May

30

Drool Baby Expo Boston Presented by Magic Beans

Filed Under Baby Land, Boston, Events for Moms | Leave a Comment

I love Magic Beans. In fact, I loved Magic Beans way before I was a mom and way before I knew how amazing this little store really was. In case you don't know, Magic Beans is an independent baby gear and toy store with four locations in the Boston area. (Don't live in the Boston area? Shop online at mbeans.com.)

It's the best kind of mom-and-pop type store owned by Sheri and Eli Gurock, literally a mom and a pop. This is evident when you take a look at the neat products that really fit the bill. Parents know what parents (and kids) want and need. Read their story. Visit their stores. Coolidge Corner was their first store, and it's still my favorite. I dare you to go in and *not* find something you or your little one *have* to have.

Beyond my love fest for their stores, Magic Beans has now ventured into hosting an event for new parents (and soon to be parents). They are presenting a new event tomorrow evening called Drool Baby Expo at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. The event will showcase the who's who of baby product manufacturers plus there will be lots of opportunities for attendees to win prizes and go home with a great swag bag.


Drool-Baby-Expo-Boston-Presented-By-Magic-Beans

Read more about the event and buy tickets here.

I'll be there, and I'll share information about the new products over at First Year Field Guide.


May

19

Shopping on the Internet [we’ve come a long way baby]

Filed Under Business & Marketing, Shopping | Leave a Comment

Thank you to BING for sponsoring my writing today. To learn more about BING Shopping Rewards, click here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

My first trip into shopping on the internet was Christmas of 1999.I ordered practically every present from amazon.com or gap.com. It was easy to order. It was close to Christmas so I was hopeful that everything would be fine. It wasn't Let's just say that only about half of the items arrived on time, but I knew it had promise.


Back then, most people were too freaked out by the thought of giving their credit card numbers to companies that sold on online to even try online shopping. Plus, the cost of shipping often made it less expensive to just go to the mall to buy whatever was on the shopping list.


Not so today. In fact, I can order something from a web shopping powerhouse like Amazon tonight at 5 PM and have it in my hands well before noon tomorrow. And, it's more likely than not less expensive than I could find it in a store down the block.


There was some movie in the 90s where the internet bubble was poked fun at by having the main characters running an internet site that sold diapers. Diapers? Are you kidding? Who would buy diapers online? Fast forward to 2011 *not* buying diapers online is the exception not the rule in my house.


The web makes shopping experience very pleasurable when you are searching for a product. No salesboys pressuring you to buy that product that gets him the extra bonus this month. You can discover what real people think about a whole range of products. Bing makes finding that product at a great price that much easier. You can shop by category or brand, and once you find a product, you can read customer reviews and find the lowest price.


I'm currently using Bing to do a little camera shopping. I know I am interested in a digital SLR camera like the Canon Rebel or the Nikon series, but I'm not positive which camera I want to buy.


So, first I take a look at Bing.



Then I type in my search words.



I can thing filter the responses by brands, price range, and specifications of the camera I want. Then I select a product to learn more. This is where I can read customer reviews, detailed specifications, and see who has the product for sale (and for how much).



Not only is it easy to shop, but there is a great bonus to shopping on Bing. You earn points for searching and exploring on Bing. Then you can turn in those points for gift cards and/or products. Register for the rewards program here. Once you are logged in, you'll see how many points in your toolbar in the upper right hand corner of the screen as you search. Here's a quick look at what that toolbar looks like.



What was your first purchase online?

May

13

20 Takeaways from Bloggy Boot Camp Boston - #BBCBOS Recap

Filed Under Boston, Business & Marketing | 1 Comment


I attended the first Bloggy Bootcamp held in Boston on May 7th. Bloogy Boot Camp is a social media conference hosted by The SITS Girls.


The day was full of a variety of great education. In fact, if you are a blogger or want to be a blogger, you should follow the presenters from the event on twitter.

Here is a list along with the session they presented.



Here are my 20 Takeaways from Bloggy Boot Camp Boston:


  1. Define your brand, and do not be afraid of it.
  2. Defend your trust capital. Every time you partner with a company, you give a little a of your trust capital away. Know your sell out point.
  3. WHere you put your attention is where you will get results.
  4. Read Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
  5. Skip the cute headlines on your blog posts.
  6. Discover Google Adwords' Keyword Tool and use it for SEO of your blog posts.
  7. Do one SEO post a week.
  8. When pitching a brand, follow three steps. 1)Tell the brand what's in it for them. 2)Remember it's not about you or the blog. 3)Always talk about the value you'll deliver.
  9. Remember that the languate of business is money.
  10. "Don't send a pitch without a testimonial." - @carolschiller
  11. When pitching a company for something like attending a conference, don't beg. Instead of "sponsor," use "hire."
  12. Discover Picnik.com.
  13. You can't just use any image that you find on the internet. You may be in violation of the Digital Media Copyright Act. Ask first!
  14. When beginning to work with a brand, don't be afraid to modify a contract.
  15. If you are planning on turning your blog into a business, find yourself a good attorney and accountant that are in tune with social media.
  16. Be sure to include "when" you will get paid as part of any contract.
  17. Spell out a Guest Post agreement in an email.
  18. Quantify your influence in your media kit.
  19. Know your audience.
  20. If you have a chance to attend a Bloggy Boot Camp, jump on it!


Check out Business Card Ideas for Bloggers from Bloggy Boot Camp.

May

12

Business Card Ideas for Bloggers [Bloggy Boot Camp Boston edition]

Filed Under A Few of My Favorite Things, Business & Marketing, Events | 5 Comments

Last weekend I attended Bloggy Boot Camp which is hosted by The SITS Girls.


As with most blogging and networking events, there was a lot of business card exchanging taking place. I got a nice pile of new contacts from the day. There were a few business cards that really stuck out (in an awesome way) in the pile, though, so I thought I'd share them with you.


This card is from Kathryn Doran. She runs two sites, coastalchick and The Saucy Bits. She has one side of the card with information and branding for one site, and then the other site of the card has information and branding for the other site. Such a great way to solve the multiple site dilemma. Follow Kathryn on twitter at @thecoastalchick and @thesaucybits.




Printed at Zazzle.com and Designed by Patti from Easton Place Designs




Printed at Zazzle.com and Designed by Kathryn Doran herself using graphics from Coastal Chick


The next card is from Rita from Yippy Momma. This card is printed on a coated stock and is cute, cute, cute! Follow Rita on twitter at @YippyMomma





Front. Printed at moo.com and Designed by Rita herself.




Back. Printed at moo.com and Designed by Rita herself.


The next card belongs to Sharon Sprague from UMommy. I had already met Sharon through Boston Parent Bloggers, but when I saw her new cards, I knew I wanted to include them here. I love this card for two reasons. First, they are square. That probably means that her cards will either be kept or be thrown away since they don't fit into traditional business card holders, but back in my event planning days, I had square cards. And people loved. them. I got so many compliments after the fact that I know people noticed them.


I've found square cards hard to find. Tiny Prints has them, and you could also do a custom print job through a printer like Rivkind Associates (one of my favorite printing companies of all time. I was surprised when Sharon told me that she had hers printed at Staples. That's pretty cool! She had them printed at Staples, and then trimmed them herself.


The other thing I loved about Sharon's card is that there's a description (and even a pronunciation guide!) of her site on one side of the card. Meeting for the first time happens in an instant. It's great to have something that joggles the memory when it's time to connect again using the contact info on the card. Follow Sharon on twitter at @umommy.



Front and Back. Printed at Staples and Designed by Heather McGee, Email Heather at hmcgee11 [at] gmail [dot com].


Traci Whitney, the Founder of Two Happy Homes, has a great solution for someone who wants to convey a lot of information on their calling card. This card unfolds to the size of two business cards, but when folded will fit in with all other regular-sized business cards. This gives room for contact info and detailed information. In addition, Traci is able to call out key ideas and calls to action. Follow Traci on twitter at @traciwhitney.






Front when folded. Printed at Vistaprint and Designed by Traci herself.



Back when folded. Printed at Vistaprint and Designed by Traci herself.




Front when not folded. Printed at Vistaprint and Designed by Traci herself.




Back when not folded. Printed at Vistaprint and Designed by Traci herself.

Of course, I couldn't do a post on my favorite business cards without mentioning my new cards for my new endeavor, The Field Guide to the First Year. I love them so much. They are from moo.com using graphics from the new site. Follow the new site on twitter at @firstyearparent




Front. Printed at moo.com.




Back. Printed at moo.com.


Do you have any business cards that you've come across that stick out in your mind that would be good for a blogger looking to promote their blog? Share with us what you think about when you are creating business cards.

May

4

Winner of All-Natural Cookie Bouquet from Dancing Deer Baking Co.

Filed Under Giveaways | Leave a Comment

Congrats to Carolyn W! She won an all-natural rose cookie bouquet from Dancing Deer Baking Co.

Dancing Deer has an online store or you can also check to see if a local store carries their products.

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