I am writing you now from Disney World. Wow. That was fun to say. 😉 The hubs, Amber, her friend Mackenzie and I have been at Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World since Thursday for the Niche Parent Conference 2014. 3 of us had never even been to Florida and none of us had been to Disney World, so to say we are excited to be here is truly an understatement. So, I want to share with you {bloggers} some things that I learned at the Niche Parent Conference 2014 that you might find useful and I want to share with you {readers} some random fun we have learned about Disney now that we are halfway through our stay.
Getting My Blogger Learn On At Niche Parent Conference 2014
Jay and I attended several sessions and we really learned a lot. So much, in fact, that there is no way that we can possibly include everything that we learned. So, we want to share some of our favorite tips and tricks that we hope to be implementing soon on our blogs.
Things I Learned At Niche Parent 2014: There Is An Artist In All Of Us
Well, it turns out EVERYONE can be an artist with Painting With A Twist. We participated in a 2 hour session where we were supplied with everything we needed to create our own work of art – even instructions!
Things I Learned At Niche Parent 2014: Pinterest Rocks!
I must admit, I don’t know much about Pinterest. I pin stuff that I think is pretty or that I want to try later {recipes, crafts, etc.} but I don’t really know much about other people’s habits on the social network. I have no idea really why some of my pics might get 1K+ repins and then one might get 12, lol. So, the hubs and I sat in on a session with @EducatorsSpin, @ABoyarshinov, and @SusanWJackson to hopefully learn more about how to better utilize Pinterest. The first two ladies have a Pinterest account with over 1.5 million followers. Million. With an M. Trust. You want to listen when they speak.
Here are some of the tips that I learned that I will try to focus on very soon.
1. I am going to learn about more collaborative boards.
2. I am going to clean up my boards and try to make them more reflect what we do here on the blog.
3. I am going to move my boards with my most popular pins to the top of my page.
I would love if you would check out my Pinterest and let me know of any other changes that you would like to see in the comments below.
Things I Learned At Niche Parent Conference 2014: SEO Is Your Friend
I attended a session on SEO with @MattWallaert {Microsoft/Bing} and @Momables that I was particularly excited about. SEO scares me. Sheesh. Every time I fill in those info boxes that decide whether my post gets seen by 3 people or 3 million, I have a mini panic attack. What you choose to say to define yourself and your article truly can make or break you.
So, here are some things that I have taken away from their session to implement on my blog.
1. I am going to kick it into high gear on Google+. I love Google+ anyway. Now I love it more.
2. I am going to submit my blog to Bing. Everyone always talks about Google, Google Analytics, etc. But Bing is 35% of web traffic. As Matt said, “Do you want 35% more web traffic.” Yes, yes I do. 😉
3. Make sure all of my pages are being crawled and check my webmaster tools at least monthly.
4. Make sure to fill in “Alt Text” and “Description” info on pics. Those babies are stored, too, you know.
Check out this Chevy Suburban we just test drove! #NicheParent14 @TeamChevy @ChevyCustCare pic.twitter.com/8GqZYtPa6N
— The *New* Classy (@TheNewClassy) October 17, 2014
Things I Learned At Niche Parent Conference 2014: Mama Needs A New Car
We have been talking about getting a new car for a while. We have 2 cars that are both getting closer to 200K miles everyday. They are both great cars, though, and we have had basically no problems with either. As proud Chevy owners {shout out to our 2007 Chevy HHR}, naturally we have been talking about the new Chevrolets. I have been eyeballing the Traverse for a while, so I was super excited to find out that we would get to test drive Chevys, and the Traverse was on the list {along with Suburban, Impala, Corvette Stingray Convertible and Silverado}.
THOUGHT I wanted a #Traverse. Now I KNOW I do. #NicheParent14 @ChevyCustCare pic.twitter.com/bWiSH9OHa4
— The *New* Classy (@TheNewClassy) October 17, 2014
So, bet you will never guess which car I test drove. I think Daddy should buy this for me. What do you think? 😉
Things I Learned At Niche Parent Conference 2014: The Hubs Wants To Be A Podcaster
Both I and the hubby have a background in radio, so progression into podcasting seems natural to me. My husband likes sportcasting, so I think he would be a natural on a sports centered podcast. He is completely green when it comes to podcasting, thus he attended a session with @IAmBrandyButler to get the lowdown and see if it’s right for him.
So, here are some goals that he is going to work on to make podcasting happen.
1. Get the right equipment without breaking the bank. Brandy was very helpful in directing us to frugal options for starting up a podcast.
2. Jay is also currently searching around for the right platform for his podcast that he hopes to start within the next few months.
3. Jay also is going to work on setting up an area in our home to tape his podcast.
4. He is also working on refining his vision and goals for his podcast.
So, there you have it. This definitely isn’t everything we learned at our first blogger conference, but these are the highlights of what my husband and I keep discussing. We feel it was definitely worth the drive, time and investment. We also met a ton of really cool people at Niche Parent Conference 2014 that we might not have otherwise ever been able to meet. This definitely won’t be our last conference.
This has some really great tips! Thanks for sharing from Disney!! I’ve never been 🙁
We hadn’t been until now. It is so much fine. You definitely should go if you get a chance.
Thanks for sharing all the great tips. I need to do a clean up of my Pinterest boards, but dread the time involved.
That is definitely something that has been holding me back. Sheesh, it will take a lot of time. But when I do it, I think it will be worth it.
I have always wanted to try a painting class, but I’m such a horrible artist I’m not sure it would turn out well.
It’s not about how well your painting turns out, but how much fun you have doing it. 😉
Sounds like a great conference! I love that your husband wants to get involved and start podcasting, sounds like fun.
Looks like a really great conference! I hear a lot about it and would love to go at some point too!
Just testing out!
And it worked. 😉
What a cool opportunity for you and your family! I appreciate you sharing the important blogger tips. And that Suburban is So NICE!!
Sounds like not only did you have a great time, but you learned a ton too! And I have to say, those fish paintings are awesome!
Thanks so much! They were a lot of fun to do. 🙂
Looks like you had a lot of fun! We have a painting with a twist local to me, I’ve been wanting to go each month and then something ends up popping up unexpectedly. Thanks for sharing the tips!
Looks like you had a great time at this parent conference!
Fun conference. I bet there was a wealth of knowledge shared. Thanks for giving great details.
I’m always saying I want to go to a blog conference, but I haven’t been to one yet. This one sounds like it was really insightful!
Wow. Sounds like you learned a lot a the conference. Thank you so much for sharing those tips. I was especially interested in the Pinterest tips!
HOW FUN! I have yet to attend my first bloggy conference and I am dying to go! Especially after reading a review/experience like yours
It was so much fun. This was our first one, so we didn’t know what to expect. But we loved it and will definitely attend more. We are still at Disney World and will be here until Wednesday. We wanted to make sure that we had enough time to enjoy the parks, too. 🙂
Excellent tips and so happy to hear about your commitment to optimize images on your blog! It’s one of the SEO tips that I teach 🙂
Sounds like you are learning some awesome stuff and having fun while doing it! I need to work on my photos!
Oh I definitely need to work on my photos, too. A new camera is in my not too distant future, hopefully. 🙂
What an AWESOME re-cap with some fabulous take-aways that many of us bloggers could do as well. Very nice to meet you and THANK YOU for such sweet words in regards to our Pinterest Presentation, a platform where I learn and grow with every day. I think you boards are off to a great start and look forward to see where they end up after your “cleaning!” I just had to click on this pin http://www.pinterest.com/pin/50876670764302312/. HOW CUTE!!!! and I love that you include our fur-babies for online events – love it!
Awww thanks so much! I know I have a long way to go, but I am glad to have some tips on where to start. It’s easier to start a job when you aren’t so overwhelmed with deciding where to start. 🙂
Great tips! I would love to attend something like that soon.
How fun to be able to write from Disney World! Looks like you learned a lot.
WoW that’s amazing a conference in Florida, looks like a lot of fun.
I really just try to go to a conference as well, you always learn great tips there.
Such a fun environment to learn in. There are so many things we can still tweak to make our blogs and social media more efficient, it´s great to have practical tips to do so.
How fun! Looks like you had a great time at the conference! The paintings turned out cute!
Sounds like an awesome conference with so much great information. I have never been to one but I am not a blogger either. Thanks for all the great information you shared.
It was really a lot of fun. I think that most industries have conferences, so perhaps you would enjoy one in your field if you work outside the home. 🙂
Good to heart that you learned so many things in Niche Parent Conference 2014.. I wish I was just near so that I can attend future conferences with them..
I think their conferences change location yearly, but don’t quote me on that because I am not sure. Also, not sure where you live, but we drove from the VA/NC line. I wouldn’t drive cross country to one, but a few states wasn’t too bad. 🙂
This is so cool you got a chance to attend this! Also the lessons you learned will forever be with you 🙂 welcome home!
Thanks a bunch! We got back the night before last really late. I wasn’t ready to leave Disney World but I was missing my dogs terribly!
Looks like you had a blast and a lot of fun! Yes, pinterest rocks but I’m still new to that social media site. I want to maximize my pinterest account to share my links.