Alt Summer Conferences: Be Ready

By: Sara Urquhart

The Alt summer conferences offer so many opportunities for building your business and your network. Be prepared to make the most of them with these suggestions.

1. Know what you want. You’ll get the most out of Alt by establishing clear intentions. Are you hoping to meet new friends, collaborators, or business partners? Looking for opportunities to contribute on other blogs? Hoping to connect with sponsors? Or just seeking inspiration and advice from the Alt community? Approach Alt with one or two goals in mind, and use them to guide your conversations and interactions.

2. Be flexible. Remember that great things often happen when we’re least expecting them. Be open-minded about unexpected directions or conversations, and you might walk away with an opportunity you’d never dreamed of.

3. Share openly, and listen well. Introduce yourself and your work with confidence and listen respectfully as others share their work and thoughts. Offer assistance, connections and introductions in the spirit of helpfulness that characterizes the Alt community.

4. Plan for success. Shortly after Alt, make an appointment with yourself (and keep it!) to review your notes and create a plan to implement your new ideas. All the great things you learned will serve you best when you put them into action.

Great Inspiring Family Photography Blogs

By: Jennifer Little

Because you can never have too much inspiration, I have posted a few blogs that are amazing at capturing family at home.

1. The Glow
2. You are my wild
3. Katie’s Pencil Box
4. Pink Pistachio
5. Little Household (our family blog)

And because you can never read too much on how your camera operates, I am sharing a few wonderful, easy to understand posts on how to use your camera.

1. Picture Taking by Katie’s Pencil Box
2. Here’s Marla… by Fly Through Our Window

If you are really looking to get serious with photography, you should hop over to CreativeLIVE and you can learn everything you ever wanted to know!

5 Bloggers That Rock DIY Tutorials

By: Melanie Blodgett. Photo by: Oh Happy Day.

I have to admit when I was approached about teaching the new DIY Blogging 101 class, I was a bit intimidated. I mean, so many other bloggers have the DIY process down a lot better than I do. But of course they flattered me into doing it and as I prepare for the class, I’ve been so inspired to step my game up. I hope you don’t mind I’m learning along side you!

Here are just five (of the many) blogs that I admire for their tutorial game:

Oh Happy Day

I’m sure you’re already familiar with Jordan’s blog (if not already officially obsessed) but I could not not mention her. Jordan’s tutorials are a step above the rest because not only does she have a genius creative brain (that I’m sure we’d all like to pick), she has a talented team that helps execute her vision flawlessly.

A Beautiful Mess

I guess teamwork is a theme. A Beautiful Mess is run by the creative duo, Elsie and Emma. They’re constantly cranking out fresh ideas shared with well styled and well taken photos that make everything very pin-worthy.

Creature Comforts

Ez is a jack of all trades and it’s always a good day when she posts one of her tutorials. Consistent style, a variety of ideas and excellent photos make her the blogger to seek inspiration from.

Penelope & Pip

The fact that Rachael is a talented designer and illustrator shows. I think she can add photographer to her resume too because all her photos are crisp and clean, making her colorful and happy projects stand out.

The House That Lars Built

Brittany definitely has it. She’s the girl we all want to be friends with for her impeccable taste and the creative ideas she’s constantly coming up with and churning out. Plus she’s pretty darn nice too.

What is Your Unique Selling Proposition?

By: Monica Lee

I believe that your unique selling proposition is, in fact, YOU. Nobody else was made like you, thinks like you, sees what you see, you are a complete original. Read that last sentence again. Let it sink in.

What you really need to do is learn how to express your originality. Get comfortable with it. Learn how to get your originality down on paper or in many cases, onto the web.

I meet dynamic people all the time at Smart Creative Women. A consistent trait they posses is a unique aesthetic that comes from their individual perspective. I call it their “creative style.” They have it nailed down, they don’t waste days wondering if this opportunity or that motif or color will fit with their branding.  They have complete confidence in their creative style.

They don’t worry if they fit in with the next trend or if they have replicated someone else’s idea.  They know who they are which frees mental space allowing them to move forward in their lives and businesses.

So how do you gain confidence with your own creative style?

Click to read more ...

Grow Your Blog Audience

By: Kelly Beall. Image: K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union Tribune.

You've chosen your blog's awesomely catchy name, you have a cool design you love, you've been posting for a few months and now what? Growing your audience of course! Now brace yourself for what I have to say next, there's no one right way to build your readership. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but there's no magic formula because each site's readership varies in every possible way. What works for Design Crush might not work for your site, but I prefer to liken this side of blogging to a science experiment – a little of this, a little of that, record the results. And if the outcome isn't awesome enough back to the drawing board! No harm, no foul.

Social media is definitely a big part of the formula you should be using to achieve success. I love this article full of Social Media Dos and Don'ts by some of your favorite bloggers. (Psst... if you don't have a Twitter account or Facebook page dedicated to your site I suggest you set one up. Now.)

Install Google Analytics and pay attention to what it's telling you. Here are the Top 7 Google Metrics to Monitor.

Write about topics that are already hot. They're popular for a reason and consulting Google Trends is a fantastic place to start.

Your post's title is the first thing a potential reader sees, learn how to write Magnetic Headlines to pull people in from the get-go.

Get to Know Your Readers! Finding out what they want will only contribute to your success.

Plan ahead using something like this free printable blog planner. It will help you stay true to both your site and your ultimate plan (mwahahaha).

Want more? Be sure to sign up for Kelly's class, Expanding Your Audience, on Alt Channel later this month!