Bloggy Boot Camp Denver

From branding, design and contract law to the creative process, working with brands and “vlogging,” I came away with a lot of practical hands-on information.

After arriving home from Denver yesterday and preparing for my trip to Salt Lake City tomorrow, I had to take time out to write about my experience at Bloggy Boot Camp Denver.

I just attended this SITS Girls event for the first time, just a month after attending a much larger blogging conference, also as a first-timer (aka: “newbie”).  It’s amazing to me how different and false my expectations were for both.

Connecting with brands at Bloggy Boot Camp

It’s simple mathematics.  One would expect that attending the largest female blogging conference with over 4,000 conference attendees and hundreds of brands for three days would yield more new connections and more knowledge than attending a one-day conference with a mere 127 bloggers and a handful of brands, rights?  Wrong.

I’m not knocking the large conference because it definitely has its purpose and place, especially for experienced bloggers.  I’m just saying this was a perfect example of not judging a book by its cover.

Back to mathematics.  With ticket cost, travel and hotel, I spent nearly $2,300 attending BlogHer11 in San Diego.  I purchased a ticket for both myself and my producer, Noelle, even though she is not a blogger because this is not a conference you want to attend by yourself.

For Bloggy Boot Camp I spent a total of about $800 with ticket, travel and hotel, but felt that I got at least twice the worth, if not more, of knowledge, information and connections in return.  However, because my ticket to Bloggy Boot Camp was cheaper, and there were much fewer attendees and it was only one day, I honestly did not expect to get as much in return as I did.

First of all, SITS Girl, Tiffany Romero is one of the smartest people in the blogging industry that I’ve come across so far.  Along with Franchesca, they pulled together a group of speakers who were so spot-on with information for new bloggers.  From branding, design and contract law to writing, working with brands and “vlogging,” there were many new bloggers in the room who came away with a lot of practical hands-on information.

I’ll break down some of that information for you.

Branding

One of the first speakers was Amy Bradley-Hole from BeBetterBranding.com who spoke on the topic of branding.  I have to be honest and say that when I heard the topic, I thought I had this area “covered”, because, after all, I had already been through the branding process with The Organized Cook and a professional branding agency before I had even began blogging.  So I figured I could just coast on autopilot for a spell and catch up on some Tweeting.  Not going to happen.  When Amy started speaking I couldn’t tune out.  Setting aside the adorable Louisiana accent, Amy talks like she’s reading from her very own book of poignant and clever quotes.  Here’s a few for starters:

“Branding is nothing more than deciding who you are and how you’re going to let the world know”

“When you get dressed in the morning to go out in the world, you are branding yourself.”

“To create your brand, it’s important to know why you are the way you are.”

If you’re a new blogger or are considering starting a blog, BeBetterBranding.com is a great resource for you.

Example of some great branding- my favorite business card of the day from Whipper Berry

The Creative Process

Jillian from CatchMyParty.com offered great advice to many of us struggling with inspiration and time management for blogging suggesting that you set aside just 15 minutes a day to write saying,

“If you only write when it’s convenient, you’ll only write one day every other year.”

Jillian from CatchMyParty.com speaking on "The Creative Process"

But my favorite quote from Jillian came when she said,

“Notice how the world is conspiring to help you.”

I get it, Jillian, and I notice!

Danielle Liss, center, spoke about "Contract Law"

Contract Law

Think contract law is boring?  Only Danielle Liss from KittenaGoGo.comcould make this subject so entertaining and funny.  Her presentation is available to anyone who requests it via email from her, and if you plan to sign any brand contracts, I highly suggest it.

These speakers were just to name a few of several creative and informational speakers.

After a day of great information, networking, connecting with brands and a giveaway (that I won), we broke for some photos on the SITS Girls red carpet and a simple but elegant cocktail party hosted by Mirassou Winery.

Me, Jennifer Kirlin from Bella Grey Designs (look forward to some projects we're collaborating on) and publicist, Andrea Mueller (yes, she is as adorable in person)

Then we hit the streets of Downtown Denver and a fabulous dinner at The Corner Office with new friends Amy Bradley-Hole (yes, she is AmyBHole on Twitter), Jennifer Kirlin from BellaGreyDesigns.comand many more.

View of Downtown Denver from Bloggy Boot Camp Cocktail Party hosted by Mirassou Winery

Which brings me to my next random photo of the The Corner Office ladies room with a wall of sticky notes and disco ball; I couldn’t help but love it.  Hmmm.  I wonder how this would look in my guest bathroom?

blank sticky notes and pens were available to write your own graffiti- so fun!

I’m still not exactly sure about the SITS acronym.  I know, The Secret To Success Is Support is their tagline.  So is it, “Support Is The Secret“?  Or, “Secret Is To Support“?  In any case, if you’re interested in attending a Bloggy Boot Camp, with the SITS Girls I highly suggest it.  But if you’re simply not able to attend, start by visiting them on Facebook and receiving a free gift of the SITS Girls Top 10 Secrets to Blogging Success.

After the conference, I stayed over for a day for a guest segment on Denver Fox News.

Maybe I’ll see you at the next Bloggy Boot Camp!

For some other great articles about Bloggy Boot Camp check out:

BeBetterBranding.com by Amy Bradley-Hole

CatchMyParty.com by Jillian