Blogging with the Stars:
Grace from Design*Sponge was so real, I just loved it! A big statement she made was not to think freelance is a walk in the park again you will work harder than you ever have! She stressed the importance of investing in a well designed blog layout and covering a wide range of lifestyle series. A great confirmation was that she can not do everything she wants right away and actually has a savings account she puts money into each month for the larger projects! Great idea!
Cassandra from Coco+Kelley's tips were perfect for both the newbie blogger and a reminder to the seasoned blogger. A great way to grow your audience is to leave comments, send a hello email to a blogger you admire and most important get out and NETWORK! She has started many series on her blog and has become known as an expert, this has helped her reach out to editors and show she has original content.
Dan McCarthy was INCREDIBLE and he offered up the information which will have the most impact on my business. There was way too many good nuggets to write in one post but go ahead and follow him on twitter to gain from his Social Media knowledge.
Tips:
Create profession content, truly share your opinion and most importantly be authentic and transparent. The more authentic your blog is the more you will engage and the more appealing you become to readers.
Make it easy for people to subscribe to your blog whether Google reader, RSS feed or email. Always use the same URL when posting on different sites, this way Google knows you are a social identity and can point back to your site.
Leverage your influence, access and knowledge!
Don't post throw aways and don't apologize for not blogging, people don't want to read that when they first find your blog! Go back and read that again, don't post throw aways. If you are not into the topic your readers will be able to see right through you!!
Be actively involved in the conversation (yes that is right don't just tweet & walk away...engage!!)
Lastly I will share a few points from Ronda at All The Best, who I just adore and want to soak up every piece of advice she has!
Questions to ask yourself: Who are you? What do you do? What does it matter?
In her experience, when you make a decision and it scares the heck out of everyone else than it usually turns into a good decision!
Be clear on your brand and what you want to achieve. Posting on Twitter is pointless unless you have a clear strategy! (This is so true remember when I tweeted about your 2011 Social Media plan? If you don't have one, it's not to late to create one believe me it has helped my Social Media efforts stay focused!!)
It is very important to follow your brand competitors, your target audience, industry leaders and influential media people. Know who is out there and what they are posting! (this is the number 1 tip I also share with people that ask for advice, know who is out there!)
To see a few pictures from the conference head on over to the Jace Interiors & CreateGirl Facebook page, I met so many fun people!
(image from Martha Stewart and Desire to Inspire)
