This last Sunday evening I was invited to attend a Bloggy Boot Camp sponsored by the SITS Girls and Invisalign. I have never been to one of these before and was ready and excited to learn as much as I could.
There was a lot covered in a very short period of time and I took a lot of notes. In order to share the information in the most concise manner, I will focus on five points. There is much more to cover, but this will start the conversation rolling.
So you have started a blog, now what? You need to decide what your end goal is. Are you hoping to make money from the blog, entertain, inform. All of the above? What’s your goal? Once you have decided on a goal work towards your end game and stay focused. Before you accept anything make sure that it fits in line with your end goal.
Second Point
How your blog looks matters. Clean, concise, and uncluttered is what you are looking for. Check your load time and nix any plug-ins that are dragging your blog down. Make sure to check your site in various web browsers and at different computers other than your own.
Make sure your email is up front and center. No one who is looking to contact you wants to go searching for it. That could be a very important contact.
Third Point
There are many social media platforms Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. LinkedIn, G+, StumbleUpon. It’s hard to keep up with it all. Pick one platform and become a rockstar on it. Tiffany Romero, founder of the SITS girls, suggested hiring out if you couldn’t keep up with it all. I am not there yet, but several women I talked to that evening already do this and have people managing some of their other online media accounts so that they could focus on just one outlet.
FYI- It was reinforced repeatedly that Twitter really, really matters. If you aren’t on there yet, you need to be. Set up an account and start making connections and building your community.
Fourth Point
Your About Me page IS important. Think of it like a resume. It should include the following elements:
- Your nearest major city
- Interests on and off the blog
- Accomplishments and links to some of your best, brightest and most popular posts
- The year(s) your kids were born and or their ages. Brands like to see if you are a nice fit for them.
- Include a 1.5 minute video of yourself if you have one. It should explain about you and your blog. Some brands want bloggers for TV and this gives them a good idea if you can fit that role. Danielle Smith has some nice examples of how to do this.
Fifth Point
When creating images to be shared on social media consider the following:
Pinterest: The image should be vertical. The best colors that receive the highest repins are brown, orange, gold and white
Facebook: The image should be square and don’t actually say something about the image in the say something box. A clean, stand-alone image has a higher likelihood of being reshared.
Google+: Upload your image, do not use the thumbnail that is offered.
We also covered the basics of how to land sponsored posts and brand opportunities as well as how to format posts properly for Facebook and G+ in order to help them go viral. There really is a lot of information, so stay tuned in the coming days as I am able to get it all put down and relay it.
Schmoozing with the pros, so you don’t have to. . . j/k
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| Even though it was dark and not many of my pics turned out, here is one of me social stalking a few of the blogging rockstars there that night. Tiffany Romero (Founder SITS Girls) and Jill Greenlaw (Mom It Forward Editorial Manager). |
Stay Happy! Stay Informed!
Love,
Jen
If you liked this post check out these other posts:
Three Important Do’s and Dont’s For Mommy Bloggers
