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It’s been a crazy whirl wind around here. Andy and I are in NYC for the summer (for his job), I started a new job on Monday (social media strategist!), and I just got home from the Haven blog conference! Haven rocked. (and made me super sleepy!) I met lots of fun peeps and learned all things blog! I’m going to share some knowledge nuggets throughout this post. You also must know that instagram is my new obsession. (I’m thecraftblog in case your curious!) All the pictures I took at Haven were on my iPhone and made pretty with instagram. First up, the inaugural ticket to Atlanta pic (with my super dirty orange carry on suitcase in the background)…
In the airport on my way to Haven, I attempted a 10 things about me list. I saw a fellow instagramer do one, and had plenty of time waiting in the airport. Kind of fun, right? Anyone else with me on the fried okra thing? (I used to tell my grandma fried okra cured my headaches!)
Haven kicked off with a welcome note and cocktail party…
At the cocktail party I stalked met John, Sherry, and Clara (from YHL)! They are a super cute little family. Clara did a party trick for me and told me she was from America, when Sherry asked, “Where do you live?” John even brought Burger back in on a leash after Clara and Sherry went to bed.
Traci it the cutie in the middle of my 2 awesome roomies, the blondes, Allison and Beth.
That night we attempted to meet a bunch of bloggers at an Atlanta burger bar, Flip. I accidentally directed us to the wrong one. Directions have never been my thing, oopsie! The 4 of us (the roomies, me, and Angie) had some tasty burgers. Side note: Have you seen the crazy number of burger bars popping up all over (Hopdoddy in Austin, Burger Fi in Fort Lauderdale, even College Station, TX has Grub)! The burger bar is new cupcake shop.
The next morning, was the big keynote speech by YHL. They talked about their “11 biggest decisions or somewhat sub conscious choices that have steered the course of our blog”. They discussed making peace with the non lovers, saying no to a tv show about sexy DIY (ha!), and why they turned down a free roof. They rocked the keynote. 
I attended 6 classes over the 2 days… The first was called I like big blogs. I’ve always been the nerdy note taker type and used the ol’ iPad to keep up with all of my new knowledge. Here are some blog tips I learned:
- Find out what your google page rank is… this can go in you media kit (You can use this link)
- Make a media kit, ha! (Tip Junkie has a great one pager to use a reference)
- Use the google Adwords keyword tool to help you name your posts.
We lunched with Beckie, who’s going to be on Craft Wars (woot! woot!), Ashley, Whitney, and my awesome roomies.
There was built in time to chat with sponsors and check out new products. Beth and I loved the photo booth at Homes.com!
The last 2 sessions of the day were how to work with brands and advertising 101. I thought this was interesting… when asked, “what can a blogger do to be proactive to find brands?” She explained…
- Put together a dream list of brands you feel fit your blog
- Prioritize the list. Which brands really represent your blog content and style?
- Scour for contacts of those brands. Use twitter, linked in, google) This is the hardest part.
- Sell your self in a short, simple, specific email.
- Once you work with a brand, keep the relationship up.
A few other things I learned:
- Free product= compensation. You have to claim it on your taxes!
- Have you heard of rafflecopter for giveaways?
- Think about doing a pros and cons list for review posts!
Amy Fuller was one of the panelist in the PR class, and she wrote Recipe for Press . It’s basically a step by step to DIY your own blog press! It’s going on the Christmas list. (FYI: That’s an Amazon affiliate link.)
My brain was on a blog high, and we were starving, The roomies and I ended the day with some spicy tuna rolls, edamame, and some good quality girl time!
Do you love fried okra? Are you obsessed with instgram? Have you ever been to a blog conference? What do you think about working with brands? Have you ever thought about writing an ebook? Just thinking out loud over here…
Psst… here is the Haven part 2 post complete with photography tips!
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SOOOO fun to meet you!! You are a doll! Can’t wait to see you next year! And I didn’t know you were going to the Olympics! Have fun!
Thanks for being awesome and hanging out with me… I can’t wait to get together again : )
Great recap! Sorry we didn’t have a chance to meet at Haven. I am already looking forward to next year! Hope we can connect then. Looking forward to following your blog!
Next year… for sure!! Until then, I’ll stalk you on your blog : )
Ok both Monica and I agree that you are stunning and maybe the most photogenic person we’ve ever met.
That being said, we loved meeting you! Hope to do it again some day!
Awww, that’s such a sweet compliment! Thank you very much! You 2 are pretty dang adorable yourselves… so happy we got to hang out
Haven 2013 for sure!
Great Post! Thanks for re-capping for those of who couldn’t make it
SO appreciated this, and I have to say I have never tried deep dried okra.. or any okra for that matter 
~Bre
This is a great recap. And yes, I LOVE fried ocra. Have you ever baked it? I’m not like one of those health freaks, but someone suggested once for me to cut the pieces into pieces a little smaller than an inch high and prep like you’re going to fry them, but bake them. YUM! It reminds me of popcorn shrimp … not in terms of taste, but just size, etc. YUM!
Okra? No. Gah. My dad is from Texas and puts pickled okra in his martinis instead of olives. No.
It was great to meet you! Love your recap and tips!
okra can only be fired! i don’t think i’ve ever had pickled okra!
P.S. It’s Rafflecopter
http://www.rafflecopter.com/
I’ve never used it though, but I hear it’s genius!
I’d like to think that was an autocorrect, but who knows
Thanks for letting me know! So happy we met!