The Savvy Blogging Summit crew really knows how to impress. My “ideas” file from this event is already 15 pages deep and I’ve only been here two hours. Everything from the name tags to the e-mails to the registration table is top notch. And to top it off, I was surprised to hear that they even took the time to come visit this site before I arrived. Very cool. 
Instead of leaving you in the dark, I’ll share with you what’s in my “cool ideas from the Savvy Blogging Summit” folder so far. To start I made a screen shot of the page on the Savvy Blogging.com that lists all the conference attendees with their “logo” or “image”. What a cool way to start networking before you even get here.
I’m sure you know I write the NAMS Action Guide for the NAMS Workshop in Atlanta and am always on the lookout for conference ideas. Not only did they send out “how to get prepared” e-mails, but they also had entire blog posts on topics like “5 Ways to Make the Most out of a Blog Conference”. If you’re paying attention at all, as an attendee, you’ve got to be thankful for all the great tips.
From their sponsor / partners point of view, the Savvy folks do a great job of promoting them. I got a fun e-mail about ShopAtHome.com and a meet and greet they were having. In a few minutes I’m going to one with the Escalate Network, another partner. Just a great way to highlight the sponsor / partners.
I often talk about the Ladder of Value that you have to put together for your clients. The idea of the ladder being mapping out your client’s journey from where they are today to where they want to be. To best understand this concept, look at how a college is laid out. English 101 is first, then Creative Writing, then Writing Analysis and finally Editorial Writing. Colleges move kids from knowing nothing to knowing everything they need to be graduated with that degree and ready for the work place. They are in the business of helping students achieve their goals.
From a business perspective you should think this way, too. How do I get my customers to the place they want to be? Well, here we are in Day 1 of the Savvy Blogging Summit and we’re about to get professional headshots done, courtesy of BlogFrog, ShortandHat.com and Smile Generation. Why is that important? As customers of this Summit our goal is to become better bloggers. Personal branding is part of that as well. We all have profiles on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. . . and professional headshots give us that little extra to improve our own profiles and online image. That’s value! and is why people come back year after year to this conference. That’s a gift from Savvy that helps us on our journey up the ladder.
My hat is off to the Savvy Blogging crew! I look forward to a great weekend.