Bits of Bliss

Hello, my dears!  As promised, I wanted to share a more "serious" take on my Blissdom experience.  Words cannot describe how much last weekend meant to me.  In addition to the fun and new faces I met, I got exactly what I wanted out of the experience - a sense of direction and perspective on blogging.  Lately, I've been struggling with so many questions - do I want to change the name?  Am I content with being a "lifestyle" blogger?  Do I want sponsors?  While some of these questions remain unanswered, Blissdom DID give me so much to consider, and I look forward to some changes in the future.


Before I dive into some practical tips I picked up, I have to start with what I learned from the keynote speaker, Jon Acuff.   He shared his own story about how he left corporate America for the social networking universe, and even though his passion was inspiring in itself, he said a few words that I cannot seem to get out of my head.

"Never compare your beginning to someone else's middle."

These words ROCKED my world.  In the blogosphere, this is SO easy to do - to look at the bloggers around you with more followers, bigger sponsors, etc.  Yet, his words really shook me because they were so applicable to my personal life.  It's human nature to compare our lives to others.  From owning a home to having a child, to traveling the world and beyond, I bet I have repeated this line to myself no less than fifty times since I have been home.  My life is just that - MINE.  And I cannot compare mine with anyone else.

(We all received a free copy of Jon's book.  So far, I am hooked.)

In addition to feeling so inspired personally, I was blessed to learn so much more.  Therefore, I thought I'd share some of the practical tips I picked up during a few sessions.


Cut to the Chase: Learn Why Less is More When it Comes to your Writing (Presented by Amy Graff and Scott Adler) 


* Headlines.  They should be CLEAR, no more than 5-7 words, and oftentimes, are more attractive when they are formed as a question.  The presenters said that you should think about your post as you would tell it to a friend.  What is the most important part of it?  Use that segment as inspiration for your headline.


* Your post.  Omit qualifiers, such as "rather".  Use active v. passive voice.


* DESCRIBE your experience.  If your "meal was fabulous", tell the readers exactly what you ate!


LIKEABILITY 2.0: Women, Influence and the Social Web (Presented by Stephanie Smirnov)


* The number one thing I took away from this?  That bloggers are successful, powerful women.  We are BRAVE to put our lives out there.  But, it's important to connect with your readers in a way that is open and honest.  What I took from all of this?  You don't have to be a bitch to be outspoken and powerful.  We are a community and it's important to cultivate that among your readers.


* Our community leader, the lovely Fadra, mentioned that when responding to comments, Disqus is an awesome tool to use as opposed to just replying via email.  I'm excited to check this out.  Do you use Disqus?


Expanding Your Brand: Mobile Photography, Microblogging and Social Networking (Jason Hudson and Ryan Marshall)


* The session revolved around Instagram, but I learned about other programs to make photos a bit more clear and crisp.  Have y'all heard of the Camera+ and Adobe Photoshop Express apps?  So far, I love them!

(Look at this crisp photo of my Gussy Sews products, edited with Camera +)

* As for Instagram, I found it interesting that the presenters mentioned that many people who use the program are "one trick ponies" - meaning, the people with tons of followers usually have a "theme" to their camera roll.  Instagram is just a really avenue to use in order to build a specific brand.

From camera tips to feeling inspired and empowered, I will always be grateful for my Blissdom experience.  We are over 150 million strong, bloggers.  We are brave.  Intelligent.  Strong.  Creative.  Inspired.  Never forget that.

So, what do you think of these tips?  Agree or disagree?  Any others you'd care to share?