Bloggy Boot Camp Austin- Bloggers Tool Kit

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Crystal & Co. made the trip to Austin for Bloggy Boot Camp this weekend. My first ever blogging conference.

Yes Mother. I attended a conference about blogging.

So there. {sticking my tongue out!}

It was an all day event packed with excellent speakers. The first speaker was one I was super excited about- Laurie Turk the mastermind behind Tip Junkie. She is a Dallas mom too, and I love to submit my crafty ideas on her site and search for ideas other moms have shared. Totally a go- to resource if you’re planning a party!

But guess what. I was late to her speech. Like 20 minutes. Those who know me know… that is totally Crystal & Co. style. Late is the story of my life!

Well heck, we did not arrive in our hotel room until 5:00 am.

Then the iron in my room did not work. So I had to call the front desk for another one.

Then I realized I forgot my razor. So I called the front desk and they so kindly had one on standby for crazy
people like me. Then, guess what? Found my razor.

Then I decided I hated what I packed to wear. I felt fat and I was about to walk into a room of 120 other fabulously dressed women.

Then, I regrouped.

Breathe, Crystal, breathe.

Focus.

And told myself 100 times- you can take on the world!

So my point is, I probably missed some great stuff from Laurie’s talk, but I want to share the notes with you of the things I did get to capture.

Laurie’s Blogger Tool Kit–
  1. Declutter your sidebar. Your readers won’t stay long if it is a hot mess.
  2. Once a month promote your blog on your blog. Yes, you may have the buttons on your sidebar allowing them to connect with you on Facebook, Twitter or to get your daily posts delivered to their inbox, but people forget. Remind them. In a simple post.
  3. Twitter is busiest Tuesday and Thursday between 10 am and 2 pm. If you have little time to commit to Twitter, this is the time to do it. (I have a theory on this…. hello, mother’s day out is typically on Tuesday and Thursday. Between   10a-2p is our mommy alone time…. go figure!)
  4. Check out Twitter’s awesome goodies and add ons!
  5. Check out and install  Hootsuite.com to make managing your Twitter life easier.
  6. Sign up for Google Alerts which will notify you when people are googling you. Do an alert for your name, your blog name, etc.
  7. When you receive a Google Alert  follow up and try to connect with them. Thank them. You  never know, this could be a new reader!
  8. Widgetbox rocks for plugins!
  9. Submit to (or at least look into) Ning,  Squiddo and Skirt to help promote, grow and better your blog. (Just from checking out these site briefly, Skirt seems to be more of a way to connect with other like minded women and probably where I will start.)
  10. Create an ebook of your own and offer it to your readers. Each of us Bloggers have something to offer. It can be an opportunity for revenue or something that you use as a freebie if they sign up for your RSS feed or newsletter.
  11. Laurie is also the creative and organized brain behind Executive Homemaker. On this site she offers many tools to help every busy mom, including those of us who are blogging moms who need tools to keep life in order as we are trying to launch our blogging business adventures. Start here with her Executive Homemaker Binder. One blogging tip she has is to make a calendar for your blog. Schedule out your posts- it will really help you manage your time better!
Tomorrow I will share with you my notes from the second talk- Privacy and Your Blog. Oh my! 

And, if Bloggy Boot Camp is coming to a town near you, GO!! Tiffany, the oh so pretty mind behind the SITS site, is a wealth of information. And super pretty and funny too!
Are you new to Crystal & Co and do not want to miss a post, subscribe to my RSS Feed!

Blended family. Wife to Lenny. Homeschool mom. Large family- eight boys and one girl... ONLY five still at home. Texas born and raised.

17 Comments

  1. I'm impressed you were able to take notes given the morning you had! Sorry we didn't get to meet up. it was fun!

    Reply

  2. I'm so glad we got to chat. Your blog is so dang adorable; we're still in the car so when I get home I'll snoop around a little more.

    Reply

  3. I am so glad you got to go! What a morning! Good blog material huh?
    Kim

    Reply
  4. Priscilla - Wheelchair Mommy says:

    You looked fabulous and it was a blast to talk to meet you and talk to both you and your husband at the cocktail party. I love seeing other couple interact. It makes me feel normal. 🙂

    Reply

  5. I'm glad you had a good time! Boot camp sounds like a blast!

    Reply
  6. Laurie Turk says:

    What a great recap! I am so glad you enjoyed my presentation as it was a blast to prepare.

    It was delightful meeting you. I had so much fun I didn't want to leave. It feels so nice to be with "my people".

    Hugs!

    Laurie

    Reply

  7. I can't wait to gleen some info from your posts! I'm so new to all this!
    I hope you had a great time.

    Reply

  9. Awesome post and that's great how you were able to sum it all up;-)It was great meeting you and I enjoyed talking with you as well as your husband..he is hilarious. I will be back to read more tomorrow. I will be posting a blog post about BBC as well, I'm just running somewhat behind. Enjoy your week and thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog.

    Diary of a Chic Mommy
    http://www.diaryofachicmommy.com

    Reply
  11. Anonymous says:

    hello!This was a really magnificentsuper topic!
    I come from milan, I was fortunate to search your website in digg
    Also I learn much in your blog really thank your very much i will come later

    Reply
  12. C.R.A.F.T. says:

    Thank you for taking such GOOD notes!

    Reply
  13. sleepyhead designs studio says:

    Wow-great info! I need to read it about 5 more times! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  14. I needed all of this info this morning! Thank you so much for sharing! I'm a Houston mama blogger and hope that this conference will come to Houston soon!

    Reply
  15. Johnlyn ~ Frugality and Homemaking says:

    Thanks for the google alert info – I didn't know that existed!

    Reply

  16. Johnlyn- thanks for stopping by and reading my blogger tips from Bloggy Boot Camp!

    Google Alert is great. I would set up an alert for your blog name, your name, etc. Hit it every way possible so that you are alerted when people are searching for you!

    Reply

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