bloggingholidays

Gift Guide for Bloggers 2015

A New Kind of Normal - Gift Guide for Bloggers 2015 Edition

The last post in this year’s Gift Guide series is a Gift Guide for Bloggers. I’ve been blogging for over eight years now (which makes me feel REALLY old) so I’ve learned a thing or two about what bloggers might appreciate to find in their stocking on Christmas morning (please don’t go back and look at some of the posts from the really early years – it may get a little scary). Let’s just step away from that for now and talk shop.

When you have a beloved blogger to shop for, it can seem a little overwhelming at first especially if you yourself are not a blogger. You have no idea what SEO is and why its so important and CSS and HTML look like some secret code but its not as hard as you think to shop for your beloved blogger.

 

Let’s talk planners.

Image Map

Something every blogger needs is a great planner. Some people really love doing everything online and using tools like Evernote and Google Drive to stay content ideas organized (especially since they can be used across multiple devices) or even blog plugins like CoSchedule or the WordPress Editorial Calendar in order to outline a post schedule. I love using Evernote and CoSchedule* is my new BFF but there is something about pen and paper that my brain needs to stay organized.

Starting at the upper left corner and moving in clockwise motion, these are some of the most popular planners on the market: the Erin Condren Life Planner, the Plum Paper Planner, the Passion Planner, and the Create 365 The Happy Planner (which I think is the newest on the market). In addition to using planners to stay organized, there has suddenly become a recent trend to not only keep track of your schedules and to-do lists in your planners but to go hog-wild decorating while you are at it. If you do a search on Etsy for “planner stickers,” you will see pages and pages (and pages) of all types of varieties of stickers and embellishments to keep your planner not only organized but beautifully decorated as well. You can also find supplies at craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby and I’ve seen things even start to trickle into the Dollar Tree (which is where I pick up most of my supplies). Think of it as a modern day “Pimp My Planner” instead of “Pimp My Ride” (I am really showing my age now aren’t I?). There are even oodles of Facebook groups dedicated to planner decorating. I personally use the Erin Condren Life Planner and I do enjoy doing some simple decorating using washi tape and organizational stickers but on the scale of 1-10 of being a simple planner user versus a mega planner decorator, I probably fall somewhere in the middle. I’ll do a separate post on that.

The only one of these planners that doesn’t lend itself as easy to the decorating trend is the Passion Planner but in its place, it offers a uniqueness that really focuses on goal setting and creating step by step guides to achieving those goals (even including pages for mind and bubble maps).  Another cool thing about the Passion Planner is that you can download a couple of pages of the planner to try to see if you like it before ordering or you can download the entire planner for free and then take it to your choice of stores, such as Staples or Office Max, to have it bound which I think is a pretty amazing option.

There are also all kinds of ways to build your own planner with free printables (Pinterest is loaded with them) and you can even find planner printables that are blogging specific. If you don’t want to purchase a planner as you aren’t sure what your blogging loved one might prefer there is always the option of purchasing a gift card or you can create a basket full of goodies such as a cute binder, nice pens, and fun decorating and organizational items.

 

Let’s talk books.

 

Other gift options for your blogging loved one include books on blogging. I have read 3 out of the 4 of these shown (and I am really hoping to get my hands on #4 really soon!). Just like above, I will start in the upper left corner and work my way around clockwise.

If your loved one is just starting out with blogging or is a seasoned blogger that wants to up his or her game, I highly recommend 31 Days to Build A Better Blog (affiliate link). It has been listed on my Blogging Resources page for ages because it is that good. I went through the book the first time with a group of bloggers with SITS and it totally changed my blogging game. I am actually planning on going back through it starting January 1 since 2015 was kind of an off-year with blogging because of the what felt like one health crisis after another this year so I really want to start 2016 off on the right foot (I would love to have you join me!).

I cannot say enough amazing things about the book Blog Design for Dummies and I won’t linger on it too long since I did write a complete review of the book. I know the author, Melissa Culbertson, personally and she is AMAZING and runs an amazing blog called Blog Clarity and teaches a variety of amazing courses so I would recommend anything that she puts out as a gift idea for your blogger loved one.

The next book is the one that I am dying to get my hands on for 2016 – The Badass Blog Planner by Sarah Morgan. Per the book’s description:

Packed with over 60 worksheets, this one-year planner will help you review the past year and hatch a plan to improve your online presence. It includes worksheets to evaluate and plan blog content, social media posts, products and services, email newsletters, marketing, advertising, your budget, and website design. No more late-night post idea panic or stressing over social media! You’ll take action with the confidence to create compelling and shareable content, promote your brand, organize your website, set goals for growth, plan product launches, and feel excited and inspired all year long.

Sounds like just what any blogger needs to start the year off right, don’t you think? This book doesn’t take the place of a traditional planner but would work wonderfully in conjunction. I use my Life Planner to obviously keep my family life managed as well as my blogging but this takes it up to a whole other level. Santa, if you are reading this, I would really love to find this under the tree!

The last book I am recommending is called Blog, Inc: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho. I have already read through this book once and plan on reading through it again next year. It is another book that is great for a beginner but will also help take a seasoned blogger up to the next level with their blogging, especially if they would like to start running their blog more like a business and make a career out of blogging. It is packed full of great and useful information and written in a way that helps you put that information straight into practice.

There are a lot of other great books on blogging available (I have some that I read myself on my Blogging Resources page) but obviously I cannot list them all here. If your blogger loved one prefers reading on a Kindle (or using the Kindle app), a Kindle Unlimited gift subscription would be a great idea so that he or she could have access to all the amazing books on the market.

 

Let’s talk Conferences & Classes

If you really want to get your loved one a big gift and your budget allows it (and they have expressed interest in it before), gifting a trip to a blogging conference is another great option. Bloggy Bootcamp is a great one day conference offered in various cities throughout the year and it is only $75! This was my first conference experience and I loved every minute of it. The 2016 schedule is not yet posted but you can always create your own gift voucher and wrap it up for your loved one and they can choose which location they would like to attend once the schedule is posted!

Type A Conference is another great blogging conference option. It started as one three day conference usually held in Atlanta or Charlotte but in efforts to make it easier on attendees to travel for the conference, they now have a Type A Conference West in Santa Fe and Type A Conference East at Disney. DISNEY! Santa, are you hearing me? Disney! And it just just happens to fall right after my birthday. If Santa doesn’t pull through on this, I know what I’ll be saving up for for my birthday! I went to Type A Conference in 2013 and had a great experience and would love to go again. Who’s coming with me?

And last but not least, there are tons of e-courses and online training seminars that would also make awesome Christmas gifts for your beloved blogger.

As I mentioned before, Melissa over at Blog Clarity offers a variety of course with many of them being self-paced so you don’t have to worry about course dates. I have taken Content Brew* (which teaches you how to plan and create fresh content and equips you with tools on how to organize and share content) and Media Kit Smash* (which teaches you how to make a professional media kit to work with brands and professionals) and Pinning Perfect* (which will dig into strategies for driving traffic to your blog from Pinterest and build followers) are both next on my to-do list.

The Nectar Collective which is headed up by another Melyssa is another great resource for classes and seminars to help your beloved blogger get down to business and keep their numbers rising. In addition to paid courses, she also hosts free webinars so that is a great thing to keep an eye out for. One class that I took that I greatly benefited from and highly recommend is Social Media Superhero which only costs $27,

Gift Guide for Bloggers 2015 - A New Kind of Normal

These are just a few of my ideas of things that I put together for the Gift Guide for Bloggers so you can be on the lookout for when shopping for your beloved blogger! The best part about shopping for a blogger? A lot of these things can be bought online at the last minute! December 24th sign him or her up for a course, create a nice pretty gift voucher showing that you are sending them to this course they’ve been wanting to take (Canva.com is great for that – they even have templates!), and pop it into a pretty box and BOOM. You’re all done!

Do you have any bloggers on your shopping list or are you a blogger and have an idea about what needs to be added to the list?

Disclosure: Any link marked with an * refers to an affiliate link.

P.S. Have you checked out the Gift Guide for Beauty Lovers Giveaway yet? I keep adding to the box so I’m not sure how I’m going to get the thing to close! You’d better go check it out! It’s almost time to draw a winner!

bloggingchronic illness

Tips For Attending A Conference When You Have A Chronic Illness

As you all know, I recently returned from my first trip to Type A Conference in the beautiful city of Atlanta! I wrote about my first trip to a conference when I shared tips on surviving a blog conference when you are an introvert but this was my first multi-day conference and it was a lot larger than my previous experience. Type A is bigger than Bloggy Bootcamp (my first conference experience) but still significantly smaller than BlogHer. This experience definitely proved my little introverted self would absolutely NEVER make it at BlogHer. I think the last BH conference surpassed 3000 attendees! Yikes! I only had to hide in the bathroom and cry once at Type A 🙂

While the trip definitely exhausted me and it took me nearly a week to recover, I still think that the trip was very worthwhile and I don’t think having a chronic illness can keep you from having a blast. You just need to modify your plans to accommodate your needs. Here are some things that I recommend paying attention to when you consider attending a blog conference (or any time of conference really):

1- Travel. I lucked out that Type A was only 3 hours away from home. There were conference attendants from all over the country who had a much heftier travel agenda than I had so for that I am thankful! If you are going to be traveling from a significant distance, be sure to add some buffer time in your schedule. Consider traveling in a day early and/or staying an extra day to allow yourself time to rest before the festivities.Type A kicked off Friday morning but I arrived in Atlanta around dinner time on Thursday so I was able to catch a quick dinner and spend the evening resting so I would be ready to go the next morning.Not only does driving wear me out but driving in Atlanta drives me absolutely batty which makes me more anxious which makes me stress which makes me more likely to flare. Because I knew this, I hooked up with some bloggers from the area to carpool down. I was glad to help pay gas and parking if it meant I didn’t have to drive! By the time time Sunday rolled around, I was so tired that I was twice as glad that I was not the one driving. Had I been driving, I would have definitely added in a rest day before traveling for safety.

2- Its ok to miss sessions and events. I know you want to soak in as much knowledge, networking, and good times as possible when you attend a conference but it is ok to take breaks. Your body needs breaks. Conference rooms chairs are not the most comfortable and walking back and forth for sessions and around the expo area can take a toll on your body and the last thing you want to do is push yourself too far and land in a strange ER. Conferences typically publish the schedule well in advance so pick out the sessions and events that are the most important to you and build your personal schedule around that. Allow yourself to be flexible and most importantly, don’t feel bad about making your health a priority. Would I have loved to been more involved in the night events and late night parties? Absolutely but I would rather leave early to get some rest in order to be able to fully enjoy the sessions and events I did go to. It is really important to listen to your body and go with the flow.

3- Dress comfortably. These days I am hardly out of yoga pants so I was really looking forward to wearing some real clothes and feeling cute and put together but I still had to take into consideration what I would also feel comfortable in. I have two large incisions that can make sitting for extended periods uncomfortable with certain waistbands so I had to take that into consideration when picking out my outfits. There would also be some walking around the expo area and between sessions that make comfortable shoes a must. Thankfully everything for Type A was in the same general area within the hotel but I know some conferences are more spread out. My go-to outfits for this conference where dark wash jeans, blazers, and fun accessories. I have decided that blazers are my secret weapon for feeling confident and put together!

4- Make sure you have the medications you need. While most hotels have a gift shop or convenience area where you can purchase Pepto and Tylenol, I am a strong believer in being a spoonie girl scout and being prepared. I also recommend traveling with your prescription medications in their original bottles. Heaven forbid something should happen but in case of an emergency, a doctor or responder would be able to know the medications you are taking versus having a pill case with a bigger variety than a bag of Skittles. You don’t necessarily need to bring a full bottle but I would bring enough for the days of your trip plus one as a spare. If you require prescription pain medications, I recommend traveling with a mini pill safe or keeping them on you just as a precaution. I also travel with a variety of OTC medicines as well as a precaution. I felt like a walking pharmacy as I had everything from Excedrin to Dramamine. I would also recommend wearing a medical alert (if needed) and installing an ICE app on your phone with your pertinent medical information in case of emergency (especially if you are not traveling with someone who knows your history).

5- Be yourself and HAVE FUN! I always worry about being known as the “sick blogger.” Many within the Type A community know my story, especially when I had to back out of last year’s conference at the last minute because of my bowel obstruction surgery. I was met with “How are you feeling?” on several occassions (versus the traditional “How are you?”) and at first I felt a little self-concious because I didn’t want to be known as that girl but I can to the realization that 1- while I am not defined by my illness, it is a part of who I am and shaped me into the strong woman that I am and given me the purpose for why I attend blogging events, and 2- these people are completely genuine, care about me as a person, and Type A really is a family of bloggers. Hopefully by knowing me and my story, they will be more aware of chronic illnesses and will be able to better support a friend or loved one who may be impacted by illness. I have to admit that I also loved being the blogger with purple hair! A tip if you have purple hair (or another unnatural hair color) – bring your own pillowcase to avoid color rub on the hotel sheets! I would hate to know what the Westin would have charged me for a pillowcase considering a bottle of water was $3!

Hopefully these tips will help if you decide to attend a blog conference (or any kind of conference) someday! If you have attended a similar event with chronic illness, what tips would you add to the list?

p.s. – if you notice over there on the sidebar, I have opened up A New Kind of Normal store on Zazzle! I am a very visual person and love having visual reminders to stay strong and keep up the hope especially when I am having a hard day! Let me know what you think!

blogging

5 Things I Learned At Type A Conference

I promise I didn’t mean to fall off the planet after the Type A Conference! All of the travel and sessions induced a flare (which I expected) and I had a visit with my endo doctor where we decided to start a new treatment as a last ditch effort before considering surgery #7 and the side effects of said treatment have been kicking my butt. Hopefully they will ease up as my body gets adjusted to the new medication.

Even though it wore me slap out, Type A Conference was definitely worth it! It was refreshing, inspiring, and educational. I not only learned a lot about blogging and my future aspirations for blogging but I learned about myself as a personal as well.

Here are the top 5 things I learned at Type A:

1- We are a collection of our experiences, for better or for worse. Its what makes us who we are. Amber Nasland kicked off the conference with an incredibly empowering keynote entitled, “The Other Side of Courage: Embracing Fear, Taking Risks, The One Truth You Need To Know.” For the longest time after being diagnosed with chronic illness, I kept waiting on life to return to “normal.” I was constantly telling myself “when I feel better I can to this” or “after this happens I can do that.” I was constantly putting my life on hold waiting on the next doctor, treatment, or surgery to allow me to return to the life I once knew. It has taken me a lot of time and a lot of wrestling to realize that I will never get that life back and that is ok. My illnesses have shaped me into who I am and not only helped me become a better person but a deeper and more enriched person because of my experiences. Do I grieve my last life and miss the things that I used to be able to do? Absolutely but I have realized that while the book has closed on that chapter of my life, a whole new book has been opened full of amazing experiences and opportunities and for that I am thankful.

2-Blend your passion with your actions and your voice. One of the sessions I was looking forward to the most at this conference was on Cause Blogging and The New Media Activist as obviously I am very interested in using blogging and social media as a way to bring awareness, resources, and education for important causes. I found it very empowering to be in a room full of fellow bloggers who had the same heart and passion as I do. One of the important points that was reinforced in my mind was taking our online passion offline. I am very passionate about the yearly Blogging for Endometriosis Awareness campaign (and this session definitely gave me some ideas on how to enhance the campaign for 2014) and now I feel empowered to find a way to get involved hands-on in the community through the Million Woman March for Endometriosis. While I am unsure at this point if I will be able to attend the march in Washington DC personally, I lend my voice and social media platforms to get involved.

3- Light is the essence of photography. Jenn Hethcoat put together an amazing session on “Blog Photography for the Photographically Challenged.” I was blessed with a great DSLR through a random act of blogging kindness and have been trying to figure it out ever since. Jenn made this session so practical that it just clicked in my mind and finally things started to make sense. I never knew that shade produces a much better picture that direct sunlight or using texture to make photos more interesting. As a result of this session, I was able to come home and catch the best photo I have ever taken!

4- In understanding SEO, the important thing to remember is relevance. It was tough to decide which hands-on session to try to get into because there were so many amazing options but in the end, I signed up for a SEO Basics session because in all my years of blogging SEO still makes my head spin. Dan Morris (who is also a part of Blogging Concentrated) led the session and once again it was the practicality of the information that made it so valuable to my blogging experience. Never in a million years would I have guessed that talking about a bathroom would help me understand how SEO functions which is working to build your credibility as being relevant to the topic you blog about. For example, I want to be known as relevant to endometriosis awareness so it is important that I build my credibility as an “expert” through using post titles, keywords, and meta descriptions. Now that I feel like I have a foundation to build upon, I am going to start working through Mom Blog SEO (which was written by Type A Con founder Kelby Carr).

5- Choose your own adventure. It is no secret that anything Disney makes my heart go pitter-patter and I was very stoked that Disney Parks was a conference sponsor and that Gary Buchanan, the social media managing editor from WDW, would be leading one of the keynote sessions. I will totally confess that Gary made me cry. Twice. Between this DJ Steve Porter Disney video and his description of the clouds in Toy Story, I totally reached for my tissues. Yes, I am completely a sap. I blame the first set of tears on exhaustion (though I agree that Disney is magical) but the second set of tears came from the creative spirit that is embodied in everything Disney. One of my favorite Walt Disney quotes is “It is kind of fun to do the impossible.” Sometimes in life we need to take that chance and step out on faith. Gary said, “It’s not where you take thing forms. It’s where you take them to.” I want to take A New Kind of Normal to bigger and better places. This is my passion and my purpose and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead!

Type A Conference was an amazing experience and I am so thankful I went! It was a bit scary diving into something completely new but it was definitely worth it!