Photography: Happy Living

Did I mention that I’m off to New York next Wednesday for the next round of Blogcademy workshops? Gosh where is the time going this year?! I’m so super excited. NYC might just be my favourite city in the whole world, and of course I get to see some of my favourite people in the whole world while I’m there too.

If you’re a last minute booking kinda gal we have a few spaces in the NYC class still available as well as some for the Minneapolis one the following weekend. We’d love to see you there!

Cripes, I have so much to do before then though, must dash. I’m a busy, busy, busy bee. I hope you enjoy this week’s links before you run off though…

♥ If you’re on the lookout for a new theme for your WordPress blog, this search tool is awesome
♥ Facebook ads: good for likes, bad for sales
♥ The business of blogging
♥ The art of being a goal-getter

“So often people think that as soon as they set up shop (their website, a retail location, an ad in a magazine, etc.), the world will come knocking. But no one will know about what you do or what you have to offer unless you tell them and show them.” Joy Cho

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Photography: Hungry Girl Porvida

Yesterday I was in North London shooting an editorial for the brand new edition of the print magazine. It. Was. Amazing. I had such an incredible team, two stunning models and the venue, Belt Craft Studios, was just… WOW. I really had to resist the urge to Instagram everything because there’s nothing worse than too many sneak peeks and when you see the final shots it feels like you’ve already seen it all! But believe me, this baby is going to be good. It’s definitely something you might not expect from me too, I can’t wait to hear what you all think.

Issue 3 can’t come soon enough, especially since we completely sold out of issue 2 recently. Can you believe that!? We’re still currently working to a mid-August deadline so fingers and toes crossed that it all comes together in time please!

So, how has your week been?

♥ Why you should blog to get your next job
♥ So you want to speak at a conference?
♥ Why powerful women make the best friends
♥ Three ways to say no to people who want to pick your brain

“If you want people to value your time then you have to put a value on it” – Marie Forelo

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Photography: via Martha Stewart

Being friends with other bloggers is totally awesome. I was reminded of this just yesterday when I had a lunch date with the gorgeous Emily of Fashion Foie Gras, who I met at the Cosmopolitan Superbloggers Masterclass. It’s the same as when I hang out with Gala and Shauna (19 sleeps and counting!) because we don’t have to worry about feeling weird wanting to photograph our outfits or document our hang-out, talking through the benefits of twitter vs facebook or discussing the latest internet drama. To us this is all totally normal behaviour!

Being a blogger can be quite an isolating career path if you let it. If you work for yourself (especially if you’re at home on your own) I can’t encourage you enough to get yourself out there, make friends with your peers and all be weird together.

Have a fabulous weekend guys.

♥ Four pricing principles to never forget. The biggest common mistakes is “believing everyone should be happy to pay for your product” – they shouldn’t!
♥ Is making money from blogging passive income?
♥ Oversharing, how much is too much on social media?
♥ How to set up your own online shop
♥ Stop hiding and make it happen!
♥ If you one read (and watch) one this thing week let it be Marie Forleo interviewing Sally Hogshead about how to be fascinating. I had so many lightbulb moments watching it!

“You don’t have to change who you are to become your most successful. In fact it’s the opposite, you need to become more of who you are ” Sally Hogshead

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Photography: The Wedding Chicks

I’ve learnt a lot about what it takes to launch a new business of late. Not so much with Rock n Roll Bride, which I kind of fell into by accident, but with The Blogcademy, the bloggers workshop that I launched with Gala and Shauna in the latter part of last year. Its actually really crazy to think how far we’ve come, the lessons we’ve learnt and the changes we’ve already made (to the promotion, the online presence and the curriculum that we teach!) but it’s been really valuable having to do it so quickly.

Starting a business which immediately needs to be profitable is hard bloody work. I know this sounds like an obvious and pretty dumb thing to say, but unless you’re in it right now, it can be hard to remember what it was like when you first started out. It’s a constant work in progress and sometimes feels like a bit of an uphill struggle but it’s totally worth it and obviously super satisfying when it pays off. If you come to a class, I promise we’ll tell you all about it!

It’s funny that I’ve been thinking about that this week as a lot of the business related links I’ve found are to do with starting over or starting from scratch. Weird huh?

♥ What would you do if you had to start your business from scratch?
♥ Five tips for designing a company logo
♥ Are you charging enough?
♥ Feeling lost? How to start over when things fall apart

“If you go through life knowing that every problem is solving a greater purpose, somehow its making you stonger and smarter, you’re going to look for, and find, an empowering lesson in every situation.” Marie Forleo

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Photography: Ellie Gillard Photography

I’m hungry. I’ve been doing the Clean Program Refresh all week (more on this soon!) and whilst I initially moaned about being a little hungrier than usual, as I came to the end of the seven day programme I had a moment of clarity. In a metaphorical way, being hungry is undoubtedly a good thing. Hunger is what forces us to go out and make changes. Hunger is what encourages us to re-evaluate what we’re doing and if we’re on the right path. Hunger makes us long for something better and pushes us to achieve it.

I am hungry for change. To change how I do certain things and act in certain situations. I’m not perfect at this business stuff, but I’m doing my best. Muddling through in the best way I know how… Now please excuse me while I crack open this packet of biscuits to celebrate my amazing moment of clarity.

♥ Why I don’t care about SEO
♥ The joy of accounting (boooo!)
♥ Why being ‘all booked up’ is ruining your business
♥ Did we exist before social media?

“A friend once told me that social media was like being at a party where everyone’s high on cocaine—they’re all talking at the same time and no one’s listening, all while trying to look good and sound smart.” Paul Jarvis

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Photography: You are my Fave

Yesterday Gareth & I hotfooted it to Brighton for a mini shoot with the inimitable Lisa Devlin for our magazine. Did I mention that I’m working – hard! – on the next issue right now? Oh yes, I am soooo super excited about it because I just know it’s going to be even bigger and better than the last two editions. I’m actually taking the idea in a brand new direction and I’m super duper psyched to see what you all think about it! Onwards and upwards and all that…

In other news, next Tuesday I’m taking part on Cosmopolitan Magazine’s superblogger masterclass. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty darn nervous about it all. I’d love to see some friendly faces there, so if you’re able to get to London next Tuesday evening and you have a spare £30 lying around (honestly, what a bargain!) I’d love to see you. There’s a cocktail reception before it starts too so we can all gather for a drink and steady our nerves together. Now that sure sound like a jolly good plan to me!

Now please excuse me while I try not to have a mini meltdown…

♥ Twelve blogging income streams
♥ How to handle online bullying
♥ Nine signs its time to quit your blog
♥ How to know when it’s time to move on
♥ How to write copy that goes viral

“The best approach is to write for just one person. Make an impact on just one person. Even better, make it so they can’t sleep that night unless they choose to make a difference for just one other person by sharing your message with them” Seth Godin

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