The Blogcademy
A few weeks ago I spent the weekend at The Blogcademy, the school for those who are serious about making money, or dreams come true with their blog. Held over two days in a gorgeous photographer's studio in London, and filled with some of the most colourfully dressed people you are likely to meet, as you can see, it was a snap-happy blogger's dream. There were people there who had just started blogging, those who had been 'at it' for years, and some who were yet to create a blog. And the field of blog genres was wide! Weddings, lifestyle, beauty, travel, small businesses... you name it.
If you are considering nabbing a spot at a future Blogcademy, here are some tips to help you get the most out of your experience.
1.) Take a camera and use it to get blog content and break the ice
Straight away I was surrounded by women (and a couple of token men!) who get what blogging is all about. Even my own family think my constant photographing is weird, but in this company no one is fazed by someone they hadn't yet met coming up and asking them to pose for a pic. As happened above with the amazingly named Holly Wood. I asked for a photo, she suggested holding the M. Then we started chatting. And that's how you roll at Blogcademy.
2.) Bring snacks
It does actually say in your welcome email to bring snacks. I don't usually carry anything, least of all anything healthy, but thought I'd take some cashew nuts just in case. Good job I did; it's a looong time until lunch. It got a bit too much for one girl who had flown in to the UK the night before class, and she almost fainted. She very politely tapped Headmistress Kat on the shoulder to weakly announce her impending swoon. I gave her the emergency nuts! Reader, you will be glad to know she made a full recovery. On the second day people came better prepared, and one amazing Blogcadette even brought in two lemon loaf cakes she had made. So, if you want to make friends on day one, bring in some home baked goods. Or even just a bunch of bananas.
3.) Get a system in place
Techie types who bring along a laptop or digital voice recorder (apparently, they aren't called dictaphones anymore. Oh, the non-techie shame...) will already be super organised about how they order their newly acquired Blogcademy information. But for those of us who use good old pen and paper (lovely Paperchase notebook paper, I might add) I would recommend having some kind of system before you go. I just wrote and wrote and wrote. And wrote. You get so much information, and it's all essential stuff that I have needed to go through regularly since Blogcademy. So much writing, in fact, that I often have to thumb through numerous pages just to find what I need. If I could do it over again, I would colour code the sections and highlight website recommendations rather than end up with the mess of post-it notes I have now. But, maybe that's just me and my neat-notebook OCD.
4.) Man up
At certain points in the class sessions the Headmisstresses Gala, Shauna, and Kat will approach people, but in the breaks it's up to you to approach them and ask for a chat. If you're some kind of an extrovert, or not British, then this won't be a biggie. But for the more reserved amongst us, asking someone whose huge blog you have been reading and loving for ages to chat about your own tiny blog feels like pestering a popstar for an autograph. A popstar who you are sure just wants to have a cup of a tea and a sit down in the break. You just have to get over it, remember why you're there, and realise how helpful a one on one can be. The whole Blogcademy is a tidal wave of edification, fuelled by the experiences and knowledge of these blogging heavyweights, but the one on ones I had with each Headmisstress have been monumentally important in helping me take my blog to the next level. They each have different ideas and outlooks, but all three gave me insightful advice. I really recommend a chat with Shauna, maybe it's because she's used to sitting down with clients and giving them targeted advice, but she gave me so many ideas for my design and content to take my blog to the next level.
5.) Don't expect the Headmistresses to sort out your life
At the end of day one you get a report card with the Headmistresses' advice and feedback on your own blog. Ages before I went to Blogcademy I read former Blogcadettes' reviews and saw them talking about their report cards. After I signed up I imagined putting my own report on my desk and using it to inspire me as I wrote each future blog post. I knew that the Headmistresses had to read one or more of your posts to make the report, so every time I published something on my blog I wondered if this was the post they'd be reviewing. So, it was a bit of an anti-climax to be presented with a blank report card saying they hadn't seen my URL. I wasn't the only one to be a bit crushed by this, so this is another tip: make sure they see your URL. When we all went to the bar after class, those with reports were already reflecting on the feedback and formulating questions to ask the Headmistresses on day two, and I really felt like I also needed this. I was absolutely cringing inside, but I emailed the Headmisstresses when I got home and asked for feedback. If you think I was a wuss for finding point 4 hard, feel my pain as I recieved an automatic out of office email reply, and then thought I should try tweeting the ladies. I imagined them trying to unwind on the Saturday night and cursing me. I also hate making even a hint of a complaint about anything as my surname is an adjective for a cross person, and I don't want people thinking I live up to my name.
I'm glad I made myself do this as I did get back a detailed response that night, and this helped me go in the next day ready to talk through their points. It was disappointing to realise they hadn't looked at my blog before the Blogcademy, but even as I went in on day two, I knew this dejected feeling was more about how trapped I feel in my day job, and my frustration at wanting to do more of what inspires me in my career. I'd felt like I needed to know if what I was doing was any good, and if I stood any chance at making a success of things. I was surprised to learn over the weekend that this vulnerability wasn't just felt by me, other Blogcadettes had made sacrifices or pinned hopes on changing their life through their blog, too. And even the Headmistresses have their moments of self-doubt, Kat talks about hers in the latest issue of Rock and Roll Bride Magazine.
Ultimately, you can't go to Blogcademy expecting a magic wand to be waved over any aspect of your blog or your life. You will be hugely inspired, staggeringly so. But how you make things happen when school's out is down to you alone. I'd been striving for quality in every post because I thought that the Headmisstresses would be reading one of them for Blogcademy, but I should have been making every post excellent for every reader. And I won't forget that. I do have the report card on my desk; it has one line and that reads "We didn't see your URL". I've highlighted "we didn't see you" and it's pushing me to work much harder than the feedback email does.
6.) Dress to impress
My eyes hurt a bit with the riot of colourful clothes and rainbow hair; everyone looked fabulous! The girl in the picture above is Holly Bailey and straight away I wanted to take her photo. Everyone did, and she was just fine with that. Right after I posted the above pic on my Instagram, I had a message from one of the other class members saying "I want to be friends with this girl!" Of course people are going to want to befriend the cool kids, but even if your look is more laid back have a colourful anecdote or funny story up your sleeve instead. No one can take a photo of that, of course, but you will have people warm to you.
7.) Win friends and influence people
When you sign up you get invited to join a forum just for Blogcadettes. This is a hugely valuable tool before, during, and after your Blogcademy experience. Some of our class used the forum to arrange to meet up the night before class (which you can read about here) and this was a great way to make introductions and feel more at ease for the first day. Use the forum after class too. I have even arranged to meet up with Blogcadettes that were in other London sessions - such is the power of the Blogcademy in uniting bloggers! Sending nice-to-have-met-you emails and tweets after class is a good way to say you want to stay in touch. I had several tweets, but two really nice emails stood out. They may have been generic and sent to everyone, but each contained something personal about me or a conversation we'd had, and one had photos of me talking to Gala attached, which I thought was a lovely touch, and made the email memorable.
8.) Have fun
There are competitions throughout the weekend, goody-bags, lunches out, lots of laughter, after-class drinks, gossip and hilarious blogging anecdotes. You are going to have an amazing time. We also had vegan cake for Gala and Shauna's joint birthdays, and a photo booth for endless fun taking snaps of us in fake moustaches.
9.) Learn
As I said, there is a ton of information given to you. The Headmistresses will tell you about their personal experiences, and they break the business side of things down plain and simple. Some of us were worried that our teachers would be a bit knackered come the weekend of our class, as they added an extra class on the Thursday and Friday right before ours. As a teacher I know how hard it can be to sustain the level of energy needed to engage and enthuse an audience, but these women are naturals at getting the message across. Gala told us that one thing she'd like to do more of is public speaking, and she is fantastic! When she spoke it was like you could feel everyone sitting up in their chair a little bit more. She drops F bombs all over the place, but it make her stories funny or more poignant, mostly because the swearing works with her accent. Keep learning after class; use the advice and guidance given to you to keep pushing yourself and your blog forward.
10.) Wear sparkly ears and take selfies
The Headmisstresses will supply the ears. Take many selfies, you could win a prize!
(Paper figures of the Headmistresses by Wee Paper People)