Top 5 Things I Learned at BlogPaws 2017

She of Little Talent is recently returned from Myrtle Beach and BlogPaws 2017, and I tasked her with creating a list of things she learned there. I think if she successfully implements everything she learned, we will soon be some kind of super-bloggers, and I will become as famous as I deserve to be. Finally.

Here is old SoLT’s list:

Old SoLT and the Flat Cats did a lot of interesting things at
BlogPaws 2017, including meeting Flat Jackson Galaxy,
having breakfast at the Newbie table, posing in a
sorghum field, and meeting people from the
Morris Animal Foundation.

1. You can’t do everything. There is a lot going on at a BlogPaws conference. A lot. Some hours at the 2017 conference had four or more things I wanted to be doing. Obviously I could only be in one place at a time, so some hard decisions had to be made. I made them by thinking about which sessions would be most likely to give me information and resources I can use to make my blog better over the next year.

2. I’ve got to start using Canva. I’ve been hearing a lot about Canva lately but hadn’t paid much attention to any of the chatter. Then I went to the Canva session at BlogPaws and saw what this largely free program can do. Mind. Blown. If you haven’t checked it out, you really should! (By the way, the graphics in this post--Canva.)

3. I am even worse at social media than I thought (but it isn’t hopeless!). So, I already knew that I haven’t been using social media very effectively. Turns out, being great at social media means doing more than sharing a link to your latest blog post. You need a plan, a strategy, and it has to be different for every channel you use. Sitting in the social media workshop was both inspiring and overwhelming. I kept thinking, I can do this, and this, and this … and then I thought, WHEN? When will I have the time to do any of this? The when remains unanswered, but I’m working on a plan, starting small, and will build from there. And speaking of building…

4. A blog is a process. I used to say this about gardening, back when I was a landscaper: A garden is a process; it’s not a sculpture that you create once and, boom, it’s done. A blog, like a garden, is always growing and changing, and not just because you keep adding new content. You tweak your design, you shift your focus, you improve your writing style… It’s all part of the process.

5. Pet bloggers are awesome! Actually, pet people in general are pretty awesome, and the pet blogging space is one of the most caring, supportive, and collaborative communities on the internet. And you know what? This community is even more caring, supportive, and collaborative in person! Every moment of BlogPaws, I felt nothing but welcomed and encouraged, and I left feeling more inspired than I ever imagined. Plus, no one acted like I was weird when I whipped out the Flat Cats and asked if I could take their picture with another pet or a product. Where else can that happen?

So much awesome swag!