New Show Me the Blog Facebook Group Community

It’s nice when you have a community of others around you who can encourage you when needed and can offer suggestions and give feedback. When blogging, having a strong network and community around you is critical. So in order for us to be able to share blog posts, show comment love, and ask questions and get help about blogging and social networking, we have created an open Facebook group for Show Me the Bloggers.

We want everyone to participate in the community as well as share their work. We also hope that you invite other bloggers into the group as well.

To join our new Facebook Group, click HERE. It only takes a second!

We are also looking for group moderators. If you are interested, please comment or shoot us an email at info@showmetheblog.com.

Get a Job Using LinkedIn: Attend Alum Nick Gilham’s Class 1/14

We are all about support at Show Me the Blog! And when one of our own is doing something BIG, we want to give them our full support.

Show Me the Blog ’11 speaker Nick Gilham of A Branded You is presenting a workshop called New Job in 2012 Using LinkedIn. The class is being held on Saturday, January 14, 2012 at Nebula Coworking from 9:30-12 noon.

Here are the details per the event description:

Is one of your goals for the new year to get a new job? Do you want to take your career to the next level?

If you are serious about getting a new job, you need to be using LinkedIn strategically. LinkedIn is a job seeker’s most effective tool for communicating his or her unique personal brand. If you aren’t currently on LinkedIn or feel that you aren’t using the site effectively, A Branded You is here to help you fix that.

In this two and half hour seminar Nick Gilham will show you how LinkedIn can take your job search to the next level. Free parking is available and bagels, coffee, and juice will be provided.

You will learn how to:

• Get hiring managers to knock down your door
• Identify the most important sections of your profile and use them to their full capability
• Conduct a passive job search – land the job of your dreams when you aren’t even looking
• Strategically use LinkedIn Groups to network & find out the secrets to group membership
• Optimize your profile so you appear at the top of the search results
• Utilize the job board built into LinkedIn – learn about the different types of jobs posted
• Put your face in front of decision makers every time they login to LinkedIn
• Reach out to current employees to get the inside scoop about a possible new employer

This event is a great choice for those of you who want to land a new gig this year, and who want to learn how to utilize LinkedIn more effectively to do so. Early bird tickets are currently on sale now for $25.

If you are not currently looking for a job, or want to know how to land one using LinkedIn, please pass this information on to someone who is.

For more information on this event or to register, click HERE!

Holiday Spa Soiree Experience at Go! Spa 11/17

Many of you joined us back in March for our Spa Soiree at Go! Spa, and have been asking when we will be having another networking experience at the spa. Your cries haven’t gone unheard, and we are proud to announce that we have teamed up with Go! Spa to offer another Holiday Spa Soiree Experience on Thursday, November 17th from 5-7pm.

You can come and join us for door prizes, fab conversation, and Champagne Chillers by Chill. You can also enjoy the following premiere services being offered by Go! Spa’s first class staff:

Go!Spa Mani – $24
Go!Spa Pedi – $38
Feelin’ Fab Facial – $30
Tech Girl Relief – $35
High Tech Relief – $55

This event will fill up quickly, so please send your RSVP’s in to info@showmetheblog.com ASAP. If you are wanting a service done while at the spa, please include the type of service you are requesting. We will send you a confirmation 5 days before the event with the time your service will be performed.

You do not have to have a service done to attend this event. We want you to come and network!

Go! Spa is conveniently located at 11735 Manchester Road, St. Louis, MO 63131 in Des Peres.

Girls, we want to see you there! Music, fun, fabulosity, drinks, and pampering! Get your spa on!

This soiree is a Two Minds Interactive™ experience

2012 Show Me the Blog Planning Committee Meeting

This year’s Show Me the Blog may be over, but it’s now time to start working on planning the conference for 2012. We want next year’s conference to be even more successful, so we are putting together a Planning Committee to help organize, develop, and plan next year’s event.

The areas of planning are:

Sponsors/Brands

Speakers/Panelists

Volunteer

Communication

Venue

Conference Materials

Attendees

Our first Planning Committee meeting will be Saturday, November 19th, from 10 am to 12pm at the Maryland Heights Centre, located at 2344 McKelvey Road, Maryland Heights, MO 63043.

If you are interested in being on the 2012 Planning Committee and would like to attend the meeting, please email us at info@showmetheblog.com. There are limited spots available so make sure you contact us quickly!

We want you to be a part of 2012′s Show Me the Blog!

A Very Special Thank You From Show Me the Blog

Well, it’s officially over, folks. The 2nd Annual Show Me the Blog Social Media and Blogging Conference is now in the bag. We want to thank everyone who attended! From our speakers, to our attendees, to our staff and sponsors, you guys made the event a success! We are so very honored that you participated this year.

We will be sending a conference survey to get your feedback so that we can improve your conference experience next year.

And yes, you read it right—as announced during conference, we will be having a 3rd Annual Show Me the Blog Social Media and Blogging Conference next October. Stay tuned for the date, as it will be broadcast soon.

We hope you enjoyed this year’s Show Me the Blog Social Media and Blogging Conference!

Show Me the Blog Premixer at The Luna Lounge 10/20

The Official Show Me the Blog Premixer (and St. Louis Cardinals World Series Watch Party) is at The Luna Lounge on Thursday, October 20^th from 6 to 9pm.

Nosh on finger foods (vegans, you will have something to nosh on too!), get your drink on, and mix and mingle with speakers and attendees of the Show Me the Blog Conference. This is a fabulous pre-conference event where you can get some networking in before conference begins.

We will also be giving attendees badges so that is one less thing you have to worry about on conference day!

The Luna Lounge is located at 4561 Gravois in historic Bevo Mill, just 10 minutes away from downtown St. Louis.

There is a 2-drink minimum (domestic beer and soft drinks are available for $5.00 for 2 drinks) You can purchase drink tickets at the door for $5 for two tickets!

Also, since the Cards are in the World Series, The Luna Lounge will be broadcasting the game on the big screen for all attendees.

This event is closed to the public and only open to SMBSTL attendees, staff, speakers, and guests from 6 to 9pm. You can stay afterwards and watch the game when The Luna Lounge opens its doors to the public.

Plus, speaker Kate Canterbury will be giving her presentation on Hyper Local: Why Go Global When You Can Go Local from 8-9 during the premixer.

Giveaways too!

To RSVP, please send an email to info@showmetheblog with RSVP in the subject line. Please indicate your name and how many people will be attending with you.

The Official Show Me the Blog Schedule is Now Up!

Our official Show Me the Blog schedule is now up and ready for your review. There may be additional changes made to the schedule, so make sure to bookmark and check back for any changes or updates.

This year, we are using Sched.org to post and create our conference schedule. Attendees will be able to sign up for a Sched account and select which sessions they are interested in and create a itinerary of items that pique interest.

To view this year’s schedule, click HERE.

Expo Space & Sponsorship Opportunities Now Available

We are almost in the homestretch for Show Me the Blog, and we wanted take the time out to let you know about the new Expo Space we will be having at this year’s conference, which is perfect for selling your products, giving out samples, and reaching those in the social media and blogging realms.

We have kept our sponsorships low in cost so that everyone has the opportunity to purchase a sponsorship, whether they are a big business or a small start-up. We expect to have 100+ attendees this year, so this is a great investment for your business.

Sponsorship also includes tickets to the conference portion of the event and other goodies.

Check out the Expo Space options below:

Media Giant – $450.00
 Full page customized color advertisement in conference booklet
 Website acknowledgement
 Running banner web placement week of Show Me the Blog
 Two tickets to SMBSTL
 Exhibit space to display your products/services
 15 minute presentation during opening ceremony
Google Me – $350.00
 Half page color advertisement in conference booklet
 Website acknowledgement
 1 ticket to SMBSTL
 Exhibit space to display your products/services
Social-Lite – $250.00
 Half page color advertisement in conference booklet
 Website acknowledgement
 Exhibit space to display your products/services during day 1 of Show Me the Blog

Time is of the essence and space is filling up, so if you are interested in getting sponsorship and expo/exhibit space, please contact us now. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

We also have business card space ads in our conference program for only $50. This is a steal, and great for realtors, insurance agents, entrepreneurs, and bloggers.

Call us at 1-877-576-3038 or email us info@showmetheblog.com.

We look forward to seeing you there!

10 + 1 Must Have Plug-Ins for your WordPress Blog

WordPress is my preferred blogging platform. The flexibility WordPress gives me is second to none, but I love it mostly because of the plug-ins. Plug-ins are essential to your blog and can make your blog run effectively and smoothly on its own with minimum work or effort on your part. Well heeled plug-ins can be a Godsend to your site and give you an advantage other sites that don’t have plug-ins.

Here are my picks for 10 + 1 Must Have Plug-Ins for your WordPress Blog:

Askimet: Askimet is a free WordPress plug-in that helps block spam comments and trackbacks before they appear in your comment cue. It does a pretty good job at filtering spam comments and I use this plug-in on all of the blogs that I manage and run. You can see the comments still in the spam folder, and once a week, I go through them because sometimes there may be a valid comment that was marked as spam.

Read more >>

5 Ways To Make Money On Your Blog

Creating an income with your blog is now something that most bloggers can achieve with a little hard work and determination. Gone are the days where only a certain few bloggers could make money—it has become a platform that has created additional sources of income for the millions of people who blog professionally or for fun. Making money with your blog isn’t hard, but it does take a knowledge and a little time.

Here are 5 ways to make money on your blog:

1. Ad networks: The most obvious way to make money on your blog is to use an ad network for your site. This could be an ad network such as Google Ads which isn’t exclusive and allows anyone with a site to use the service. An ad network gives you a code (the code produces a visual ad) for you to put in select spaces on your blog, and money is earned by impressions (or page views) for the ads, or clicks for the ads. If you have a nice amount of traffic, you can make a pretty good income using ad networks, but if you are a new blog with a small audience, it may take time for you to rake in the dough. Using more than one ad of different sizes can also increase your cash. But be careful. Too many ads can cause your site to load slowly and may turn some people off.

Read more >>