Building Your Own Field of Dreams

Happy Friday Twittermoms! I know I've been posting every Thursday, but it's been quite the insane week for me. Why do you ask? Simple - I'm producing three events over the course of the next four days. Yes, I know I must have lost my mind, but since I was going to tackle the topic of building a grass roots media campaign by attending, participating or hosting an event, that should fit perfectly with the advice I plan to offer you this week.

Now if you're a business owner, blogger, an author or even a parenting expert and you're determined to build your platform or raise your visibility, you can do amazing things online. However, nothing beats networking in person at an event that could potentially showcase yourself, your book or your product. So here are a few ways to harness all those connections you've made online and not only solidify friendships, but foster relationships that could inevitably help take your platform to the next level.

The Tweet Up - the first place to meet some of the fabulous twittering moms in your area is to take the bull by the horns and host a tweet-up. You could do it in your home or at a local bar or restaurant. The key is - if you are really enjoying sharing 140 character messages with a Twitter friend and you also share the same interests on a professional level, then it makes sense to connect a face with a Twitter name. If you prefer to keep the gathering small - invite a more exclusive group of Twitter friends - perhaps five and under and then you can really get to know what each of you do and possibly, you might be able to brainstorm and help each other enhance your individual businesses.

Celebrity Events - This is one of my favorite things to do since I love entertainment and treating moms like they are rock stars. In fact, today, I'm in Chicago and will be hosting a luncheon for TNT's new series "Trust Me" with Monica Potter. We've invited Chicago's most amazing mom bloggers to this event and I cannot wait to finally connect with the moms I've been corresponding with over the last year. If you're invited to a unique event that sounds exciting or interesting, if you can, try to take time out of your schedule and attend. You might wind up making incredible connections that lead to more opportunities that will help you raise your own visibility. Plus, it's always nice to unwind and enjoy a nice lunch with your incredibly gifted and savvy online friends.

Speaking Engagements - These days, a lot of blogging moms have been featured speakers at a host of social media events. From Blogher, to the upcoming Blissdom to SocComm in NYC, there are lots of new ways for you to get the word out about yourself by pitching yourself as a featured speaker at an event. Personally, I love to produce events as if they were mini talk shows. We share the individual stories of our incredible guest speakers and then, just like on Oprah, we take questions from the audience, make people laugh, sometimes cry and then there are great giveaways at the end!

Host Your Own House Party - If you've never been to a talk show, that doesn't mean you can't host one yourself. Sure there may not be cameras in your home, but if you are an author and want to draw attention to your new book, why not host a home party and invite your favorite bloggers and media to attend. I happen to love the concept of home events - especially in light of the economy. And if you have fans who really love your book - see if they'd like to have you make an appearance at their book club. House parties are no longer just about Tupperware!

Hope these ideas have made the wheels start spinning for you this week. Why should Oprah, Rachel Ray and Martha have all the fun? You can do it too right from your own living room. So get motivated and let me know when you start building your own field of dreams.