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Tips, Advice, and Templates from a Blogger Who Has Been in Your Shoes

Securing A Blog Conference Sponsorship In 3 Easy Steps {Plus A Blog Conference Sponsorship Template}

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If you’re heading to a blog 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.

Are you heading to blog conference and dying to work with a sponsor? This blog conference sponsorship template might come in handy!

 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 this conference sponsorship guideline could easily cover any conference: 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.

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 that I sat next to during the conference.
  • My BlogHer ’11 trip was part of a group sponsorship 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!

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Comments

  3. These are great ideas! But where is the template? I don’t see anything to click on….Could really use the help with a template. :)

    • I lost my link! Thank you for telling me – it’s fixed now. So strange – if I update my post, the link goes away?

      Learning more every day…

      Thank you, Leigh!

  4. Great information!! I too haven’t done sponsership yet, but you make it seem do-able! Thanks for sharing these tips, I’m bookmarking this post!!

  5. Thanks for the amazing information, Becca! I am going to my first conference and will start trying to get sponsors! I have a few questions, but I know where to find ya! :)

    • Ask away!! BBC is a great conference to start with, and an easier one to get sponsors for because of the low cost!

  7. Great tips! As a blogger who has been busy having babies I haven’t made it to any conferences yet, but hope to use some of these tips to work on changing that. Will be sharing this post with friends. thanks!

  8. I’ve always been too scared to ask for sponsorship, but you make it seem so easy! Thanks so much for sharing this information!

    • The worst they can do is say no (or not answer at all). I have been surprised by some of the companies I have worked with! Always ask!

  11. Great tips! This is the first year I’m not going to a conference (sniff, sniff, twins!) and I’m going to miss Blissdom so much!

  13. Becca,

    Thank you for this writing this! As a dad blogger, I have always wondered about sponsorship’s and conferences (yes we actually have a few too…although I have known of a few male bloggers that have attended BlogHe). Your template is an excellent reference in helping bloggers. I know I truly enjoy what I do and I have been looking towards the future. I know at some point I would love to go to a conference and be able to meet some of the wonderful bloggers that i have connected with.

    Aaron

    • Conferences are so fun, Aaron, and you can learn SO much from the right ones!

      I hope to bump into you one day!

  14. This a great resource! I tweeted it out a week or so ago, but it appears that the link is gone now. Let me know if I’m looking in the wrong place… ;)

  16. This is such great information, thank you for sharing and for the template! I’m in the process of creating a media kit and I’d love to see what important information others have included, would you be willing to share yours with me? (mariah(at)gigglesgalore(dot)net) I’m looking forward to attending Blissdom this year and being a community leader…see you then!

    • Hi Kammie,

      I’d wait until the company expresses interest to send the template/media package. It takes time to customize it for each company and I don’t want to go that far until I have confirmation that they are interested.

      Good luck!

      Becca

  19. I love this post! Is there anyway you can send the template via email so I can open it as a Google Doc. I am not able to open it on my computer for some reason. I really appreciate this information, and I will be back to read more on your blog! Feel free to email me livlaughloveblog(at)gmail(dot)com