If you’re heading to Blissdom or any other conference this year, you might be thinking about securing a sponsor to help with conference costs such as your ticket, travel, or hotel. It never hurts to reach out to brands that you know to ask if they are interested in sponsoring you, but your request will be better received if you can explain to these businesses what a blog conference sponsorship entails. I’m happy to share the blog conference sponsorship template that has helped me secure sponsorships to Bloggy Boot Camp, BlogHer, and Blissdom.
Securing A Blog Conference Sponsorship
1. Follow the rules! Before you go any further, look into the rules that your conference has set up with regard to blogger sponsorships. Many conferences don’t have posted rules, but I can safely say that the Blissdom conference sponsorship guidelines could easily cover any conference. In a nutshell, nobody should know that you’re sponsored unless you tell them. Gone are the days of wearing a business logo on your tshirt or handing out coupons for a business. Today’s conference sponsorships should look more like a long-term blog sponsorships: sponsored posts, a sidebar ad, and maybe a brand logo on your business card.
Blissdom Personal Sponsorship Guidelines
2. Look around you. You don’t want to pitch the same companies that everyone else is pitching. Take a long look around you to find companies that are a perfect fit. Is there a printing company that you have been using for years? A hosting company that you want to spread the word about? How about your favorite snack? These are all great places to start. Look up the media contact information and start sending emails!
3. Give it your all. You can’t send 3 emails and say you tried. Send 10 and hope for one response. Send 15 and hope for a yes. It never hurts to ask a company if they’re interested. Even if they can’t afford your full sponsorship, they may be able to cover your hotel for the weekend or a few meals!
Some conference sponsorships that I have had in the past (to give you ideas):
- My favorite lip balm paid for my ticket to Bloggy Boot Camp and sent me with 50 lip balms to pass out to other attendees.
- My BlogHer ’11 trip was part of a group sponsorship (more about that soon!) that included monetary partnerships with Twist & Pout, Lexus and Toyota, Platypus Hydration, SMO stickers, Fry’s Food, and Angie’s Kettle Corn. Chick-Fil-A, Zone Bars, and Chiquita were kind enough to provide road trip snacks.
- The awesome clothing company DownEast Basics was a clothing sponsor for Blissdom ’12. That means DownEast Basics provided clothing for our group to wear during the conference. We were definitely the best dressed ones there! Angie’s Kettle Corn was a monetary sponsor.
Are you ready to pitch? Do you have your list of email addresses handy? It’s time to use my blog conference sponsorship template to get you started!
Usually, I begin by emailing the company and asking if they’re interested in partnering together on a conference sponsorship (“I’d be happy to send you my media package if you’re interested!”). If you don’t receive a response back within a week, I’d touch base again. After I receive a “yes! I’d love to hear more about it!” or something like that… I send my media package out, which includes this form and a media kit that includes blog stats, information about my blog target audience, and social media reach.
Conference-Sponsorship
Good luck with those sponsorships!
