Yesterday I spoke to a group of Utah event and meeting professionals. I used this graph to show that meeting pros were using social media to promote their events.

I also learned that if you’re an event pro, this is the Twitter hashtag to use to share information on Twitter: #eventprofs

Meetings & Conventions Magazine did a survey to find out how meeting pros use social media. They are using what I call the big 3: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Ways meeting pros are using social media include:

post event information
post postevent photographs & materials
researching suppliers
researching speakers
reseraching potential employees
seeking jobs

I propose that more meeting professionals seek to have bloggers attend and participate in their events. Why? Because of the links, traffic to your web site and buzz it can create for your events.

Make your events “blogger friendly” - meaning

1. Invite bloggers and treat them like VIPs.
2. Have a special section for bloggers (we like hanging out with each other).
3. Make sure there are enough plugs (for their computers, etc).
4. Make wifi easy and accessible.
5. If you have a blog be sure to link to their posts about the event.
6. Create a hashtag about the event so people can label their tweets and everyone can see them by using the same label.

Case in point (a rather dramatic one):

I recently attended an event at a local bookstore with famous blogger The Pioneer Woman. She’s a publishing sensation because her first cookbook made the NY Times bestseller list (here’s the NY Times article about Ree Drummond)Thank to her blog she had thousands of people willing to stand in line to meet her at bookstores all over the country. Some people waited over 5 hours to see her.

I blogged about the event. So did a lot of other bloggers (Like Carina and Allison. She linked to our posts). We linked to each other’s posts. I continue to get thousands of readers to my blog as a result of those new links.

Why did we get all of this traffic and attention (and is it deserved)? Because we blogged about an event that had a lot of uzz. I think the fact that we did it quickly (right after the event) and our posts got linked to. We’d all be linking to their book store too.

I’m not trying to beat up this store - I actually want independent bookstores to survive. Blogging is part of that because getting written up on a respected blog will introduce readers to new authors, get more people to your store, bring new people to your events, etc.

What if the event planner of this event (the bookstore) had done what we did? Every time they bring in a big name they could let bloggers know and invite them to a reception with the author. You get a famous librarian, you invite the librarian bloggers to attend. They write about the event and probably buy books and their audience buys books. You could even grease the wheels and have a copy for them and a few signed copies for them to give away on their blog.

Even if you’re not drawing social media extroverts like this group is, a blog is often well-respected by search engines and even one link can introduce you to new networks and higher rankings.

Think of how you might engage with bloggers with your events. Don’t leave it up to chance. Invite them. Think of it as media coverage that’s much easier to get than the traditional outlets.

I attended the social media awards last night near Salt Lake City Utah. It was a fabulous event and many of my favorite people were there. I was so excited when Nate (@BigBags) won. He was pretty blase about it though (just kidding).

Others include Jordan Kasteler (@utahSEOPro), Thom Allen (@ThomAllen) Rachael Herrscher (@todaysmama) and so many more.

I was happy to win an award for Best Social Media Content Guru

It felt so star-studded - I’m sure it will get bigger each year. As far as I know this was the FIRST annual awards ceremony like this. Pete Codella (@codella) Roxy Cross (@RoxyCross) and others did such an amazing job planning the event.

My favorite person (who I didn’t know) was Josh Hanagarne of WorldsStrongestLibrarian.com who has Tourette’s Syndrome. He used his blog as a way to communicate when he couldn’t talk and to document his journey to become stronger. He spoke about how he was shut off from others and then the blog gave him back his ability to socialize again. Seth Godin found his blog and told him he had to write a book and put him in touch with his agent.  I want to buy a copy and have him sign it when it’s done. He told his story so beautifully it inspired and moved us all.

I finally got a photo to send Sorel boots (so much for losing 15 lbs first, but who’s complaining when I can talk easily!) I call them my social media boots because they came about because of Twitter. It’s still a bit too warm to wear them regularly.

Check out all of the social media award winners.

Just in time for the holidays - retailers are starting early this year. Walmart is introducing weekly sales until Christmas - and selling an HP laptop w/ 3GB memory for $298!

Want to find deals on fashion and clothing? Check out these discounters (most are high end so though you may find a deal it’s still going to cost you $$$ - think luxury):

Gilt.com
EditorsCloset.com
HauteLook.com
RueLaLa.com
OneKingsLane.com (home decor)

To get notified when your favorite brands go on sale: ShopItToMe.com

Not Luxury, great prices - I just picked up some luggage from Overstock.com. Next up a travel/pocket jacket that can fit my Kindle.

This is my first audio blog post. It’s about this company my friend Jeff started called EmailYourVoice.com - I will be an affiliate but I don’t think I’ve got it set up yet. So to be clear, I’m not getting paid for any of this, I’m doing it to see how it works. Basically, EmailYourVoice it’s a service that records you talking and after you hang up it sends an email with a link to the audio file and player.

In the meantime LISTEN to my first time trying it.

It really is just my first impression of the service. My only feedback is they need to tell you to just hang up after you’re done. I pressed pound and wasn’t exactly sure if it recorded. Now my dedicated phone number is in my cell and I can imagine all sorts of ways to use it. To speak my blog posts, to send to contractors explaining what I need them to do, to record my to-do list, etc.

It’s free to try out for 7 days. Let me know what you think if you decide to try it.

This post about killer press release tips ran on Small Business Trends last month.

Let me tell this to you straight: most journalists will never write about your company or product.

Why not? You are not newsworthy! When I say newsworthy, I mean something new in your business that someone besides you (and your team) cares about.

So you know what I recommend? Coming up with a great story, essentially pre-write the story. You’ve done most of the work for the writer, be they a journalist or a blogger. While some may want to write their own, many will be able to simply tweak what you have. Saves a lot of time.

Another thing: most press releases that news organizations receive are deleted or thrown away. They are never seen by anyone else. But here’s a secret – online it doesn’t matter because you decide what gets published. All you need to do is write a press release and distribute it through an online news portal. But first, you have to have a killer idea.

Top Five Press Release Ideas

1. Publish Case Studies, Data and Surveys
   If you have research to share, a press release is a great way to do it. So maybe you looked through your customer list and found that small businesses with a blog get 5x more traffic to their web site. Expand that and send it out!
2. Make Lists
   Just like this article, you can create stories around a list. Information like “The 3 Mistakes Most Small Business Owners Make,” “How to Build Muscle like a Bodybuilder Pro,” “Small Business Trends Names 5 Best Online Tools for Small Businesses,” or this one – “5 Ways to Wear Leggings this Winter” make good stories.
3. Publicize a Good Cause
   This is the story about how you and your team took the day off to serve homeless youth. Or how OfficeMax is helping teachers by donating school supplies. Look for these type of “feel good” stories and write them up in a press release.
4. Give the Major News Story a Local (or your) Spin
   You’ll need to act fast to capitalize on this opportunity but it can be worth it. When big news hits and you can add your take, you can be a local expert on the topic. Recently my video editor made a video about the Typhoon in the Philippines where he lives. It got more than 40,000 views on YouTube. He could’ve sent out a press release with the video embedded in it.
5. Highlight the Strange and Bizarre
   This idea can go viral more quickly. Find the odd, sensational, strange and deranged to write about. The stranger the story, the more likely you’ll get publicity from your press release. This is extreme marketing. You can find examples on Digg by searching for a general term. If you’re a dentist, search for “teeth.” Follow that link and you’ll see one of the top stories is how monkeys teach their offspring to floss. You could send out a press release about that and how monkeys teach their kids to floss, why don’t humans? Another site I like for bizarre ideas is Trend Hunter.

Hopefully this inspires you to write your own press releases. Most businesses overlook many opportunities to send out a press release. They make this one common mistake: they make it about themselves first, not the story. Once you do that you’ll turn most people off right away, including journalists.

Use these tips and write your own killer press releases – and you’ll get media biting. And if you don’t, please distribute your news online and blog about it. Then people can find your story regardless of if media picks it up.

Blogging rock star Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) was in Utah to sign copies of her new cookbook tonight. I wanted to meet her. So did a lot of other Utah bloggers. Like Dooce (another rock star).

In the photo @inevergrewup @DomesticBecky @sweetlifeinthe @thepioneerwoman @joanieatwater @carolrice @emihill @newspapergrl and we are at @kingsenglish

What I wished happened:
The King’s English bookstore booked a bigger place and listened to me when I warned them that Ree was drawing huge crowds and I didn’t think they were prepared. I also wish they had invited a delegation of the biggest bloggers in the state to meet Ree for a reception beforehand. But that’s not how this went down. Thank you for bringing Ree and her cookbooks. Please communicate with everyone more clearly about how things will work and make it easier (and avoid fights).

What actually happened:
There are so many people we can’t get in the building. Instead, we’re standing outside in the dark with hundreds of other women. There’s no way we’ll hear from or get to meet Ree but we see her walk by and it is so Hollywood.

I came up with a plan earlier. I called Utah bloggers April and Joanie Atwater and ask for their help. April is queen of getting product donations. So I asked her if she could get a gift basket we could give from the Utah bloggers. I bring the card and have everyone sign it. She brought a basket of products from this great state. After all, Ree said this was her first time here. We wanted to welcome her.

(and we did welcome her! Here are the blog posts)

Sweet Tooth Fairy
Georgie Tees
Get Up and Play
Newspaper Girl
Utah Loves Cupcakes
Jet Set Carina
Moosh in Indy
Miranda Walker
Petit Elefant
Jules Keeps the Rules
Two Peas and Their Pod
Food Finery

So what does this have to do with Jason Gough? Or Dooce? Wait.

In the crowds of people I see Dooce (Heather) casually stroll by. We all notice and ooh and ahh. I decide since there’s no way we’re going to see Ree we may as well meet and get pictures with Dooce. It goes well. I get another idea…and ask Heather if she knows Ree. Of course she does and that’s when things start moving.

While we’re waiting to see Ree I remember I had a boss named Jason Gough who told me about Dooce years ago. At that point I didn’t know any other bloggers and was already pretty addicted to blogging. I think I was close to being Dooced myself. I could only remember Jason’s first name. So I ask Heather if she knew a Jason with fiery red hair. Eventually it comes to her and with great theatrics she says Jason Gough. They went on two dates!

So I tell her how I went on a date with the same Jason who later ended up being my boss. It was a blind date. We almost got arrested for trespassing. He ended the night by saying it was the worst date of his life. And he felt guilty for saying that for the next 10 years or so. I forgot about it (I don’t have a great memory anyway and some things bring on instant amnesia). I just really needed that job and there was something keeping me from getting it. In the interview [God intervened] I got an idea to ask Jason if there was a chance we’d ever been out on a date. Yes, bold of me. I still managed to get the job.

So there it is. Dooce and I went on a date with the same person. On the same night I met Dooce for the first time, I got to meet Ree. Who is just as down home and charming as she seems on her blog. And who seemed to like hanging out with us too.

I’d never heard of this until this year but if you’re interested in affiliate marketing, you should check out the Affiliate Convention. It’s in Los Angeles California on December 3 – 4, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza hotel. Cost? NOTHING.

You know how I started as an affiliate marketer? I heard someone in a class I was in talk about how he won tickets to Affiliate Summit. I got tickets and went and it really helped me. Up until then I didn’t know any other affiliate marketers and didn’t really know where to start. I met super affiliate and friend Jeremy Palmer, interviewed him  for a story in a magazine and later started my own affiliate web sites.

So if you have any interest in affiliate marketing this is a great chance to learn more and to meet other affiliates. The convention is FREE for affiliates to attend. Their last convention had more than 1200 attendees with 87% of them being affiliates. Speakers include, the Marriott, The New York Times, Oprah.com, Danny Sullivan, etc.

Even though it’s free, you still have to get there and find a place to stay. So they’re running some fun promotions, including a video contest where one lucky winner may attend the conference All expenses-paid/VIP-style. Also, stay tuned and I’ll have hotel discount codes for you.

Affiliate marketing is perhaps the best way to make money online that there is. You refer people to other web sites and make money doing it. I love it. It’s a great way to make a residual income.

I want to go!!

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When life gives you grapes crush them into wine!

This metaphor captures the essence of the book and Gary’s personality and style. On the plane ride to the American Muslim Consumer Conference, I pulled out my Kindle and read Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk. Here are my thoughts.

I love the story about his lemonade franchise that he started as a kid. I can picture him driving his big wheel around to collect the money. From a young age Gary was ambitious. For example, he worked in a wine store read about and studied wine before he was allowed to drink any wine. How many kids do you know that would do this, who would show that kind of initiative?

I have to warn you, that no matter how passionate you are, this book might make you feel terribly bland. Only because Gary is very passionate. I want to know…do you ever burn out? Even if you love what you do, how can you keep the hours?  Those questions were not answered but I must point out that most business owners deal with these issues. Gary seems immune to them, which is great, but not typical. His optimism is endearing though…just not sure it’s sustainable to that level. Those who do sustain it pay the price sooner or later (we all have different capacities).

Part of this narrative is one of a 2nd generation immigrant who watched his parents work very hard to establish themselves. This is interesting to me as I attend the American Muslim Consumer Conference and hear how American Muslims are often 2nd generation immigrants — 2/3 is the number quoted.

Summary of Crush It!:

• I have tried putting hours & hours into my work and it means my family life suffers immensely. You should see the drop in my blog stats when I got married last year. A free fall.
• I couldn’t make it on the schedule he proposes and I work pretty hard at all of this. Plus I love it and am passionate about it. I’m more of the 4-Hour Workweek persuasion than putting in such long hours. I do agree that you’ve got to constantly learn and inform.
• I highly disagree with his advice about not trusting analytics. Many times our gut feelings are wrong
  and we need to look at stats to see what actually works. Maybe his gut is more accurate than
  mine. In my experience, what works and what doesn’t is very unpredictable. I’d say don’t be a
  slave to analytics if it stifles your creativity. I wouldn’t say to ignore them entirely.
• Gary reminds me that you choose a medium you’re good at and stick to that. I’m a writer and I want to be someone who is comfortable in front of a camera, but so far I’m not. So if this was a video blog, I’m not so sure you would come back. I can tell video is his medium and it’s not necessarily writing. Not that this was poorly written, it just can’t capture Gary at his best - on video.
• Some of the book was elementary and gave an introduction but not enough specifics. I’d give some
  actual tools and URLs. I know they change but I’d appreciate knowing what plugins or services he finds useful. Sometimes he does this well, other times I think he leaves too much for the reader to guess.

If you too would like to Crush It! (run your own business around what you’re passionate about) but need a pep talk, then get the book. And if you do decide to buy the book, thank you in advance for buying it with my affiliate link. [Note: I get probably a dollar if you buy and read this book using my link to Amazon].

Make Me Media Savvy: The Art of Courting the Press is an ebook written by a professional Australian journalist. The target market is the DIY crowd, individuals or business owners who don’t want to hire a PR firm but want to be in print.

The author has 15 years experience in print, television and online. She doesn’t give her name because she feels revealing these secrets will hurt her career. However, we have chatted many times and she’s legit (and quite approachable).

In the book she shares “the knowledge used by the world’s big PR firms and major corporates to garner publicity in some of the biggest (and smallest) media outlets, online and offline.”

There are many similarities between the print world and writing an online press release. Both need a strong story (you need to be newsworthy). You should avoid jargon and hype (considered spam online). You should be specific rather than vague in your writing (which helps search engines categorize your content accurately).

She talks about sending your press releases to people (journalists) while I talk about pitching to a search engine. Here are other tips she shares:

• How getting in one publication can help you become a trusted source for other publications.
• How to introduce and establish yourself as an expert that journalists will call.
• Why you should start with smaller publications first.
• If you’ve never written a press release she gives sites where you can see examples. Study the styles and learn from them. She also includes a press release template.
• How press releases are like resumes that you should tailor to the specific person you’re sending one to. This is something I hadn’t thought of. Don’t do this online (create multiple takes on the same news), it doesn’t work well. When you’re doing blogger outreach (pitching to bloggers) or participating in social networks relating to your news, you should craft the message to fit their angle or interests.

The book is being expanded but I don’t know what content she is going to add. The advice is very straightforward. I would like to get more information on presenting information once the journalist calls.

I make the same point in my book, that when you’re dealing with the media you must realize that they are usually overworked, underpaid and on deadline. Understanding how they work and your role is crucial to getting their attention.

Unfortunately, as I’m well aware it’s much easier to read about how to pitch to a journalist than to actually do it well. I’d almost suggest preparing some sound bytes or interesting information about your business or expertise that you have prepared so you can deliver it clearly. I’ve learned a bit about speaking with the media this past month, through my own mistakes.

Thank goodness I can’t talk too fast and that I can edit and re-write what I’m going to say when I’m pitching to search engines. They have a bit more bandwidth too. But print is not dead and if you could use some coaching reaching journalists, read this book. In fact, we should offer a package deal! I’m convinced you need both print and online exposure and the two can reinforce one another.

I just returned from the American Muslim Conference in New Jersey. It’s the first one and so I must commend them on an excellent job. Like many market segments such as African Americans, gay/lesbians or Hispanic marketing they started out small and fragmented but grew strong and profitable. The American Muslim community is beginning that process. First they must define who they are.

Did you know that Hispanics are the fastest growing part of American Muslim population? It is so diverse from an ethnic point of view and yet we think of Muslims as being from Middle Eastern countries.

From a religious angle I strongly identified with the balance between living your beliefs and fitting into society. It’s interesting and inspiring to see the passion and strong desire in many to live their faith in everyday life. It’s certainly much more challenging for them than it is for me! It was nice to not be the only one who does not drink. I also liked the emphasis on healthy eating (great food).

According to the Pew Foundation, the more someone gets to know Muslims the more they view them favorably (from Rafi Shikoh of Dinar Standard). I felt many times I needed a guide to the sayings and culture (or even how to pronounce unfamiliar names) and that I needed to get to know Muslims better myself. There is not a strong community of Muslims in Utah (that I know of) or anywhere I’ve lived.

Is this faith-based marketing? Cultural marketing? Socially responsible marketing? All of the above? I’m not sure.

How can you advertise to Muslims? There is an ad network: www.muslimadnetwork.com and a social network called Muxlim that is based in Finland and is doing deals with big brands around the globe. Interestingly they got VC funding from investors in Sweden. They plan to expand into other niche content on mobile phones, television, etc.

Issues facing advertisers:

• The market is fragmented, non centralized
• There is a lack of major nationwide brands (still a very entrepreneurial community)
• Some brands may not fit — some Muslims are very selective about the products they are open to. For example, some are not open to highly processed foods or soft drinks.
• Their dietary laws are very specific and different from mainstream society.
• I enjoyed the parallels with socially responsible business practices where many dimensions are considered. For example, there is common ground with vegetarians, those concerned about high food prep standards, the environmental movement, healthy eating, etc. I thought that a business like Niman Ranch natural beef could easily reach this community (they have a gluten-free line and could have a Halal line also). Then they could advertise on a site like this site about Halal food that gets 1 million hits/month & yet no ads.
• To pitch Muslims online, target specific Muslim terms (Halal, holiday names, wudu, financial terms, etc) in content (news, ads, press releases).
• There is quite a large presence of Muslims on social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. This makes a strong test market where marketers can engage with the community, ask questions and build trust. So for example, if Niman Ranch decided to release that new line, they could tell Facebook Groups such as I [heart] Allah a group with over 800,000 members. They could partner with brands like Cresent Foods that concentrates on Halal chicken but wants to get into beef products. Both want restaurants to carry their lines.
• The community is open to marketing messages and engagement and this to me is the most interesting. Why do Muslims welcome advertising targeted at them? Because to be marketed to is a form of acceptance, marketing is part of the fabric of our society. So when we specifically market to Muslims it’s a signal that they are part of the mainstream rather than feared, misunderstood, marginalized, etc.

Please forgive and correct me in the comments if I got any of these facts wrong. Most of the time I was taking in the scene and not reporting on it and this is a market that I knew almost nothing about. Thank you for inviting me to be your guest today.