“It’s like meeting up with my friends except I’ve never met them before”
When I attended my first Tots100 BlogCamp event as a newbie blogger last October, I was excited, nervous and a little in awe of the established bloggers. I was looking forward to meeting up with other bloggers, putting faces to the blog names and learning more about how to be a better blogger.
Fast forward six months and those feelings were back again. Only this time I wasn’t the new girl anymore. This time I was travelling up with another blogger who I’d met at the previous BlogCamp and whose blog I love – the lovely Mel from Le Coin de Mel – and this time it really did feel like I was meeting up with a big group of friends.
Once again I was looking forward to learning tips and tricks for improving my blogging skills. So many wonderful sessions to choose from – tips on photography, food blogging, fashion blogging, pro blogging, improving writing skills, vlogging advice and how to build relationships with brands.
Here are some of the things I took away from BlogCamp:
Pro-blogging
- Be realistic about the hard work involved.
- Have a clear view of where you would like your blog to go.
- Set specific goals and targets and write them down.
- Be proactive with regards to approaching brands.
- Be professional and remember that you are visible.
Metrics
- There are seven different pieces of information used to calculate the scores, all of which are equally weighted.
- The Tots100 rank is comparative – your rank each month depends on how your scores compare to those around you in the charts.
- It is possible for your points to go up and your Tots100 ranking to go down as fewer tied places in the charts mean that more rank points are available.
- A big drop in your chart position (more than 300 places) may be due to a piece of information being missed – email the team if you think your ranking may be incorrect.
- Blog like you love it – not to try and boost your Tots100 score.
Photo styling
- Learn how to use the camera you have.
- Don’t be afraid to leave negative space – it also allows for cropping and editing later on.
- When photographing groups of objects, odd numbers work better.
- Take shots from different angles.
- Think about what’s in the background and make sure your horizon is straight.
Writing
- Think about what your first three lines say and how they engage the reader.
- When listing things in a sentence, groups of three work best.
- Anaphora – repetition of the first part of a sentence in successive sentences – can be effective, e.g. “we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets.”
- Contrasting pairs can also be effective – e.g. “she went out of the room only to come back in again”.
- When writing a blog post, wait for at least an hour before reading it back and editing.
Working with brands
- Having a good ‘About me’ page and good social media presence is important.
- Be reliable – if you can’t meet a deadline, let the client know as soon as possible.
- Know your worth and who your audience are.
- Take the time to build relationships with PR companies.
- Your blog and your social media presence are your shop window.
My favourite session of the day was the writing session led by former BBC journalist Fiona Steggles. I was amazed by just how much I learned in just 45 minutes. I left with a notebook full of tips, a head buzzing with ideas and a feeling of inspiration.
Opportunities to learn how to be a better blogger weren’t just confined to the sessions though – chatting to other bloggers and sharing advice was also a great way to pick up tips and tricks.
For me though, the best thing about BlogCamp was having the virtual world and the real world collide for a few hours – putting faces to blogs and getting to know other bloggers a little better.
A huge thank you to Sally and the Tots100 team for organising such a fab event.
I’ve never been to a blog camp before and I think I really would like to go to one 🙂 looks like you had a fab time.
I’d definitely recommend it – I really enjoyed it 🙂
Lots of fab pointers there – I’m taking notes! Popping over from #twinklytuesday
Thank you – hope you found them helpful 🙂
Very informative post – thanks! I did see you at the metrics session but only realised when she was chatting!! Hope you had a lovely day x
Thank you – yes I spotted you too but sadly didn’t get a chance to say hello. Maybe at the next blogging event 🙂
Lots of fab pointers thanks :Louise – its like I went! And I love seeing all the faces xxx #TwinklyTuesday
Thank you Laura, hope you found it helpful 🙂
Thanks for a great post – definitely taking notes! #twinklytuesday
My pleasure – glad you found it useful 🙂
That looks like it was a really helpful class. I would like to get into something like that since I am just starting out as a blogger. I have high hopes, but little direction! Thanks for sharing what you learned!
Thank you – would definitely recommend going along to a blogging event if you get a chance – they are a great way of meeting other bloggers and learning ways to improve your blogging 🙂
Aaggh this sounds like such a great day! I so wanted to come – I remember your post from the last blog camp actually! But missed the ticket release. I did then get a spot open up but it was the day before and I couldn’t sort childcare without notice as husband was working – next year though!!
Thanks for all the summing up – really useful – and also lovely to see the photos of you all!
Thanks Yvette – glad you found it useful and hopefully I will get to meet you at a blogging event in the future 🙂
It looks like you had great fun and thanks for the run-down of the day 🙂 Great to see some virtualy familiar faces too #TwinklyTuesday
Thanks Carol – it was a great day 🙂
Great notes from the day. I really must get along to a blogger event this year. It sounds so useful x
Thank you – so glad you found them helpful 🙂
This is so useful Louise thanks! It must be odd and ace meeting everyone…almost like bumping into celebrities! I will come back to this one again. xx #twinklytuesday
Thanks Sarah – it is lovely to meet everyone – I did feel a little like I was meeting online celebrities the first time I went! 🙂
Fab atmosphere and wonderful day wasn’t it x
It certainly was! 🙂
I am so sad that I missed this (just too far!) – there were so many of you that I would love to have met. Thank you for sharing what you learnt though…I am totally saving this post in my favourites! Great help 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up with ‘TwinklyTuesday
So glad you found my post helpful and hopefully I will get to meet you at a blogging event in the future 🙂
I cant believe we never got to met, I loved every minute of blog camp and learned so so much, what an incredible day x
It was a fab day – sorry to have missed you.
This is a great post Louise, thanks for this info. The pictures of you Jocelyn and Leigh, and the other one with Aby and Katy are lovely – I would have been a bit star struck xx
Thanks Lisa – was lovely to meet up with so many fab bloggers 🙂
Some great tips, I really wanted to go but found out too late! Thanks for sharing! #TwinklyTuesday
My pleasure – hopefully you’ll get to go to the next one 🙂
It was SO lovely to meet you at last Louise, and I’m glad we had the chance for a proper chat. I love that photo of you, Jocelyn and me! It was a fab day xxx
Thanks Leigh – was really lovely to meet you too 🙂
Great tips!!! Looks like you all had a great time. I think I need to go along to a blog camp to learn a few pointers
Thank you – it was a great day 🙂
Sounds like a great event, thanks for sharing your takeaways. x
My pleasure Jess, hope you found them helpful 🙂
Looks like a great event, and seems you learnt a lot, I hope to make one, one day 🙂
It was really good, would definitely recommend 🙂
Thanks for sharing all this. I would love to go – maybe next year I will be brave enough (and my hubby will let me!)
Thank you – would definitely recommend going if you get the chance 🙂
What a great roundup! You have done so well to get to the point you have so quickly! I didn’t even know that others bloggers really existed for at least a year and even now I don’t really feel I know many! I went to blogcamp last year and thought it was brilliant! I shall be going to the Bristol one in a few months.
Thank you – hope you enjoy the Bristol one 🙂
Wow fab photos, looks like you had a fab time. Thank you for sharing some the facts you learnt, thats really interesting about the tots scores.
Popping over from #TwinklyTuesday
Becky xx
It was a fab event – so glad you found the tips shared interesting 🙂
I would have loved the writing session, I’ve already learnt something new from reading your post (anaphora is a new one on me!). Glad you had a good time. #sharewithme
The writing session was amazing – anaphora was a new word to me too!
What a brilliant post hon, I’m so pleased you got so much out of it. Sounds like it was a truly fab day, I’m so gutted I missed it 🙁
Thanks Renee – was a shame that you weren’t able to be there but hopefully will see you at BritMums 🙂
It sounds like it was a great day and that you learnt so much. I have not attended any blogger events before xx
Thank you – it was and would definitely recommend blogger events – such a lovely way to meet other bloggers 🙂
sounds great I’ve to been to blog camp before but have a ticked for the bristol one in June so excited!! x
Ah fabulous – hope you have an amazing time 🙂
Thanks for sharing some of the tips you picked up. I’m glad you had a good time; I can’t wait to go to my first blogging conference one day. Lovely photos Louise xx #sharewithme
Thanks Louise, hope you found them helpful 🙂
I’m going to have to get myself to a BlogCamp asap! I’m really thinking I should have cut my teeth at something like this before jumping straight in to BritMums Live in June. I’m alternately really excited to be going and utterly terrified!
Some great tips from the day too. There’s so much to learn about different aspects of blogging, from writing skills to social media to presenting yourself professionally. And I’m really looking forward to meeting some of the people behind the blogs at BML too.
Thanks Tim – I’m a little nervous about BritMums too – it’s such a big event. Hopefully I will see you there! 🙂
This must have been an amazing experience! Thanks for sharing your learnings 🙂
It was a fab day – hope you found my post helpful 🙂
Some really great tips, thanks for sharing! I like the ‘think about the firs three lines’ approach. #TheList
So glad you found them helpful 🙂
Thank you for writing this really helpful post. Those tips are so useful. I am gutted that I missed last week as it looks like a fab day. I can’t wait for Britmums in June. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
So glad you found it helpful and hope to see you at Britmums 🙂
What a fab write-up and i love your pics!
Thank you Sally – it was a fab day, thank you so much for organising 🙂
I am so glad I got to meet you in person!! It was a great day, I so wish I had gone to the writing talk, it sounded fab! xxx
#TheList
Thanks Katy – the writing talk was amazing! Was so lovely to meet you at BlogCamp 🙂
OH I was so sad I couldn’t go to blogcamp. Next year for sure I want to make sure I set time aside to go. It’s great how much you learned and all the fabulous bloggers you met. Glad you had a great time hun. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Great round up huni. It was so lovely to see you again. Thanks so much for linking up to #TheList x
Thanks Aby – was lovely to see you too and always a pleasure to link up to #TheList 🙂
Wow; what a fab and informative time. I shold look into the 7 metrics Tots100 use and I agree that one should blog like one blogs, not for scores. I find the thought of meeting virtual blogging peeps somewhat daunting … maybe very daunting. Nonetheless, I’d really like to go to a blog camp sometime. #TwinklyTuesday
Thank you – it was a great day, would definitely recommend if you do get the chance to go, everyone is really very friendly 🙂