FindSparks: Find & Follow Your Passion Fashion Conference

I attended FindSparks: Find & Follow Your Passion Fashion Conference at LIM College, and had an amazing experience. Two seminars were especially helpful to me as a freelance blogger: Beyond the Reblog: How to Create a Blog That Stands Out and Be Your Own Boss: Succeeding as a Consultant.

Beyond the Reblog: How to Create a Blog That Stands Out was an interactive panel of female fashion and style bloggers who shared their stories and tips on how they marketed their blogs in the overcrowded online fashion landscape.  They had insightful suggestions about creating effective hashtags, writing about what you know best, being truly original, making your blog reflect your personality, and promoting your blog across platforms: Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin, IFB (Independent Fashion Bloggers), Instagram, YouTube and each new channel that arises.

Be Your Own Boss: Succeeding as a Consultant was another interactive panel of bloggers and fashion consultants.  They covered a lot of ground: building a network of trust with colleagues and your audience, become a true expert in your field, use analytics and metrics to assess progress, and network ceaselessly in person and online.  As a sidelight, they mentioned how many young people still damage their online presence by posting pictures of themselves partying. The panel then explained how to project a mature, professional and appealing presence. Perhaps the most important message they imparted was to know one’s own worth and convey confidence, strength and competence online, the lesson I most took to heart for my own blog.

-Krystal Baptiste