Bloggers register to participate on SheBlogs.org and HealthyBlogging.net, and after an application process, can access information and participate in these promotions. For marketers, TheBlogWire.com offers an online portal for distributing these news announcements – and serves as a jumping off point for large corporations and small business owners who are interested in getting started with or continuing their blogger outreach efforts.

Now that we’ve heard the experts share with attendees how to approach marketers, market blogs to businesses, monetize, and otherwise engage with brands, we want to hear from you. Our team is looking for some social media and blogging mavens to share your how-to guides on approaching bloggers – everything from the basics of appropriate pitches to crafting social media strategies that truly engage.We also have opportunities for contributors to write for our SheBlogs.org’s BlogU, with informational posts that will benefit bloggers – ranging from 101 level posts to targeted, advanced and niche posts to help educate the community.

While these guest posts won’t be paid positions for now, we will be including a footer biography and link to your own blog/website, and our guest posters will be first in line for paid opportunities in the future. Have an interest in participating? Fill out the form below and we’ll contact you to get you started!

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SheCon and the trail-blazing women of the Web:
http://blog.ning.com/2011/05/shecon11-and-the-trail-blazing-women-of-the-web.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4dece9155004ab37%2C0

How SheCon and Guy Kawasaki Enchanted Me:
http://thecareereffect.com/2011/05/how-shecon-2011-and-guy-kawasaki-enchanted-me/

SheCon 2011 Recap: Guy Kawasaki’s Enchantment Speech
http://www.carriewithchildren.com/2011/05/guy-kawasaki-enchantment-keynote-speaker-shecon.html

SheCon Shout-Outs: What Happens in South Beach…
http://www.holdinoutforahero.org/?p=5320

SheCon Shout-Outs Continued: Although Thank-Yous Never End:
http://www.holdinoutforahero.org/?p=5367

SheCon 2011: Expert Pregnancy Advice:
http://www2.webmasterradio.fm/specials/2011/shecon-2011-expert-pregnancy-advice

Webmaster Radio Meets Mommy Bloggers At SheCon:
http://www2.webmasterradio.fm/blog/webmasterradio-fm-meets-mommy-bloggers-at-shecon.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The SheCon Blogger Conference 2011:
http://www.valerieatlarge.com/the-shecon-blogger-conference-2011/

SheCon 2011: Sleep Innovations Interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IttTs2GAa38

SheCon 2011 Conference Recap:
http://gypsyentrepreneur.com/shecon2011-conference-recap/

SheCon 2011: Day Two Recap:
http://gypsyentrepreneur.com/shecon-2011-day-2-recap/

How I’m Using Twitter Now:
http://leladavidson.com/how-im-using-twitter-now/

ShePower At SheCon:
http://www.clever-copy.com/blog/she-power-at-shecon-2011

With our professional backgrounds in the social media and Web space, Michael and I have a profound respect for the early adopters who make each business venture possible – for their time and voice in adopting a product, service, or – in this case – event; for their feedback and input that helps shape an initial startup idea into a viable business model; for their support through the ups and bumps of getting a new event off the ground.

It is because of this that Michael and I are pleased to announce our Founders’ Badges. For those attendees who participated in SheCon 2011, we are offering a lifetime VIP pass to all future SheCon events, with special perks, bonuses, and VIP access that we’ll be building on yearly.

Among the perks we’ll be including for our 2012 event will be:

- VIP designation and access to special events, sessions, and networking opportunities

- Free WiFi throughout the convention center

- Access to our VIP lounge for lunch, snacks, and beverages throughout the event

- Access to a VIP reception for SheCon Founders, Speakers and Exhibitors

Most importantly – these passes will remain 100% free for all of our founders. One of the most important pieces of feedback – and most valuable lessons learned from our freshman event – is that we need to charge for our conference passes to ensure accountability for registrations. While we would love to have our event remain free for all attendees, there were many passes that went unclaimed at our registration desk, and more than 80 women on our waiting list (and countless more who contacted us via email, Twitter, phone, or through social media) who were unable to attend because our event was “sold out.” To ensure accuracy in reporting for future events, we’ll be instituting the following ticket levels for SheCon 2012 and beyond:

- VIP/Founders Badge: This badge is by invitation only, and available only to those women who registered for and attended SheCon 2011. We’ll be announcing the full list of VIP perks for SheCon 2012 in the last week of August – stay tuned for more details!

- Full Blogger Conference Pass: This application badge will be available to bloggers who are coming to the event for educational or networking purposes on behalf of their blogs. Interested participants will be reviewed by our attendee panel (as attendees were for SheCon 2011), and accepted bloggers will be charged a fee of $99 prior to December, 2011, and $149 thereafter up through our 2012 event. This fee will cover catered lunch and WiFi access at the convention center.

- Full Marketer Conference Pass: We’ll have a limited number of marketer passes available for purchase in Spring, 2012 for those marketers who are interested in auditing SheCon 2012, who were unable to participate as sponsors or exhibitors for the event. These passes will be available for $249, and will include lunch and WiFi access at the convention center.

- Expo Hall Pass: For those attendees who are interested in touring our expo floor and meeting with sponsors, we have a limited number of free expo hall passes. These passes will grant access to the designated expo hall ONLY, and will not include lunch, WiFi, or access to any of the educational sessions or networking events throughout the weekend.

We’ll also be implementing a new requirement for registrants. We understand that conflicts arise, plans or finances change, and situations prevent attendees from coming to conferences. However, we ask that all attendees who register for a pass provide us with notice if they are unable to attend, so that we can accommodate one of our waiting list participants. Those attendees who register for passes but do not claim them at the registration desk (without prior notice) will be unable to register for the following year’s event.

I wanted to take a moment and make you aware of a change that will be taking place with SheCon 2011, and the reasons why we feel that this change will be in the best interest of our attendees, speakers and sponsors. Due to unexpected scheduling conflicts with our original venue, we would have had to cut away a significant portion of our programming – ending at 3:30 pm on Saturday and canceling all of our scheduled Sunday sessions, cutting our event nearly in half.

Because our goal is to provide attendees with the most valuable, comprehensive educational experience possible, we felt that it was necessary to find an alternate location, and have decided to move our conference to a venue that would be able to accommodate our full schedule. We’re confident that we’ve found a dream match in the Miami Beach Convention Center, and have been hard at work ensuring that our speakers and sponsors are comfortable making the move with us.

The Miami Beach Convention Center, and our partner hotel, The Shelborne South Beach, are the same distance from Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport as our previous venue (heading South instead of West), and our new location on South Beach’s white sand shores, will offer guests the same picturesque vistas and relaxing atmosphere, providing newcomers with an even better experience of South Florida.

Our partner hotel, The Shelbourne, is offering guests tremendous perks and deep discounts to ease our transition. For a nightly rate of $132.50 (Nearly $20/night less than our original venue and 40% off their regular rates) plus a $25 per night resort fee, our guests are able to enjoy one of South Beach’s most iconic hotel destinations (that will be unveiling its rennovated interior for our group!), a free daily breakfast, free in-room WiFi, private beach access with all the perks of a beachfront hotel, and a complimentary happy hour from 6 – 7 pm daily. This will be the official SheCon daily happy hour, providing excellent networking opportunities for our guests from around the country.

For those who want to share with attendees the variety that South Beach offers, our new location (on 17th and Collins) is within either walking distance or a short commute to the city’s hottest spots.

We hope that you will support our change in venue, and hope that our new venue will not cause you an inconvenience. For those guests who have already booked at the Bonaventure, you can call 954-616-1234 to cancel your reservations. Please notify us if you have any trouble with your cancellation so that we can do our best to help.

Well the time is here! This month in conjunction with SheCon, Chevrolet is hosting a blogging challenge to award ONE lucky blogger the opportunity to ‘Drive Green’ and be environmentally friendly for an entire week.

In order to enter the ‘Chevrolet Drive Green Challenge’ you must be a creative blogger, who thinks outside the box and tell us what you would do if you had a Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid for a week.  If you’re up for the ‘Chevrolet Drive Green Challenge’ please create your own blog post and link it to General Motors’ regional site DrivingtheSoutheast.com.

Submit your posts by noon on Friday, May 20 and the winner will be selected by both a Chevrolet and SheCon representative. The winner will be announced during the first day of the SheCon conference on Friday, May 20th after the closing keynote being held in the Grand Ballroom has concluded.

How do I sign up?

You must be 21 years of age or older to enter this challenge, have a valid driver’s license, live in Florida or Atlanta and link your blog post to Drivingthesoutheast.com.

The winner will receive a Chevrolet vehicle loan certificate that will expire in December 2011. Vehicles and loan dates are based on availability and are subject to be changed if required. During the time of the loan, driving will be limited to the Southeast region which includes states from Virginia to Florida.

Email Angie Diaz with questions or for additional details.

The DeWafelbakkers team has a special message to share with attendees:

For 25 years, DeWafelbakkers has been bringing love, peace and happiness to breakfast tables across america.  We manufacture high quality frozen pancakes and waffles with made from scratch taste that your family will love.  We’ve coupled the convenience of the present with the tradition of the past to make breakfast a special occasion.   We are happy and excited to be part of this year’s inaugural SheCon Conference.  Come by our booth and let’s celebrate!

Before SheCon:

• Catch up on SheCon news and announcements through our newsfeed
• Interact with fellow attendees for ride shares, roommates (roommies are to be booked at your own risk – we won’t be able to swap roommates during the conference, so be sure to find a roommate you’re compatible with!) or general questions about the area (take advantage of our local attendees’ expertise when packing, planning for travel, etc).
• Build a profile page to promote your blog and presence at SheCon
• Network with fellow attendees who share common interests, coverage areas, or geographies so that you can get together at the event
• Coming Soon: Ask questions of our speakers in our Speakers’ Corner, comment on our sessions and provide speakers and panel moderators with a list of questions you’d like answered during their presentations

During SheCon:

• Share media from sessions and events, including photos, videos, blog posts and notes
• Communicate with fellow attendees to set up meetings, informal happy hours or get togethers with ladies that share your interests
• Stay up to date on what’s going on around the resort with status updates, forum posts, and alerts from SheCon

After SheCon:

• Share your media from SheCon 2011 with fellow attendees
• Stay in touch with new friends you met at the conference
• Share your blog posts and other coverage of the conference with attendees, sponsors, exhibitors and speakers
• Stay up to date on SheCon 2012 planning and news from the SheCon team!

• It’s no new piece of insight that women – particularly female bloggers – are some of the most powerful consumers and, increasingly, some of the most influential media on the Web. With an attendee list of (nearly) 600 registered bloggers, with an anticipated 750 by May, your brand will have the opportunity to engage with, and potentially build long-lasting relationships with, an amazing and diverse group of women who reach, collectively, more than 160 million monthly unique readers.
• Our bloggy attendees are professional. The SheCon team has had the privilege of working with many of our attendees through our SheBlogs Network, and we’ve reviewed every registered attendee carefully, getting to know our attendee’s blogs, coverage areas, and interests. The group of women who are preparing to “take Ft. Lauderdale by storm” (according to a Facebook page post) are gifted writers, professional media representatives, and interested in responsible brand relationships.
• Customization. We aren’t looking for exhibitors and sponsors who are going to plop in a standard expo booth, hand out a few samples, and swap business cards. We’re looking to work with sponsors and exhibitors who are seeking creative and INTERACTIVE ways to engage attendees. Whether serving as our event’s official coffee provider or bringing aestheticians onto the expo floor to provide personalized skincare consultations, we’re working with all sponsors and exhibitors to create the most customized and engaging presences for our attendees as possible.
• Our cost to value ratio makes SheCon a compelling event for brands that have even small marketing budgets. With some of the least expensive expo hall booths of the year, and the quality of the attendees, you’re sure to find a group of bloggers who are interested in sharing your products or services with their audiences.

If you haven’t already, email us to get your sponsor/exhibitor kit and schedule a call to speak with us about how your brand can have a presence at SheCon 2011!

American Standard Brands is a leading North American manufacturer of a wide range of high-quality building products, including faucets, fixtures, furniture, vitreous china fixtures, cast iron sinks, whirlpool tubs and other wellness products for the bath and kitchen as well as decorative panels. The company currently offers total project solutions for residential and commercial customers; employs more than 5,000 people in the United States, Canada and Mexico; and markets products under well known and respected brands, such as American Standard^®, Jado^®, Porcher^®, Safety Tubs^®, Crane^®, Eljer^®, Fiat^® and Decorative Panels International^®. American Standard Brands is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners. For more information, visit www.americanstandard.com.

1. Be Prepared And Be Businesslike. Put together a sponsorship one sheet that clearly outlines the costs, benefits, and sponsor options. Have a basic sponsor agreement ready for them that outlines your obligations to them and their obligations to you. Decide ahead of time whether you’re looking for multiple sponsors, or if you’re looking for one sponsor to cover all of your needed expenses, and base sponsorship packages and opportunities around that choice.

2. Be Creative. There are some easy benefits for sponsors – ad space on your blog (and our website!), wearing a tee shirt with sponsor logos, attending as a brand ambassador. But there are some creative opportunities to stand out from other bloggers who are looking for sponsor dollars as well, and these may help you close your deal, even if you aren’t the largest blogger (by circulation) that’s pitching a marketer:

• Take your brand ambassadorship to the next level, by hosting a pizza party for a select group of bloggers in your hotel room, or hosting a mini-happy hour or Tweetup (we have breakout rooms available during the day, or you can make a reservation or stop in to one of our bars, lounges or restaurants in the evening).
• If you’re working with a cosmetics sponsor, consider a mini spa meetup, handing out samples and offering tips (provided by your sponsor) on how to maximize their glam potential. This would be a great opportunity for pre-SheCon evening parties, to get attendees glammed up and looking fabulous for the cameras. Sponsors would cover your costs, as well as the costs of food/beverage, products, and they get a solid, tangible ROI for it. You can even offer to have guests sign a welcome sheet with their information (but you have to disclose that you’ll be sharing their information).
• Promote their sponsorship online before the event, and offer to host a contest or giveaway (e.g., “Find me at SheCon and give me your business card for a chance to win a XYZ product from ABC Corporation, my SheCon sponsor”)
• Find a wardrobe sponsor, and offer to wear their clothing in exchange for help with travel and lodging. You become a walking billboard for their latest fashions (and get some great new outfits to wear at the event!)
• Work the booth. For sponsors who are taking part, either as exhibitors or sponsors, extra hands may be useful for handing out promotional materials, chatting with fellow attendees, or spreading the word about a sponsor/exhibitor presence. It’ll mean you’ll have to miss some of the sessions, but it may be the benefit that a potential sponsor is looking for.

3. Be Thorough. When it comes to sponsorships, ROI is the bottom line. A business wants to know that their expense is justifiable, and that they’ll see a return for their investment. Instead of just offering to wear a sponsor’s tee shirt, offer to follow up with them after the event and offer a report of what you were able to accomplish for them: how many bloggers you talked to about their brand, how many samples you handed out – and to whom (remember – you MUST let fellow attendees know if you’ll be sharing their contact information with a third party). Offer to include tracking code on their banner ads or on a post announcing their sponsorship so that they can get a sense of what the return was for them.

4. Build Relationships. If you’re attending multiple events in one year, it’s tempting to seek a different sponsor for each conference. However, if you do a good job representing one company, you can build a relationship to represent their brand at the events they won’t be attending, or as support to their team.  Include a “first right of refusal” clause for future conferences, ensuring brands that you’ll give them a first chance to sponsor you to attend future events.

A few requests from SheCon regarding your sponsorships:

We’ll be posting our schedule with after events and sponsored parties in March. We ask anyone who’s hosting a mini-event be respectful of those sponsored parties and work around them for scheduling (dinner time is a great time to host a pizza party, for example, and we won’t have anything scheduled during that time). We want to be sure that our event sponsors see value in their investment, particularly when it comes to an investment like a networking reception. We also ask that bloggers not hand out product samples or promotional items on the expo floor or in meeting areas so that we aren’t competing with those sponsors who have paid for booth space – and with that investment – made our free event possible.