How Bloggers Can Work With Brands They Love

At the annual BlogPaws Blogging and Social Media Conference, you will always come away with great learnings and a list longer than your arm of take-aways to improve your Blogging and Social Media skills.  I always look forward to learning how I can grow my blog traffic and my social media channels even more.  This year's conference did not disappoint!

My blog is a business, driven by a Passion for my own pets and for helping animals in need.

IS YOUR BLOG A BUSINESS OR A HOBBY?

Like many bloggers, I consider my blog more of a business than just a fun hobby.  It's a business driven by passion.  Passion for animals, passion for helping homeless animals, and passion for my own pets!

The more money I make through blogging, the more time I can justify spending on my blog and the more I can give to the causes I am most passionate about.  For this reason, one of my key blogging goals is always trying to increase revenue from my blog.  The learning sessions at the BlogPaws conference are always so helpful in working towards that goal.

As I prepare for the conference, I start by searching for the working sessions that will help me accomplish my Blogging Business Goals.  At this year's conference, one of those sessions was WHAT ARE YOU WORTH IN 2017 AND HOW TO GET BRANDS TO BELIEVE IT! presented by two great bloggers I love; Bryn Nowell creator of the blog A Dog Walks Into A Bar and Alison Reder creator of the blog Sarcastic Dog.  I was so impressed at the research Bryn and Alison compiled in the months prior to the BlogPaws Conference in preparation for their presentation! They did a great job and provided so much insight and so many helpful blogging tips!  Tips on how to work with brands you love and how to improve your blog to attract the brands you want to work with. 

The educational sessions at BlogPaws conferences are so helpful in achieving your blogging goals!

Bryn and Alison surveyed both Bloggers and Brands to find out what makes them want to work together.  They gained valuable insight into what brands are looking for when they select bloggers they want to work with and what makes brands NOT want to work with a blogger.   You may think the numbers are all brands care about, but you'd be wrong.  Brands don't only want to work with bloggers that have the highest number of monthly blog views, there are other things they look for. Some of those things may surprise you!

HOW BRANDS FIND BLOGGERS THEY WANT TO WORK WITH

Bryn and Alison started off by talking about how brands find bloggers they'd like to work with. The top 5 ways brands find bloggers they want to work with are:

🐶 GOOGLE SEARCH - they search for the kind of bloggers they're looking for via Google search.  That makes sense, if you're looking for dog bloggers you search for dog bloggers.  Make sure your blog is searchable for the things you want to be known for.

🐶 INSTAGRAM - this was interesting to me, I thought brands would be more focused on Facebook.  I hadn't paid that much attention to growing my Instagram account, but since Bryn & Alison's presentation I have focused on it a lot more! 

🐶 OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA - I'm a big Twitter user and have focused more on promoting and growing on Twitter much more than my other channels.  Now I'm going to focus more on my other channels for growth as well.

🐶 PR FIRMS - Yes, I know, they seem to always say whatever brand they're representing is "unable to pay" for any work you do to promote their products. Apparently, brands also rely on PR Reps to help them find blogs that are a good fit for the brand so don't ignore PR Reps, keep those relationships going! 

🐶 BLOGPAWS - this was music to my ears!  I was so happy to see that our BlogPaws community was high on the list of places brands look to find bloggers they want to work with.  If you're not already a member of the BlogPaws community, please join us - It's Free!

They talked about several other avenues brands use to find bloggers they want to work with but these were the top 5.

REASONS A BRAND WILL SELECT BLOGGERS FOR CAMPAIGNS

Next, Bryn and Alison talked about the reasons a brand may select particular Bloggers to work on their campaigns.  Here are the Top 5 Reasons a brand will choose a blogger for a campaign...

- DRUM ROLL PLEASE - 

The number one thing a brand will base their blogger selection on is, and this one is no surprise, BLOG POST CONTENT.  Obviously, if you have a dog blog they expect you to write about dogs, they don't expect blog posts about collecting model cars!

😻 QUALITY OF IMAGES -  is a very big reason brands will choose to work with a blogger - or not.  Of course images are important, but it surprised me that it was the number two reason a brand will chose to work with a blogger or not.  Bryn and Alison mentioned this many times during their presentation.  I spent much of last year working on my photography skills, and this year I'll be focusing on developing my video skills.  Time well spent, I'd say!

😻 COMMUNICATION -  from the Blogger.  Following up in a timely manner, delivering what you said you promised you would, and the quality of your communications with the brand.  This was a bit of an eye opener for me.  Of course, all these things are important but I didn't realize how important they were to a brand's decision to work with me or not.  Good to know, right?!

😻 POST ENGAGEMENT -   A brand will not be impressed by a blog post that has zero engagement.  No surprise there!  With active promotion and a good network of blogger friends that shouldn't be an issue.

😻 VALUES -  Matching the values of the Blogger to the Brand is important to a brand.  This makes sense.  A brand that makes high quality safe dog products doesn't want to see you promoting a product that seems unsafe such as a shock collar (Heaven forbid!)

WHAT ABOUT SMALLER BLOGGERS?

Another interesting thing Bryn and Alison talked about was why a Brand might want to work with a smaller blogger.  We tend to think that a brand wouldn't want to work with bloggers that don't have "the numbers", but apparently that's not always the case.    Your content, quality of your images, meeting deadlines, and social engagement are all factors that could sway a brand to work with you even if your numbers aren't high.  Good News, right!?

WHY WOULD A BRAND CHOOSE NOT TO WORK WITH A BLOGGER?

They also talked about why a brand would choose NOT to work with a blogger even if they had stellar numbers.  Here are a few things that turn them off:

The Alignment of a Brand's messaging with the Blogger's content was number one.  You and the brand need to be a good fit.  Content and Image quality are also important  Both of these things make perfect sense.  

The fourth reason may surprise you - having a Poor Reputation will turn a brand off!  What constitutes a poor reputation?  One thing I know will get you a bad rep is trashing any other brand online.  If you're trashing that brand, what might you one day say about them??  

I would venture to say that today's U.S. political climate has also brought out the worst in many of us. Friendships have broken up, online bickering and UNfollowing seem like they're at an all time high! Making harsh negative comments about sensitive subjects online is probably something a brand would cringe at.  You also don't know to whom a business, any business, is loyal. Many businesses are die-hard political party supporters.  If a brand sees you making harsh comments about the political party they have allegiance to and strong relationships with, it could work against you.

Slide from BlogPaws Presentation by Bryn Nowell & Alison Reder: Reasons why Brands may choose NOT to work with a blogger, even if the blogger's numbers are great.

Bryn and Alison put together this slide, which shows several other reasons a brand may choose NOT to work with a Blogger, even if their numbers are great. Keep these in mind as you navigate through your online world.

Brands will search you online.  If you think they won't ever see negative things you post, think again. It's amazing what they might be able to uncover.  Your reputation is indirectly a reflection on them, so brands are careful about who they work with.  It's hard to resist the temptation to lash out against the injustices we see online, I get that.  Whether or not to do so is a decision only each of us can make. We should all proceed with caution!

There were many more tips and learnings in this incredible presentation, far too many to list here!  In closing, Bryn and Alison advised us to create our Branding Strategy and maintain focus on Integrity and Professionalism.

I want to thank Bryn Nowell and Alison Reder for all the research and hard work they put into this incredible presentation!  The insights and advice I gleaned from them will be so helpful to me in achieving my blogging goals.  I hope this excerpt from their presentation will help you as you work toward your blogging goals as well!    

Please visit Bryn at  A Dog Walks Into A Bar and Alison at  Sarcastic Dog  If you don't already follow these great bloggers, you should!!

Note: This is a PetSmart Affiliate link. If you make a purchase through this link I may make a few pennies in commission, which would be much appreciated!


Did you find the information in this post helpful?  Please leave us a comment and let us know - we always want to know if the information we share is helpful, interesting, or entertaining!

Essential Social Media & Blogging Advice From The Pros

Another amazing BlogPaws Conference has come and gone and I'm putting into action the valuable Blogging and Social Media advice and tips I came away with.  I'm amazed at how much helpful information was packed into just a few days!

There is so much Learning packed into a BlogPaws conference! If you didn't get there this year, start planning now for next year.

Since many of you were unable to attend the BlogPaws  conference, I'd like to share some of the blogging and social media tips & learnings from Keynote Speakers, and Working Sessions.  As always, there was a TON of knowledge to absorb, so I'm breaking it into 2 or 3 posts to make it easier to digest.  I know you'd do the same for me if you were there and I couldn't make it, so here goes!

THE MOST RETWEETED PERSON IN THE WORLD

Although he spoke on the last day of the conference, I'm starting off with Keynote speaker Jay Baer who talked about what he calls Youtility, or How To Build A World-Class Personal Brand By Being Hyper-Useful.

Jay Baer who has been known as "The Most Retweeted Person In The World among digital marketers".  He's the President of Convince & Convert, a consulting firm who has helped some of the world's most iconic brands use technology to retain customers and win new ones.  Brands like The United Nations, Nike, 3M, and Oracle.  He is also a NY Times best selling author of five books.

I could immediately get why Jay is one of the most Retweeted people in the digital marketing space.  I started following him on Twitter as soon as he was announced as a BlogPaws speaker. Right away I found content that was valuable and relevant to me as a blogger.  I've shared much of his content, like this really interesting article about the FTC "crashing" the Influencer party.  Can you say FTC DISCLOSURE ?!?  Might that be relevant to us Pet Bloggers & Social Media Influencers?  Heck, Yeah!

BE MORE RELEVANT TO YOUR AUDIENCE

My Twitter example is a perfect lead in to Jay's key message, which is that We Need To Be More Relevant to our audience, because.....

Relevancy magically creates time and attention - Jay Baer, Digital Marketing Expert

Jay's magic formula?

USEFUL = RELEVANCY = ATTENTION = $$

 THE BIG LIE

Jay pointed out a somewhat painful truth.  We tell ourselves that "our audience is just too busy to read our content" and that's how we justify not having enough action on our content.  But that isn't the case.  It's not that people are too busy, it's that our content isn't relevant enough! They'll find the time to read our content if it is relevant enough.  We should strive to be "massively useful" to our audience.  I realize that if I want to promote my blog on social media I need to be more useful and relevant in the content I'm producing.

4 DIMENSIONS OF YOUTILITY

Jay went on to explain the Four Dimensions of his Youtility model:

1. Solve Problems your audience has.
He said that Specificity creates Relevancy and cautioned us about the dangers of being too broad with our content topics.  "You won't be as relevant if you're not specific", he warns.  I know I need to take steps to stop trying to be all things to all people in the pet space and focus on the one or two areas I can be most relevant.  It's not an easy thing to do! Jay suggests we begin each day by asking ourselves "How Can I Help?" and build relevant content from there.

2. Be Consistent, STOP random acts of content.  
More is not always more and every audience has a "breaking point".   Another concept he introduced that resonated with me was to "Think like a TV station and create SHOWS, using a consistent theme and timeframe".  He suggested creating consistent Shows, and episodes of those shows.  One of the examples he shared was the Dog Rescue Stories produced by Positively Woof.  

3. Atomize Your Awesome
Release content on various channels, in similar ways. You need to be in the places where your audience is.  He shared these surprising facts:
  
😕 The Daily time spent READING in the US is 25 minutes per day.
😕 The Daily time spent WATCHING online video in the US is 72 minutes per day.
😕 People visit 39% fewer web sites than they have since 2010.

The message was clear, Repackage your content and share it across multiple channels!

4. GET PAID
This was another one of my favorite points.  Like many of you I'm often asked to work without getting paid, which frustrates me.  Jay assured us that "It's OK to get paid!".  He shared a quote that a respected individual once shared with him:

"There's no need to be nervous when your heart is in service"

I love that!  Getting paid for the work we do doesn't diminish our passion or our message when we ask to be paid for our work.  Jay pointed out that "If you get paid you can do more for your audience by creating more content, more videos... more everything!"  I wholeheartedly agree!  I would also add that when we get paid it allows us to Give Back even more to the causes each of us is most passionate about.  As bloggers and social media influencers, Jay reminds us that our role is to "Connect companies with their future customers".
  
A big Thank You to Jay for sharing his valuable insights with us!  I highly recommend following Jay's advice. 

Onward to SEO Help

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) For The Beginner and SEO For The Advanced Blogger sessions, presented by Jill Caren, of 2 Dogs Media.


Jill Caren is the founder of 2 Dogs Media, a New Jersey based web development and digital marketing agency named for her two beloved dogs Ginger and Riley.  Jill has been featured in publications such as BusinessWeek, Search Engine Watch, and CIO (Chief Information Officer) magazine.  She also gives back through her social goods website, CharityPaws which helps animal rescues and charities raise funds with positive inspired apparel for animal lovers!

SEO DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SCARY

I'm the first to admit, I need a lot of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) help, and quite frankly sometimes SEO scares the heck out of me! For the first time, I attended an SEO presentation that didn't utterly confuse and frustrate me.  The last SEO class I went to left me confused and frustrated.  

2DogsMedia is named for Jill Caren's two dogs, Ginger and Riley.

At the conference, I pushed myself to attend Jill Caren's Beginner SEO session, and although it wasn't completely easy-peasy I was able to follow along quite well. I was surprised that I actually understood a lot of it!  I was so pleased with the Beginner session that I ended up staying for Jill's Advanced SEO session as well, and it was great! I was sure I'd be completely lost in the advanced session but I actually got a lot out of it. 

HOW SEO IS DONE

Here are some of the tips on how to grow your blog traffic and how SEO works that resonated with me the most.  I see myself definitely being able to implement many of these suggestions:

Jill started off by saying that Step 1 should be finding out what your audience wants.  She then discussed growing your blog traffic & audience organically for FREE. I'm all about free, so I was listening pretty intently!   Here are some of Jill's recommendations:

⇝ Have your own domain and host it elsewhere.  Having a secure site is also important, not just for the obvious security reason but also because many brands don't like to work with blogs or web sites that are unsecured. 

⇝ Jill is a huge proponent of Google's WebMaster tool to monitor and analyze your blog's performance.

⇝ It's critical that you have good Title Tags and Meta Descriptions, as these impact Click Through Rates, and therefore they impact your Google ranking.  Include keywords in your Title Tags.

⇝ Compile 10 - 15 keywords or keyword phrases to utilize in each of your blog posts.  Keywords are so important!  Jill made a few suggestions on where to find keywords, one of which is using a tool called answerthepublic.com.  It helps you find what questions people are asking about your topic, which you can then translate into keywords and phrases.  Try to place keywords in the beginning of your post if possible. I tried it and I loved this tool!  It's pretty easy to use and kind of fun too.

⇝ She also suggested simply using Google search to find keywords. Enter your topic into Google search engine and see what populates beneath the words you've typed in.  Also scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what other related search phrases pop up.  Another easy way to find keywords! I use this simple method all the time now, it works very well. I've done my due diligence and added keywords throughout this post using these 3 methods, let's see what happens!

⇝ She advised having breaks within your content and using H1 and H2 header designations.  This is another easy one to implement!  As you can see I've done that here.

⇝ Another important thing Jill talked about was site speed.  If your site is slow to load, you will not rank well!  It should only take 1 - 3 seconds to load, if it's more than this there may be a number of things slowing your site down.  She suggested using GTMetrix.com to assess the speed of your site and look for ways to improve it if needed.  I tried it with my blog and my speed is 8.4 seconds to load my 3.62MB blog page size - Yikes!!  Apparently I've got some landing page redirects, and broken links.  I've got some work to do to improve my site speed! Google is probably dinging me for this, big time.

Jill posted the full SEO Session Overview from her BlogPaws SEO sessions on her web site; 2DogsMedia  It's a great recap of what she covered in both the Beginner and Advanced sessions.  You can utilize her overview as a recap for those who attended either of the sessions, or as a starting point for those who were unable to attend the conference or her sessions.

I have since put many of Jay and Jill's advice into action for my blog and it's definitely made a difference.
  

Ready For The BlogPaws Social Media & Bloggers Conference Experience?

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! THE BLOGPAWS SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGING CONFERENCE IS NEXT WEEK! 

LEARNING, COLLABORATING, AND NETWORKING ARE  AT THE HEART OF THE BLOGPAWS SOCIAL MEDIA & BLOGGER'S CONFERENCE!

This post is sponsored by the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated as a BlogPaws Conference Ambassador to help share information about the BlogPaws 2017 Conference but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article

TIME IS RUNNING OUT, CONFERENCE TICKETS ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT!  IF YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN YOUR TICKET YET, REGISTER HERE SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT! USE MY AMBASSADOR DISCOUNT CODE:  BP17-10off-Ambassador  TO GET 10% OFF YOUR CONFERENCE TICKET!  

HAVE A TICKET BUT STILL NEED A ROOM?  MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATION HERE

Reserve your spot at the BlogPaws Social Media and Blogger's Conference in Myrtle Beach

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE?  LEARN MORE HERE

 *** IF YOU'RE ALL SET TO HEAD TO THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ***

BEFORE THE CONFERENCE:

✽ CHECK OUT THE  ESSENTIAL BLOGPAWS 2017 CONFERENCE EVERYTHING POST ON THE BLOGPAWS WEB SITE.

✽ DON'T MISS THE #BLOGPAWSCHAT PLANNING & PAJAMA TWITTER PARTY, TUESDAY, MAY 9th 8-10PM EASTERN TIME.  THE ENTIRE BLOGPAWS TEAM AND ALL THE CONFERENCE SPONSORS WILL BE PRESENT!  BRING ANY CONFERENCE QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

✽ IF YOU'RE A FIRST TIME CONFERENCE ATTENDEE AND YOU HAVEN'T CHECKED OUT THE BLOGPAWS SLC (SOCIAL LEARNING COMMUNITY) NEWBIES COURSE, SWING BY NOW!  YOU'LL GET LOTS OF FIRST TIME CONFERENCE ATTENDEE TIPS AND CONNECT WITH OTHER FIRST TIME CONFERENCE ATTENDEES.

✽ BE SURE TO READ THE WEEKLY BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE ATTENDEE NEWSLETTER TO STAY UP TO DATE ON CONFERENCE HAPPENINGS.  THE NEWSLETTER IS EMAILED TO ALL CONFERENCE ATTENDEES EVERY THURSDAY.  IT ARRIVES VIA EMAIL (THE EMAIL YOU USED TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE) FROM CAROL BRYANT (Carol@blogpaws.com).

✽ DOES YOUR BLOG VISUALLY REPRESENT YOUR BRAND IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT?  IF YOU'RE NOT SURE,  TAKE A LOOK AT THE FREE BLOGPAWS DOWNLOADABLE WORKBOOK, HOW TO PREP YOUR BLOG FOR THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE.  THE TASKS IN THE WORKBOOK WILL HELP YOU POLISH UP YOUR BLOG IN PREPARATION FOR THE CONFERENCE.

✽ BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE UPDATED CONFERENCE SPONSOR TWITTER LIST AND THE CONFERENCE SPEAKER TWITTER LIST.  FOLLOW  & ENGAGE WITH CONFERENCE SPONSORS AND SPEAKERS!

Gain valuable insights from the Expert BlogPaws Keynote Speakers!

AT THE CONFERENCE:

🌝 WHEN YOU'RE AT THE CONFERENCE, ENGAGE WITH THE SPONSORS!  VISIT THEIR BOOTHS IN THE EXHIBIT HALL AND CHAT THEM UP IN THE DINING AREAS.  IF IT SEEMS A BIT INTIMIDATING AT FIRST, HERE ARE SOME GREAT TIPS FROM FELISSA ELFENBEIN, DIRECTOR OF INFLUENCER MARKETING AT BLOGPAWS, AND AUTHOR OF THE BLOG TWO LITTLE CAVALIERS:

Show our Conference Sponsors some Love!  Follow these tips from Felissa Elfenbein on engaging with sponsors at the conference.

🌝 JOIN US FOR THE OFFICIAL BLOGPAWS 2017 PRESS CONFERENCE ON THURSDAY, MAY 18th AT 9:45am SHARP IN THE MAIN EXHIBIT HALL!  THE PRESS CONFERENCE WILL BE BRIEF SO DON'T BLINK OR YOU MIGHT MISS IT!

🌝 FOLLOW THE BLOGPAWS CONFERENCE HASHTAG, #BLOGPAWS TO STAY UP TO DATE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING THROUGHOUT THE CONFERENCE.  YOU CAN FOLLOW THE CONFERENCE FACEBOOK PAGE AS WELL.

🌝 DON'T MISS A BEHIND THE SCENES SNEAK PEEK FEATURETTE OF THE NEW MOVIE, MEGAN LEAVEY ! THE MOVIE IS BASED ON A TRUE STORY OF A MARINE AND HER K-9 HERO, REX.  THE MOVIE WON'T BE RELEASED UNTIL JUNE, BUT CONFERENCE ATTENDEES ARE GETTING A SNEAK PEAK!  THE FEATURETTE WILL BE SHOWN DURING BREAKFAST ON THURSDAY MAY 18th, 8:30am

🌝🌝 TOP OFF AN AMAZING CONFERENCE EXPERIENCE WITH THE NOSE TO NOSE AWARDS AND DINNER!  WALK THE RED CARPET AND CHEER FOR ALL THE TALENTED AWARDS FINALISTS, THEN CELEBRATE AT THE AFTER PARTY!  

TIME IS RUNNING OUT, CONFERENCE TICKETS ARE NEARLY SOLD OUT!

Enhance your Blogging & Social Media Skills at the BlogPaws Conference
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

May 18 - 20, 2017 

Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogPaws. The opinions and text are all mine.

Improve Your Social Media and Blogging Skills At The BlogPaws Conference

BlogPaws is the premier online social media company for Bloggers, Micro-bloggers, & Social Media Influencers.  Enhance your Blogging & Social Media Skills! 
Join us at the BlogPaws Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina! 

May 18 - 20, 2017 

Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel

Myrtle Beach, SC 

This post is sponsored by the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated as a BlogPaws Conference Ambassador to help share information about the BlogPaws 2017 Conference but we only share information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article

Have you registered for the BlogPaws Conference and reserved your hotel room at the Reduced conference attendee's rate yet?

If you haven't registered don't delay, this conference WILL sell out!  Register for the conference and enter code:  BP17-10off-Ambassador to get my 10% Ambassador's Conference Discount!




********************************************************************
As a Conference Ambassador, I'm pleased to offer you my AMBASSADOR 10% CONFERENCE DISCOUNT!!  Use the code  BP17-10off-Ambassador to receive 10% off the price of your conference ticket!  Click here to Purchase Your Conference Ticket   (discount applies only to the conference ticket, not hotel or airfare and is not available to members of the BlogPaws Influencer Network i.e. those who have gotten paid for campaigns through the BlogPaws network)

********************************************************************

If you've bought your conference ticket but haven't reserved your hotel room at the discounted conference rate, don't wait!  There are only a limited number of hotel rooms at the discounted conference rate at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel so Reserve Your Conference Hotel Room now!

Our beautiful conference venue, the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel

My BlogPaws Conference Story:

When I first started blogging I had no idea what I was doing, and I didn't know any other bloggers out there.  My friends and family weren't bloggers and didn't understand what I was trying to accomplish with my blog.  I had no network of like-minded pet lovers that I could share with or learn from, I was eager to connect with an online community.  

Finding BlogPaws was a total game changer for me.  If I hadn't found BlogPaws I would have given up on blogging and social media altogether.  That would have meant giving up on my passion for sharing what I know about pets and animal welfare, and turning that passion into a full time endeavor.  It may sound a bit extreme but it's true, I was only a few months from giving it up completely because I felt like my blog was going nowhere fast!

I found BlogPaws in 2014 and it changed everything for me. I quickly discovered that I didn't know what I didn't know about blogging and social media!  My first conference was a whirlwind of learning and networking.  I knew there was a way to make blogging a business and that there were people doing it. The trouble was, I had NO IDEA how to do it!  But by the end of the conference I felt like the full time blogging life I was dreaming about could actually become a reality!  Thanks to the learning sessions at the conference I had a better understanding of how to "monetize" a blog, how to use social media to promote content and much more. 

After that first conference, I was on my way to pursuing a life of working from home as a pet blogger and social media influencer.  BlogPaws conferences offer learning sessions at all levels, so each year I've learned and grown my blogging and social media skills more and more.  I've expanded my network of bloggers, social media experts, and brands as well.

In reviewing my Blogging Goals for 2017,  I'm thinking about which Agenda Topics will be the most relevant for me to attend at this year's conference.  Here are just some of the sessions I'm most looking forward to attending:

➤ One of my goals is always to continue growing my blog, so I will definitely benefit from attending one of the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) sessions.  SEO optimizing each of my blog posts will help me get my numbers up.  It's not all about the numbers of course, but if I'm putting my heart and soul into everything I write, and I want to consider my blog a business (I do!), then understanding and utilizing SEO is a must.  There's a session for beginners and one for advanced bloggers, I just might attend them both!

➤ Another goal of mine is to line up more campaigns for myself.  The working session on What Are You Worth In 2017 And How To Make Brands Believe It is definitely on my radar!  There's also a Branding Workshop that will talk about creating a blogging brand strategy and what brands are looking for in the Influencers they choose to work with on their campaigns.

➤ Online Video Marketing has begun to dominate, especially on social media channels.  Hubspot.com reported that "by 2017 online video will account for 74% of all web traffic"  Needless to say, a session on improving video skills is on my agenda.  There are two great video sessions offered at the same time, I've got 3 weeks to decide which one to take!

➤ How To Set up Shop and Monetize Selling Your Own Product is another one I'm interested in.  I've got a product idea but I'm not sure how to bring it to fruition.  I'm really looking forward to getting some solid guidance at this session!

➤ Fabulous Keynote Speakers always provide a wealth of information and a hefty does of motivation!  I can't wait to see what Digital Marketing expert Jay Baer and expert Marketing Strategist Kathleen Gage have to share with us.

And of course there's  FUN stuff like the Yappy Hours, the Revamped Cat Lounge, the Special Events hosted by conference sponsors, and the Conference Grand Finale, the Nose To Nose Awards Dinner!

Whatever level your social media or blogging knowledge and skills are at, there are presentations and sessions that are right for you.  The BlogPaws conference is jam packed with sessions that will help you enhance and expand your blogging and social media skillset.

BlogPaws conferences are totally PET FRIENDLY!  That's right, you can bring your furry, feathered, or scaly Muse along!

I regularly visit the BlogPaws web site to stay current with all things blogging, social media and pets!  The myriad of social media, blogging, and pet-related educational articles and resources on the BlogPaws site is unparalleled!  There's so much to learn and share on the BlogPaws web site and it's FREE!

BlogPaws is an inclusive, global community of pet enthusiasts who write about and support pets via social media.  They connect brands with pet parents and pet parents with each other.  BlogPaws is  shaping social media excellence, influence and education one amazing pet parent at a time!

What are you hoping to achieve for your blog and social media strategy this year?  How do you think the BlogPaws conference might help you accomplish your goals?  Leave us a comment, we'd love to know what you think!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BlogPaws. The opinions and text are all mine.

Blogging Tips & Hacks From Expert Bloggers, Part 2 #BlogPaws

On July 8th I published Part I of the valuable Blogging Tips & Hacks from BlogPaws conference sessions.  Today I'm sharing Part Two of the Blogging Tips & Hacks I learned at the BlogPaws bloggers conference in Phoenix.

Chloe Divita, of the BlogPaws Executive Team and Felissa Elfbein author of the blog Two Little Cavaliers spoke about Content Creation for Brands, How to Do It With Panache!

These ladies are both experts in the field of pet blogging, and Chloe is a widely recognized leader in the pet industry.  I knew this session would be a goldmine of blogging advice!

Blogging Tips & Hacks From Expert Bloggers

Whew!  The BlogPaws blogger's conference in Phoenix was a whirlwind of activity!  This was my third conference, and I was just as excited and delighted as I was the first time.  

I wanted to share some of the great information I came away with for those who were unable to attend the BlogPaws conference.  While I can't offer you a total brain dump, I've boiled it down to a few of the tips that resonated most with me from each of the sessions I attended.  I hope you'll find these as helpful as I did!

Bernard Lima-Chavez from DogandHisBoy.com, Kimberly Gauthier from KeepTheTailWagging.com, and Cathy Bennett from GroovyGoldendoodles.com during the Purina Yappy Hour!

Carole Bryant of Fidose of Reality and Maggie Marton of Oh My Dog Blog spoke about Social Media and how to Grow Your Blog

One of the first insights Carol and Maggie shared is that "It's more important that you have an engaged audience than a high number of followers". 
It's so easy to get caught up in the numbers and lose sight of how engaged your audience is.  Good advice!

When you promote a blog post, spread out your shares over 1 to 3 weeks vs. bombarding all your channels with the same message all at once. 
This makes total sense, I hate seeing the exact same message across one person's many channels on the same day!  Don't you?

They also advised to "Schedule your shares out, but respond to readers in real time". 
I don't know about you, but responding quickly to my readers is something I need to work on!

Louie, the Jones Natural Chews Frenchie says "These gals are brilliant!"

They suggested that bloggers "Attach your latest blog post in your email signature".  They also suggested we "Work your email list and send your key posts to subscribers (don't bombard them with all of your posts, be selective)"
Great ideas!

I was happy to hear them say it was ok to "Update older posts and photos, but keep the URL and title the same, and promote these posts".
I always felt like once my posts were out there, they were done, no take-backs!  After hearing that I went into an older post added an Update and a new photo.  Then I tweeted it out a few times over the weekend, as it was relevant to pets getting lost over 4th of July weekend.

Some great advice was to "Reference (by tagging and mentioning) people whose radar you want to be on".
I love this tip, in fact I have something in mind I'll be trying out very soon.  I'll blog about the result, so stay tuned!

Another good tip:  "Don't use the same photos on every channel, use different photos for different channels".
Sometimes it's hard to get enough of a good collection of photos for a blog post and social shares, but no one wants to see the same photo all over the place.

Group photo at the BlogPaws pet blogger's conference

Lea Ann Germinder gave the Shout About It! presentation on Publicity, Marketing & PR Books, Blogs & Causes

Lea Ann suggested that we "Include a video or pictures on all your pitches for blog posts, books, etc."
That's a great idea, and one I took to heart when I contacted a brand following the BlogPaws conference.  I added a photo of my beautiful Husky in my pitch to them, something I normally don't do.  They responded, right away, that they would like to work with me on a campaign for their products!  Hmmm.....

Lea Ann talked about LinkedIn, something many bloggers don't pay a whole lot of attention to.  She pointed out that "Executive decision makers use LinkedIn as their social media".  She advised bloggers to use LinkedIn to search for decision makers and connect with them.
I will add that bit of advice to my repertoire for sure!

Tenacious Little Terrier's  Mr. N  poses for adoring fans during a conference Yappy Hour!

Interestingly, she pointed out that Snapchat's demographic is 16 - 24 yr. olds and LinkedIn's demographic is 35 - 44 yr olds.
If you're looking to target Millennials, you might want to add Snapchat as a social media channel, or at least put it on your radar.

Lea Ann also said that "Instagram is great for the pet world", and that "Even the Westminster dog show is on Instagram!"
I definitely plan to spend more time growing my Instagram account!

Another important thing she stressed was the importance of mixing up pet hashtags with non-pet hashtags. 
That's a really good point.  I blog a lot about pet travel, so I'll start incorporating more general travel hashtags, not just #pets or #pettravel.  I'll also start looking for more parenting hashtags, as parents are the decision makers in the purchase of pet products and family vacation planning.

The adorable Pierre of Barking From The Bayou takes a break among all the conference excitement!

Bernard Lima-Chavez of Dog and His Boy & Amanda Yantos of Dog Mom Days  talked about blogging From Starting Out to Cashing Out!

I knew I'd pick up a lot of great information from Bernard and Amanda.  These are two bloggers who have come very far in a relatively short period of time in the blogging world.

A great tip from Bernard and Amanda was to "Identify blog posts that bring a lot of traffic to your site and write more posts that are similar"
This is a great strategy.  Link these posts together for an even greater impact.

Bernard advised us to "Watermark all your photos and never use stock photos in a sponsored post!"
Fortunately, I don't use stock photos, at least I haven't  had to yet!  I'll keep this advice in mind though.  Brands are looking not only for your audience, but for your authentic voice and your pets in their sponsored posts.

One of my favorite happy, smiling photos of my Husky, Icy.

Another tip was to "Show happy pets in sponsored posts, don't use dark or dreary photos, unattractive staging or scared pets.   Be sure to show the product and product packaging in your post."
It's not always easy to get my dogs to "smile", especially Phoebe, she's kind of a serious girl where treats are involved!  I once read an article that suggested a short play session or walk with your dog just before a photo session.  They'll usually pant afterwards, which makes them look like a "smiling, happy dog".

Always on the Best Dressed list, Coco of Coco, the Couture Cat gives us all a lesson on how to Rock the red carpet!

Amanda shared that "For an easy, inexpensive photo background, she uses colorful or holiday fabrics from the craft store".
In this photo I used a large patriotic bandana as a backdrop for a photo with Phoebe and it worked well.  I am so running to the craft store for fabric remnants to use as backdrops for my photos!

OK, this next one really hit home for me.  If you haven't experienced it yet, you will as your blog grows.  Many of us are often asked to write for a brand's publication, such as a newsletter or magazine without any compensation.

There may be times when doing so is worth writing a free post.  To help you decide, they suggested we "Ask the brand how they will share what you've written and ask them for the stats on How they will share, How many times will they share it and on What channels?  Find out more about their audience as well; the number of followers and their demographics."
I've come up against this dilemma several times with the promise of "exposure" vs. compensation it I write for a publication or brand.  I've chosen not to write for free because I feel like I'd be sharing the content I write for them more than they will, and they'll end up benefitting from traffic I bring to them.  

There are some publications that request frequent original content from bloggers for no compensation at all.  I normally decline such invitations, however this is a great way of looking at it!  I'll ask these suggested questions next time the situation presents itself.  If they can't provide me with solid numbers, in writing, I will pass, but who knows?  I just might find a viable opportunity!

I have more tips and hacks to share with you from the conference, but I'm going to stop at this point.  It's a lot of great advice to digest!  Visit  us again next week when I'll be back with Part 2 of the BlogPaws conference blogging tips and hacks that resonated most with me.  I hope you've enjoyed reading this and found some helpful tips to grown your own blog!

Thank you to all the great BlogPaws Conference speakers - you all ROCKED the conference!!

BlogPaws conferences serve up a smorgasbord of Networking and Learning!

I've already purchased my BlogPaws conference ticket for next year, have you?  I hope to see all of you next May in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for BlogPaws2017!

Visit my Pinterest board FOR BLOGGERS for lots more helpful tips and advice for bloggers.  I've compiled some great information from social media and blogging experts!  Let's follow each other on Pinterest.

JOIN US ON THE PET PARADE BLOG HOP!!

An InLinkz Link-up