What I Learned From Women Get Social Philly

Two weeks ago I attended Women Get Social Philly, hosted by The SITS Girls. I had been hesitant to go to the conference mostly because I’ve attended a lot of blogging conferences this year. But everyone I talked to said this was the one to go to, so 2 weeks before the event I took the plunge and got a ticket off the wait list.

Women Get Social was held over 2 days at the DoubleTree in Philadelphia and The SITS Girls packed those 2 days with so much information that it took me 2 weeks to wrap my head around all of it.

If you are a blogger or thinking of starting a blog, if this conference comes to a city near you it really is a must do. But because you all couldn’t be there in Philly with me learning lots and getting to meet a vintner, I will share with you some of what I learned at Women Get Social Philly.

Don’t do it for free and expect to get paid next time. So many times as bloggers we get asked to write about something for free and sometimes it’s by big name brands that we would love to work with. And it’s easy to think well if I write about it for free surely they will see I’m awesome and pay me next time. But like the old saying “why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free”, it’s highly unlikely that you will get paid next time. If you are going to do something for free ask for a Linked In endorsement.

Hate media kits but have them. You have to have a media kit but it was suggest not to give them out unless asked for and to have one for each social media platform. Make sure to use your media kit to highlight what you do best.

Pretty matters. Blog design and your images matter. Make them pretty and if you don’t know how find someone who does. Blog design is the number one reason you are not getting sponsored posts.

YouTube is the great equalizer. With YouTube the views always come back to you. You can set up ads on your video and get paid based on how many times it is seen. When doing a post think, what can I do a video about?

You can not be a super star on every platform. There is such a pressure to be everywhere all the time. To be active on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and Pinterest and a host of other social networking platforms but you can’t be a superstar on every platform. Take your two best platforms and put your time and energy there. Have a presence on the others but work your best two.

Link to your about me page. All your social media bios should link to your about me page. That way you are always putting your best foot forward when brands are checking out your page.

Keep office hours. This is something I am trying to get better at, setting aside time that is just for blogging and also something I’m always telling my husband to do. By setting limits on your time you are saying to others my time is important.

Multiply your strengths and outsource your weaknesses. If you are a great editor but horrible at photography outsource the photography so you can focus on your content. If there is something that you are great at swap services with someone who is an expert at something that you aren’t great at.

Personally my biggest take away from Women Get Social was the confidence boost to take myself and this space seriously. Women Get Social changed the way I think about my blogging career and definitely gave me some ideas about where I want this blog to go and how to get it there. I’m excited about the plans that I have for this space and grateful to all of you who have stuck with Wine In Mom since the beginning.