As blog creation experts, we couldn’t help but cheer when we read this L.A. Times piece about Trufflepalooza. Not only is food blogger Erika Kerekes a brash and friendly food innovator, but she now throws the summer food event in Santa Monica. Kerekes is an example of how powerful the food blogger has become. For the last four years, she has opened her home to 100+ guests to enjoy a dozen or so dishes all centered around truffles. Even the desserts are filled with the luscious, earthy delights. The price tag for all of those rare truffles? Zero. In exchange for massive PR on her blog, Kerekes gets the truffles of Trufflepalooza for free from an Italian truffle purveyor.
This tasty blogger event synergy supported by small business sponsorship got us thinking: What are some ways we can sponsor blog events? And can our corporate blogs throw their own delicious parties?
First off, when it comes to sponsoring blogging events, it’s all about finding a great match. Local restaurants are a no-brainer for food blogging events — likewise with furniture stores and home decor blogs. The main thing is to make sure your business and the bloggers will pair perfectly with one another. You wouldn’t want to sponsor a mommy blogger event if your business wasn’t family- or kid-friendly, for example. Sponsoring an event can mean anything from providing the location to donating cash for the bar to giving items for the goody bags. Chat with the bloggers and come up with the best way you can contribute to the event while providing a platform to get the word out about your business.
Local bloggers are always getting together or looking for an excuse to network, so why not cook up your own event by using your company’s blog? If you have a bakery, use your blog to showcase wedding cakes and then sponsor a wedding cake tasting for bridal bloggers. If you’re a clothing designer, throw a sample sale or runway show for local fashion bloggers. And so on. These events don’t have to be massive, tented affairs to get press. Remember, Kerekes throws her party in her house in Santa Monica. Just give yourself time to promote the event. At least 30 days to get the word out (45 to 60 is even better). Use your website, social media and, of course, your blog to promote your blogger event. Lastly, whether you’re hosting the event or sponsoring it, be part of something that is well-organized and really fun for readers and consumers to attend. You want your brand associated with cool events and getting tangled up in a disorganized hot mess of an event can bring only heartache.
Okay readers, it’s your turn. Would you attend a blogger event? Have you in the past? And just for the heck of it, how do you feel about truffles? Tell us in the comments section!
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