My Top 5 Takeaways from #PBEvent

I spent a couple of days away. They were amazing! I went to the ProBlogger Event 2013 on the Gold Coast. My bloggy buddy B from BBeingCool was my room-mate at the gorgeous QT Gold Coast and we had a blast meeting heaps of other bloggers and learning from some of the best in our industry.

Last year I flew to Melbourne for this event and came back with my head full of information and ideas. This year has been no different. I came back with lots of new ideas – not just new shoes!

I’ve been thinking about what to share about this experience – there are so many things I could share. I met amazing bloggers like Lorelei from Craftsmumship and Narelle from CookCleanCraft. I listened to some super experienced bloggers like Jess Van Den, Pip Lincolne and Katrina Springer. I was inspired by Darren Rowse and Claire Bowditch. But I’ve decided to share the Top 5 things I took away with me from PBEvent that might also be helpful to you as a blogger. They are in no particular order of greatness.

Number 1

The beautiful Amy Porterfield talked about using Facebook pages to grow your blog and I love Facebook so this was always going to be a session that I had to attend. She is a fount of information but the tip I’m going to share is

Change your Page Cover often

Why? Because it shows up in your feed each time you change it and you can fill in more information including a link in the information for that picture which can be useful.

Number 2

Tsh Oxenreider from Simple Mom mentioned this on the very first morning in the very first panel and it stuck with me. I had already been thinking that I needed to set myself “work hours” and this just reinforces that.

Work out your prime working time

If you work best in the early morning or the evening then plan your day around that time and leave the easy no-brainer tasks for other times of the day.

Number 3

On the second day I listened to Kat Springer, Craig Makepeace and Hailey Bartholomew on a panel led by Nicole Avery talk about building community. The thing that stuck with me from their session was about sharing your personal stuff with your readers so that they see the “real” you behind the blog.

Personalise by telling your story

This might mean sharing a big story post, but it could also be sharing photos on Instagram or posts on Facebook. If you work best in the early morning or the evening then plan your day around that time and leave the easy no-brainer tasks for other times of the day.

Number 4

Jess Van Den was one of the creative bloggers at the event this year and as a crafty blogger I was excited to see more creatives there. She spoke about blogging for product based businesses, which came from her experience making and selling handmade jewellery at her store, Epheriell. One of the gems she shared was

Use pictures

You have product photos so repurpose those pictures across all your social media, blog and newsletters. You might change the text that goes with them each time. You might also use less staged photos of your process to share your story. This might mean sharing a big story post, but it could also be sharing photos on Instagram or posts on Facebook. If you work best in the early morning or the evening then plan your day around that time and leave the easy no-brainer tasks for other times of the day.

Number 5

A number of bloggers mentioned this and it was encouraging to be told it – so many times there is a feeling that as a blogger I should be on every platform!

It is OK to not be on every social media platform

Choose your favourite one or two where you are comfortable and focus on sharing on them. You may still have profiles on the other platforms but it is OK to not be there all the time. You simply can’t do everything everyday. You have product photos so repurpose those pictures across all your social media, blog and newsletters. You might change the text that goes with them each time. You might also use less staged photos of your process to share your story. This might mean sharing a big story post, but it could also be sharing photos on Instagram or posts on Facebook. If you work best in the early morning or the evening then plan your day around that time and leave the easy no-brainer tasks for other times of the day.

The theme I heard throughout the whole conference was this:

“Don’t be afraid to tell your story”

For me, I kept hearing it is all about stories and yours is unique and special, communicate it to your readers and you will build a loyal following

There are so many more things I could share – and I may over the coming weeks, but for now I hope that gives you a glimpse of the awesome.

If you’d like to access all the talks, you can still buy a Virtual Ticket for a very short time so I would encourage you to check it out. I will be re-listening to the talks I heard and listening to the other sessions as well in the coming weeks, so I’d be happy to discuss them with you.