Guest Post by Joscelyn Ramos Campbell & Jewels Figueras

In the corporate world, networking and educational development for potential opportunities and partnerships is crucial to the advancement of a business. The same concept and principal applies to the blogging and digital landscape.

Participating in blogging and social media conferences, webinars, and events is important to the improvement and growth of a blogger.  However, the cost of attending conferences and events can be expensive.  Most bloggers need to seek sponsorships to help offset the fees associated with attending.   A commonly asked question amongst bloggers is how to approach a brand about potential sponsorship opportunities.

The following are a few key tips in helping to secure sponsorship:

• Create a professional sponsorship pitch. Sponsors receive daily pitches so sponsorship pitches should be professional looking, brief, and to the point.  Important to include in a sponsorship pitch are:
• Introduction – A description of you, your blog, and social media influence (blog stats, Twitter followers, Facebook likes)
• Fees – A brief synopsis of the conference or event and the fees associated with attending (transportation and lodging costs, conference ticket)
• Services – In exchange for sponsorship, what are you and your blog willing to provide? (Live tweeting, announcement of sponsorship and recap post, wearing company apparel, banner ad space, handing out samples or product information)
• Contact sponsors who have previously worked with your blog. If a brand has worked with your blog in the past, they have first-hand knowledge of some of your capabilities.  A more customized approach and pitch can be tailored to match the needs of a brand or corporation that you have previous experience with.
• Be sure to check with the conference about specific personal sponsorship guidelines.  Most of the larger conferences will have their own policies. While they understand that you may need help with conference costs, keep in mind that the conferences sell sponsorships as well. Many perks are reserved for official conference sponsors.  Be respectful of the rules–do not promise personal sponsors things that may be in conflict with official conference sponsors.
• When estimating costs, don’t forget to include incidentals like ground transportation, parking, meals, and tips. Be aware of any mandatory “resort fees” at your hotel.  For a multiple day conference, these can quickly add up.
• After the conference, provide your sponsor with full reporting.  Include key metrics like Twitter hashtag impressions, number of samples given out, and readership stats for blog posts about the conference.  Ask for honest feedback and use it to tweak future sponsorship pitches.

If you can’t find a sponsor, do not be discouraged.  Continue to approach brands you have worked with or brands that are a good fit for your blogging audience. Other options are to save for conferences, i.e. purchase an early bird discounted conference registration, participate in conference sponsored twitter parties to enter for a chance to win free conference ticket, and apply to become an official conference media partner.  Official conference media partners usually receive a free conference ticket or conference pass in exchange for media coverage.

Joscelyn Ramos Campbell is the Founder of Mami of Multiples , one of the nation’s leading Latina parenting and lifestyle blogs.  Follow Joscelyn on Twitter @JoscelynRC.  

Jewel Figueras is an award winning blogger  at Jewels Fab Life, writer and social media consultant.  She lives with her family in the South Florida area.  Follow Jewel on Twitter @TheTinyJEWELBox.