Build-a-Bear Workshop CEO Maxine Clark mends an attendee's daughter's bear at a previous Type-A conference, and the company returns this year as a Kid Con sponsor.

Type-A Parent Conference is fortunate to have some amazing companies supporting the event and all of the attendees through sponsorship. I don’t know if everyone realizes this, but each person who registers actually puts the conference in the red by a few hundred dollars. If it weren’t for our great sponsors, the conference wouldn’t be possible (or registration would cost what many industry conferences run, $1,000+ per pass).

I want to take a moment to thank the 2012 sponsors, and I hope you will, too. I love that these are companies that value our voices, our blogs and our impact in social media.

Here is our list of 2012 sponsors. Be sure to follow them and like them (we’ve made it easy, you can follow and like right on the page!). Also be sure to reach out on Twitter and Facebook and thank them for their support! If you’re time-pressed, you can just click the social sharing buttons at the top of the sponsor page to share the list of all of the companies. You can also connect with the sponsors via the official Type-A sponsor Twitter list.

If you are interested in joining the list, we do have just a few last-minute sponsorship options available. You can find out more here.

1. $50 off, the LAST DISCOUNT we will send you this year. Use code MOMSROCK to register by 11:55 p.m. PST on Sunday to save.
2. Get swag mailed to you by sponsors pre-conference. We will soon send sponsors addresses for anyone who opted in to be contacted by sponsors when they registered. If you want to get those goodies and gifts, you need to be in the system ASAP.
3. Sign up your children for Kid Con conference childcare, with registration closing June 1 and limited spaces. You must be a registered attendee to sign up for Kid Con.
4. Sign up for hands-on sessions. We will have individual registration to control group size (at no extra charge) for the small group hands-on sessions with important topics like time management for bloggers, blog post brainstorming, creating killer about pages, crafting book proposals and landing speaking gigs.  You must be a registered attendee to sign up for a hands-on session.
5. Get invited to private blogger events. We will have a small number of private functions with sponsors, and you must be registered to get invited.
6. Get personalized badges. Our deadline for badge printing is approaching fast. If you don’t register ASAP, you will not get a badge with your name, Twitter @ and blog or business name printed on it.
7. Get a room. The room block for Type-A is almost sold out. Once it is sold out, you will have to pay much more per night if you can even get a room at the Hilton.
8. Get more followers. The longer you are on the official Twitter Type-A Parent Conference attendee list, the more followers you will get, and the more pre-conference networking you can do with bloggers, speakers and brands!
9. Get access to the private, closed Type-A Parent Conference Facebook group. Get a chance to network with speakers, attendees and sponsors in this group only open to those who have registered.
10. Get a pass. Yes, the conference registrations could sell out completely like they did last year. Don’t miss out on your chance to attend!

We hope to see you next month at Type-A Parent Conference for some game changing sessions plus some amazing networking and parties.

Register Now!

Early bird pricing expires TOMORROW! Be sure to register now before the price goes up!

Be sure to register now before the early bird registration expires TOMORROW (March 31)!

Just FYI, early bird pricing expires in just 12 days (or when early bird tickets sell out, whichever comes first). Be sure to register now before the price goes up!

Melanie Nelson, author of Facebook All-in-One For Dummies and owner of Blogging Basics 101 Session: Facebook Pages (Intensives Track) Follow @chilihead		Ellen Gerstein, director of marketing at Wiley and owner of Confessions of an IT Girl Session: Crafting a Book Proposal (Hands-On Track) Follow @elleinthecity
Kelly Whalen, owner of Centsible Life and co-founder of Splash Creative Media Session: Don’t Rank Me – Getting Beyond Scores and Numbers (Business Track) Follow @centsiblelife		Brian Littleton, CEO and president of Shareasale Session: Monetizing Your Blog with Affiliates (Business Track) Follow @brianlittleton
Amy Fandrei, acquisitions editor at Wiley Session: Crafting a Book Proposal (Hands-On Track) Follow @amyfandrei		Alyssa Gregory, founder of Small Business Bonfire Session: Creating a Business Plan (Hands-On Track) Follow @alyssagregory
Linda Sellers, owner of Linneyville Session: Creating a Killer About Page (Hands-On Track) Follow @linda_sellers		Tonja Deegan, digital marketing manager for University of Michigan Alumni Association Session: Creating a Killer About Page (Hands-On Track) Follow @tvdeegan
Amy Lupold Bair, owner of Resourceful Mommy Media LLC Session: Time Management (Hands-On Track) Follow @resourcefulmom		David Binkowski, partner of Large Media Session: Don’t Rank Me – Getting Beyond Scores and Numbers (Business Track) Follow @dbinkowski

Be sure to register now before the early bird registration expires!

The deadline for partner applications is March 20, 2012.

Apply Now

And the opening keynote speaker is…

Chris Garrett

Chris Garrett is an online marketing consultant, coach, teacher and all-round web geek. He helps bloggers, consultants, freelancers, authors, coaches and speakers to grow their business by attracting and serving engaged audiences of people who know, like and trust them. He is the co-author of ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income.

See his site, ChrisG.com, and follow him on Twitter, @chrisgarrett.

Special thanks to Wiley for sponsoring the opening keynote.

If you want to blog to thrive and grow as a business, you won’t want to miss Chris’ opening keynote! Be sure to register while there are still tickets available at the early bird pricing.

Register Now…

Note: you must already be registered for the conference to book your child into Kid Con, and the number of Kid Con spaces is limited.

The deadline for Type-A Parent Conference 2012 volunteer applications is January 30, so be sure to apply now. Volunteers can apply for either half-price tickets in exchange for four hours of volunteer time or free passes in exchange for eight hours of volunteer time.

The deadline has passed

Photo by Robin Dance.

And the closing keynote speaker is…

…René Syler

@renesyler

René Syler is a woman on a mission!

After two decades as a television news anchor, including four years on CBS’ The Early Show, Rene decided it was time for a change. Tired of reading from a teleprompter, René was determined to find her own voice and inspire women like herself – juggling busy lives, raising children and trying to live up to impossible parenting ideals. The result is René’s missive on modern motherhood, Good Enough Mother: The Perfectly Imperfect Book of Parenting and its subsequent website, Goodenoughmother.com.

René believes passionately in finding your voice and living by your own standards. As the daughter of two breast cancer survivors, René underwent a highly-publicized, preventive mastectomy in 2007. She now works tirelessly to promote early detection and travels the country speaking to groups of women (and men) about health issues, modern parenting and the importance of putting yourself first.

René writes for several websites, including TLC’s Parentables, Evenflo, Everyday Health and has her own column in The Birmingham News. She also makes regular guest appearances on TV shows, including CNN, BET, The Joy Behar Show, The Doctors and The Nate Berkus Show, is an in-demand speaker, continues to build the Good Enough Mother brand and is a proud wife to Buff Parham and parent to Casey and Cole.

Believe me, you will not want to miss her keynote! Be sure to register while there are still tickets available at the early bird pricing.

Register Now…

• Two full conference passes to Type-A Parent 2012 (one for you and one you can share with a friend, partner or spouse!)
• One room for three nights at the conference venue, Hilton Charlotte Center City, during the conference

Entering is easy. Between now and 11:59 p.m. PST on December 28, 2011, each tweet with:

I want to go to #typeacon with @your-friends-name! Enter to win at http://bit.ly/typeasocial

is a chance to win  (replace @your-friends-name with, you know, a friend, partner or spouse). This step is mandatory to enter. You can also tweet multiple times to enter you and a different friend each time if you’d like. Just please be considerate and don’t tweet like crazy.

Meanwhile, you can also get a special discount on Type-A Parent Conference passes (and yes, if you win your registration will be refunded). Just during the contest, get 25% off any pass. Visit Type-A Parent Conference and enter code “GETSOCIAL” to get the savings.

The fine print:

There is no alternative cash value. The winner will be randomly selected among all tweets to receive a conference+business pass registration for him or her and the friend of choice. One hotel room will be reserved and paid for in the winner’s name at the conference for use by the winner and friend. The winner and friend are responsible for all other costs and expenses related to the conference. The prize is not transferable.

Photo by Jenna Hatfield @firemom