I can’t believe that it’s already been a week since Blogfest! As usual, it was an amazing event! Today I want to share my five favorite things about my Blogfest Experience.
Don’t Miss! Blogfest Day One: Photos from Las Vegas
My 5 Favorite Things About My Blogfest Experience
There are so many things I loved about my #Blogfest Experience! Here are the top 5!
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The People
For me, the very best part is always the people. The bloggers that I meet for the first time, old friends that I only get to see once a year (or less), the sponsors, presenters, other people in the fitness field. It truly is the best part of the Blogfest Experience.
Todd Durkin
Todd Durkin was our Keynote speaker at Blogfest. He also won the IDEA Inspiration Award, which was presented by Elaine LaLanne, Jack’s widow. Just to give you an idea of his personality, when he received his award he came to the podium wearing a black jumpsuit just like Jack used to wear years and years ago. He even did some Jack-style pushups!
As a keynote speaker, Todd was, well, inspirational. He is all about Contagiasm: Contagious Enthusiasm. In his words, everyone always says that life is a marathon. It is not. Life is a series of sprints and recoveries. You must sprint hard and recover harder.
He told his story of successes and struggles. How his passion for fitness led him to a football scholarship with the coach he admired and how his career-ending back injury eventually led him to who he is today, an author, trainer, coach, and motivational speaker.
He spoke about success and what is needed to get there. Where do you want to be in one year? Five years? What skills do you need to get you there? What sacrifices do you need to make? Who can help (mentor) you?
I loved that Todd brought his whole family with him. His wife, two sons, and his daughter were sitting in the row right in front of me. They helped out, filmed him as he spoke, and his daughter helped draw the raffle winners at the end.
And he gave us his book! The WOW Book, 52 Ways to Motivate Your Mind, Inspire Your Soul and Create WOW in Your Life, (<–affiliate link) is drawn from Todd’s Word of the Week, a series he started back in 2011. It was typically a word or phrase that he expanded into a motivational short story centered around that theme. The WOW Book takes a year’s worth of those stories, 52 weeks, which will, as Todd would put it, help you get your mind right and help you create WOW.
Katy Widrick’s Presentation: Make Your Old Content New Again
There were many excellent presentations during my Blogfest experience, but two specifically meant the most to me and my blog. The first was Katy Widrick’s “Make Your Old Content New Again.”
After more than eight years of blogging, this obviously sounds like something I need. I have already been doing some of this (did you notice?), but Katy had great tips for not only republishing old posts but also for simply refreshing and sharing again. Both options work for me, especially since I don’t use the date in my URL (something that can cause a hassle via 301 redirects if you choose to republish).
She brought to our attention something that I knew but hadn’t really focused on. If you’ve been blogging for a while, chances are your most popular posts are not the ones that you just published. As bloggers, we worry about always having fresh content, to the extent sometimes that we spend all our time writing new stuff and feeling that if we skip a day no one will read our blog.
Not true at all. Many bloggers have discovered that by blogging less and focusing their attention on other areas, they have actually increased both pageviews and potential income. By checking your analytics, you can find those older, popular posts, spend a little time refreshing them, and share them out there again. You can update meta descriptions, tweets, and of course out of date collateral content, and your post is as good as new again.
Amanda Vogel’s Presentation: Everything You Need to Know to Make Money from Guest Blogging
Let me just say: I love Amanda Vogel. I first saw her speak at the IDEA Convention several years ago (about social media for people in the fitness business). Even though my own knowledge exceeded that of the people she was speaking to, I still thoroughly enjoyed her session and even learned a few things.
Learning about guest blogging was something I was really interested in. Amanda covered all the topics that I needed to know. How to approach a potential opportunity, how to find out if an organization pays guest bloggers. She even gave us a sample pitch letter!
Amanda reminded us that before we write that pitch we should get to know a little bit about the blog for which we want to write. Visit the blog and read some of the posts. Learn a little about its audience. Follow the blog on social media and leave a comment or two. All this helps you avoid the “cold pitch,” because you will become a familiar presence that the blog owner will remember.
Another thing you’ll want to know before pitching is if the blog even accepts guest posts. Things to look for include submission guidelines, multiple bylines, or a “write for us” page. You can check the “about” page as well.
Amanda even spoke about recommended length (which can vary by blog), post structure, and pricing guidelines. All of this information was so helpful! I can’t wait to put it into practice!
The Team from Fit Approach
In all the writing I’ve done over the years about Blogfest, I’m not sure that I’ve ever given the team from Fit Approach the credit they deserve for creating Blogfest. They put their heart and soul into the event and it shows. I hope that they all took some time after the crazy weekend to put their feet up and get a massage or something!
Sending a HUGE thank you to the team at @fitapproach for another outstanding #Blogfest!
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Fit Approach is led by Jamie King and Alyse Mason Brill, two cousins that had this idea for empowering women a few years back and started Sweat Pink, a community of over 5,000 (mostly) women that support and cheer for each other whether they are training for their first 5k or moving up to an Ironman triathlon.
Fit Approach has expanded over the years. In addition to Sweat Pink and Blogfest, it is the mothership (as they say) to Sweat Guru, a community of professionals and business owners, and Flex & Flow, currently a Portland based yoga, bootcamp, and fitness studio, but with big plans for expansion.
All told, Fit Approach brings together over 20,000 influencers, professionals, community groups, businesses, and brands around a shared passion for active living. And you have to love an organization whose mission statement starts with, “We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes.”
I personally adore Jamie and Alyse! They are beautiful, hard working, caring, and inspirational women who I am proud to call friends. Jamie was even the star runner on my Ragnar team!
Of course, they can’t do all of this alone. They have a great team. Many thanks to Liz, Becky, Nikki, and Courtney, all of whom bring their own enthusiasm and talents to the table.
There were countless other amazing things about my Blogfest experience that I will remember for my whole life. I learned so many things that will help my blogging, made friends and connections that I will appreciate forever, and of course, everything I learned during the fitness portion of the IDEA Convention that I can use in my business and my life.
Yikes! I almost forgot to mention this! I won a $100 Amazon gift card in an Instagram contest sponsored by GymGo! Thanks to Donovan and his team. Now, what should I buy….?
Next year we’ll be in San Diego! Mark your calendars for June 27-July 1, 2018. I hope I will see you there.
Weekly Linkups
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie and Dixya
Tuesdays on the Run with Marcia, Erika, and Patty
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Jen, and Nicole
The Plant-Based Potluck Party with Deborah
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Suz, Lora Marie, and Me!
Friday 5 2.0 with Rachel and Lacey and Meranda