Blogcademy Brisbane November 2013
So, The Blogcademy, wow it feels like a year ago not a short few weeks. Thats Gala Kat + Shauna above doing their thing sharing their hard won knowledge and inspiration on day one.
Leaving the venue (which was deluxe by the way Bleeding Heart Gallery) I felt like I had been shot out of a spakley super charged cannon and into the future. The future where I was redrafting my bio and about me page, writing for the first time ever my blogging business plan, setting goals and timelines and spending afternoons on photo shoots for future blogs… oh yeah and holding down my day job and creating content… somewhere in there has been some sleep and the occasional meal.
Before you call me out, no, I’m not complaining. Its only now that I stop to write about the experience I can see just how much I have been inspired in the most practical put- it- into- action- straight- away kind of way .
And this of course is the kind of practical magic I love. Give me inspo please, give me sparkles and style but don’t leave me hanging with a big question hanging over the how.. and I wasn’t disappointed here AT ALL
That’d be me… with ears … its just how we roll.
Two whole days in a bloggers paradise. Where do I start? Firstly I’ll start with how I felt because I felt so damn excited and not just in a ‘what will I learn’ kind of way. That of course was part of it but I felt excited in a way that hinted at a reinvention of myself like I’d been handed a big fat permission slip to be ALL of me, even the bits that I hadn’t quite worked out yet. Like the blogger bit of me, Yes?
People are shocked sometimes to hear that I’m an introvert and I associated quite strongly with that title. In amongst my closest friends I can be quite dramatic! So it was with a degree of nervousness that I turned up on the first day. One of best things about the ears.. beside the fact that they’re just amazing is that they instantly break the ice, you can be wild and fun and tap into that part of yourself that just really wants to GO THERE. And go there we did.
My camera phone never left my hand!
I could write for a month on things that I learnt and relearnt over the course of the two days but heres 2 short lists.
Things that I have been working feverishly on since Blodcademy
1.Writing writing writing!! I have 3 or 4 note books scattered around the apartment filled with hand written articles and inspo.
2.Getting up close and personal with my Bio and being real brave about sharing who I am and what I really really want to offer.
3.Tidiying up the visual noise, stream lining images and colours and design . This is the tricky stuff for me so I’ve had to learn to be kinda patient and ask for help .. its a process people!
Things that have really rocked my world and will rock yours should you go in 2014 (and you should)
- Blogging is a business. Show up to work like you would any other job you want to be successful at.
- Hone your voice, get clear on your message and the people your speaking to and be unapologetically true to that voice.
- Have a Brand Audit – this is your visual voice. Get it clear.
- Nourish your muse, read outside your genre and make space regularly and with discipline and she will show up.
- Being generous giving value, adding joy and love to your readers life is the best marketing you can do.
- Invest in yourself!
- Sart before your ready and when you know better do better .
Thanks to the Headmistresses I fell in love with the potential of who I can be, of who I am when I let down the saftety nets and think BIG and risk looking stupid on the off chance that actually I’ll just shine. (or look tired with a cupcake at the end of one epic weekend!)
These three women gave us a way of tapping into our super powers and rethinking that version of ourselves that we know all too well. We were given permission to shine, permission to stand out and have our say, we were given permission to wear sparkley ears through the mall in broad day light. To order sushi and juice and not bat an eye lid. Just because.
I want to marry all of you and live in a big sparkly pink house with all out pets…. well it would be fun for a week every year no?
x
K
All photos except the tired cupcake courtesy of the wonderful Janneke Storm! www.jannekestorm.com
