Blogging has come a long way, baby. Today, bloggers are sought out as influencers and ultimate arbiters of taste. The stereotype of blogging in sweatpants from your mother's basement is now as outmoded an idea as the flip-phone. These days, you're more likely to be blogging from a trans-continental flight, in a fabulous pair of shoes!
Bloggers are the new it girls: They sit front row at fashion week, they launch magazines to wild acclaim, and they are able to make a living in a way that leaves the 9-5 crowd for dead.
What could be more inspiring, exciting and satisfying than making a living from simply being yourself?
Blogging For Business And Benjamins
Blogs are not just online diaries for stylish mavens in six inch heels; they are an essential tool for anyone who owns a business. At The Blogcademy, we believe that if your business doesn't have an online presence, it doesn't exist. The internet is the ultimate marketplace, with the potential to wield so much more power and impact than the high street. For this reason, you should execute your online strategy with the same amount of precision and care you take when you launch a new product or hire a business coach.
The kicker? What works offline doesn't always work online, and this realisation can send many a business-owner into a tailspin. Online branding, PR, design and networking are such enormous topics: Where do you even begin? You start by learning the pieces of the puzzle that are directly applicable to you... Things we've discovered in a combined total of over 30 years of trial and error!
These days, we can do absolutely everything on-the-go, from attracting new clients to making bookings and selling products. There are few better feelings than waking up in the morning to see sales you made overnight! When you create a powerful online presence, this can be your reality.
Blogging Is...
Blogging is about sharing your life experiences, the highlights and lowlights, and inviting new friends to take the journey with you. Blogging is about living your life on your own terms, taking your day-to-day minutiae and packaging it in a way that entices and excites other people. Blogging is about freedom: That ultimate freedom of creating whatever makes your pulse race.
A blog that supports your business exists to capture and retain your customers' attention. It reminds them that you still exist, that you have new things to offer, and that you are able to surprise! Great blogs are not a neverending advertisement: Instead, they tease, titillate, thrill and enthrall, and make your customers feel like they are part of an exclusive group.
When you squint and tilt your head, you can see that our lives have the potential to become content for an audience that is constantly hungry for something new, fresh and innovative. So how can you mine your own life for inspiration? How much should you share, and how do you know what will keep people reading? It's not a mystery: There are tried-and-true tips and techniques to keep an audience captivated.
About The Blogcademy
The Blogcademy is a two day workshop tailored to bloggers who want to push their online presence and businesses to the next level. Taught by three high-profile bloggers, Gala Darling (Gala Darling), Kat Williams (Rock n Roll Bride) and Shauna Haider (Nubby Twiglet), we cover everything related to blogging strategy, branding and personality you've ever wanted to know.
At The Blogcademy, 30 enthusiastic attendees are provided with tips, tricks and essential strategies to propel their businesses and blogs into the next stratosphere. We provide guidance, encouragement and a massive dose of inspiration to all levels, from absolute beginners to total pros. It doesn't matter whether you do it for the love, to support your business, or if it's your full-time gig; all that matters is that you have a passion for this crazy thing we call the blogosphere!
Your three headmistresses have very distinct personalities, and an entirely different approach to each of our online identities, but we are all surviving - and thriving! - online. We want to teach you what we've learned in each of our niches, and show you how to use these ideas to achieve mastery in your own arena.
If you'd like to use your blog to attract new clients, we know the best way to do it. If you're feeling frustrated by creating content, we can help you push through the obstacles that are standing in your way. If you want to get a newspaper column, a magazine feature or a book deal, we can tell you all about it. If you want to be inspired, make your blog design really pop, refine your branding and get bigger and better, we're right there with you!
If it exists as a benchmark within blogging, we have either done it or are doing it right now! Gala has been writing online since 1997, Shauna got started in 2001, and Kat began her blog in 2007. In our 31 collective years of experience in the world of blogging, we have truly dealt with the good, the bad and the ugly. We want to share our greatest lessons with you in two action-packed days!
And it doesn't end there. After the last B-shaped balloon is packed away, the community remains. Regular, real-life meet-ups, a thriving forum and access to constantly-updated resources are all at your fingertips. The Blogcademy zips by in two days, but the relationships you've formed can last a lifetime.
What Will I Learn?
On Day One, we start with the blogging essentials, from layout basics to learning how to create and refine your digital persona. We discuss finding inspiration and picking the right topics for your blog, creating brilliant content, extracting the maximum juice out of social media and conducting a digital brand audit.
After a jolly good night's rest, we crack on to Day Two where we talk a whole lot about monetisation, from advertising to creating your own products (and everything that falls in between!). We give you the skinny on building a brand from scratch, how to network without feeling like a sleaze, how to take great photos, essential business documents and creating a blogging action plan.
At The Blogcademy, our focus is not just on being online; we understand the importance of establishing legitimacy in the offline world, too. Woven throughout the two days, we'll be driving home lessons on discovering your own voice and showcasing your personality, making brand connections and working on campaigns, as well as dealing with the not-so-nice bits of blogging!
We'll tell you everything we know about dealing with big brands (and maintaining a sense of self and integrity!); getting a newspaper or magazine column; self-publishing and digital products; creating a magazine (as well as editing, designing and distributing it!); blogging managers and agents, and how to get a book deal! We'll teach you how to write your own blogging business plan, as well as encourage you to set goals to keep you motivated.
But it's not all function and no form: we also share essential design tips and elements to enhance the look and feel of what you do. It's one thing to have a cohesive look across all your online properties, but it's another thing entirely to know if they accurately represent you or your business. Shauna has half a decade of real world experience at top ad agencies and design studios, which have given her a sophisticated and beautiful view of design, both online and off. She brings this expertise to class and is thrilled to share her perspectives with you!
Finally, the headmistresses will be assessing your blog and giving you personalised recommendations on what you can do to take your online presence to the next level. This is an unbelievable opportunity to have your work appraised by some of the best in the business, and if you take our advice, you'll see incredible growth!
Meet The Headmistresses
Gala Darling
Writer, Founder of Gala Darling
Gala Darling built a six-figure business in four years, starting with nothing but a domain name and plenty of enthusiasm! She has worked with everyone from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to Starbucks, and had way too much fun on the way!
Gala has been featured in The New York Times, New Zealand Herald, Teen Vogue, New York Post, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Time Out New York, Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, Next, Cleo, Girlfriend, The Age and Sunday Herald Sun, as well as on CBS and ABC News, among others. She has spoken at TEDxCMU, SXSW, Independent Fashion Bloggers, Altitude Design Summit, Social Media Week, and many schools.
Shauna Haider
Graphic Designer and Founder of Nubby Twiglet
Shauna Haider is a graphic designer with five years of hands-on experience at ad agencies and design studios on both print and digital projects. Additionally, she has worked extensively with upwards of 100 small businesses, assisting them in creating memorable campaigns and unique branding experiences.
Well-versed in both print and web, some of the more recognizable brands she's partnered with include Adidas, Forever 21, Nike, Skullcandy, Smith Optics, Solestruck, Virgin Records and The Wall Street Journal.
The author of popular design and lifestyle blog Nubby Twiglet which focuses on both design and style aesthetics as well as applicable design advice, Shauna's role (beyond the visuals and branding of Blogcademy) will be to offer a unique perspective on building a brand from scratch, complete with real life examples as well as adding that extra level of professional polish to branding materials. She's not afraid to spill the beans on what you should include in a media kit and is an open book on advice including how to forge creative relationships with big-name brands. Addtionally, if you're a creative company that's not focused on ad revenues, find out how a blog can still help propel your business to the next level.
Kat Williams
Founder of Rock n Roll Bride, Editor-in-Chief of Rock n Roll Bride Magazine
Kat Williams runs one of the biggest wedding blogs in the world. She launched the site while planning her own wedding after becoming jaded by the limited offerings of the UK wedding industry. She saw a niche for alternative wedding inspiration and ran with it! Kat now works on the site, and the ever growing Rock n Roll Bride brand, alongside husband Gareth.
As the first UK wedding blog, Rock n Roll Bride has been featured in every major UK wedding magazine as well as many around the world. Outside of the wedding industry bubble Rock n Roll Bride has also been featured in mainstream publications including Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Easy Living, Company and The British Journal of Photography as well as in The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Daily Express newspapers. Kat has a monthly column in Photo Professional Magazine and she also publishes her own print magazine!
In addition to talking about weddings all day, Kat gives business advice in her own inimitable fashion in the Green Room, an area of Rock n Roll Bride where she shares tips and tricks about running your own small business. She also hosts blogging workshops up and down the UK, as well as guest speaking at as many as she can get invited to!
Still Not Sure If The Blogcademy Is For You?
Check out our FAQ and 10 reasons to become a Blogcademy graduate!
