Today I wanted to share with all of you the top things that I took away from the sessions I attended at the Healthy Living Summit. I love the session portion of the summit because it really re-inspires me to write my blog, but this year it also inspired me to search for a job or career that I really love, but you’ll see more below!
I attended several sessions, including Blogs in Transition, Video: Lights, Camera, Action, Blogger and the Brand, and From Blog to Job. All of the sessions had a TON of great information, so I encourage you to check out the live blogs from each of the sessions. The takeaways in this post are things I felt were most relevant to me, so you might find a lot more information for yourself on those blogs. Here are my main takeaways:
Comment Reply Notification: You know how you comment on a blog and when the blogger comments back you get an email with their response? Well, all this time I’ve been responding to EVERY single comment on my blog, but didn’t realize that my comment reply plug-in wasn’t working… womp womp. I learned in this session that you have to go into settings and turn on the comment reply notification, so expect to get responses from now on!
Working With Companies – JUST ASK! I’m always jealous of some of the great product review opportunities I see other bloggers getting. However, sitting around and waiting to be contacted isn’t going to get me anywhere – I need to reach out to companies and ask about reviewing their products or working with them. The worst that can happen is they say no! They suggested to reach out to companies whose products you’re already passionate about, that way the company will be more excited about what you might bring to the table.
Develop a Blog Mission Statement: What are you all about? What are you trying to convey or achieve with your blog? Having a mission statement may be helpful in helping your own brand, knowing you are and staying true to that concept.
From Blog to Job: your blog can be a great way to discover your passions in life and possibly turn a career out it. Some suggestions included find a mentor and/or look at other bloggers who’ve done something that inspires you and get ideas from them. Reach out to these bloggers for ideas. Make a resume that includes blogging information (for example, my resume is only law-oriented and I plan on making a second).
Incorporate into an LLC: if your blog does become your job, or if you’re doing freelance writing and are your own boss, incorporating into an LLC can be a smart idea to protect yourself. It’s very simple and not expensive (usually less than $50 depending on your state) and it means that if you’re sued by someone and they win, they can only come after your business assets and not your personal assets. This is more relevant if you have something you want to protect, like property that you own.
Plug-Ins: Here are a list of plug-ins that I wrote down (from a much longer list) that I didn’t have and sounded interesting: About Me 3000; Alpine photo tile from Instagram; broken link checker; nrelate related content; Tweetily; Ultimate Follow Me plugin by Free Blog Factory
And there you have it! These are just my own notes from the summit, so I really recommend checking out the live blogs of each of the sessions to get more ideas that might work for you and your blog.
Do you have any good blog tips?
What do you think about these?
love all these (especially the just ask!)
for me my biggest and best tip is CONSISTENCY (just like fitness :-)).
blog consistently.
maintain consistency in your VOICE across all social media channels.
Yes, just ask was one of my favorites – so simple but so true! And that’s great advice, to maintain consistency in your voice.
That’s some really good info! Thanks for sharing.
I don’t have a plugins option on my blog. Probably because I just started last month and am using the free WordPress blog. Oh well!
I’m using the free wordpress blog still too! But a lot of the tips still apply 🙂
Thanks, Katie!
Yes, only the non-free version has plug-ins, which is one of the reasons I switched!
this is the second post i’ve read about tweetily… i need to investigate!
Haha me too!
Is the whole conference about blogging? I don’t even know how I stumbled into the blog world, but I can’t believe how huge it is! How did your blog end up getting so popular?
Yep, it’s a conference for Healthy Living Bloggers! And I am shocked every year how big the blogging world is, I keep discovering tons and tons of new blogs!
Wow these tips are great, and so important! Especially that LLC information.. Good to know! I will definitely be watching the original videos!
Thanks, Jana!
Great tips! I especially love the one about being your authentic self 🙂
Thank you, Sim!
Great tips!! I’ve been wanting to make my blog an LLC – need to get on that!
I’m pretty sure you just have to fill out some paperwork and send in a check! Haha you can figure anything out with Google
I’ve had Comment Reply Notification on my blog all this time too, but apparently it hasn’t been working! I tried to fix it yesterday, but I still don’t think that it’s sending an email. How did you get yours to work?
I googled it and came up with this you-tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze5Thc9R31s
Thank you so much! I should’ve thought to YouTube it months ago! Yours is working well now, because I got an email sending me to this comment :).
Ah perfect! Haha thanks for letting me know – I was going to ask someone to double check!
thanks for sharing this information– just downloaded some new plugins! (:
Great! I’m glad it helped, Danielle!
SWeet! Amen about the response thing–it took me many months to realize no one got an email stating I replied to their comment!! Hah. Luckily the husband fixed that real quick.
I need to update & get on some new plug ins!
Haha well it’s taken me about a year to realize it! Womp womp
I definitely picked up some great tips from the sessions this year – and I definitely agree with the idea that you should just ask when it comes to companies, especially ones that you’re already passionate about. But I also remember a tip that you should only do a handful at a time, so you’re not shilling for a million products at once. I’m definitely feeling inspired to see how I can use my blog to find a job I’m passionate about – Lauren, Cassie and Gretchen were so inspiring!
yes, they did say only do a few at a time, haha didn’t want to make the paragraph too long!
Thanks for sharing these! Since I’m still fairly new to the scene, blogger help tips are super useful to me. I take any that I can get!
No problem, Ang, I’m glad you found them helpful!
awww so making me wish I could have gone,, such amazing people and info. I have read some of the sessions but am checking out a few of the apps you mentioned since I didn’t know them!
I wish you could have been there too!
I’m going to have to check out the related content one! I’ve been meaning to add that to my blog but haven’t found a plug-in I liked yet.
I have one, but I haven’t been able to get the picture part to work… Hmmm.
great tips! it’s always overwhelming when it comes to technology! we gotta go to our resources, like HLS! thanks for sharing!
I certainly couldn’t figure it all out on my own!
CONSISTENCY is key for us!!
we use some of those plug-ins 🙂
You guys are great with consistency, I always know I can expect your posts!
Good tips! I am going to remember those plug-ins for when I go self-hosted (hopefully soon!).
Good luck on going self-hosted!
Great tips! By the sounds of it I must not be doing to bad, I’ve got a mission statement and my LLC (or Ltd in the UK) set up. I think an overarching tip is to just be you. I have been so worried about whether or not I was doing things ‘right’ I was getting quite anxious, then I remembered the true reason I blog (getting back to the mission) and stopped worrying about making mistakes. I’m much happier that way!
Well I certainly love your blog with you just being you!
Love the quote about being your authentic self! Such a cute pic of us all from dinner. I have this one too!
I agree – love the dinner pic!
You forgot about how you learned where to buy a Lobster dress. 😉 So glad you figured out the comment reply!! 🙂
BAHA! The most important thing I learned all weekend!
DUDE cameo!! Such a GREAT comment to highlight.
Haha I thought you’d like that
A little late reading this, but wanted to thank you for sharing! I got my comment reply notification enabled just a few weeks ago, and was kicking myself realizing that it wasn’t working before because, just like you, I was responding to every comment and no one probably knew!! Oh well, live and learn!
*gasp* I LOVE the blog mission statement idea. So many times I run into a blog identity crisis. Having a point to focus on will make it so much easier to be the “authentic me” that I’m working on 🙂