Happy summer! I have now lived in Vancouver for over 7 years, but each year I’m still in awe of how magical the summers are here. There is SO much going on and the biggest challenge is trying to get as much fun in as possible! My FOMO strikes an all time high between June-August, but I have been embracing a new concept called JOMO (joy of missing out!). It’s not always easy to say no, but you just can’t do it all.
Since Vancouver is the place to be in the summer I try not to travel too much, but a couple weeks ago I had the privilege of speaking at the Alt Summit in Salt Lake City. I first found out about Alt about 5 years ago and I knew immediately that I needed to go. It’s a semi annual conference for bloggers organized by the fabulous Gabrielle Blair, who is a blogging rockstar herself. It’s done in such a stylish, polished and beautiful way that makes you feel like you have walked into a virtual Pinterest board where everything looks effortlessly flawless. My brother Chandler and I went to Alt a year and a half ago, and I told myself that next time I attended it would be as a speaker. Being accepted to speak was such an honour, but I was even more thrilled to meet amazing entrepreneurs, learn from top blogging pros and go to some of the best parties ever!
My Alt experience this time was even more amazing than the first. I think it’s because I knew more of what to expect and could pace myself a better because there’s just SO much going on. Plus I was staying at the Grand America Hotel where the conference was taking place, which is one of the most beautiful hotels I’ve ever been in. Originally I booked an Airbnb, but the A/C had broken down days before and some of the other Alt ladies had graciously allowed me to stay with them. I think it was also the Universe telling me that I should stay in a fancier place 😉
So many of the speakers gave me new ideas and changed the way that I thought about social media, writing, business and life. I guess that’s because they are all really tied into one another. Here’s a list of the most important takeaways that I received from the speakers at Alt:
Tiffany Han: Write something down as soon as you feel passionate about it instead of waiting until later. The best energy comes from when you are fired up about an idea. It also is a huge help if you can define who exactly you are writing to. Be really specific who that person is, what motivates them and how you can serve them with your blog and business.
She also talked about starting before you are ready. I think so often people hold back on doing what they truly want to do because they don’t feel that they know enough to begin. The thing is, you will never feel totally ready because the feeling doesn’t usually exist. If there’s something you want to do, think about if you would regret not doing it in a year. If the answer is yes, then it’s time to get started.
Nicole Breanne Hudson: She’s fellow Canadian who grew up in Calgary, but now lives in Toronto. Nicole is smart, sparkly and awesome! One of my biggest takeaways from her session was that people don’t buy what you are doing, but why you are doing it. So so true. Figuring out your why is everything!
Guy Kawaski: It was such a privilege to hear a legend like Guy speak about social media. He has such a delightful way about him, and knows so much about how all the platforms work individually and together. Some of the best tips were having a great avatar that’s likable, trustworthy and using the same one for all of them. This just makes it easy for your audience to find you. You cover photo is equally important and make sure it is properly sized for each platform.
He thinks every post you share needs to have a photo and you should also consider how shareable it is…especially on Pinterest. Shoot horizontally, light from the front and crop the crap!
To see some pictures from my Alt experience, please check out my Instagram.
I’ve been to a lot of conferences and it’s definitely one of the best. Everyone who attends is super sweet, inspiring and open to sharing ideas. The speakers are always amazing and again the parties are insane! If you are a blogger or are interested in blogging, you have to get yourself to Alt!