la Value radio show.
She spoke of the conference origins, their desire to connect brands with women bloggers and where she sees it all going. I distinctly remember the “Where are all the women bloggers?” conversation that apparently kick started BlogHer. In fact, I’m pretty sure I blogged about it, but that post is long gone. The conversation was primarily about politics and it didn’t take me long to realize I don’t want to be a political blogger.
I also don’t want to be a product review blogger, but that seems to be the only way brands want to work with bloggers. I spent a lot of time in the Expo hall and brand suites, asking PR and brand reps what they hoped to get out of the conference—how they wanted to work with bloggers in the future. Those we spoke to in quiet settings or one on one at parties were so great about answering our questions, and we brainstormed great ideas about how to work together.
But, from my experience in the Expo hall, we were mostly right. Many of the brands just wanted to get their free stuff into our hands, in hopes that we’d write about it later. There just has to be a better way for brands & bloggers to make intelligent connections. Not that I’m anti-swag—I am very excited about the Yummie Tummie headed to my mailbox, and I’ve eaten more of the 1-800Flowers popcorn balls than you’ll ever get me to admit—but it needs to happen in a way that makes sense.
Rather than write a review of Yummie Tummie, I talked about how it helped with my 40×40 list. Instead of writing a review of the Traverse that carpooled me to BlogHer, I’m sharing fuel efficiency tips from Chevrolet on Inexpensively. It is important for me to find ways to connect the brands I love with my readers, in a way that is relevant for the site.
As a result, I visited less exhibits and spent a lot more time talking with each company. I may have less swag. I may have attended less parties. I may have missed out on some pretty cool freebies. But, I came home with solid contacts, specific ideas and great additions to my editorial calendar.
Tags: BlogHer
Posted in Brands & Products, Conferences, Niche Blogging | 4 Comments »
Here it is the end of July, and I never published a list of June articles. Then, I realized there weren’t even that many of them so I’m lumping everything together for the summer. With my girls home from school, and my recent eye issues, I haven’t been as productive as I would like. Good thing I get to take another Slaughter Development session at BlogIndiana—I need all the help I can get!
Right now I’m busy preparing for BlogHer. I’m organizing a breakfast for fellow frugal bloggers while we’re in NYC—I’m so excited but super busy preparing for everything. I have managed to contribute a few guest posts:
I met Vinny at Affiliate Summit West earlier this year, and we’ve both been participating in the Yakezie challenge. When he asked if I wanted to guest post, I had a lot of fun tailoring some of my favorite tips to fit Bargain Secrets.
Nicole and I first bonded over our shared airline luggage issues. (By the way, Southwest finally sent me an airline voucher for my trouble, which I used to purchase MFJ’s ticket to NYC for BlogHer.) When she tweeted about needing a coupon 101 guest post, it just seemed natural to respond.
Without the summer schedule & work-at-home plan I shared with A Proverbs Wife, I wouldn’t even have this much productivity to report. Adding the extra work of organizing a large event with the challenge of being blind in one eye made following the plan just a little difficult. But, it’s a good plan and has served us well for many summers.
Media Appearances
I’m speaking at BlogIndiana next month on how to utilize traditional media to build your blog. It’s excellent timing since I just received such a huge traffic surge through a CNN article. I am also excited to have Fox59 back on my schedule again. Starting next week, I’ll be stopping by the morning show each month to share some of the best deals for the month. For August, we are (of course) talking about back to school bargains.
Fave Articles from My Own Sites
I’m working behind the scenes on a few projects I had hoped to launch already, but it’s been all I could do to keep up on my current sites. The worst thing (for a blogger) about my eye problem is the light sensitivity. Backlit screens are difficult for me—I can’t spend a lot of time in front of a computer. Even when I do, I’m often wearing my sunglasses. Cuz I’m cool like that. Still, here are a few of my favorites for the last couple months:
We didn’t upgrade this time around but we’ve upgraded & replaced 2 iPhones with no out of pocket cost.
While I’m all about living inexpensively, some things are just beyond cheap.
I really thought we were going to go broke with the kids snacking at home all day.
One of my biggest mom fails? I kinda don’t like to play with kids stuff. Here’s my list of games that don’t totally suck.
Training camp starts next week—football season is officially just around the corner!
Posted in Guest Blogger | No Comments »
I stumbled on BlogIndiana just last year, via Indy’s vast Twitter community. I was invited to speak on 2 panels – and really enjoyed the entire experience. Shawn & Noah put together a great, local program. And, I am honored to be a part of it again this year.
BlogIndiana will be in downtown Indy on August 20th & 21st. My session is titled The Blog That Press Built. See that list of media appearances on the right sidebar? I’ll be speaking on how to capitalize on press mentions to benefit your blog.
I am counting down the days to the 2-day event – it’s a great weekend with the Indiana blogging community. I’m looking forward to seeing friends, meeting new ones and learning from some of Indy’s greatest blogging talent.
Plus, I have a coupon code for you! Earlybird registration ends Friday ($79 per day or $149 for both), and you can save an additional 10% on your ticket when you use coupon code SPEAKTOME10. I hope you’ll join us!
Tags: blog conferences, BlogIndiana
Posted in Conferences | No Comments »
When I first received the invitation to Ford’s Green Technology event at NAIAS, I just set it aside—I’m not really a car person, I won’t be in the market for a car for quite some time and I’m not exactly the right demographic for an international auto show. 
Personally, I would give my left eye to drive a T-Bird—and, not just because it’s nearly useless anyway.
