Coming to you live from Nashville Tennessee! :)

This weekend I was lucky enough to attend Blissdom ’09. I was a little nervous as I went alone and wasn’t as familiar with the speaker’s blogs as I should have been. It didn’t matter though, the conference was awesome! I met so many wonderful women doing their thing and it’s so…. COOL! I love being surrounded by people who do what I do and love it as much as I do.

So I thought I’d share a few tips/tricks/links/thoughts that I learned. Some of these are things I picked up in conversation or from speakers and some were just observations.

Tweetdeck

I knew about it but never really started using it until this weekend when I saw how popular it was. It really makes tweating a bit more organized and allows you to do searches on hashtags (If you don’t know what that is let me know – I’ll plan a blog post about it.) Click here to download TweetDeck.

Blogging Rhythm

I thought this was a great discussion during one of the panels. Some bloggers post multiple times a day others only a few times a month. You can be a successful blogger either way. Just find your own personal rhythm and don’t worry about keeping up Jones’ Blog who posts every hour.

Staying True to YOUR inner voice

This was another great talk and I totally agree. You guys know my writing style. I write like I talk and I talk like a million words a minute about whatever pops into my head (hence the typos). I don’t try to be something I’m not. I share my thoughts and experiences (sometimes indulging a bit TOO much) and even though I do reviews or talk about products that fact doesn’t change. If a possible advertiser doesn’t like that about me then I won’t work with them. It’s that simple.

Most Effect Way to Earn Money with Affiliates

So many bloggers that want to take the leap and start earning cash with their blog through up a banner ad from an affiliate, sit back and watch the money roll in. Wait… What? No that was wrong, they sit back and wonder WHY the money ISN’T coming in. If you choose to have affiliate links they are best placed inside blog posts organically. Meaning… don’t force them. If you happen to be talking about a product then link it to your affiliate site. That’s it. So simple, right? But please see point above, stay true to your voice, don’t fake it readers are REALLY smart. :~)

Create a Media Kit

I SO need to do this as I’m lacking. If you want to earn money from your blog (I realize not everyone does and that’s ok) you should have a media kit for potential advertisers. Think of it as a resume for your site. I get this many visitors, I have this many followers on twitter, they value my opinion because, most readers are this age, yada yada. I think you get the idea. This is what will separate the recreational blogger from the business blogger. Mommy Bloggers Club has an awesome how to, click here to check it out.

There is No RIGHT way

This is just an observation. I heard women speak about a topic, having stark differences in their approach and both be very successful at what they are doing. You know yourself and your audience. It’s possible to pick up tips here and there but at the end of the day you need to make decisions for your blog based on your instinct. Blogs are like an individuals, unique. You have to find what works for you and that may be different then what works for me.

Overall I had a BLAST at Blissdom ’09. I met some great women and was, yet again, reassured I’m doing what I’m suppose to be doing. I can’t lie… I LOVE BLOGGING! :)

If you do too and want to learn more about what went on at the conference click here to check out the Blissdom 09 transcripts. Right now the pre-order screen is up but the full session transcripts of the panel discussions will be up by Friday.

I’m so looking forward to next the Blogging event that I’m considering starting my own… what do you think? FitBlogCon 2010! :~D