[More Blissdom posts: Affiliate Marketing and Mommy Bloggers, Meeting Alyssa Avant at Blissdom, Social Media Mavens, Building Content and Readership]
I meant to get these done by now, but I’ve been distracted by Twittering and visiting my Blissdom friends’ blogs 
Imagine, a blogger getting distracted by other blogs. That NEVER happens, right?
The live Twitter notes from the second day are a little sparse. Mostly because my laptop wouldn’t connect so I couldn’t twitter much, so I had to take brief notes by hand (I can type sooo much faster!).
Here goes.
The first session of the day was Affiliate Marketing, but I am putting those notes on a page of their own because I am far too opinionated on the subject to squeeze them in here.
The second session was on Maximizing Relationships: PR, Marketing, Brands, and Ad Agencies
For some reason I have not ONE note from this session. I’m not sure where my head was.
The next session?
Branding: You, Your Blog, Your Business
Then the next session was on Branding and what that means for a blogger.
This one was great because the respected Liz Strauss was one of the panel members. The woman just has this energy around her that tells you that you can learn a lot from just standing next to her. I managed to catch her after the sessions to glean some of her wisdom. (Thanks again Liz, I’m right on that!)
When it comes to branding, the big point to remember is this:
As a blogger, YOU ARE your brand.
If you realize after some time that you want to change the direction of your blog, the advice was to:
“Do It And Do It Fast.”
Don’t be afraid to rebrand yourself to be more true to your voice. You will lose some visitors and readers, but the loyal ones will follow you and you will ultimately be more successful.
The last session of the event was Success Blogging.
I wanted to hear this one because a blogger I have long admired for her writing ability is Simple Mom’s Tsh. (And I don’t think anyone knew her name before Blissdom!) I like Tsh for her focus on living simply. I am a huge minimalist myself. I love the clean look of her blog and how she stays on topic.
I also appreciate (and I would like to have stood up on the table and screamed this message at several points during the weekend) that Tsh stays true to herself and her message AND makes great money too.
It’s not an either/or proposition. You can be who you are and not “sell out” and still make great income with your blog.
Boundaries
Tsh talked a lot about boundaries in this session and I took home some great info that I plan to implement immediately. You have to set real boundaries about how much access you will allow others to have when you have a successful blog. And while I am not as “known” in the mom blogger community, I am a successful work at home businesswoman so I am bombarded with email and contact me requests.
I need to get a little more strict with myself about that.
There was a lot of talk of:
Networking
Tsh encouraged bloggers more than once to “Network up, down and sideways.”
Meaning don’t be too intimidated to network with people who are more known than you are, and also those who are just starting out. New blogs grow, and new bloggers grow. I thought this was a great point.
Accountability
A great tip for new bloggers that falls under this heading is: Make friends with another blogger who can hold you accountable.
If you’re spending too much time at the computer (or too little!), your friend can remind you of what your goals are. Tsh said she has found this in Ali aka Mrs Fussypants, the mom behind Blissdom. If she is on the computer too late at night, Ali tells her to go to bed. LOL!
As far as accountability goes, I will again mention my incredible sponsor (who I plug all the time anyway, despite the sponsorship!) Mom Masterminds.
If you are a Blissdom attendee be sure to email or DM me on Twitter for your special link that entitles you to a FREE MONTH of membership.
We are constantly challenging each other to meet our goals. It’s a great feeling of teamwork, mutual back scratching and even a good solid butt kickin’ when needed.
Goal Setting
Tsh encouraged new bloggers to set small monthly goals that they could work towards. The goal would be different depending on what your overall idea of success is. Maybe it’s a certain number of readers, maybe it’s an income goal. Whatever it is, set those down in writing and use your accountability buddy to help you achieve them.
Stay tuned for more. The Starbucks is pourin’ and the kids are with Grandma this morning.
I wish I could have gone to Blissdom *sigh* – it looks like you had so much fun and left with so much useful info. Thanks for sharing your notes. I look forward to reading more about what you have learned.
Feel free to catch up with me anytime I’m around. It’s such fun to share experiences in this new and growing space. We’re all learners on an admazing advennture. I’ve just been doing the living part a little longer — I’m old (remember? smile) Being in a room with so many doing so many important things how could I not bring all of my energy?
I think you had plenty of energy and wisdom of your own. It shows right here.
I passed you so many times over the weekend and always wanted to say hi! I think we talked for a few minutes at the cocktail party on Friday night. Unfortunately, I am extremely, painfully shy in social settings and I just couldn’t find a way to move past it.
I would have loved to chat with you more though. I just love your site here. I knew of you from Kelly’s podcasts, but this is my first time here. I will definitely be losing myself here for hours at a time!