Blog Tips and Conference Recap

SHOP MY LOOK (left)
Top: 1. State // Jeans: 7 For All Mankind // Watch: Michael Kors
Pumps: Nine West // Lipstick: NARS (Manhunt)
Handbag: Daily Style Finds Collection (My design -- Coming soon!)


This past weekend I attended the Create + Cultivate conference in Chicago. It was a group of 500 women - all passionate about owning or starting a business in the digital space.  There were a lot of bloggers - soon-to-be bloggers - but also a mix of media, technical, graphic artists, and others.  Here is a recap of my take-aways, some tools and tips, and the inspiration to make a change I gathered from it...

NICHE

There was a lot of discussion about defining your niche, especially since there are so many blogs starting each day, month, year... so, to make it you are going to need to be different to stand-out.  When developing your business, it is necessary to ask “WHY” you are doing what you are doing. Then, think about what value you are bringing to your readers or customers.  You should focus on things that money can’t buy - that is your value proposition.

Also, in defining a business, we typically think about demographics (age, race, religion, gender, family size, ethnicity, income, and education, etc.) but it is really important to dig deeper and define the psychographics (the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles), which does a better job of answering the “why”.

VALUE

A few speakers also stressed the importance of presenting yourself and your business as something of value.  You need to value your business so others will know its value. Do not undersell yourself, especially when negotiating deals for collaborations or sponsorships.  It is important to place a realistic value on what you bring to the partnership and have statistics, such as a Media Kit to back it up.  It was stressed that we all have to start somewhere, so what you ask for at the beginning can always increase as your audience or customer base does.  Also, in the beginning it is important to "sell" yourself.  And, as one speaker said -- “Fake it until you make it.”  I would not lie, but make sure you make yourself look important, so people will take you more seriously.

FAILURE

I think we are all afraid to "fail".  We think if we do not have followers or readers, then we have failed.  We cannot see any path as a failure - rather it is a stepping stone to helping us redefine where we are to go next.  We need to keep moving forward and use what we have learned for the next step.

BE "YOU"

My favorite quote of the day was "Everyone else is taken - so be yourself."  In the blogging world, there is so much copying.  We need to be our own person and do our own thing.  It goes back to defining your niche.  If we find our own point of view and our own target group, then we can present information to them in our own unique way, which that group will appreciate and respond to. Copying what someone else is doing - will just look like a copy, and not us, and why would someone what to follow a copy when they could follow the real thing.  And, if they are following the real thing, they are not following us!

MANAGERS

I knew big bloggers made (a lot of) money and have become celebrities, but I did not realize that some of them actually have managers that negotiate their deals and get them sponsorships.  Digital Brand Architects (DBA) is one of the firms that represents bloggers.

AFFLIATES

Two big affiliate programs (where bloggers can earn commission based on links clicked and products purchased) that were discussed were ShopStyle and rewardStyle.  I see ShopStyle gaining traction and having a different angle.  ShopStyle does allow you to earn money on links clicked, where rewardStyle is only based on purchases made.

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

Edgar - A social media scheduling tool.
Followers Plus - An app that tracks your gained and lost followers.
Iconosquare - A website that tracks your Instagram history, such as most liked photos, hashtags, and growth charts.

CONFERENCE SPEAKERS

Garance Dore was my favorite speaker at the conference.  I enjoyed your her relaxed, fun personality, and her honesty.  She shared how her business came about - and she talked with a realness that I really appreciated.  Her blog was born out of what may be considered a "failure" and it turned into a success and a real joy for her.

I also got to hear a few of my favorite bloggers - Rach from Pink Peonies and Emily from Ivory Lane speak.  Also, Erica from P.S. I Made This spoke - and she was too funny!

POP UP SHOPS
There were a couple of pop-up shops at the conference: Topshop and Whitney Eve.

Oh, and I met Whitney Port (from The Hills), and got to shop her collection.

Overall, the Create + Cultivate conference was a confirmation that I must re-evaluate the direction of my blog and where I want to go with it. I want it to be unique, and I need to work at refining my niche and the audience I am trying to reach. This blog has been a fun creative hobby for the past few years, but it is time to re-evaluate my goals and plans for the future.

I do want to thank all the wonderful women and their great response and support of my handbags (one of them seen in top picture).  I was so happy to get positive feedback and people to come up to me and have remembered my handbags!

GIVEAWAYS

Be sure to enter to win...

$200 to Target here. (Ends 8/21)

$200 to J. Crew here. (Ends 8/28)

$500 to Amazon (or PayPal cash) here. (Ends 9/14)
$200 to Target here (Ends 9/10)

STYLE ME BLOGGERS

This is the last week I am linking up with my fellow Style Me Bloggers (but stay tuned - we have a future project called The Blended Blog in the works).  The C + C conference was definitely the inspiration I needed to re-evaluate my blog and my future direction.



Be sure to stop by and check out what inspires my other lovely friends!

Shoes to Shiraz | Two Teens and Their Mama | The Blondissima 

R Squared  | Confessions of a Frumpy Mommy 

  Daily Style Finds | Quilty Joy Joy

Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After | Foxy's Domestic Side
Puppies & Pretties | Making the Most of Everyday
Mishaps & Mayhem of Solitary Life | A Lovely Little Wardrobe

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