When I attended the first ever AdventureCon in 2012, as a Wildside Blog Ambassador I hoped it would not be the last. So when last year’s conference topped year 1’s on all realms, I looked forward to this year’s with even more anticipation and excitement.
Little did I realize that while I would learn some helpful pointers on platforms like Google+, Pinterest and Flipboard, the resounding lesson I would carry back would be the reminder to go back to the basics…
to remember the simple, yet essential musts to become a better blogger.
I hope 10 of my favorite, re-tweetable takeaways from the conference will help you as they have helped me. And may they gently remind you to not lose sight of your calling and to surge forward with much more motivation and drive.
{Please feel free to re-tweet any of the tips you find helpful. If you’re unable to view this tweet box on Chrome, the same does pull up on Internet Explorer}
10 steps towards becoming a better blogger
1.
“Establish an emotional connection,build relationships,be real & listen.”- @randyescamilla on #HowToThinkLikeAReporter #AdventureCon14
— Marina (@mommysnippets) June 21, 2014
2.
“Be newsworthy!” – @superjohn #AdventureCon14 @SeaWorldTexas — Marina (@mommysnippets) June 21, 2014
3.
“Reach out. Be available. Build relationships. ” – @carriepacini #AdventureCon14 @SeaWorldTexas #SocialMedia
— Marina (@mommysnippets) June 21, 2014
4.
“Step out of your comfort zone. Be proactive!! Build connections. Network!” – @kamichat #AdventureCon14 #SocialMedia @SeaWorldTexas — Marina (@mommysnippets) June 21, 2014
5.
“Create compelling stories.” – @SocialNewsSara #AdventureCon14 @SeaWorldTexas #SocialMedia
— Marina (@mommysnippets) June 21, 2014
6.
Be loyal to the brands you love, represent them wholeheartedly. Don’t be all over the plate with brand relationships. #Adventurecon14 — Marina (@mommysnippets) June 21, 2014
7.
“What makes you stand out as a blogger? 1. Original content. 2. Amplification”- @superjohn #AdventureCon14 @SeaWorldTexas #SocialMedia
— Marina (@mommysnippets) June 21, 2014
8.
“We need to tell stories to help us grow. Some stories can define a generation, create change”- @fransteps #adventurecon14 #Storytelling
— Marina (@mommysnippets) June 22, 2014
9.
As #bloggers, it is not always about the TAKE, but also about the GIVE! How do you #give back to your audience? #socialmedia #AdventureCon14 — Texas Weekends Count (@weekendscount) June 21, 2014
10.
Be social only with what resonates with you – find what you have in common and connect that way @stacyofksw #adventurecon14 — Elayna Fernandez (@thePositiveMOM_) June 22, 2014
One of my favorite sessions at the conference was the throw-it-open-for-all to share a bloggy tip or two. It always reminds me about how much more I have to learn, absorb and apply when I listen to the wealth shared by the extremely talented writers in the room!
My sweet friend Colleen, who writes over at San Antonio Mom Blogs, was quick to put together all the wisdom shared in her article: Blogging tips and tools from Texas bloggers at AdventureCon14. I highly recommend you bookmark the link to read if you don’t have a few minutes right away.
And, if you’re in Texas and think this is one conference you would like to attend, sign up to receive a reminder to register when AdventureCon15 opens up next year.
Amy Desrosiers says
I am finding that social media cross promotion is huge lately. I’m focusing on less is more lately.
Sara P. (@SensiblySara) says
The conference really was fantastic! SO bummed I missed the second (biggest) day, but got quite a bit out of day 1.
My biggest tip: Reciprocate!! Everyone loves comments and social media shares – go out of your way and hit about 5 people a day.
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
Those are all great tips. I have been really trying to beef up my social media presence.
Aimee Smith says
Great tips, for me it’s all about committing to things I am passionate about. Otherwise it can seem forced!
Sarah @ Must Have Mom says
Great tips and tricks! I’ll have to keep these in mind.
Jennifer says
These are great tips. I know when I started blogging I was all over the place. Now, I try to be a little more focused.
Courtney says
I love these tips. Some of them really hit home for me. As bloggers, we have to be willing to make the uncomfortable leaps required of us to take our blogs to the next level.
Katy Rawson says
I like being reminded to stick to the basics. It is easy to get off track, and forget to follow our passion. I needed these reminders and I thank you.
Amber Edwards says
Those are great tips! Being original and using stories to connect with the audience is I think so important when building a blog business. They need the stories to draw them in and keep them coming back.
Tammi @ My Organized Chaos says
Great tips, especially : 1. Original content. 2. Amplification
It’s amazing how many bloggers copy, it’s so frustrating! People notice!!!
Pam says
Great tips. Having original content is definitely important, no one wants to read the same thing over and over.
Shauna says
Great tips… I have so many issues coming up with new content to engage my readers… ha! Thanks for sharing
Toni says
these are all great tips. Original content is key, and amplification is so important.
Laura (Lauras Little House Tips) says
What great tips. I would love to attend a conference where the focus is learning. I’ve been too a few but truly love the connections and the learning vs. the parties 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Retweeted a few 🙂
Colleen Pence says
Thank you for sharing my post, Marina! It was great to see you and your lovely family again this year. 😉
Tasha says
Awesome tips! I’m working on engaging my social media audience more.
Liz Mays says
There was a wealth of good info at the conference. It’s awesome that you shared it by tweets, too Marina!
Mindy Grant says
Thanks for the great tips! I have been trying to not take on so many things at once, so I can do a better job on the projects I do take on. I used to just take every opportunity thrown at me, and I didn’t really have the time to devote to each one that I wanted to.
Tiffany (Fabulous Mom Blog) says
I agree with your 10 steps towards becoming a better blogger, building a relationship is key! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Kristin Wheeler (@MamaLuvsBooks) says
I agree that building relationships and getting a tribe are the key to successful blogging! Looks like a fun experience you had!
Racquel says
Thanks for sharing these tips. I’m always excited to learn more.
Christie says
making a blogger best friend has been so helpful! We share tips and contacts and woes
kristin says
Great tips! Thanks for allowing us to share in those tips too. I saw all the tweets and it looked like a great time!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
Love all of these steps/tips to becoming a better blogger! Love it when bloggers share stuff like this!
Tess says
I like to hear blogging tips from other bloggers. Nice to know things I’m doing right and things I should be doing.
Tonia says
Great advice. Thanks for sharing. SOunds like there was some valuable information shared at the conference.
Ashley - Family Travel Blogger says
These are great tips! It’s always good to see what works for other people too.
Rachael says
These are some great tips. Thanks for sharing. I need to work on my blog.
Kiwi says
So many tweet-a-bles…I retweeted a few of these great stuff! A tip that I learned from being a blogger is to BE AUTHENTIC. I know so many blogger just doing things for “perks” and because something worked for another blogger that they forget what the point of their blog is about or they stuck the authentic-ness out of their own posting it becomes fake and un-relatable. Be yourself and grow as a blogger promoting your true self!
cam | bibs and baubles says
All great tips. There are definitely some things here I could implement with my blog.
Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
All great thoughts! I pinned to my “blogging” board in Pinterest to share the wealth of knowledge!
Liz says
Love all your posts not only are they informative and entertaining they are educative too ! Thanks for sharing the tips..they are gems !
Melissa says
YES! I agree with all of this. Must have been such a great conference!
Christina S says
There are a lot of great tips up there! I need to work on stepping out of my comfort zone and making some great connections!
Debbie Denny says
These are good tips. I am quite happy now with my blog since I changed back to more relevant versus ads and giveaways.
Shop with Me Mama (Kim) says
What wonderful tips! I definitely need to work on using Twitter/Facebook fan page more often. I need to work on my social media pages!
Dina says
I think giving back is huge! I always do a back to school backpack giveaway to 2 children in need. It’s a great way to give!
aimee fauci says
One tip would be to stay consistent and don’t give up. Consistency is key and don’t ever get discouraged and give up.
Jenni E. {Sweet Pennies from Heaven} says
All terrific tips! Sometimes it’s hard to step back and take a look with a new set of eyes. Often for me, it takes reading something like this post to take a different look at my own blog! Thank you for sharing!
Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
Awesome, thanks for the all of the information. Pinned to Pinterest!
Mitch says
I love this! I need all the blogging help I can get! This post is getting bookmarked, just so you know!
thanks,
mItch
melinda says
These are all great tips. Thanks for sharing your insight
Pam says
Great tips! Being newsworthy is so important. Thanks for sharing.
Carly Anderson says
These are definitely great tips! I’m definitely going to have to retweet some of these!
Virginia @thatbaldchick says
Those are some great tips, and sounds like you really enjoyed it. Being real is so so so important.
Rosey says
Those are really good tips. I worry about brand saturation when I talk about something too often. I have a product I’ve worked with three times now, and they’ve asked me to blog again next month. I agreed because I love the products, but I was a little hesitant the readers might not want to hear about it again? I hope I’m wrong to even consider that being the case… we shall see (crossing fingers). 🙂
Kayla says
Great mix of tips and advice! I think the number one thing bloggers can do is create great content and stick to tone. Don’t sell yourself short!
Lori says
Great tips! I think we can continually become a better blogger each day. Thanks for the pointers.
Veronica says
That is such a great list of things to do to make you a better blogger. I do need to network more
Lindsey @ Redhead Baby Mama says
Good tips. Following a conference hashtags is often one of the best ways to learn when you can’t attend a conference.
Janeane Davis says
It is great to be able to go to a conference and learn something you actually use and enjoy. It was nice of you to share some of the lessons you learned.
Kay Adeola says
These are all great tips,I really need to concentrate on my social media more.
Shell says
These are great tips! Thanks for sharing.
Moments with Mandi says
I love your tips. I think networking and building relationships is so important for any blogger and then working on their writing skills is key. This sounds like a great conference!
[email protected] says
Those are some great tips. I should definitely use those on a going forward basis.
Lisa says
These are really great tips! Comfort zone and compelling stories are my favorites!
Danielle @ We Have It All says
These are all really great tips! At the last conference I went to I learned that standing out and stepping out are very important. Standing out from the rest is really hard for me and stepping out of my comfort zone is too but I’ve been trying 🙂
Carly Bellard says
These are all great tips! I am trying to find the balance right now with my social media !
Becka says
GREAT tips! One of my goals is to better my social presence. I’m working on that.
Jenn @TheRebelChick says
Blogging is just like any job, there is always room for improvement! At least, if you want to do a good job LOL!
Chrystal @ YUM eating says
I’ve been using Flipboard as a reader for ages. I never really thought about it as a blog networking/marketing social type thing. Maybe that is something you could share in another post. Some highlights on why one, as a blogger, should be thinking about Flipboard.
Demetra says
Such great advice, thanks for sharing. I think my favorite one is “Step out of your comfort zone”, that is something I need to do more in all aspects of my life.
Amy @GrinningCheektoCheek says
Great advice! So much of it I know I need to take the advice, but just can’t get myself there yet. I am my own worst enemy when blogging!
Shannon Gosney says
What an awesome ambassador program to be a part of! I love your steps towards being a better blogger.
Tonia says
Establishing emotional connections and being real are things I think a lot of folks can tend to overlook. It’s great to be reminded of the need to do it.
April Smith Decheine says
Awesome tips, my daughter is just beginning her blog, I told her to learn from others, so much to learn. I like step out of your comfort zone the best.
Tiffany @DaydreamingRealist says
I love the layout of this blog post, because it’s so user-friendly and easy to read. One of the best tips that I’ve received is: use a font that is easy to read. I’ve passed on so many blog posts, because their font is too small, too much contrast or too hard to read due the curls in the text. When you’re a writer, font is definitely one of the most important things to you and your readers.
krystalskitsch says
These are amazing tips. It is so important to be brand loyal and also build lasting relationships online.
Christie says
These are great reminders for improving ourselves and our blogs! Thanks for sharing your journey
Amanda says
Such great tips! We have to treat our blog like a business and think with a business mind!