If you saw one, would you kill it or leave it be?

I have a feeling that by time the next bronc ridin’ comes around, he just might last that whole 8 seconds! He’s definitely getting the hang of it now. Enjoy!

Well, we are going to Mexico again but by choice this time around it’s all thanks to Villa Group Resorts, who will be providing me and my husband an all-inclusive trip (<–disclosure).  I’ve actually been offered the chance to go to Mexico a few times but without my husband (from another company) but that’s not something I have been willing to do, at least right now.  He makes me feel safe and in a place that I’m not familiar with, that’s a good feeling to have; not to mention he’s Spanish.

There are three choices for us and I’d like to hear your thoughts on it.  And, perhaps you’ll decide to join us eh?  Wouldn’t it be fun to be there at the same time?? I know, wishful thinking I reckon but still…it would be cool.  Anyways, here is the first resort.

1) La Estancia Nuevo Vallarta

2) Cabo San Lucas – Villa de Palmar

3) Puerto Vallarta – Garza Blanca

You’d have to go read about them to know details but would appreciate anything you have to offer. Maybe you’ve been to one of them?  They all look fabulous, one more family oriented than the others, but I have a feeling that no matter which one we choose, we have a wonderful FIRST honeymoon. We’ve been married over 17 years and this would be our first.   Our honeymoon night was spent at a hotel where my husband passed and I drove to my parent’s to watch the big Mike Tyson fight that night, and then next day being spent watching Superbowl Sunday.  I love football but would have preferred something else.  This will just be heavenly. Thank goodness I’m “fixed” or we would likely come back from it and in 9 mths had a baby.

Also, I would love to hear (if you haven’t ever been to a resort) why you haven’t?  Are there any questions you have that I might can get answered for you?

P.S. All this was offered through RoleMommy!

Did you know that there’s a National Summer 2010 Wii Games event?  It’s in New Jersey so I won’t be attending but I’d love to see it in action!  You can find some events though at Six Flags and malls, etc so you should totally check to see if one is being held near you. Of course nothing is near me but that’s how ranch life is I reckon.  Anyways, these are for people of ALL AGES and some will get to go the Championship in Los Angeles. Now THAT, I’d like to see!

Check out this cute video of Mario and Shawn Johnson, who is not only cute as a bug, she’s also the ambassador for the competition.  Her and Mario working out……

SOMETHING FOR YOU:

And just for kicks, I have a a pair of autographed Shawn Johnson pajamas for you AND an Ultimate I SPY Wii game to give away!

HOW TO ENTER:

Leave a comment telling me your favorite Wii Sport Game? I personally love Golf!

Additional entry method, all optional, leaving in a separate comment:

• Share on Social Networks like Twitter or Facebook

Ends on July 14! Good luck y’all!
P.S. This is not a sponsored giveaway.

About the boot:

WorkHog Wide Square Toe Boots

• · Two colorways: 10005887 Rugged Bark, 10005888 Dark Earth/Brick
• Premium full-grain leather upper
• Goodyear welt
• Mesh line
• · Six-row shaft stitch
• Stability chassis promotes proper gait cycle
• EVA midsole
• Self-cleaning, non-tracking outsole tread design
• 90 degree heel
• Duratread outsole
• U-Turn Entry System (flexible panel in the back of the shaft allows foot to get by, so all shapes and sizes can now wear pull-ons! *Ariat is the first company to do this, and it’s a really neat design story…we’re hoping that it will allow more people to wear pull-ons)
• MSRP $159.95

Anyways, wanted to share. We love our work boots and Ariat is great about keeping their prices down without sacrificing the quality!

ELM

First, my new site is keeping me very busy right now.  It’s a lot of work but I truly hope it will be worth it in the end and of course without y’all, it won’t be anything so I do hope you support me and join when the time comes!  I wanted to put one last call for editors with an update on launch date.   I’m still taking editor applications. I already chose a few that I adore but  You can apply here. There’s a whole list of categories and you can see what is offered, etc.

IF you’d like to join the community BEFORE it launches, you can sign up here and you’ll be notified when you can go in and join!  And if you are a company that would like to be one of the first sponsors of ELM, then I’d love to hear from you!  You can email directly at lori@thecowboyshack.com

APPOINTMENTS & TRAVEL

OMG, the appointments have been crazy. Physicals, toenails removed, checkups oh my!!!  Geez.  And can they get all my boys in at the same time? Nooooooooo, so that means separate visits, which means, driving back and forth, blah.  A few more to go and we’re done.  Do you guys have any tips to keep busy while at the doc’s office? I’d love to hear them. Right now, Truett plays with his Leapfrog Explorer but just in case the batteries wear out, I’d love to have other ideas.

We are planning some travel as family this year!  July, we are headed to Seaworld in San Antonio.  August, I’ll be gone to Blogher from the 4th-8th. October, I’ll be at Blogworld on the weekend of the 15th.  Somewhere in the midst of all this, me and my man are taking a vacation alone to Mexico.  Yep, you heard that right!  For those of you who know my husband, can you imagine him doing nothing in Mexico?  In shorts perhaps or in his jeans?? LOL  Have you been to a resort in Mexico before?  If you get a chance, check out these Mexico resorts and let me know if you’ve been to any of them and if you have ,which one you think is best!   We still have to choose our destination so I could use all the advice/suggestions I can get! Are you going anywhere this Summer? Or in the Fall?

Okay, I need to get back to things. My email is backed up BIG TIME and I owe Monica a post!  I’ll catch ya later folks! Hope things are going well for you all.

P.S. My husband’s best friend lost his mother the other day.  I knew her a little bit but judging by the amount of people who attended and the service itself, she was clearly loved and an amazing woman.  Jason, our heart and prayers go out to you, your family, and your dad.  MUAH!

BEING THE HOST

Hosting a giveaway is a ton of work, especially when I have to deal with companies who don’t fulfill their obligations at all or in a timely manner.  Or when I have the winners emailing me withing 3 days asking when they’ll receive their prize.  It’s time that I have to take out of my life to reply to those winners or to pinpoint the reasoning a winner hasn’t received their prize.  It’s extremely frustrating to say the least.  Even when a giveaway goes smoothly, I still have to create it, manage entries, pick a winner, email the winner & wait for them to claim, then email the company with the info…if all goes well, they get their prize quickly.

CCC or Custom Creative Campaigns
I recommend custom creative campaigns.  It’s when a company seeks you out to promote their brand/product but tailors the program around you, usually choosing 5 or less bloggers of quality & relevance.  A few PR companies do this very well like Edelman, Malone Advertising, and Weber-Shandwick.  The goal is to find bloggers with a loyal readership, who love that brand/product, and can authentically dedicate their time online and offline for them, all with compensation.  All the companies I mentioned are great at this. They take the time to get to know the bloggers so when a “gig” comes up, they know exactly who to approach.  It’s so nice to see companies like these realizing that we are worth being compensated for out time & efforts because many of us do work very very hard.

Just an example of how they might do it—So if you’re looking for 2 bloggers to promote your very expensive DSLR camera, then you want to find 2 socially active, quality bloggers in different niches.  Perhaps a food blogger who can use that camera for food photography and the other a travel blogger who can snap photos of places they visit or a mom blogger who can capture the sweet moments of her family.  You take those two bloggers and give them a CCC consisting of 2 posts and/or videos a month for 3 months for $xxxx.xx, the click thru & purchase rate will almost always be higher than a giveaway.  Yes, I’ve tested it.  I use affiliate links in any post promoting a product and have measured (which is in my disclosure). Only one time has a giveaway done better and that’s because it was coupled with a MEGA discount.

Why does it work?  Because those bloggers have readers that trust them.  Relationships that have been built over time that it almost feels like family.  Those readers can tell through the blogger’s writing style that the blogger truly likes it.  Those are the ones that will know and will click thru to learn more about the product and possibly even buy.

SPOKESBLOGGER

Much like the CCC’s but you are hiring one blogger to represent your brand/company.  This is usually longer term and it’s with a blogger who genuinely loves the product and who has a very loyal following.

LAST THOUGHTS

Of course with both the Spokesblogger and CCC positions, the PR firm handling must do the job right by picking relevant bloggers and the bloggers need to think through whether they want to represent that brand/company.   I feel like PR should thoroughly investigate the bloggers before approaching so that they know beforehand if that blogger cares a flying flick about that brand.  This helps keep the blogger authentic as well.  By approaching someone who already has a love for the product, their readers will not even notice because it’s something they already talk about anyways on their blog, which keeps the situation real even with money being exchanged.

I’m not saying don’t ever offer giveaways, I like to host a few every so often, especially if they are of significant value or something that we love love love, but if you are really wanting to get the word out about a product, then I recommend one of the alternatives above.  I’m sure there will be a difference of opinion on this post and look forward to hearing what you think, both from a blogger’s perspective and a pr’s as well.