Bits of Gratitude and Other Head-Swelling Fun

Have you ever had some great news? You probably called up your spouse or other significant loved one right away and excitedly gushed about what’s just happened. On this blog, I like to do the same… but even now find it a little awkward. I want to gush and share good news with you, but I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or doing too much self-promotion. (OK, if you’re a dad, you can swap out ‘gush’ and insert a more manly phrase there if you must.)

Regardless, there’s good news to be had and I want to spill – there’s some really useful info in here, too.  Plus, I’m so amazingly grateful that all my hard work is really paying off lately… so above all, I want to express my deep gratitude to all of you for your part in making all of this happen.

First off, I’ve just been confirmed as a speaker at the Blog Business Summit in Chicago, in mid-September. I’m even more excited about this one because I get to talk about affiliate marketing and blogging. Considering I quite literally had at least 5 people come up to me at BlogHer and state they thought I should have spoken on this, I am pleased as punch that I’m getting the chance to do so.

PLEASE drop me a line if you plan on being there – I missed meeting some really great people at BlogHer because I didn’t know they were going to be there and I don’t want that to happen again!

Speaking of BlogHer, earlier today I got the chance to talk on the phone with Ian Lurie and Brian Keith from Conversation Marketing/Portent Interactive fame. Seems they have been stalking me. Seriously, you really need to go read this post. They have been tracking mentions of my name and site, and did an absolutely fascinating analysis of how my speaking at a big blogging conference translated into a spike in buzz. They even have impressive charts to illustrate their points:

(To be honest, not all of those Bloglines mentions were from BlogHer, but a combo of a small range of my other social media efforts, too.)

Some of you have sent me emails wondering what’s the point of going to a conference? Now you know. 

Lastly, if you are a subscriber to Revenue Magazine, writer Eric Reyes wrote a fantastic article about  balancing health and family issues when you work from home, called “The Wealth in Health”. He also interviewed me for the article, which was both flattering and interesting to see how he took a 20 minute conversation and distilled it down to a handful of tips – I was quite fascinated with how he pulled that off so well!

Since Revenue is a print magazine, you guessed it – no link. But I really highly recommend subscribing to this magazine, as it’s the only one dedicated to the affiliate marketing industry and it’s a great read. Plus, it’s free!