Last week I had the opportunity to go to Alt Summit, a design and blogging conference for creatives in Salt Lake City. The conference was a wonderful way to meet new people in my field, and most of all, to glean inspiration from those who are doing great things. I took copious notes during each workshop and wanted to share some of my favorites with you. Whether you’ve been to Alt Summit or not, these tips will help you propel your business and blog in a positive direction.
- I am not talented. Back in the day, it used to be the inherently talented people who stuck out — the prodigies. Now, with the internet and massive spread of information, most of us have the opportunity to build our skills and lead the lives we desire. It’s not about talent, it’s about developing our skill. It’s important to realize that people who are “more skilled than us” worked hard to get to that point and we have the potential to be just as good, if not better, than the people we admire. If we try.
- On working with brands and sponsored posts: Create collaborations that build your brand as much as they builds their’s.
- Got an authentic collaboration brewing? Pitch it to a brand. I don’t know why this thought never really occurred to me, or perhaps I was just too scared to do anything about it before. But now I realize that a lot of the cool things you see big bloggers doing with big brands are a result of them simply asking. It’s also a great way to turn your blog into a business.
- Be persistent. Many people quit before they get traction.
- On Instagram: Leave comments that encourage people to post more photos, rather than bland comments like, “Cute!” Doing this will help you create relationships and community. Also, start a hashtag for your blog to build community.
- On finding people to collaborate with: Constant agreement is not the kind of collaboration that will get you anywhere. You have to continually build on each other’s ideas. There should be agreement laced with a tinge of disagreement in order to really propel your ideas forward.
- Any successful product makes people feel something. Usually these are subconscious feelings we don’t even realize, such as, “my best self would buy this, so I should probably have it.”
- According to Joy Cho, most of her success if due to her going after people and asking for things.
- Finding mentors and people to bounce ideas off of is crucial. There’s even research proving that multiple heads are better than one. Find a few creative people you trust and check in with each other on a weekly or monthly basis to share and hone ideas and support each other’s work.
Did you attend Alt Summit? What was your favorite lesson learned? If not, were there any points I listed that stuck out to you? What are you going to do to make ’em happen?!
*Photo via Justin Hackworth
That is a great collection of tips, I think the first is definitely something worth thinking about.
Glad you like them! That first one was from a talk by Keenan Cummings — he was great!
I’ll have to look him up. Thanks!
This is great, Mel. I’ve been told to seek out a mentor by a few other friends too. Do you have any suggestions on how to find one? I’m definitely going to do some research, but was wondering if you knew of a good place to start. I’m glad you were able to soak up so much great stuff! 🙂
Good question! The speaker actually gave an interesting tip — find people in your field who you admire and invite them to coffee (if they live far away then see if they have any meetings or anything in your area sometime this year). Then follow up with them and ask if you can check in with them every now and then after that. He said he’s built some great friendships and found mentors that way! I guess it’s just about approaching people who do things you like and building/maintaining a connection.
I’m definitely going to try to find someone to mentor me…I love writing and blogging but sometimes it’s helpful to…well…have help! Don’t you just love how inspiration can come all at once? 🙂
samsamcherie.blogspot.com
YES! And I totally agree!
This is a great post Melyssa, although some things on this list scare me. Anyone else? Thank you for sharing with those who weren’t there. The persistence thing gives me hope for my blogging future and I have read about the mentor thing in a lot of business books as of late.
I’m glad you like this list! I’m curious — what on this list scares you?
I guess the part that involves putting myself out there and vulnerable, pitching to brands and bloggers. I sometimes settle down quite nicely behind my keyboard and call it a day, but it is true we have to get out there!
Thank you for sharing these! Going to Alt Summit is my blogging goal for next year. I just have to save up for it. 🙂
Do it! I was lucky to win a ticket this year, but I’d definitely buy one now knowing how helpful it is. 🙂
I really like that list. I would love to find a mentor in regards to my soon-to-be launched online business. It’s hard though, because I’m always afraid that people won’t like my things or my ideas. I’ve seen so many positive posts about Alt Summit – I’m glad you had a great time there.
I totally know the feeling, Karen! I think a big part of it is finding someone you trust, but who will push you. So you can feel comfortable sharing iffy ideas, but they’ll still give you honest feedback.
Well done!!! This is incredibly helpful to us all! Thank you for sharing! I’m saving to refer back to again and again. xo!
I’m so glad this was helpful, Jahaila!! 🙂
those are so helpful! it’s like taking i got the cheat sheet 🙂 so wonderful that you got the chance to to there!
Glad to hear that they’re helpful! 🙂
Very valuable tips! Thanks for sharing!
Woohoo! Happy to hear that 🙂
Just today I learned about the importance of going and asking things–so that tip really stood out to me! Asking makes us rely on community and interacting with others, so I feel like it’s such an important habit to get used to. But all of these are inspiring and good lessons to take away. 🙂 xo, gina
Great point about asking being part of a community interaction. Very interesting!
Ive really been working on just asking for things that I want and knowing that hearing “no” isnt the end of the world! These are really great tips!
Glad to hear that, Alisha! 🙂
These are all such helpful tips! I especially love the part about asking for things instead of waiting for them to happen.
That’s one of my favorites, too! 🙂
I’ve so looking forward to all of your posts about Alt Summit…the last two have been wonderful. The conference is something I aspire to attend, but I have to admit I’ve been intimidated up until now.
I’m so glad you’ve liked the recent Alt posts! You should definitely go. 🙂 I was intimidated too (still kind of am, honestly!), but I’d go again in a heartbeat. 🙂
I love all of these posts lately. I feel like you are writing just for me as cheesy as that sounds, but I grasp something that I can (and probably should) be applying to my blog.
That is one of the best compliments a writer can hear! Glad you like these posts recently, Jessa! 🙂
Thanks so much. Its great to hear these things. Im new to blogging but its good to hear that sometimes you just need to ask, Ive wondered how these bloggers had collaborations with some of these businesses, its good to know sometimes its simply from asking. Its great to see these tips since I wasn’t able to go to the conference myself
Glad you found some reassurance here, Justine! I’ve often wondered how big bloggers do such neat collaborations, too, so I’m right there with you!
These are great tips! Especially #1. Sometimes I have to remember that the people I look up to started at the beginning, they just started at the beginning before me. Today I was scrolling through instagram and I saw a sketch from one of my favorite illustrators and I thought, “I’ll never be as good as her!” And, in all honesty, I might never be. She has devoted all of her time and focus to developing her art and I focus more on writing than I do on illustration, but if I continue to focus more time on illustration my talent will grow.
Thanks for sharing these!
Yes! I totally agree! Also, you probably already know from Instagram, but that line about starting at the beginning really got to me! Thank you for that. 🙂
I loved this list! Especially needed to read #4 because I definitely need to always stay persistent with things. I hear you on the whole instagram thing too because often times when someone leaves me a comment with a word or two. I don’t feel the desire to post anything for days. I do love genuine interaction on Instagram though.
Yes! I loved that one about Instagram, too. I think I needed to be reminded that genuine interactions on social media mean so much more than a bunch of non-quality interactions.
I think in regards to #1 it is also about finding what you want to be better at, I know I would love to be amazing at all things creative but I need to focus what creative talent I do have at one in particular and grow that. For now I am doing embroidery and can see how I have grown and changed over the last year with my needle skills but perhaps one day I will switch and focus on something new and then the skills and lessons learned from embroidery will help me along with that as well.
Great point! I also love how you mentioned that one creative endeavor can help us with other future endeavors. Everything we do is connected. Thanks for that, Bailie!
YAY! thanks for sharings these inspirational notes! 🙂
Glad you like ’em. 🙂
These are some really good tips! Thank you for sharing them!
Anytime, Susanne!
thank you! for sharing your thoughts after Alt! 🙂 i’m loving these ideas- especially #9. thats a tough one though….
It is tough! I’m still working on it myself 🙂
Point #1 is so important. While I think talent exists, I also think natural talent can sometimes be an obstacle to development. This point reminds me of something I’ve been seeing in the past few months about the “growth” mindset vs. the “fixed” mindset… that whole issue of: do we have limited potential or is our ability to grow dictated by our efforts? And as with anything, I feel like it’s a mixture of both but hard work and deliberate practice tends to be what allows people to elevate and go beyond expectations (their own and others’) and really succeed consistently over time.
I’m trying to keep this in mind as I’ve been a little bit more in the “talent” camp in the past. I’m learning to build skills over time, to enjoy the journey, but to also be patient and know that wanting something is not enough (and wanting it does not make me automatically deserving of having it RIGHT NOW). This is such good info to share, though, because it’s the kind of thing that really changes people’s perspectives (a.k.a.: their lives). Thanks for sharing what you learned at the Alt Summit!
Glad you found value in this, Erika! I love this line: “and wanting it does not make me automatically deserving of having it RIGHT NOW.” How true is that! I find that sometimes when I want to be the best or great at something, it’s almost a little selfish, since I don’t yet deserve that outcome until I put in the patience and dedication to actually getting there. Thank you for that perspective!
These are some wonderful tips! Collaboration has been one of my favorite things about my business, and learning how to pitch ideas and who to approach with what is scary but I’ve seen so much value coming from it. If I love what I’m doing, it’s worth the difficulty, though! Thanks for sharing what you learned!
Totally agree with all of the above, Stacia! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing these tips! I’m sure you had a great time. I’ll be thinking long and hard over #3.
Glad you like them, Danielle! I’ll be thinking about #3, too 🙂
WOW! Great tips! I didn’t think the Alt Summit would teach you about blogging and social media, it seemed to be a conference tailored to design.
Glad you liked these tips, Zobia! I think the conference is geared mainly toward bloggers, but bloggers with an eye for design. 😉
You brought back some great tips! My favorites are a) discussing your ideas with other creatives. I think that is so important! You’ll often times leave with a new perspective and an even better idea than you started with. And b) when you have a great idea, pitch it to a brand you would like to work with on it. Stepping outside of your comfort zone can be scary, especially when there’s the possibility of rejection! But this is a very good tip!
Totally agree Keiz!
You know, sometimes it really IS just as simple as asking to collaborate or bringing up an idea! But it’s hard!! #2 and #3 are key for successful collaborations {instead of waiting for brands to contact you, because we all know what kind of brands and what kind of “collaborations” we’re going to get then} and yet they take a lot of balls to do. Learning how to pitch an idea {both how to do it and how to have the guts to do it} is on my to-do list big-time.
Totally agree! One of the most helpful parts of the conference was learning how to pitch an idea. Maybe once I successfully do that, I’ll share a tutorial here. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing these! That first tip is my favorite…so good!
Glad you like ’em! I love #1 too 🙂
Thanks for sharing this Melyssa! #1 really strikes a cord, it’s easy to give up and say “i’m just not that talented”, this is a great way to look at it! I like #5, that is something I had not thought about and spurred some ideas.
Glad you liked these! 🙂 #5 has been the easiest (and possibly most fun/rewarding!) to put into practice for me 🙂
These are all really great tips, especially about not giving up. It’s important to keep moving forward and not letting the expectations that we have for ourself crush us before we really get going. Great tips and I’m glad that you got to take part in such an inspiring conference!
Thank you for sharing! Loved all the tips and especially the one about us not being genius in the blogger industry.. Sometimes it seems that only the best dressed and richest people make it to the top but it’s mostly not that at all. Working hard pays off
Happy Medley Blog
These are great tips, thanks for sharing! At the moment #5 probably has stuck out for me most. I really need to work on engaging on social more. And also, sharing my own content more. Sometimes I feel like doing so would be bombarding or annoying people… Currently I haven’t got a facebook page for my blog either and not many people know about it, just those close friends and family. I’m not ready for others to know about it? And have one instagram account for both uses which I think is probably what holds me back a little on the blog promo etc.
Also #9. I recently read the accidental creative and in that, Henry talks a lot about this. How he meets up with a friend monthly to bounce ideas off of and how it’s important that you bring something to the table to offer them as well as getting something in return.
I’m so glad you brought all that up about #5, Sarah-Louise! I was the exact same way. I just didn’t feel comfortable with people knowing about my blog and hated the thought of self-promotion. But once I just did it, even if I was a little scared, it helped a lot! I still have trouble with social media though — it just takes so much time!
And I love that #9 was mentioned in that book (I need to read that!). I think it’s so important!
Yeah I think you’re right, I just need to do it! And I should be probably factor in the facebook page as a goal for the next month or so. It DOES take so much time! I totally get why companies pay someone/another co. to do it for them haha.
Accidental Creative is a great read! It has a lot of good practises in it for feeling more inspired, I definitely recommend it!
These tips are amazing! I just started blogging a few months ago and I’m pretty sure these tips will come in handy. Thank you very much. Also I just found your blog and it has given me so many ideas and I’m certain they will help my blog a lot. Keep up the good work 🙂
Greetings from Venezuela,
https://velisesspot.blogspot.com
Thanks so much, Vero! Glad you’ve found some useful things here. 🙂
Great tips, especially # 5. I’m a new blogger and haven’t tried instagram yet. It’s time consuming but worth it, maybe ???
Definitely time consuming, and definitely worth it! 😉
Great post! Asking is definitely hard for me. Sometimes I feel like asking “big wigs” or even people with similar sites as mine might be stupid, but at the same time I think “who cares? Go for it!”
I think one major problem is how to go about approaching it to others. Any advice?
Hi Taylor! My advice would be to not show up empty handed to the party – give them something nice! Provide them with some type of value before ever asking for anything in return and you’re much more likely to be well received 🙂
always insightful, and very creative
I’m so glad you found it helpful, Chad 🙂