FemCon13 Recap

Ok, better late than never, right?

I'm only 2 and a half weeks late on this!

#femcon13

So for those of you who don't know, I went to my very first blogger conference on October 26, 2013! I was nervous, excited, and really wasn't sure what to expect! It was the very first annual Femworking Small Business and Blogger Conference in Arlington, Virginia. I had a few hour hike North but not bad. Not like Haven Conference where I'd have to fly to Atlanta, Georgia, SNAP! where I'd have to fly to Salt Lake City, Utah or BlogHer all the way in San Jose, California!

The conference was kicked off by the keynote speaker, Jill Smokler of Scary Mommy. She is hilarious and down to earth. I hadn't actually heard of her blog (no babies = not big into mommy blogs) but I'll definitely recommend it to my friends with young children and babies. She brings a sense of reality and humor to being a parent. We even got a signed copy of her latest book, Motherhood Comes Naturally (And Other Vicious Lies)! 

We had a full day of speakers and discussions lined up. Everyone was bound to learn at least ONE thing per session. I say at least one thing but if anyone was like me, they learned a ton during each session! Pictured here is the Social Media Panel. Left to right it is Christen Green of Social Shop Media, Laura Harders from Beltway Bargain Mom, and Dawn McCaslin of The Crispy Sage. They gave us all sorts of great info! A few of my favorite points I wrote down were:

• Reciprocity - If you help out someone else, they'll help you out! The more I find AMAZING bloggers to network with, the more I realize how true this is! My advice, seek out and find small groups of like-bloggers that are in it to support each other. Start with specific networks/groups like DIY, real food, home improvement, etc. and also look for networks within your home state! If you can't find a good fit for you...start your own support group! 
• Write out goals for each social media platform (Number of followers, amount of scheduled posts, repins/retweets/shares, etc)
• The first 3 or 4 words of a post MUST catch your reader's attention. 
• Focus on one or two social media outlets and be great at them. 
• Have a presence in all social media forms.
• Get used to hashtags...they're here to stay and will help people find you. 

I'll be honest, I don't like that last one! I hate hashtags. Strongly dislike if you prefer. BUT, the panel stressed that in ever social media outlet, hashtags will help people find my blog. If I write a vegan cookie recipe and use #vegancookie on Pinterest, people searching for vegan cookies will find my pin! Guess I have to work on that! In the meantime I'll keep laughing at hashtags because it makes me think of this! 

We also had a business panel, marketing, monetizing/optimizing your blog, and a legal panel. Pictured her is 3 of the 4 (well, you can actually see Nicole Dash of Tiny Steps Mommy (one of the two lovely ladies who put on this conference) in the mirror on the left. Then from left to right it's Taya Dunn-Johnson of Just Another Day with MrsTDJ, Monica Sakala of Wired Momma and Maria Jose Ovalle of Very Busy Mama'. All these ladies were wonderful and relatable. No one sugar coats things around here! Some of my favorite points from this panel were:

• Listen to your voice.
• Trust your instincts.
• Get out of your box.
• No business is going to come to you and offer you money. You need to request it.
• Create a media kit.
• No one can tell your story but you. 

I couldn't find a good picture of all the speakers of the monetizing your blog session but here's some of what I took away from it:

• Have a good bio, photo and contact (e-mail address!) info easy to find and available. 
• Don't use a contact form.
• Create a media kit. Use it as your "brag' page (guess I need to get on this one...seems to be a big point!) 
• Have a self hosted blog (It's on my to-do list I promise!)
• Work with brands that work with you and your blog
• Treat your blog like a business. Because it is one!

Kelly Sanabria and Nicole Dash, the two lovely ladies who put on this amazing conference in only 3 months! We need some virtual applause, snaps and kudos to these ladies! 

After the conference I hooked up with these beautiful gals and we got dinner before coming back for the cocktail hour in the rooftop lounge of the hotel for a bit. From left to right it's Heidi from Life In Pink, Jess of Being Mrs. Beer, Britni of Play. Party. Pin., Megan of Picture This Photo Solutions, LLC. and me! 

Overall it was a great conference and a great experience!

Have you ever been to a conference? Who wants to pay my way to one of those other huge (and expensive) conferences in 2014? Anyone??

Till next time,
Catherine

Disclaimer: All photos (except the last four) were are from here and were used with permission. 

Lynchburg Virginia Blogger Meetup

Last night we had our meet-up for Lynchburg bloggers at Mangia Wine Bar!

(via)

I was so excited to meet other bloggers near me! In our little town of Lynchburg, Virginia there were 5 of us that met for dinner from Virginia Bloggers. 

• First there's Paula from Sweet Pea which is a blog about cooking, gardening, home projects and life. You may recognize her screen print pumpkin pillow project (I think I'm getting out of hand with all these "p's") from the latest Clutch Guide! 

• Then there's Cait from Cait Makes Things which is all about sewing and upcycling thrifted finds. She also shares another fashion based blog called Two Little Bells with a friend. Check out her easy project for making cheap (and adorable) boot trees! My only tall boots are from my horse showing days but I'd love to make this project for a friend!

• There's also Carrie from Dream Green DIY, the blog about incredible DIY design on a budget. You make recognize her from a recent Better Homes and Gardens issue. No big deal. (Except it's a hugely awesome deal!) If you're local you may also recognize her and her beautiful home from the latest Clutch Guide! 

• And finally there's Megan from Rappsody in Rooms, another fantastic blog about renovating a 1960s rancher into a space that reflects her personality along blogging about life in general. Ever wondered what a year's supply of toilet paper looks like? Wonder no more. 

We sat on the patio during the beautiful evening and had a great time chatting and eating and discussing all kinds of things. We brought up one of our favorite bloggers, Young House Love multiple times, talked about networking, our families, jobs, and some silly giveaways. We talked about Haven Conference and got some awesome insight from Megan and Paula who were fortunate enough to go! Megan almost got pooped on by a bird, our waiter forgot about us and overall we had a fantastic time! We ended up having such a good time that we completely forgot to get any pictures! I'm a little bummed but I'm sure we'll get together again soon! 

If there are any other local bloggers in the area we'd love to meet with you too! 

Be sure to check out their awesome blogs and tell them Catherine sent you! 

Till next time,

Catherine

Lynchburg, Virginia Blogger Meet-Up!

If you're a blogger in the Lynchburg (Or even Roanoke and Charlottesville) area and want (or need for that matter) a night out, come out to Mangia and meet up with your fellow local bloggers!

Click HERE for more information from Virginia Bloggers.

If you're planning on going, leave me a comment with your name and blog name so I can connect the blogs/faces ahead of time. I hope we have a great turn out! I look forward to meeting you!!

Till next time,
Catherine

Upcoming Blogger Conference - Femworking Conference in Northern Virginia

Have you been pining over Haven Conference photos and posts? Are you ready to take a big step in growing your blog? Want to meet bloggers near you?

Then mark your calendars for the Femworking Blogger & Small Business Conference! This conference will be held in Arlington, Virginia on October 26, 2013 so start planning now!

There will be so much to see, do, and people to meet,  network with, and learn from!

Click HERE to learn more. Sign up before September 1st to save $$$!

I'm hoping to go because this would be an INCREDIBLE opportunity for me and my little blog! I'll have to wait and see, though.

Anyone else planning on going? If I go, I'd love to meet up with you!

Till next time,
Catherine