For Sponsors: Brand Ambassadors – Lessons from Dating

By Sara Urquhart. Photography via Ruffled.

A brand ambassador is someone who promotes your brand in the world of social media. Ideally, she’s a person who already uses and talks about your products, but she can also be someone who would authentically use your products once she’s introduced to your brand. We couldn’t help but notice some parallels between finding brand ambassadors and courting a special someone.

First, find the right person. Look for anyone who’s already saying nice things about you and your brand, either through your Twitter name or a hashtag about your product. Look for people who mention you in positive ways often. You can also look for people who are pinning and re-pinning your products on Pinterest, or posting about you on Instagram.

Maybe you have the perfect blogger in mind, but she doesn’t even know you’re alive? Before you set up a blind date, do some research about how she does engage with brands. What does it look like on her blog and Twitter? Look at her media kit and prepare your approach based on what you’ve learned.

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Call for Gift Bag Product Submissions

By Melanie Blodgett. Photography by Nest.

Do you run a small business and have a product you'd love to share with Alt attendees? You're in luck, because we're currently putting together our gift bags for Alt NYC, Alt SF, and Alt For Everyone — the online conference we've been hinting at but haven't announced yet. Each event will have 300 attendees who love discovering shops and handmade products as much as we do. If you'd liked your product to be considered for one of the gift bags, please send a packaged sample by March 29th to:

 

Alt Summit

634 E 1100 S

St George, UT 84790

 

Please note, if we decide the fit and feel of your item aligns with the event, we will ask you to provide 300 of it by early summer. So we ask that you please don't submit an item, if you're not able to fulfill a request of that size.

 

We know we'll be skipping to the mailbox for the rest of the month! 

Alt SF Ticket Lottery

Unfortunately, as many of you are aware, registration for Alt SF did not go as planned last week. The enthusiastic Alt community has once again shut down the servers of the third registration company we've worked with. We're so sorry! Truly. We apologize for the inconvenience and have decided to move forward with registration in an alternate manner. 

 

Starting today, go to this page anytime until 5 pm PST on Thursday, March 21st to be entered into the Alt SF ticket lottery. And no rush! Whether you enter today, or tomorrow, or even Thursday, you'll have the same chance as everyone else that enters. So if you're too busy today, no stress. You can enter tomorrow and it won't lessen your chances at all.

 

After lottery registration closes on Thursday, 300 lucky attendees will be randomly picked from the lottery database. Everyone who submits their name for a ticket will be notified via email on Friday, March 22nd letting them know whether they were selected or not. If you are selected, you will need to complete your registration by Monday, April 1st at 5 p.m. PST (no fooling). You'll find registration instructions in that email.

Once again, we're sorry for the registration troubles this month! We love you! 

Adding Music to Your Online Videos

By Jenner Brown. Photography by Cuba Gallery.

So you've decided to make the leap into creating amazing video content for your blog--high five! You've got your DSLR, your concept, your uninhibited creative savvy-style, and a great eye for details. You've even shot your video and are now assembling a masterpiece with Sundance on speed-dial.

What about the music?

Before you reach for that Justin Bieber techno-remix to overlay your macaroon tutorial video, you should know that there are a lot of rules about music when it comes to online video. It can be complicated and confusing to sort it all out.

Adding to the dilemma is the unsettling fact that online content can live forever, including your videos. Once you post something you have no idea who will see it or where it may be downloaded. With any luck your video will go viral and get embedded all over the internet, drawing waves of viewers to your blog. When it comes to copyrighted content like photos and music, it's simply wise to be on the cautious side.

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From Blog to Shop: 4 Lessons from Bloggers in E-commerce

By Janette Crawford, Beth Giles, Mackenzie Horan & Piper Toth.

When we started planning our Blog to Shop panel for Alt, we had no idea how much we would learn just from each other. We had such a great time sharing what we’ve learned over the years, and the audience seemed to love it as well. Here are our main points, as well as a few top tips from the panel:

1) Sell without selling out

• Start by selling products you’re passionate about - your passion will come through in the way you talk about them, which will feel natural 
• Find a balance between what you love and what sells 
• Don’t sell something just because it’s popular 
• Let go of what you love, if no one else does 
• Talk about your product in an authentic and organic way — how the product plays into your lifestyle 
• Promote other people’s products that are a complement, not competition, to your own 
• Feature the brands/makers on your blog 
• Talk to your audience like they’re your best friends; your recommendations feel like word of mouth

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