It’s once again competition time and we have a fantastic prize for January’s London Bloggers Meetup provided by the good folks at Dell. What’s Dell got to do with making a great first impression I hear you ask?
Well, let me tell you.
Dell believes that for smallish businesses, freelancers and entrepreneurs, making the right first impression is critical. Not only that, but the laptop you carry says as much about you as the clothes you wear.
Sure, laptops may only be a small part of what makes a good impression, but I have to agree with Dell here, the details count. I can tell you with confidence that I never carry my work laptop to meetings, because for some reason the IT department has seen fit to furnish me with what resembles a concrete slab, rather than a laptop. Oh how I long for something actually portable.
With that in mind and to promote the launch of their upcoming Facebook business community page, Dell is looking to bloggers and businesses to share as many “trade secrets” as possible about how to make that crucial first impression. The incentive, they are giving away one of their new ultraportable and surprisingly powerful laptops. Check out a review here.
If you want to be in with a chance to walk away from the next LBM with one of these laptops (valued somewhere in the £850 range), help Dell get talking about how to make a great first impression. Simply submit your “Top trade secret” in the comments below and turn up next Tuesday to see if you won!
We’ll be picking the winner ourselves and judging your submissions based on funniness and usefulness (in equal measure).
Terms and conditions
- All entries must be submitted in the blog comments on this post
- The prize winner will be announced at the London Bloggers Meetup held on the 11th January
- The competition prize is one Dell Vostro 130 laptop
- Dell reserves the right to use any competition entries in future marketing communications
- The promoter’s decision is final and binding in all matters
- Prize is non transferable and there is no cash alternative
- One entry per person
- Closing date is Tuesday 11th January at 5pm
We’re rapidly approaching the end of the year and what a great year it has been in the world of blogging and the London Bloggers Meetup. We’ve had some truly brilliant meetups, with interesting guest speakers and generous sponsors – topped off very well by the massively generous Naked Wines in November.
Sadly however we’ve ran out of time to put on a Christmas party for all you bloggers this year!
But fear not, our friends at Onlinefire have just the ticket. They are working with Panasonic to put on an exclusive party at JuJu bar, Kings Road, Chelsea and they’d like to invite you along, so you won’t be missing out after all!
Dynamo, the UK street magician, has teamed up with Panasonic and the TA1 HD camcorder, to create DynamoTV, the eight week series which follows Dynamo as he hangs-out with a variety of his celebrity friends and amazes them with mind-blowing magic and illusion. Celebrities include, Tinie Tempah, Example, Keith Lemon, Rufus Hound, Sugababes, Sean Paul, to name only a few.
Panasonic and Dynamo are hosting this exclusive party to celebrate the success of the DynamoTV series and we have 50 tickets to giveaway to members of London Bloggers Meetup.
The evening of street magic will take place at JuJu London on Wednesday 15th December from 7pm onwards. Complimentary drinks and canapés will be served throughout the evening. There will be goody bags for every guest, plus we will be giving away 10 TA1 camcorders every hour as ‘spot’ prizes throughout the evening.
Not only that but you’ll have the opportunity to meet with Dynamo in person and mingle with his celebrity friends. To apply for your (free) tickets, click here.
Now that’s surely a fine remedy for all of you who can’t wait until January for your next LBM fix. Happy Christmas everyone!
Cheers, Andy
PS news of our exciting blogger awards coming to a blog near you soon!
Image courtesy of Garry Knight’s photostream.
Monday morning brings another blogger interview and this week we’ve been talking to one of London’s most prolific bloggers, Matt Brown of Londonist. Matt is someone I’ve known for a couple of years now and have worked with on some clients projects too. He’s a genuinely nice guy and can often be found supping a glass of red wine at the London Bloggers Meetups. I would hazard a guess that he and the Londonist crowd are more often than not the last to leave at the end of an evening too.
If you haven’t read Londonist before, shame on you. It’s one of the best multi-author blogs on London and in fact, one of the best multi-author blogs full stop in my humble opinion. If you want to get the best out of London then check out what they’re up to. The fact that Matt has been working on Londonist for over five years tells you he knows a bit about both blogging and London. Who better then to try and glean a few blogging tips and tricks from.
So over to you Matt, tell us more about the world of Matt Brown, Londonist and how to be a better blogger…
1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?
Londonist and the URL is http://londonist.com
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
London, and everything that happens in it.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I personally started blogging in June 2005, although Londonist itself dates back to October 2004. I joined the team of bloggers on Londonist as I wanted somewhere to share my love of London. I’m not sure I’d even heard of blogs back then – I just discovered this fantastic site where people like me were writing daily about London life and wanted to be part of that.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
Movable Type 4.
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
Over the years, writing or Londonist has given me an excuse to visit all kinds of weird and wonderful London locations. I’ve spent the night in a haunted plague pit beneath London Bridge. I’ve waded through the sewers near the Olympic park. I’ve strolled along the Tube Lines at Leicester Square at 2 in the morning and had tea with the Lord Mayor. And I caught a lung disease after clambering to the top of a disused church steeple. If that’s not life-enriching, I don’t know what is.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
Diamond Geezer is among the best chroniclers of the city in any media, and his amusing rants about PR companies are also a blogging treasure.
Ian Visits is another essential read for anyone interested in London’s history and heritage. I feel a little guilty only nominating these two, as there are so many other superb bloggers out there, especially those covering very local issues.
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
- Be on Twitter/Facebook too – these are invaluable tools for helping to grow your blog.
- If you’re going to be edgy, be aware that you’re just as prone to the libel laws as any journalist (what people say in the comments section is also your legal responsibility)
- Don’t think too hard about it…just get going and prepare to experiment with styles and stories as you go along. Five years on, I still learn new things about blogging every day.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
Well, we can change more or less anything we want now that we’re no longer so tied to our ‘parent blog’ Gothamist, and we’re in the process of making some exciting changes right now. Beyond that, I don’t want to say more right now.
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
I’m really proud of the way we involve our readers in creating the content. For example, we have a Flickr pool where readers can leave photos of the city (almost 100,000 now), which we then use (with full credit and link-back) in the stories. The photographer gets a wider exposure and our blog looks that bit more beautiful – everyone’s a winner.
We also ask for reader suggestions (via Twitter and Facebook) when compiling posts about what to do at the weekend, what to do cheaply in London, etc. We’ve also used crowdsourcing to compile interesting maps of London (for example, we attracted a large audience of elderly readers – not our usual demographic – when we plotted a map of World War II rocket attacks, mostly based on reader information).
These and countless other examples are at the heart of our relationship with our readers, and I think this is why our audience has grown so much in recent years.
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
I like the mix of people. At any given meetup you’ll meet a mixture of social media professionals, marketing and PR types and people who blog for the sheer fun of it, with no commercial angle whatsoever. Everyone has something valuable to contribute and I’ve learnt a lot from some of the people there.
Welcome to another fun packed week folks. As usual I’m going to kick-off with an interview with one of our community members, this time with the ever so friendly and kind Mr Arvind Devalia. However keep your eyes peeled for notice of our next Meetup and a special event discount just for LBM’ers both coming here soon too.
Now on with the interview. I first met Arvind towards the end of last year when he approached me to ask if he could introduce a charity project he was working on to our community. As you may know, I’m always happy for charities to come along to our events, particularly those that are doing something interesting.
Arvind struck me as someone very genuine, who was gliding through life surfing on a wave of talent and goodwill, and nothing has changed my opinion on that. You can usually find Arvind at the London Bloggers Meetup talking, listening and offering ideas to other bloggers. I must admit to having not read Arvind’s blog quite as often as I’d like, something I’m going to try to rectify (or I might just sign up to his newsletter).
Well anyway, enough introduction, over to you Arvind to tell us all about yourself and how we can all be better bloggers (and people)…
1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?
My blog is called “Make It Happen – for a better you and a better world” and the url is http://www.ArvindDevalia.com/blog
You can see a screen grab here:
2. What’s your blog all about ( in 20 words or less)?
Simple and practical strategies to help you become a better person and make the world a better place at the same time.
3. When and why did you start blogging?
I started dabbling with a blog in 2007 but really only started blogging seriously in September 2009. Since then, my subscriber numbers have gone up six-fold.
4. Which blog platform do you use?
WordPress – and that’s the only solution I recommend to my blog consultancy clients (I run a service whereby we consult with clients about their social media needs and then also create their blogs).
5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?
Where do I start? Firstly I have met some incredible bloggers, both online and also in person at LBM meetings.
And I have learnt so much simply by reading and commenting on the many brilliant blogs out there.
Blogging has also given my life a new meaning and direction in that it allows me to articulate my life purpose and bring it to fruition.
6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?
There are many outstanding blogs that I read daily but the top one for me is Zen Habits by Leo Babauta. This blog is all about simple living and productivity – and was nominated by Time magazine in July as the number one blog for 2010.
I also read The Daily Brainstorm which was launched only recently and brings together in one place some top bloggers from around the world. I have been honoured as a contributing editor – and I expect this blog to really grow in the coming months. It could become The Huffington Post for daily inspiration!
7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?
My three main tips for a new blogger are this:-
- Focus on writing great content first. Only then look at other aspects of blogging. Looking back I spent far too long trying to get my design perfect and fine tuning my blog offering. Identify your niche and just start writing quality stuff, even if your chosen area seems too broad. Over time, your niche will become more defined and will naturally evolve. The key is to write quality articles on a consistent basis – and then to keep the momentum going
- The look and design are important. So as soon as you can, get a decent design done – it doesn’t have to be world class from day one. The design can then evolve as you develop as a blogger and as your following grows. I would also highly recommend that new bloggers start with WordPress from day one, ideally with their own relevant domain name and their own hosting space. This will give you complete freedom to create your own design and incorporate the many WordPress plugins available.
- Connect with other bloggers offline and online. This will help you learn from them and show you what’s working and what’s not working. Blogging can get lonely so having this virtual support community will help you maintain momentum. Also your new friendships could evolve into joint venture opportunities. And you will also create openings for guest posts, which are a great way of building a following quickly.
8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?
I would change the design. The current design is now 8 months old and though it looks great, I intend to revamp it soon. I would welcome all suggestions from other bloggers for making it better!
9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?
Always put your reader’s interests first. Before you post any article, ask if the article fulfils your target market’s needs. It’s about them and nothing else. If you focus on your stuff and start self-promoting, readers will see through this and soon unsubscribe. Provide great content, build a great relationship with them and then look to monetise in the long term.
One strategy for getting new readers to your blog is to write guest posts for other key blogs in your niche. Offer your best articles to other bloggers in return for a back-link and exposure to their readers. Writing many guest posts on a consistent basis will create your profile out there and bring you many new readers in the long term.
10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?
I came across LBM last October, soon after I began taking my blog seriously – and I was struck by the energy and enthusiasm of the other bloggers attending. I have made many new friends and also learnt a lot from the excellent speakers every month.
In summary, I now come to LBM to meet new and old friends and learn about new facets of blogging in a social, relaxed setting.
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