Last weekend I attended 2015 Blogging While Brown in Austin. This was my second blogging conference and I had gone with the aim of doing lots of networking and soaking up as much information as I could. The theme of this year’s conference was “Unleash the Power of Social Media” and the sessions were amazing and jammed packed with nuggets. Here are 7 Takeaways from Blogging While Brown 2015.
One of the highlights of the experience was finally getting to meet my girl Brandy Butler. (left) Brandy & I connected via Facebook over 3 years ago so it felt like we already knew each other. We were also roommates for the weekend so we got to spend lots of time together. Between her and the down the earth and fun Danyelle from The Cubicle Chick, I was entertained and inspired.
Brandy’s presentation on Podcasting was one the highlights of the conference. Her passion for “painting iTunes” was so evident. Brandy is committed to helping new diverse faces break into the podcast marketplace. If you’re interested in Podcasting, she is your girl.
“With a podcast you are able to create a place of authority for yourself” – @iamBrandyButler #BWBATX #InspiredMobility
— BlackGirlNerds (@BlackGirlNerds) June 19, 2015
Danyelle’s presentation on taking your blog to radio and TV was also a hit. She dropped so many gems in her presentation, but this one was one of the reasons she booked her first commercial. She was just being herself on YouTube.
Be likeable & personable so that you can become interesting to news & media @TheCubicleChick #droppinggems #BWBATX — Brandy Butler (@iamBrandyButler) June 20, 2015
Jennifer Kennedy from TeachGoodStuff.com gave us the goods in her presentation on creating online courses.
“You have to step into the person you want to become in order to sell your product & services” @TeachGoodStuff #preach #bwbatx
— Brandy Butler (@iamBrandyButler) June 19, 2015
Thanks to AT&T, Grammy Award Winning Recording Artist (and one of my faves) Lecrae was part of the discussion on Inspired Mobility. To say he dropped gems is an understatement. Here is one that resonated with me
“Success is what you have done compared to what you were created to do” @lecrae #BWBATX @ATT #InspiredMobilty pic.twitter.com/MVHrZJ1UdL — Vashti (@VeePeeJay1) June 19, 2015
Another highlight of the conference experience was attending Lamar Tyler’s “Traffic Sales & Profit” Tour which took place at the end of the first day of the conference.
Lamar & his wife Ronnie are the founders of Black & Married with Kids who shared their $1Mil (and counting) making secrets with us.
I like the show Empire as much as the next person but I’m here to build one of my own 🙂
“I’m here to build my empire instead of just watching it. @lamartyler #bwbatx #TrafficSalesProfit pic.twitter.com/CuDDKsfYnD
— Vashti (@VeePeeJay1) June 20, 2015
This is another one of their well known quotes when it comes to growing your business and your brand. You must invest in yourself and your business. This includes conferences, training, tools and systems.
You can’t build an empire on free stuff! – @ronnietyler #entrepreneurs #smallbiz #motivation #truestory #TrafficSalesProfit
— Lamar Tyler (@LamarTyler) May 18, 2015
I’m literally just scratching the surface with these, but you can catch more of the action by checking out the #BWBATX. Now that the conference is over, it’s time to implement 😉
Of course no conference is complete without an insane number of “usies” with blogger friends old and new.
I’d like to introduce you to one of my new friends Danielle from RogueStyleMaven. Danielle shares her love for travel, style, food and her dating adventures on her blog. She is fun and spunky and a fellow lover of bright colors. 🙂
We were in awe of some of the unbelievable dating stories she shared with us. You HAVE to read them for yourself. I pretty sure we took pics together but it was probably taken by someone else. Be sure to stop by her blog and let her know I sent you 🙂
Great recap Vashti! I had such a great time at the conference…so many take-aways!
Thanks Charlene. Yep, it was full of gold nuggets 🙂
I enjoyed meeting you in person and spending time with you at the conference. You are awesome! 🙂
Same here Danyelle! It was so great meeting you.
Great recap! I like the comment/tweet about podcast and authority. I’ve been toying with the idea of creating one for months. Thanks for sharing!
~Whitney
http://www.whitneynicjames.com
Thanks Whitney. I think you should go for it. Brandy is awesome to work with
Thanks so much for this recap Vashti since I had to miss it this year! But it looks like it was a great time AND great content shared all around.
You’re welcome. It was a great conference.
Great post! I think it’s important to always gain great information but also as you’ve done reflect on it and apply to your business. Thanks for sharing! I see my friend Jason Caston was in the building.
Thanks LaChaya. Yep this year is all about implementation 😉 Jason was the moderator of the panel with Lecrae. It was awesome.
This sounds like a great event! I always mean to get to Blogging While Brown, but never make it! maybe next year!
It was! Maybe next time.
Sounds like another great event. I attended last year for the first time and I loved the energy. I loved the connecting and I love that folks were genuine.
Same here Mimi!
Great info! I would love to start a podcast and it has been on my mind. It has been confirmed, thank you! 🙂
Awesome! Brandy would be happy to hear that. Looking forward to hearing your podcast
Love the recap. I have heard of this conference before but didn’t know all the details now that I know can’t wait until the next one
Thanks Kita! You should definitely attend if you get the opportunity.
Awesome recap! I love “I like the show Empire as much as the next person but I’m here to build one of my own.” I’ll have to take some time to check the hashtag for the gems.
Lol..yep. Less watching, more building. Thanks Adanna.
Thanks for the shout out, chica! Glad you had a fabulous time at the conference!!!
Hey Jennifer. Thanks for stopping by. Thank you for sharing your genius with us 😉