How to Get a Blogger Conference Sponsorship

Some bloggers have pre-conference garage, eBay or Etsy sales to raise money so they can go to a conference. Others put donation boxes on their blogs or do some freelancing or paid posting to save up before their trips. One of the best ways to get much if not all of your expenses paid for is to solicit blogger sponsorships.

How to get a sponsorship

Pitching a PR agency or the marketing department of a company for a conference sponsorship is like that old adage, it can’t hurt to ask and the worse thing that can happen is that they say no (or don’t respond at all). Still, there’s a right way and a wrong way to pitch a conference sponsorship. Here are some tips that have worked for me.

Who to ask:

• What PR firms or companies do you have relationships with? Who have you worked with in the past at blogger events or doing reviews or giveaways on your blog? These are the people and firms that know you, your brand, your influence and hopefully your worth.
• What brand or product would you feel comfortable representing? Is it a good fit for your blog? Yes, we all love ice cream, but if you have a weight loss blog it may not be the best product to sponsor you.

Remember all the times you took the time to politely turned down a pitch or didn’t pitch a fit when a PR person goofed up a giveaway? This is where all your relationship building can pay off.

How to ask:
I find that an emailed pitch works best. But I’ve also tweeted asking for conference sponsorships – and then followed up via email if I found out that someone was interested. Other bloggers have created a special page or badge on their blogs advertising that they are looking for sponsors. All are good ways to get the word out that you’re looking for sponsorship opportunities.

When pitching a potential sponsor via email, you should:

• Tell them about the conference and why it would be worthwhile for them to sponsor you and your blog. Give them information about the conference (don’t assume they know about it). Include links, and target market and demographic information if possible. (Look on the conference’s website under advertising to get this data.)
• Give them detailed information about yourself and your blog(s). Do you have marketing experience? Have you spoken to groups or trained people? Where are you online besides your personal blog? They’ll want to know that you’re comfortable socializing with strangers and will represent yourself and their client or company professionally.
• Include your Twitter, Facebook fan page, and RSS feed follower numbers. If you have an enewsletter, include the number of subscribers. Don’t forget page rank and traffic numbers as well.
• Finally, be professional when asking. Make sure you spell check and proof your email. If they say no, be respectful of their decision and mature enough not to bad mouth them online. After all, sponsorships may not be in their budget or something they feel is worth their time and money this year.

What can you offer?
In exchange for their patronage, you may offer to:

• Provide them with a detailed written report on the conference. They may be more interested in “insider information” like who was there, and how did the brands and the bloggers interact, than in having you pass out freebies. After all, paying you for your time is cheaper and more productive than a busy staff member leaving the office for a few days.
• Get the word out on their products or services by passing out coupons, products and promotional goodies.
• Tweet about your sponsorship, the company/brand, and any activities you’re doing on their behalf.
• Post updates on your Facebook profile or fan page.
• Post about them on your blog before, during and/or after the conference.
• Conduct giveaways before, during and/or after the conference.
• Take video and photos for their company website of their product “in action” at the conference.
• Put a badge about the sponsorship on your blog, Facebook fan page and/or Twitter profile.

Setting your price
The hard part is determining what to charge for your sponsorship. One way to do this is to figure out an hourly wage for yourself and multiply it by the number of hours you think you’d spend working on their behalf.

On the other hand, the PR agency or company may have a fixed price in mind. For example, they may want to only cover the conference admission price. For this, they could ask you to do just a few activities, for example write up a couple of blog posts or pass out sample coupons to fellow attendees.

Other agencies may want to know about all your expenses (travel, food, lodging, conference fees, etc.) and are willing to help defray most of the costs in exchange for a variety of activities. Remember, the more they pay, the more they’ll want you do.

Also, be prepared to create a professional looking invoice for the PR firm so they can present it to their client. While you may ask that they pay you before the conference, some may only pay after you’ve completed the work. I’ve been paid both ways.

Getting your travel expenses comped
Travel related businesses (hotels, motels, resorts, theme parks, etc.) are used to giving away complimentary (“comped”) rooms and passes to freelance writers and journalists. I’ve been told by travel writers and bloggers that the best way to do this is to contact tourism boards (city or country) to get free rooms and even meals in exchange for blog reviews. If you get pitches from PR people representing hotels, try them as well.

Other concerns
If you are a shy person, you may not feel comfortable approaching people at a conference to give them a promotional item or coupon. Be honest with yourself and your potential sponsor about this. Instead, offer to do activities that are within your comfort zone, like blogging or tweeting.

Be professional. If you are being paid to represent a company at a conference, be on your best behavior. News that you acted inappropriately will get back to your sponsor as well as other PR and marketing people. Sure they’ll honor your contract (yes, many companies or PR agencies will ask you to sign a contract outlining your duties) but don’t expect them or their colleagues to pass any other opportunities your way.

Be polite. There’s an appropriate time and place to pass out your product samples and coupons. Barging in on others’ conversation is not the way to do it. Instead, make it a point to connect with people at the conference and then ask if they’d like a coupon or sample. I found the best times to do this were at breakfasts and breaks, or just when I was hanging out with new acquaintances and old friends. People like free stuff as long as you’re not in their face and obnoxious about it.

Finally, communication is key. Make sure to report back to your PR or marketing contact all the things you did for them after the conference is over, so they can report to their client or boss. Email them links to posts and tweets, and a few pictures, too. And make sure you thank them via email and on your blog for their help in making it possible for you to attend a blogging conference. Hopefully, the experience will be positive enough for you to attract other blogging sponsorships.

Anne-Marie Nichols is the Social Media Manager at Mom Central Consulting. You can also find her blogging up some healthy recipes at This Mama Cooks!

Anne-Marie Nichols