My experience at Thrive Creative Conference

 

This year, I promised myself that I would say yes to as many learning opportunities as possible, so being in Austin, I signed up for 4 different conferences- which I will be sharing here! The first conference that I attended (with a little help from my apprenticeship program) is Thrive Creative Conference, a creative conference made just for bloggers, that starts with a fun networking party, lasts all day Saturday and half day on Sunday. Everyone at Thrive was so incredibly creative and inspiring, in fact, their Thrive’s mission is ” We fully believe in community over competition, and we know that one blogger’s success will help pave the way for future bloggers. It has been proven time and time again, and our team is here to help those bloggers continue to make leaps and bounds in this industry.”

During this conference, I learned how to align my goals with my blog, a game plan for the platforms used to promote it and ways of turning a blog into a business. This was the first blogger conference I that have ever attended and I wanted to make the most of it so I made business cards two days before the event and build up the courage to introduce myself to as many people as possible, and it was so worth it! I connected with so many wonderful and creative women.

Here are my favorite takeaways from the Conference:

• “When posting on Instagram, do not have a heart attack”- Maggie, from Social Maggie
  • In order to attract good quality followers. Do consider your aesthetic by following 3-4 complimentary colors, posting with purpose, engaging with your audience- by liking and commenting on posts, but leave room for spontaneity by not taking Instagram so seriously.
• The best thing you can do to grow your blog is to know your Why suggests Tiffany from The Emma Rose Agency
  • When thinking and finding your WHY ask yourself:
    • Top 3 reasons why you started
    • The problem you are solving
    • How  your intentions will help you thrive
  • After finding your why, know who your target audience is and how your target audience wants to consume your content. “To give real service you need to give something that cannot be bought or measured”
• When writing blog posts always think of “What question is my blog post answering?” and sprinkle your keywords naturally on your blog post to increase SEO.- Suggested by Sharron from WP-BFF
• Understanding and devoting as much time as possible to your “Zone of genius”- something that comes very easily to you, and outsourcing the rest is how Beyonce is able to be well…Beyonce- Mandi from She Can Coterie
• Focusing on engagement and not your follower count is key, “content is King and engagement is queen”.- Jane from A Taste of Koko
  • Making your sponsored content look as unsponsored as possible is how you stay authentic to your brand and your audience.
• Pinterest works like a google search, optimizing your name, description, and pins will help your content be viewed by more people.- Jenni from Confetti Social

Saturday ended with Keynote Speakers- Kelly and Jeff Mindel from Studio DIY, who spoke about the challenges that they faced building a successful blog, product line, and business, but the best advice they gave was “If you’re not afraid you’ve waited too long”- you need the fear of failing to push you, to give your best and hustle to make your dreams a reality.

Have you attended a conference recently? I’d love to know about your experience.