Bloggy Boot Camp Atlanta: What are you Doing and Why?

‘Tis conference season and this past weekend I was able to attend the SITS Girls Bloggy Boot Camp in Atlanta.  Actually, I spoke there.  Keep reading for the details on that…

The Bloggy Boot Camp (BBC) series is one of my personal favorites.  It is short (only one day), smaller than others, yet oh-so-personal.  It was the first blog conference I ever attended, about 2 years ago, and I still maintain relationships I formed from that first one.  The connection is real at BBC and everyone leaves energized, electric, and positive.  It is a great feeling.

This year at BBC Atlanta there was a lot of real, deeper level blogging information shared.  Kayla Aimee gave remarkable pointers on how she earns hundreds of dollars every month in affiliate marketing. Anna Luther (who will be teaching a Pinning Perfect class very soon, head to our affiliate link to sign up for this popular Pinterest class) had my head spinning with her practical tips for mastering Pinterest.  Twenty-three pins a day, friends.  Yes, 23.

Liza Hippler gave a highly entertaining presentation about how to rock giveaways.  She shared image tips, entry ideas, platforms, giveaway round up websites, and legalities of contests.

A panel of honorable brands talked candidly and humorously about what they are looking for when it comes to bloggers they want to work with.  They actually spoke while drinking Skinny Girl Margaritas.  Again, BBC is one of my favorites.

Near the end of the day, yours truly stood up to deliver a presentation about creating content that connects.  Passionately, I walked the tired yet attentive and loving group of bloggers through a 5-step program to get better content.  “Your blog readers don’t owe you anything,” I stated.  “You have to work to keep them.”

But, really, the part about BBC that makes the bloggers in the room cry are the passionate speeches by Tiffany Romero.  She and Danielle Smith got up at the end of the day with life lessons, as they relate to blogging.  Tiffany teared up as they talked about the struggles of being a work at home mom, about believing in yourself, about how to negotiate potentially income-draining hours at the computer to your partner, and how and when to power down.  The duo pleaded with us to be more understanding and forgiving of one another:  “Get the words ‘must be nice’ out of your vernacular.”

They also challenged us to “know the end game.”  This is amazingly wise advice that everyone, every single blogger, needs to know the answer to.  What is your End Game with your blog?  Where do you want to be and where do you want it to take you?  If you know what life you want, where you want to drive to, then plan your business and your blog accordingly.

Truly, bloggers, this is critical advice.  You can learn everything you can about how to pin perfect and how to drop in affiliate links, but if you don’t know WHY you are doing it, what you are driving your blog towards in your life, then everything falls flat.  You lose focus.  You get wrapped up in the wrong things and the wrong metrics.  So answer that question for yourself, in writing.

While this conference happened in Atlanta, North Carolina bloggers were, as always, well-represented and it made my heart happy to connect with them.  They all had passion for blogging and were all so amazingly smart, nice, and talented.  I can’t wait to see them at more events, hopefully next time in state!

If you want a copy of my slides (although I have to tell you that in person I went off the rails a bunch, addressing questions I had received during the day and thoughts I had in response to other conference speakers), here you go:

SITS Girls BloggyBootCamp: Content That Connects from Allison Carter

If you have any questions about any of this, let me know. I can chat about blogging and blogs all day.  If you were at BBC Atlanta, tell us, what was your favorite part?

 

About Allison

Allison Barrett Carter is a writer who shares how to live a traditional life and still have great family adventures on her website – The Family Trip Online.