LAVISH Takeaway: Design*Sponge’s 22 Tips For Tasteful Blog & Biz Promotion

{There were people at Lavish, I swear.  Lots of ‘em.  But I couldn’t bear to shove a camera in their faces right after saying hi.  So instead, feast on the Rue Magazine party space styled by Anora Grey.}

Happy Monday, dear readers.  This weekend I went to LAVISH, a conference for lifestyle bloggers.  I came back raring to blog, brimming with ideas and dazzled by new friends.  Even after a Homeric day of travel (12 hours to get from Atlanta to New York), the LAVISH buzz is sticking like fuzz on a thrifted cardi.   You’ll hear all the changes afoot here at 5thjoy as soon as I get a decent night’s sleep (here’s a hint though: expect more content).

Since at least a few of you write your own blogs or own your own business and might not have been able to attend, today I’m dishing some takeaways from a stellar panel comprised of Design*Sponge ladies.

Speaking of dishing, if you blog you must race over to Design Blahg and Sketch42 and gobble up all their do’s and don’ts and  down and dirty techy tips.  Erica and Nicole are spilling the beans that help them blog efficiently, and to say the list is life changing doesn’t do it justice.  Plus they’re both Funny with a capital F. So go say hi.

And now for the main event.  Design*Sponge founder Grace Bonney and several Design*Sponge contributors spoke on a panel about how to tastefully promote your blog or business through social media (emphasis on tastefully).

{Grace Bonney launched the wildly popular daily home and product design website Design*Sponge in 2004.  She shares her blogging and business tips in the Biz Ladies series.}

{Barb Blair restores and blogs about furniture for her store Knack. She also writes Design*Sponge’s weekly Before & After Basics column, and can tell you all about the humming creative scene in Greenville, NC.}

{Ashley Meaders makes stuff.  Namely handmade, completely personal, never seen before stuff you’d want at your wedding or anywhere dancing happens.}

{Amy Osaba creates lush, organic flowers for weddings and events inspired by her background in ballet.  She’s also sweeter than rock candy.}

{Emily Newman founded and runs Once Wed, the online wedding resource with everything from inspiration guides to DIY how-to’s to real wedding profiles.}

GET THE WORD OUT: ACTIVE PROMOTION

1. Email Like a Human Being. Send only personal emails.  Use the recipient’s name and indicate that you actually read their blog.  Emailing 10 well-chosen contacts personally is far more effective than spamming 100.  It’s all about exclusivity.  If the email isn’t personal, the recipient knows you’re offering everyone else the same content.

2. Be Relevant. Relevance is the most important and effective element of the personal email.  If you don’t have a good reason to reach out about which the recipient will care (an announcement, an expertise that could benefit them), wait until you do.  You’d only waste your time and theirs.

3. Keep Attachments Simple. Don’t email PDFs or PPT files, which can be hard to open.  Include 3-4 images of your work in case they don’t have time to link out.

4. Ask Before Adding to Mailing Lists. Never add contacts to a recurring mass email without asking permission.

5. Giveaway Grace-fully. Grace Bonney hates giveaways.  She said so many times.  But she also said that one or two well-chosen, valuable giveaways a year can help your blog, IF you position your site to make the most of them.  If the rest of your content is nothing but slamming that week, you’ll capture new readers.

6. Embrace Google Apps. When you grow to the point that you can’t respond to every email, use Google Canned Responses.  Placeholders remind you where to personalize, while the shell saves you from recreating the wheel.

7. Be persistent. If one idea is rejected, keep submitting new ones.  When Emily has rejected a few ideas but loves your latest ine, she’s even happier to give you a shot.

TWITTER + FACEBOOK

8. Rule of Third’s. Follow Grace’s lead: on Twitter, make sure your tweets are 1/3 personal, 1/3 business, and 1/3 resource sharing.

9. There’s No Royal We in Tweet. Remember that Twitter and Facebook are SOCIAL venues.  Don’t robo-tweet or treat your Twitter feed like a press release.  Be informal and personal.  People will respond to knowing there’s a human being behind your brand.  It’s okay to be a one-woman show.

10. Share the Wealth. Resource sharing builds goodwill and is a great place to pass on finds and tips that don’t merit a whole blog post.  Tweet useful links (make sure they don’t drive to your own site) and watch your followers grow.

11. Never Complain. Per Grace Bonney, complaining comes off as ungrateful. Always.  So just don’t.

12. 3 Tweets a Day. Minimum, according to Grace.

13. Avoid The Tit-for-Tat Trap. Respond to everyone who engages in a real conversation with you.  Grace rejects the notion that we’re beholden to thank everyone for every single Follow Friday mention or RT.  But responding to every last person who takes the time to say something specific and thoughtful is a requirement in her book.

14. Know Your Venue. Play to each social network’s strength.  Facebook is great for photos and reader contests. It can also be a great place to share your personal life.

PSST! WHISPER EFFECTIVELY: PASSIVE PROMOTION

15. Socialize Outside Your Niche. Grace emphasized making contacts outside your niche.  There’s no inherit competition, so it’s easier to discuss challenges freely.  Ashley cited L.A.’s Flashdance collective as a constant source of inspiration and new contacts.

16. Barter. Emily Newman suggested bartering for services.  She babysits in exchange for photography.

17. Say Yes to “Great Opportunities.” Yes, that means working for free.  When you’re starting out, say yes to everything, even if you shell out some dough.  The less glamorous projects needn’t go in your portfolio.  Investing in the more glamorous projects usually costs less than advertising, and is more effective.  When she started, Amy would spend $200 buying flowers just to get her name out there.

18. Share Your Secrets: Barb Blair talked about teaching as way to give back and open doors.  When Grace contacted her about writing a DIY column, she was nervous about sharing her secrets.  Two months later, magazines and publishers were beating down her door.  Now she’s working on a book deal.

BE EXCELLENT.  AND DIFFERENT.

19. Do Your Thing Really Well. The best promotion is doing something really well that no one else around you is doing.  Emily Newman talked about how Amy Osaba’s fluid, organic approach to floral design sets her work apart from the traditional arrangements, especially in the South.

20. Invent, don’t Copy. Amy stressed being unique is not about following trends.  Don’t copy what’s already going on; take inspiration from what you see and give it your own twist.

21. Give Yourself a Good Shake. Grace chimed in that the cutting edge isn’t one thing.  Define your own cutting edge.  Being in the same place all the time digs creative ruts.  Put yourself in situations that shake you to your core.  Take a horse-race themed trip to Italy.   Come home from Mexico with a color palette no one else is using.  (My own tip would be make time for art of all kinds.  An afternoon at a museum disturbs your worldview when travel isn’t an option.)

22. Do Fail. Don’t Wallow. Ashley talked about making a really ugly piece of art (“If my mom thinks it’s pretty than it must be horrible!”).  Because she was on a project deadline, she had to completely rethink it and make something else on the spot.  The whole exercise pushed her to new, fertile ground.  So go ahead and suck, but don’t wallow.  Just get on with trying something new.