FROM THE HEALTHY LIVING SUMMIT SITE:
I Am the Blogger in Your Neighborhood
This panel, led by Holly of The Healthy Everythingtarian will discuss the exciting and profitable ways of reaching out beyond blogging in order to bring your skills and healthy living knowledge into your local communities. This discussion will move beyond meet-ups with other local bloggers, giving ideas and practical how-tos on getting involved in your city. Topics will include booking local news segments, finding food-related jobs and freelance work, attending special events as press and more – get ready to take one giant step away from your computer routine to get your blog known in new and exciting ways around town.
MAJOR TAKEAWAYS FROM #HLSBLOGLOCAL:
- Think about what opportunities are available in your neighborhood
- Local TV/News
- Local Publications
- Food Events
- Etc
- Look at your blog as a tool
- Leverage to get the experiences that you truly want
- Network! Network! Network!
- Think outside the box: you have more connections than you think!
- Share your blog with family and friends
- They are there to support you
- A Good Pitch
- Brie, concise and catchy
- Who you are
- What you want
- Why they should hire/consider you
- Point out what YOU can bring to the table
- Pitch three creative ideas
- Effective follow-up is the key to great pitches for business.
- Send a pitch
- Wait ONE WEEK before sending a follow up
- If you don’t hear back after that, give it several months
- Use Insightly from Google to track your pitches
- Don’t give up!
- If you keep pitching, you will get responses.
- It’s all trial and error. Keep trying.
- Brie, concise and catchy
- Once you are hired:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help
- be open to constructive criticism
- use it all as a learning opportunity
- Yelp is great for building a local community.
- free to join
- elite events for uber-active members
- befriend the community manager
- Join or start a local group!
- If you build it, they will come!
- Partner with surrounding groups
- Have monthly meet-ups
- It doesn’t have to be fancy – Keep it casual!
- Make sure your site is SEO friendly for your area.
- If a company doesn’t have a social media profile, reach out to them and offer to manage their social media for them.
- Let local businesses and events know if you blog about them.
- email them a link to the post
- email them a link to the post
- Be open and forward and proud of your blog.
- Be enthusiastic and show that this is what you love to do.
- Every relationship has potential to lead to fun
FAVORITE TWEETS FROM #HLSBLOGLOCAL:
OTHER RECAPS OF THIS SESSION FROM AROUND THE WEB:
Become the Blogger in Your Neighborhood via A Dash of Meg
I am the Blogger in Your Neighborhood via Meals and Miles
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
Holly Whittlef is a 20-something food blogger, freelance writer and graphic designer living in Madison, WI. She writes the humorous food blog, The Healthy Everythingtarian, in addition to hosting monthly cooking segments on the local news, cooking classes at Whole Foods and working as a social media/marketing consultant for several local organizations. She has really curly hair, is a big fan of musicals and likes ice cream…a lot.
Clare Brady is a Healthy Living Blogger currently living in Dallas, Texas but originally from St. Louis, Missouri. On her blog, Fitting It All In, Clare shares her experiences with living a healthy lifestyle while balancing a busy schedule. Currently she is working full-time as advertising account executive, seeing clients as a Certified Holistic Health Coach, exercising often, cooking as much as possible, and making sure to spend time with friends.
Meghann Anderson is a twenty-something lover of marathons, puppies and wine; as well as the voice behind the popular health and fitness blog MealsAndMiles.com. Thousands of fans log on everyday to read how the Florida native attempts to stay fit, eat right, and build her own company, while still enjoying a social life. She is well known for training hard and playing hard. You can also follow Meghann’s wedding planning on Meals and Miles, as she shares details of her upcoming winter wonderland wedding!
Photos borrowed from Meals and Miles
