• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Display Search Bar
  • About
  • Contact
  • Work With Me
Follow stetted on Twitter Follow stetted on Facebook Follow stetted on Instagram Follow stetted on Pinterest

stetted

recipes, decor, and more for a better life

  • Recipes
  • House & Home
  • Blogging 101
  • Travel
  • Shop

TECHmunch Austin (part 3)

March 21, 2010 / General, Blogging Tips

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Pin
  • Yummly
  • Email

Finally, Part 3!

(Previously, Part 1 and Part 2)

Dealing with FTC Disclosure Guidelines

Ahh, the FTC guidelines. These caused quite a stir when they were first released, but not much has happened since then. If you haven’t heard about them, basically the FTC is “requiring” bloggers to disclose any perks or freebies they get from companies they are blogging about.

Brian Solis

PR rock stars Brian Solis of FutureWorks and Sarah Evans of Sevans Strategy were the panelists, and they both agreed that the FTC guidelines weren’t a problem yet. “It’s less about the FTC and more about your audience,” Brian says.

Letting your readers know you got something for free helps show your level of ethics when it comes to blogging. But, as Sarah says, “Don’t go out of your way to say ‘I’m a product whore’.” We’ve all seen posts where the blogger is clearly just reiterating a press release or being completely biased in their reporting. (Face it, as bloggers, we’re also reporters.)

Brian and Sarah both recommended having disclosure and PR sections on your site somewhere, both for your readers and any potential PR reps who might be looking at your site.

Disclosure doesn’t have to be a staid sentence at the end of your post. Create some fun around your disclosure in order to make it more interesting for your readers (and yourself). Tweeting your posts with disclosure actually helps clicks, too.

Sarah also moderates #journchat, a live chat on Twitter featuring journalists, PR pros, and bloggers.

Working with Brands

Our final panel was Jessica Randazza, marketing manager at Digitas, moderated by Babette. Jessica works for KitchenAid to find appropriate blogs and communities to advertise on.

Working with Brands

Jessica says that if you’re interested in working with brands on your blog, to first think about the brands you really love. Come up with a list of about 10, and from there research the company as much as possible, using tools like the Google News Search. You want to know everything you can about a company before aligning yourself with them.

Any company you contact will most likely have a brand manager that will work with you, someone like Jessica who can help determine if your site is a good fit. Jessica says she looks at the analytics of your site, but that’s not the only factor in her decision. Even if your blog doesn’t have thousands of hits, it could still be a fit for a particular brand. And, Jessica notes, even if she says no today, she might not say no tomorrow.

Jessica also advised thinking about branding your content itself – don’t just be limited to ads on your sidebar. Jessica gave the example of having a post about the history of spices being sponsored by a spice company. When you think about branding in this way, the possibilities are endless!

 

The day was capped off with amazing food provided by Parkside, two signature cocktails, and cupcakes by SugarMamas Bake Shop.

Day 72/365: Steamy Mama

Thanks again to everyone involved in TECHmunch Austin! I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!

Resources

Bakespace
FoodBlogForum
Epicute
My Food Looks Funny
All-in-One SEO plugin (WordPress)
Related plugin(WordPress)
Google Analytics
Google Webmaster Tools (including Crawl Rate)
Hubspot (website grader)
Twitter Grader
Knowem (find your username)
#journchat

Fig Onion Conserve
Photo Post: Rachael Ray’s Feedback Party

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Join the Conversation
  1. Jessica Randazza says

    March 26, 2010 at 8:43 am

    Love your recap of the event. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and please feel free to reach out anytime!

    Best,
    Jessica for KitchenAid

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

I focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients in my family-friendly meals. Come live a balanced life with me!

Read More ยป

Subscribe via Email

to stay in the loop on new posts!

Reader Faves

Learn how to peel tomatoes for cooking and canning. It's easy!

How to Peel Tomatoes

Bison One-Pot Dinner

Bison One-Pot Dinner

Raspberries and Cream Pie

Raspberries & Cream Pie

DIY mascarpone is a versatile ingredient you can easily make at home!

How to Make Mascarpone

Browse Around

  • Muffins
  • Side Dishes
  • Cookies
  • Vegetarian
  • Cakes
  • Videos

    Footer

    Seasonal

    Caramel apple slab pie is a sweet welcome to fall that feeds a crowd. Make it for potlucks, tailgating, or whenever you need to use up some apples.

    Caramel Apple Slab Pie

    Spicy glazed brussels sprouts are a quick and easy side dish. It gets its flavor from the fiery Korean condiment, gochujang.

    Spicy Glazed Brussels Sprouts

    Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

    Cranberry Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

    Popular

    This comforting Instant Pot Irish lamb stew is full of tender lamb and vegetables. It's a wonderful way to end to the day.

    Instant Pot Irish Lamb Stew

    Baked bison meatballs are quick and easy to make any night of the week. Use them for pasta, sandwiches, and more.

    Baked Bison Meatballs

    Copycat Starbucks Breakfast Sandwich

    Copycat Starbucks Breakfast Sandwiches

    winter squash

    No autumn brunch is complete without pumpkin pancakes. Make a big batch so you can have extras for snacking.

    Pumpkin Pancakes

    Pumpkin bread pudding is a great fall dessert. Leftover bread combines with a pumpkin custard for a luscious way to end a meal!

    Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe

    Pumpkin fruit dip is an excellent addition to your appetizer or dessert spread.

    Pumpkin Fruit Dip

    Follow stetted on Twitter Follow stetted on Facebook Follow stetted on Instagram Follow stetted on Pinterest
    • About
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
    • Privacy Policy
    Copyright © 2019 Megan MyersTheme by Once Coupled & Melissa Rose Design