Last night's Meetup falls into the last category perhaps mostly due to the sponsors, Paramount,  being particularly generous with the prize draw (3 winners) and managing to keep the sponsored bar going until late (everyone's a winner!) but also to the wide range of blogging interests represented.

Nice presentation on '58 Ways To Improve Your Blog' that Marko Saric managed to canter through in a very short time.  Marko's got some good stuff on his site which is well worth a visit.

Gary Andrews is a football nut who is turning his favourite subject into a way of life by podcasting with his friends about their own take on every aspect of football.  Sounds like a great way of getting your views heard by a larger audience.

Another blogger aiming to whip up a storm was Zubyre Parvez though he has chosen a rather bigger mountain to move and wants to change the future of China using interesting music at www.FreedomForChina.co.uk.    That seems like one hell of a mountain to be climbing but when you've got a social conscience like Zubyre there is obviously not a lot that is going to put you off.

Insane cycle lane

On a less serious note, Rob Ainsley pokes fun at London's efforts to encourage cyclists in his blog at www.RealCycling.co.uk.  Seeing the real end result of planners half hearted attempts to squeeze cycling facilities into London's streets without really grasping the nettle of changing the priorities is similar to the sanity check that occurs when you drag yourself away from your keyboard and get out to meet real bloggers.

Lots of other interesting bloggers around but the usual lapses of neglected business cards and a morning after bad memory prevent them all featuring here.

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It is in building relationships with real people that you will find the partners who will ultimately spread the word and provide the leverage to reach a bigger audience as JV partners or as affiliates – or simply by engaging in your blogging conversation with links and pingbacks.

As blogging in niche markets is clearly my niche that's why I was at the London Bloggers Meetup last night to connect with other bloggers.

What was intriguing was that the Meetup this month was sponsored by Breakthrough Breast Cancer who were working in the opposite direction, though for the same reasons,  and were sponsoring the event as a means of getting the word out among bloggers to spread the word online about the Million Model Catwalk, their 2009 campaign for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.

The Million Model Catwalk enables you to have your photo superimposed onto a fashion model waltzing down the catwalk – and pick the clothes you want to wear to see how they might look on you. There is also a possibility for some company as you can also choose to step out as a duo with one of the famous characters who have given their time and images to the cause.

I had already seen street posters for the Million Model Catwalk but had no idea what it might do for me. (There's that concept again; 'What's in it for me?') But now I know – and so do you – i.e. exactly what they set out to achieve.

Interested? Then go visit Million Model Catwalk to find out more.

I had a nice chat with Alexa Hohenberg of Stream who was responsible for managing the content of the campaign.

Also met Hayley Dunlop who amuses herself by puntificating on newspaper headlines at www.punlimited.co.uk/ and Harry Wood who is a heavy participant in Open Street Map, an open source mapping project that has the advantage over more traditional formats of enabling participants to add additional information such as footpaths and other routeways.

As each conversation during a pleasant chat in the bar inevitably revolved around what each of us was doing in the blogging world the subject of my own efforts here on Niche Market Blogger inevitably came up.

Word of mouth is the most effective marketing tool available and off-line networking with like-minded people in your niche can be a very effective method of promotion.

Bruce Bird

Niche Market Blogger

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