The very first time I attended Mom 2.0 was back in 2016 when it was held in Laguna Hills, CA. That happened to the be the one event, in my eight years of blogging, when I was totally out of it. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get out of my funk and that cast a huge cloud over my entire experience. With the conference returning to California for its tenth anniversary, I decided to suck up the costs to give it another go by attending the 2018 Mom 2.0 Summit.
Going All in at 2018 Mom 2.0 Summit Blogging Conference
Well, I am happy to say that I was able to get my “game face” on from the moment I got to the airport and maintain it for all three days. That made the world of difference. I was able to reconnect with dozens of bloggers who I hadn’t seen in years, finally meet and hug others who I only chatted with online before, collect great takeaway points, and had some promising conversations with brands. Basically, I was able to meet all the goals I had for attending the conference in the first place. So, yay!
As for the sponsoring brands at the conference, all representatives I met were friendly and open to conversations about how to work together. By forgoing one morning of sessions, I was able to have quiet, meaningful discussions with several of them during that time. It was also important for me to only focus on brands that were a good fit and ones I personally use and believe in. Conversations flowed more freely that way and maximized my time at the conference. Now to follow up on those leads…
2018 Mom 2.0 Summit Session Takeaways
Now, I wasn’t able to attend every session or keynote. But, many of the ones I did attend were fantastic. I learned a lot about business strategies, partnership ideas, social media insights, maintaining a clear vision for your blog and brand, and how to overcoming insecurities and personal hurdles. Below are some highlights I gleaned from the sessions I went to. If you went to the 2018 Mom 2.0 Summit, I would love it if you could share a few notes with me. I was particularly sad that I missed out on the sessions about SEO, Instagram Stories, Career Manifestation, Email List Strategy, Pin It to Win It, and the keynote with Brene Brown. I would be so grateful if you could share your top takeaways of those with me in the comments or by email.
Partnerships Roundup: 360-degree Partnerships, Data & Results
– Tara Haynie @chatbooks, Joy Cho @ohjoy, Brittany Jepsen @houselarsbuilt
- Believe in your brand
- “Never feel too small” when approaching a brand to partner.
- Create a brand deck which outlines who you are, what you do, and allows you to convince them visually with examples that fits the brand/story idea.
- Put value on your time. It’s okay to say something is not worth your time if the pay does not cover your time, effort, and energy.
- When dealing with a brand, be prepared with 3-4 specific ideas and understand what a brand is asking for
- Identify what the story is that you want to tell and sell your unique strengths
- Know who you are as a brand. If you don’t know, do exercises and ask others. Do this regularly. Also, remember to continue asking yourself why you’re doing this.
- Use blog posts, takeover, video, product, FB live, IG live, stories, content, giveaways, reviews
- When reaching out to brands, be nice and email back in a timely manner. You are creating a relationship. Think of it as dating.
- Do your homework to personalize the pitch. Don’t make it sound like you’ve sent the same thing to 50 people.
Pitch Roundup: Craft & Deliver Your Pitch — A Hands-on Workshop
– Catherine Pearlman @thefamilycoach, Jyl Johnson Pattee @ForwardInfluence, Michelle Price @honestandtruly, Carly Anderson @lipglosscrayons
- Make sure your About pages are up to date and your contact info is easily accessible
- Identify the top 10 brands you’d like to work with and build out from there
- When creating a pitch for blogging networks, save those pitches in a spreadsheet to use later even if you’re not selected
- Go above and beyond to stand out and set the groundwork for long-term partnerships
- The more you share who you are, the more work you’ll get.
- Never negotiate over the phone since the “I can’t believe I agreed to that amount” almost always follows. Ask for the quote in writing and say you’ll get back to them in 24 hours or so.
- When you don’t get chosen for a campaign, don’t take it personally as there are many factors that might make other a better fit that promotion
- Fill in the blank, “My brand is about ______.” Can’t answer? Then do a self-audit.
- See if a brand aligns with visual similarities, value, target demographic
- Try product creation, live stream, long-term with certain number social posts per month, in-person events, curated collections
- Pitch outline: hook, why, about, examples, how to find, pleasantries
The Art of Negotiation: Discovering, Sharing, and Earning What You Are Worth
– Janssen Bradshaw @everydayreading
- Learn how to sell yourself
- Don’t expect the brand to give you experience on topics you’ve never covered.
- Use backend data from affiliates to see engagement
- Make it easy to say yes by offering specific stories with deliverables
- Over-deliver. Maybe share the journey of creating your story before sharing the post to build up anticipation.
- Figure out how a post can still be useful even if the reader doesn’t buy the product or service
- Create different media kits for different types of promotions and with different price points
Slay Like a Mother (Only caught 10-15 minutes of this but what I heard was powerful!)
– Katherine Wintsch @kwintsch
- Imagine your inner thoughts to be like a person who follows you saying, “You’re not good. No one likes you. What’s wrong with you?!’” No one would want such a person with them all the time.
- Men can be critical (of themselves) but women go further and can be cruel (to themselves)
- Negative thoughts usually revolve around past or future
- Stay in the moment, acknowledge doubts, talk to yourself as you would a friend,” It’s okay, Self.”
- Think about how you would treat a friend or what you would say to them. Treat yourself the same way.
- Train to stop being cruel to self
- Are you making it harder through frustration, denial, avoidance, taking on all responsibility/control
- Think of “above water” struggles that you must deal with and can’t change
- Then think of ways to make it easier by reaching out for help or streamlining (i.e. frustrated about cooking dinner-eat out once in a while or use a crockpot, having to run errands but can use online services to deliver)
How to Become a Successful Travel Blogger: Tell Better Travel Stories & Define Measurement for Travel Brands
– Heather Greenwood Davis @geenwooddavis, Rebecca Lantham @RebeccaHLantham
- Think of local stories then go hyperlocal. (i.e. volcano eruption in Hawaii, what does that mean for California travelers then ask for tips from people who just returned)
- What is the story only you can tell then add the other side
- Add a twist and focus on what people need
- Imagine what you would tell your best friend after just returning from a trip. You will often lead with the most exciting bits
- During travel, stop to note the little details such as scent, feel, etc. That will trigger memories.
- Listicles (top 10, 20, 50) have their place but don’t get too formulated and focus on the structure of the article
- Offer articles, takeovers, tag the brand, show excitement through social posts
- To measure stats, brands may use Adara or Arrivalist to add a tracking pixel or UTM code
- Ratio of paid to unpaid posts on site should be 1:1
- Besides your influence, talk at organizations, license photos, do a slideshow to friends, host dinner
- If a brand goes out of their way to make your trip better, show the love via extra posts or links.
- Cooperate with other influencers, not compete
- Paid or comped — depends on campaign and what department it falls under
Thoughts on Attending Mom 2.0 Summit
I’m so glad I attended the 2018 Mom 2.0 Summit this year. It was just what I needed to keep that enthusiasm for blogging going while regaining my focus as I move forward. Also, there is no replacement for meeting both bloggers and brands in person. Blogging can be quite a solitary job but it’s the personal connections that create organic engagement and stories. One thing I did notice was that I need to be less of a loner and that it’s okay to pal around with people between sessions. I usually like to go at my own pace, not holding anyone else up if I get into a good conversation. However, that resulted in a lot of photo booth pictures of me by myself. 😛 Well, now I can work on that next time as I already purchased an early bird ticket for the next Mom 2.0. The 2019 Mom 2.0 Summit will be held April 24-26, 2019 in Austin, TX. Will I see you there?
