CyberMummy - Some tips on getting a sponsor

I had such a big response following my post offering to help bloggers hook up with sponsors for next years CyberMummy that I've put together a short guide on how to approach brands and establish mutually beneficial working relationships with them.

1. First and foremost, identify the brands that you would like to work with.
Make a list. Aim high but also be practical. Don't just target anyone and everyone.
To be a good honest brand representative you need to have some natural rapport and feel good factor for the product you are endorsing. Start by thinking about the products that you love and use every single day. If you know and are passionate about a product or a brand - your sell in to the PR is already halfway there.

2. Think small too.
At last years conference we had a lot of small brands that I managed to match with bloggers. These brands really wanted to tap into the conference but didn't have the budget to meet full conference sponsorship packages. Again, research the people you are approaching. Sponsorship isn't about take, take, take. You have to offer something valuable in return and more importantly you have to follow through on your end of the bargain.

3. Part two of your planning list should include brands who have previously reached out to you.
You might not have actually worked together in the past but that prior contact is a great starting point for a conversation. If they have contacted you it shows that they already see the benefits in working with bloggers. Be direct - ask them if they would consider sponsoring you to go to CyberMummy. Back this up with a good solid case as to why they should. For example, you have children in their target age range, you already use and love their products.

4. Be honest...
You need to have a firm idea of what you actually need to cover your conference trip.
a) Ticket (£80 till 31/12/10).
b)Travel, check to see how much it will be - there are great train deals to be had if you book ahead).
c) Hotel, if you need accommodation get a price first.
Offer this information freely to your potential sponsor. Break it down so that they can see that you are being honest with them and back it up with a list of things that you are offering them in return.
Be innovative and creative when putting together your side of the deal but I don't get so caught up in the gratitude of your sponsor that you agree to a tattoo or to give birth live on their website!

5. Be professional.
Be innovative and creative when putting together your side of the deal but I don't get so caught up in the gratitude of your sponsor that you agree to a tattoo or to give birth live on their website! Put together a proposal outlining what you are offering in return for sponsorship. Here are a few basic things you could offer. (See post on CyberMummy blog for more ideas.)

• A blog post about the product / brand and a giveaway.
• Share link to their site or service on Twitter and Facebook.
• Carry a badge or an ad on your blog for a specified period.
• Offer original copy for their website.

Then throw in a few extras when you have closed the deal like announcing your sponsorship in a post, on Twitter and Facebook just to prove what a great choice they made in sponsoring you!

The opportunities to attract and work with sponsors are limitless but be practical. Don't over inflate your sponsorship costs and be prepared to share your own blogs vital statistics.

If you need any further help or advice you know where I am! Good luck - and see you at CyberMummy11! 

If you would like to read some more tips about working with brands head over to the BMB Blog and read Natalie Lue's guest post 9 Tips on how to work with brands

**UPDATE**
I have a brand looking to sponsor London based bloggers with children aged 2 to 5 years. If this is you leave a comment with your Twitter id and I'll be in touch for more info.

The Gallery.....Red

There was only ever one pic for the Red theme of this weeks Gallery. I love, love, love this pic of FunnyGirl, way back when she was only about 9 months old. If you have ever stopped by my business website you will have seen it before - but what a perfect image to promote my company?

Not so horror but cute beyond words.

If you have just stumbled across this post - do head over to Tara's blog for The Gallery linky, that will go live on Wednesday morning. You will find some amazing blogs for sure.

The new Stokke® Xplory®

On the whole I love my job. I get to travel, meet lots of different people, advise them on how to get their ideas to market and to support them right through the process.

Then I have my big accounts and the passion that I have for them is every inch as consuming as it is for my start ups.

I've just come back from a few days at the UK's biggest nursery trade show in Harrogate. I spent time with all of my clients, met with ad reps and journalists, drank and ate (don't get me started on the Soft Shell Crab from the best restaurant in Harrogate!).

This years show had an added element for me as it was my big Stokke® press reveal and the culmination of months and months of preparation for the whole Stokke® team.

As you know I don't often harp on about my own clients products but I love this so much that I just cannot help myself.

People of the blogosphere....... I bring you the new Stokke® Xplory®.......

Inside Xplory's new super slick, uber cool exterior you still get all of the stuff that made me fall head over heels with Xplory® when it launched back in 2003. I was one lucky mummy back then. Brought on board to launch this revolutionary stroller in the UK, I was already a Stokke® mum through and through. 

FunnyGirl slept in her Sleepi and each of my little ones had Tripp Trapp's. I walked away from my first meeting with my new clients with one of the very first Stokke® Xplory's in the UK.
I loved it with all my heart - and for a self confessed pushchair geek that is pretty hardcore. My Xplory® love has never died and despite the odd couple of things that I might of modified if given the chance I wouldn't have given it up for the world.


Then I saw the new version......
It took my breath away (in a sad geeky kind of way). I got excited.... really excited... the new curved form of the footrest with it's new single handed operation. The soft ready assembled bright new fabrics that encapsulated the seat to make it feel like a welcoming cocoon. An extra large hood with a pop away visor offers more protection from the elements and no messy fabrics hanging from the opened hood.
Did I mention the shopping basket? Seriously..... there was nothing wrong with it before. I know from personal experience that you could get four pairs of boxed new shoes in there and still have room for a trip around Selfridges... But now it's even bigger.
A new sling style changing bag that attaches easily from the chassis no matter which way your seat is facing and a celebrity blanket that poppers on to the hood eliminating the need for the manky muslin square that adorns way too many strollers  (in my humble geeky capacity) and a snazzy new red brake completes the new Rider board modified chassis (did I tell you I named the Rider board??!! Of course I did... proudest pr moment!).
Of course all of the strollers original innovative features remain. All the seat positions, forward and rearward facing, seat up and down and the super cool two wheel function. Giving you a stroller so totally fab that I'm thinking that I'm going to need a new baby.

That is just the standard stroller though.... there are extras.....
But I think I'm going to keep you waiting for a few more days to tell you about them! That is the PR in me.... sorry!

The new Stokke® Xplory® is available in the UK from the end of April. For those of you who already own an Xplory® and have the needing torturous urge to upgrade, new seat units are available to buy and they will fit onto your existing chassis.
The beautiful new colours are, beige, red, blue, purple, green and dark navy.
For prices etc... pop over to the official Stokke UK blog StokkeLovers.com

My 2010 mood board

I have been pulling together my review of the year post for the last couple of days.... but I'm still only at May! So when I saw this post from Rosie Scribble my Blythe sister, who had nicked the idea from Not Super Mum who nicked it from ThatGirl, I thought - what the hell.....

So please enjoy my personal mood board of inspiration for 2010.

From top left we have.... 

1. My hubby, the amazing Yan To - having just launched his first womenswear collection he will be showing at On/Off in Feb.

2. My new kitty Cheryl... she is a super oft Cornish Rex and my new baby! Did you know that she has her own kitty blog at TotallyKitty?

second line from left....

3. FunnyGirl.. the funniest kid in my life - she brings light and joy to every path she meets.

4. TotallySonny, my no2 son - a geeky scorpio blogger just like me!

5. No1 son.... now off at uni and who would have guessed that he would be planning a career in the media too?

third line from left

6. My new addiction, Blythe. The amazing doll who was originally produced for just one year in 1972 ( the year I was born). Alas she was ahead of her time. I love her style and in all honesty she's as photogenic as ModelGirl!

7. My no1 daughter - ModelGirl (in pic with me). She inspires me and challenges me in equal measure. I love her with all my heart after longing for a daughter for so many years.

8. The dress... I love this dress. My hubby made it for me and it makes me look and feel like a total princess.

fourth line from left

9. ModelGirl in her full modelling glory. She has the ability to be totally amazing.

10. TotallySonny was so excited by my blog that he started blogging himself. Amazing for an eight year old boy.

11. My beautiful custom Blythe once again... this one is for RosieScribble.

last line from left

12. My other new addiction... Big Eye Art. I have loads of pics and if you ever see any at car boot sales or thrift sales, please buy them for me! This is my fav... and why wouldn't it be? Those big sad eyes are so me!

13. My babies.... say no more. xx

Hot News.. Stokke® Xplory® Carries Two....

Yes you have so heard this hear for the first time....

If I had ever been forced to say something that I didn't quite like about the Stokke® Xplory® then it would have been that there was no option if you had a second child to think about too..  But I was lucky and instead of having to worry about my toddler - working for Stokke® allowed me to have a second Xplory®. Did you note then that I was talking in the past tense? 

Hello people..... I bring you the new Stokke® Xplory® Rider...

Stokke® Stokke® give me a Rider do

I’m half crazy – all for the love of you

It will be a stylish marriage

With two children aboard the carriage

And they’ll look sweet - out on the street

On an Xplory® that can carry two…..

It’s a well-known fact in Stokke® circles that toddlers don’t like to give up their Xplory® view of life. Seated high above the other strollers they love to experience life on the move whilst casually chatting away to Mum or Dad.

But, sometimes a new brother or sister comes along and toddler has to give up the prized position atop their beloved Xplory®.

Tears – yes. Tantrums – probably. 

But now we have the answer…….. The Stokke® Xplory® Rider.

Funky, cool and simply the latest way to impress fellow Xplory® babes. The Rider board simply attaches to the Xplory® chassis to allow both children to ride in style.

When not in use, it’s quickly and easily folded away to await its next adventure.

Xplory® Rider is intended for use with only one child at a time and is suitable from approx two years of age. Maximum weight limit is 20kg. 

Hurray!! Coming to a Stokke® retailer near you in January!!! Soo exciting!

Stokke® and Natural mat make organic Sleepi Mattress

Although it may not seem like it, your child spends around 25,000 hours sleeping from birth to seven years, so the Stokke press release says.

As parents we know that this is as essential for our own well-being as it is for our babies. I had personally been through three cots before I bought a Stokke® Sleepi for FunnyGirl and I have always thought it to be a tad decadent saving the most expensive option till last but hey ho!

I loved my Stokke Sleepi - OK so it wasn't really mine but I loved everything about it. The soft curves, FunnyGirls love of sleeping and also the fact that she didn't do that round in circles thing that all of my other children had done. You know where you put them to sleep one and and they wake up at the other!

Stokke® have now collaborated with Natural Mat, the leading manufacturers of organic cot mattresses to create a version of their beautiful natural organic Coco Mat mattress especially for Sleepi®.

Handmade in Devon, the Natural Mat Coco mattress is breathable, self-ventilating, hypoallergenic and offers natural protection from dust mites. Makes me all broody! I just wish that I had a baby to put into mine!

I should also add that the life span of Stokke® Sleepi goes above and beyond the cll of duty. It begins life as an oval mini-cot, perfect for new babies who need a cosy nest. As baby grows so does your Sleepi™ easily transforming into cot. When your monkey starts to climb to climb, you can lower the base and remove a side for independent access. When space is getting tight buy the Junior Bed Kit so that your little one doesn't have to move on.

FunnyGirl has recently moved into her big girl bed but she loves her Sleepi. It still takes pride of place in her bedroom as her sofa and she is usually to be found, snuggles up there watching TV!

Stokke® Sleepi™ Mini Coco Mat Mattress £85, Stokke® Sleepi™ Coco mat Mattress £199. Available from Natural Mat, Lullabys and Back in Action.