Submitting your Work to Blogs, Summit of Awesome

I attended a bunch of session at The Summit of Awesome -a three day crafty conference held in Portland, OR a few weeks ago.

I was fortunate to meet Kim Werker from Mighty Ugly and Jena Coray from Modish. They co-led a session on how to submit your work to blogs. When you submit your work to mainstream magazines, keep in mind that submitting your work to magazines is a completely different beast from submitting work to online venues. The biggest difference is the amount of lead time lead time necessary for print venues. It takes months and months to get an issue to print so be sure to check their publication schedule.

If you want them to write a blurb about your work, send them information about what you do, your contact information and a great image. Convince the editor that your work will please their readers.

Press releases are overly formal and irrelevant these days. Be sure to keep everything short and to the point. Your goal is to make the editor's life easier. If your goal is to get more in depth coverage like an artist profile, you want to be an active participant in the community.

The best people to pitch at a magazine are the Assistant Editors. If you can't find contact information for them on the website or in the magazine, contact the Managing Editor to find out where to direct your inquiry.

You want to tailor your pitch to places that share the same aesethetic as your work. Don't send fabulous, edgy indie work to Martha Stewart. If you want to pitch your work to bloggers, make a list of your favorite 20 blogs in order of importance. Pitch your first choice first. Always address the blogger by name in your brief email. Send them a link to your website (always double-check that it works!) and most importantly: be casual and be yourself.

Don't bcc a bunch of people at once. Contact each blog or website in order of importance. Let them know if it will be original content and you have never been featured before. You should only contact multiple folks at once if they don't have the same readership. If you don't hear back after a week send a polite follow up email. Then, contact the next blog on your list.

Keep in mind that above all else, good photography is the #1 reason people get featured. Make sure you take the best pictures possible or hire a photographer. You can have the best product in the world,but if you submit terrible pictures, you will have a hard time getting people to take you seriously.

Now get out there and do it, peoples!

Location:14th Ave NW,Seattle,United States

Summit of Awesome Day 2 (or why am I afraid of Heidi Kenney?)

Day two of The Summit of Awesome. I never want to leave this place. Really. Except that my sweet husband is not here - is trip is perfect.

We got ton the summit in time to have "breakfast" which was basically your choice of plain pound cake, pound cake with nuts or an apple (my only complaint so far).

I was really looking forward to my first session which was with Heidi Kenney from My Paper Crane. She was really engaging and funny but also sort of shy at the same time. As though she can't quote figure out what all of the fuss is about. If you've seen her stuff you know what all the fuss is about.

She talked about how she manages it all. Her first experience writing a book and how she got started in thte craft world before there were really any resources for people. Anyone who started when she did just had to figure it out for themselves. Anyway, I was planning to ask if I could take her picture after her talk...but for some weird reason I just couldn't make myself do it. She's like craft show famous and stuff. So someone go tell Heidi that I need her picture to complete my Summit of Awesome blogging experience.

I also attended a session called "Monetizing Your Website and Online Advertising Basics" by Sara Dick and Christine Ernest from Hello Craft (the two cuties below).




Here's what I learned:

Step One: Develop and define your online audience.

Check out http://www.Compete.com. It's a website (obviously) where you can plug in your URL and someone elses URL and see how your traffic and demographics line up. It is really useful when determining what sites to advertise ON as well as useful information you can provide to potential advertising purchasers.

Other similar resources are http://www.Quantcast.com and http://www.Sitemeter.com

Which stats matter and what do they mean?

Unique visitors: individuals who visit your website. They may visit multiple times in a month, but they are only counted once.

Page views: the total number of pages that are visited on your website during a specific time. This helps determine how sticky your website is.

Step Two: Define your inventory and create ad packages There are basically two types of ads: image and text. Text ads are best used in email marketing campaigns. If you are selling ads in an email marketing campaign you should be able to tell people what your open rate is (the % of people who open your emails).

Step Three: Define Ad specs

Specify what file types you will accept. .jpg and .gif are the most common.

File size: you should specify around 50kb or less. Ad dimensions: what size ads will you accept? Many craft websites and blogs use square 125x125 or 150x150 Check out http://www.Iab.net for standard sizes and advertising specs.

Step Four: Implementation

Think about where you will put the ads and what that means to your advertisers. Ads that are above the fold (shown on the top of the screen so you don't need to scroll down to view them) are more valuable. Also, ads closer to your content are more valuable because people tend to ignore ads in groups. That said, you also have to consider what the experience is like for your users. It's a fine balancing act

Step Five: determine which model you will use.

The simplest is a static ad that stays in the same place for a set period of time.

You can also use Share of voice: # of impressions forecasted divided by # of impressions purchased= sov% you sell sov on a cpm basis - per 1000 (cost per 1000 impressions or number of times the ad will be shown on the site)

Cost per click (cpc) ads are shown on the website until they receive a specified number of clicks.

Step Six: Reporting standards

It is customary to send the customer a screenshot of their ad being displayed on the website once the ad begins running. Check out http://gyazo.com.

Clicks: let your customer know how many clicks their ad received during the time it was running.

Impressions: If available, let your customer know how many times their ad was shown on the website.

Click through rate = # of clicks divided by impressions.

That's the end of your lesson. More soon. In closing, enjoy these pictures from the party tonight at Land during the tour of the Buy Olympia warehouse.

The Summit of Awesome Day 1

Day 1 at The Summit of Awesome and before 6 hours have even gone by I've made my own name tag, attended two sessions, screen printed a t-shirt with the conference logo on it, made my first zine, watched a man receive a Shower Art (http://www.uglybaby.Etsy.com) and become a bit bewildered, stolen a t-shirt from a nice lady and eaten tater tots.

I can only wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Today I attended Danielle Maveal's session called "Unblocking Your Creativity." she put together a little zine handout with some exercises to help you realize your creative potential. One of the tasks was to make a list of the top five reasons you aren't able to do the things you want to do - what is holding you back. Then, you make a list of why each of the reasons you gave is total bullshit.

Touché Danielle. Touché.

I'm leaving the conference with something tangible that I can use to call myself out in my free time. Watch it self!!

Here's a picture of Danielle looking kind of sick of me saying, "Look cuter. But don't move. Nope, cuter." it's a rough process, but just look at the results!


I also attended the session on Getting Press for Your Business with Kari Chapin (author of Handmade Marketplace) and Christine Ernest (Hello Craft).

I learned some great stuff and was relieved to know that I probably don't need to write a really official press release-ey press release but that I can contact folks online and introduce myself and my projects that way.

If a traditional press release is up your alley, here are some tips I learned:

Figure out what your hook is.

Figure out what season you want to promote yourself in. Do your products male great gifts? Are they more of a back to school item? Figure it out.

Depending on the type of publication you are sending your release to, you should time your pitch accordingly. For example, releases to national magazines should be sent 3-4 months in advance (or six months for holiday pitches).

It's important to target your release well. Know who you want to send to and why. Know what you want from them and consider whether you are prepared to receive press. Will you be able to fulfill orders and keep up with demand?

If you are targeting online publications and blogs then great photographs are essential. If you are emailing images to someone, only attach low resolution files and let them know that high resolution images are available.

Create an About page with high resolution images and quotes from customers that bloggers can refer to for more information.

Always follow the submission guidelines to the letter.

Always address people by name.

Make it as simple as possible for them.

If you can find a features editor and make them your best friend, you should. Or, if you can get a gig as a features editor, take it. The compile e products for montages in printed magazines. Look in the masthead of any magazine you think would like your products to find the listed features editor. Write to them directly and introduce yourself.

Make a fact sheet with lots of bullet points about your products. Include lots of white space so the amount of information isn't overwhelming.

In closing, here's a cute picture of Kari. Yay, Kari!

Location:NE 33rd Ave,Portland,United States

Handmade name tag

Create my own nametag. Check.

Location:Summit of awesome

The Summit of Awesome

I'm on my way to the Summit of Awesome and testing out my iPad on the way. I haven't figured out how to upload pictures yet so you'll have to enjoy this random image of a squirrel instead of something timely and poignant.


He's CUTES!! You can read all about the Summit of Awesome and check out the schedule here: http://www.hellocraft.com/2009/04/summit-of-awesome-announces-awesome-schedule/ If there's a session you're really quite interested in hearing a report about holler and I'll see what I can do. More soon.

Location:On a train bound for Portland

Best Thrifting Scores Ever

Today I found out that there is a blog devoted only to thrift stores in the Puget Sound.

Did you hear me?


I SAID THERE IS A BLOG DEVOTED ONLY TO THRIFT STORES IN THE PUGET SOUND. 

No, I'm sorry to yell, I just didn't think you seemed excited enough so I figured you probably didn't hear me.

The blog is called Thrift Shopper and it profiles the different thrift shops in the area and announces when they are having sales. Um. Thank you. Seriously. This is awesome.

I found out today that a new Value Village opened in Crown Hill and that they were having a 50% off sale. Guess where I made my husband go today? Yep, Value Village in Crown Hill is correct.

We got all kinds of cool stuff: games with alphabet tiles in them so we can make more Shower Art, 4 pairs of jeans, I got a blazer and a pile of pillowcases because I'm obsessed with embroidery right now. But let's forget about that for now.

Let's focus on a couple of really special items.

Like this coffee mug, for example.

You can see that it has the words "old fart" across the front. How wonderful is that? Could you pass that up for $1.99? Could you pass up the opportunity to drink coffee out of that mug on a regular basis? No, I submit that you could not. Neither could I.

The mug is great and all, but now I have to introduce you to Under Cover Cat:

Yeah, that is an Under Cover Cat. Let's get a close up because you may miss a few of the details: 

There we go. Now, do you see the GUN sitting in front of the cat? Yes, the Under Cover Cat has a GUN. He does. Plus, that beige fabric behind him is a TRENCH COAT. Yes, yes it is. 

Now, you may still be kind of unclear as to what exactly this is. Let me try to explain using phrases I find on the box: 

"Read the story. Assemble the secret puzzle. Solve the mystery"

So it must be like one of those super dumb murder mystery party games. But with a cat. A cat who has a GUN. 

"Story by John Lutz" -- and you open the box to find a biography of John Lutz: 

"John Lutz has written many short stories and novels including the novel on which the movie "Single White Female" was based" 

Wow. So he had to have written Under Cover Cat AFTER his gig with Single White Female. Which means things are not going well for John Lutz.

It goes on to say: 

"He has won numerous awards, among them the distinguishes Edgar Award."

Um....yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that he didn't win the distinguished Edgar Award for "Under Cover Cat." Are you with me?

Elsewhere on the box we get this description: "A knuckle gripping story...." Let me just stop you there. What the heck is "knuckle gripping?" That is not a thing. That is so totally not a thing, I don't even know what to say to you.

So, let's go over this again: It's a mystery. There is a cat with a GUN. It was written by the guy who wrote "Single White Female" after his life took a turn of some kind. It is knuckle gripping. And it is also a jigsaw puzzle. 

WTF.

If you would like to own Under Cover Cat, leave a comment on my blog, Facebook or Twitter explaining why you deserve Under Cover Cat and I will choose a winner. There is only one rule: you must read the story, do the puzzle, and report back later with your review of Under Cover Cat. 

It's like you'll be on assignment. Really, really dumb assignment.

Out of Line

I've been staring at this grey dress by Out Of Line for about a million years. Yesterday, some money I wasn't expecting landed in my lap.

So I finally bought it.

Here's a closeup of the stitching at the neckline: 

I can't wait to get it in the mail! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee