Wanna Help Change Some Lives? Sponsor Me at BlissDom 2010!

My mantra this year and next is personal growth. At 45 years of age, I have finally started to figure out what makes me happy. It's been a long journey to gain this little bit of knowledge that has resulted in a major paradigm shift for me. And it all came about because of a blog. I know...it seems silly to think that a blog could be a vehicle that would allow some unhappy mom sitting at home, typing out her daily comings and goings on her computer, to find the secret to her happiness. But that's what happened. Because as the words rolled out and the pictures where posted, comments and insights came back from people who actually took the time to read and feel my words. Realizations were made, understanding and bonding took place, inside my home and across the world wide web. Love was rekindled and friendships developed, which helped me feel normal and capable and whole...all because I blog.

I have had wonderful experiences over the past year as I have used my "virtual journal" to communicate, to vent, to chronicle my family's daily life and to figure out how to find myself as a person while trying to be the best mom and wife I can be. As a result of my blogging, I have had opportunities meet wonderfully positive and supportive people from every walk of life, from all over the world. Along with encouraging my personal development, some of those people pushed me to develop my writing and business skills, then invited me to start working with a few businesses and products. I have found that I really enjoy the business aspect of blogging as well as the personal rewards that have come from using social media.

To that end, I am going all out in 2010 to learn and grow as a Blogger. I am very motivated to learn how to use my talents to work with the business world to help promote companies/products that support mom-bloggers and improve the lives of families all over the world. I have much to learn.

I believe the BlissDom 2010 Conference is the perfect opportunity for me to learn what skills I am lacking to take my blogs to the next level.

Along with my blog community following, I have a large sphere of influence in my community as well. I make friends easily, I love to talk, to share, to offer my services whenever and wherever I can. I am very active in my neighborhood development, Boy Scouts, school volunteer program and local politics. I want to develop my blogs to reflect that influence on the internet and the BlissDom Conference is just the ticket to help me meet that goal! The problem lies in the fact that I need financial assistance to make it to the conference. So I am working hard to find a sponsor.

Here's a breakdown of costs I am looking to have covered:

• Blissdom Conference Ticket: $249 for early registration
• Roundtrip flight from Phoenix to Nashville: $224 to $275 if I book ticket within the next couple weeks.
• Airport Shuttle to and from hotel: $20
• Hotel costs for 4 nights (discount rates for BlissDom attendees): $576
• Pre-conference Blissdom Wisdom Workshops for in-depth, small group learning from technical to business to creative: $100

TOTAL COST FOR FULL SPONSORSHIP: $1195.00

I am seeking a full sponsorship and would prefer to try to work with just one company so I don't have to split my efforts to promote more than one sponsor. But I understand that the economy takes its toll on marketing budgets too, so I will consider splitting the costs of the conference between 2 sponsors if necessary.

In exchange for my sponsorship, I will go above and beyond to spread the word about the company that chooses to help me attend the conference!

• I will hand out promotional materials for your comany at the conference, including product, business cards and flyers. I will have to be creative in doing this however, as BlissDom has changed its policy regarding how personal sponsorship swag can be handled, but we can discuss options such as an after hours room party or something of that nature to distribute swag. I'm pretty open to ideas!
• I will make a t-shirt or a canvas bag with your company logo or slogan to wear and/or carry during the conference.
• I am willing to wear unique clothing/accessories as advertisement. Keep in mind, I am plus-size, which I am working on as part of my personal growth (meaning losing weight, not growing more!) in 2010.
• I will do a blog post regarding your sponsorship and products, as well as place sidebar ads on both the home and review pages of my blog for a 12 month period.
• I will also actively post updates about your company, brand, or product on Twitter and Facebook before, during and after the BlissDom Conference for a 12 month period.
• I will post photos, videos and do live blogging and Tweeting to promote your company/product during the BlissDom Conference.
• I am open to any other ideas you and your marketing department may have about how I can best promote your brand, as long as it's legal and family friendly! Let's brainstorm!

This sounds like a Lifetime movie kind of sob story, plea thing. It's not my intention to come across that way. Actually, I am not very good at asking for help, which is probably why it is taking me so long to get where I want to be with my blogs, and frankly my life, in general. So asking for a sponsorship is not easy for me. But I am realizing that I need to humble myself and ask for the help I need if I ever want to overcome whatever issues I have so that I can be the mom, wife and most importantly, the person I want to be.

So...help a sister out! Years from now when my kids are on Oprah talking about all the great things our family accomplished and what a great childhood they had 'cause their mom finally got her stuff together and taught them how to be confident, well adjusted, pro-active, self-supporting, successful adults? They'll mention you too, cause I'll pound it into their brains that this conference and the company who sponsored me was the turning point in our lives. Seriously...how can you pass up multi-generational, lifetime promotion?

Oh yeah...thanks. I know advertising dollars are precious and I appreciate the consideration of my request. I'm rambling now. I'll shut up.

Review Policy

My blog, I Am Boymom, is dedicated to giving honest and in depth, family friendly product reviews. As a mom, I know how important truthful and honest mom recommendations have been to my family, especially when it comes to how I spend my family's money!

I am always looking for super hip, cool, fun and unique items found exclusively in mom-owned and operated boutiques and shops, especially online stores! If you are local, and I can visit you, I would love to take some photos of the shop and/or the products you are wishing to have reviewed!

I am a communicator by nature. I love to give my opinion on anything and everything I come across! As a mother of 2 boys, I have opinions on everything! We are a pretty adventurous family when it comes to trying new things, so if you have something you think we’d like, and would like an honest review written up, please email me via my contact page.

If you have seen a product somewhere about which you would like an opinion, please let me know! I'm a major research person when it comes to making quality purchases at a great price and will scour every known source to ensure I am making an educated and informed purchase! If I am able to try out the item about which you are wondering, I will happily share my experience with you!

So exactly what kind of family will be doing your review?

I am a 45 year old mom of two boys (sometimes 3, depending on the maturity level of my hilarious 43 year old husband, which changes daily). Hubby and I have been married almost 12 years now. (Yeah...we started late in life.)

Big Brother is my computer/video game kid and is 10 years old. He eats, drinks and sleeps Star Wars, Star Wars Legos and Star Wars Clone Wars (yes, that's different than regular Star Wars.) He's also a big WWII history buff (he's wanted to be in the military since he was 2). He owns a seriously high number of army men. He's kicking our rears in Guitar Hero right now.

Little Man is 8 and full of energy and experiences life at a fast and furious pace. He was born in the car (ask me about it some time...I remember EVERY detail)! He loves sports and animals and exploring and hopes to be an archaeologist or a paleontologist one day. His pockets are always full of "treasures", which inevitably end up in the washer, the tub or my bed. Curiously, as dirty as the kid can get, he is really into fashion and cool hair. Never a dull moment with Little Man around.

Hubby loves anything historical or military (nope, never served) and is very strategic in his thinking. He is all about movies, movies and more movies, especially old westerns and films with lots of intrigue! He is really adept with video games, especially military type games. He works in the constuction field.

I am the computer/gadget person in my home. I love technology, even though I am sometimes challenged by it. Writing is truly my passion and I hope to be able to make a full-time career as a freelance writer some day. I love girly things, as I don't have a lot of opportunity with 3 men in the house to experience "chick" stuff. I adore antibacterial wipes as I spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning bathrooms due to an "aiming" issue that seems to be part of the male DNA code in my house.

You can visit my personal blog I Am Boymom for a more detailed look into our family life.

I Am Boymom has worked with companies such as RideMakerz and Disney.

So how do you get me to review your product? Just ask! Send me an email via my contact page!

Tell me in detail about your product or service! Be specific about the age group your item is geared toward, and make sure you include a link to your website! In order for us to review any products, I do require a sample of your item. I have to try it to write about it...right? Your sample will not be returned to you, and you are responsible for any/all postage and handling fees to get it to me. You will be contacted within 48 hours at the email/phone number you provide with instructions and an address where you can send your products for review or reader giveaways.

We are open to reviewing most anything that is family friendly, exciting, new, cool, tasty and fun, especially if it has particular relevance for boys! However, we have LOTS of girl cousins and of course, Boymom is female and needs some girly stuff once in awhile, so don't let the blog name keep you from considering my review services if you have a girl product.

We look forward to hearing about your items!

PR OK

I Am Boymom is PR Friendly! Are you a PR representative for products? A creative person who hand crafts great stuff? Maybe an entrepenuer looking for new and innovative ways to promote your product? Please contact me!

I promise to give an honest opinion about any product I receive, that includes the good AND the bad. I will not mislead my readers. If a product does not work properly, I will say so. I do go out of my way, however to find as many positive aspects as possible about the product and I don't look forward to giving negative reviews, so as long as you have a decent product and can be realisitc about hearing an honest opinion, we should be able to work together.

If you have something I can give away to my readers, even better! I Am Boymom readers LOVE free things! I am more than happy to help get your product out in front of the masses!

Boymom welcomes Press Releases, but can not promise I will promote your item if it is not something I can test myself.

Because this is a family site, I ask that your product be family friendly.

Okay...there's all the preliminary business talk. Done and out of the way. Ready to get started? Send me an email via my Contact Page and we'll discuss your ideas in detail.

By the way...While Boymom does love her some comment love, I don't love comments posted soley to promote products and reserve the right to delete such comments. If you are gonna take the time to stop by and leave a comment, at least comment on what I wrote before you promote yourself for free on my blog! Deal?