Hi girls! Today I’m chatting about the 3rd and final day of the rewardStyle conference I attended two weeks ago. Make sure you’re caught up on the other two posts! If you ever get the opportunity to attend #rStheCon, it’s a definite must. I learned so many things and met so many great friends! One of the biggest advantages of attending the conference is the networking opportunities you have! There are bloggers and brand reps everywhere you turn! So I am giving you 5 tips for networking in the blogging business!
5 Tips for Networking in the Blogging Business
1. Don’t be shy! So I am not necessarily a shy person, but amidst 200 of the most successful bloggers, I certainly wasn’t feeling overly confident. ha! But I went into the #rStheCon weekend with the mindset of just going for it! I knew that I had a short, 3 days to make as many great impressions as possible. And I wasn’t going to be making an impression on anyone by just sitting in the corner on my phone. If there was a brand rep I wanted to meet, I just walked right on up and introduced myself! Even though they had absolutely NO idea who I was, probably not even once I told them my blog name if we’re honest, I still just went for it! Introduce yourself, smile, and give a firm handshake! I even introduced myself to Rachel Parcell which was somewhat intimidating because she is seriously at the top of the fashion blogger world! That may sound silly to most people, but no one is ever going to turn down an introduction! It’s always worth it to just go for it!
2. Always have a business card / media kit! I handed out countless business cards and media kits during the rewardStyle conference. If I was chatting with a blogger and wanted to make sure we were following each other, I made sure we exchanged business cards! I tried to get my card in the hand of anyone who would take it! ha! Kidding. Sort of. And every time I met a brand representative, I gave them my media kit. I wanted them to have something to ‘take away‘ from meeting me. I knew they were all meeting 200 bloggers in 2 days and there was a fat chance they would just happen to remember me the next time they were looking for a blogger to collaborate with. So I wanted them to have my media kit- because it has my picture and all the basic information about my blog- to keep me in their sights!
3. Be relatable & make connections! Any time I talked to someone {blogger or brand} I tried to have a REAL conversation. I would ask them where they were from, how they started their blog/started working at the brand, etc. This gave me a chance to get to know them a little bit better AND a chance for them to get to know me. I’ll be completely honest with you… I don’t really feel like my blog is ‘big‘ enough for someone to remember so having a personal connection makes all the difference! As I talked about in this post, relationships are everything! So don’t just meet someone, get their name and what they do- LEARN about them! ASK questions! And SHARE about yourself!
4. Go the extra mile! This is probably the best thing you can do to network at an event like #rStheCon! Go a little above and beyond what a brand might expect. If you have a great conversation with someone, follow up with a thank you email or better yet, write a short notecard! One of the best personal examples I have of this was something I did in the Networking Room. This is a room where all of the brands have a small booth area with some of their new arrivals and you can roam around and chat with the representatives! I was at one of the brand booths looking at their new arrivals and I was learning about some of the really cool features of their products. I asked if I could share some of the designs and details in an Instastory. The rep thought that was such a cool idea that I ended up getting a pretty substantial giftcard! Also, a few hours later I got a DM from that brand asking if I could meet again and I got to pick out 7 or 8 items to take home with me! Because the brand felt like I was doing something a little extra, they reciprocated! It was definitely a great connection to make and I look forward to continuing a good relationship with that amazing brand!!
5. Follow up! After a CRAZY and busy weekend like #rStheCon, it’s always a good idea to follow up with the networking connections you made in the next week or so. You can do this through an email or a snail mail note! Sometimes hand written notes and thank yous are just the best. If you made a personal connection with someone like I mentioned above, this is just another way to get your name out there and remind them of who you are! For brands, when it comes time for them to select bloggers for an upcoming campaign, this can help you be at the forefront of their mind!
I am certainly no networking master or expert but these are the tips that I feel best helped me to successfully navigate the rewardStyle conference! If you have other great ideas, I would love for you to share them below! Now let’s get on to a quick recap of the final day of #rStheCon!
The day started early for me because I had a brand meeting at 9:00 am sharp! I opted for this floral romper and these comfy wedges. This romper is super flattering and has the cutest details! Plus, it’s on sale right now! After my meeting I spent a little bit of time in the Networking Room before heading to my last classroom session. We then had an amazing lunch hosted by Topshop! It was seriously stunning! Through the afternoon I had two more brand meetings, spent a bit more time in the Networking Room and then had a meeting with my rewardStyle rep. Once all of that was wrapped up I had about two hours to finally relax before getting ready for the finale party! My roommates and I decided to order pizza so we just sat around, chatted, laughed and stuffed our faces with pizza. ha! The finale party was ‘black tie optional‘ which left me pretty stumped when outfit planning for the trip. I ultimately decided on this dress and felt it was perfect for the occasion! I got SO many compliments on the color!
For the finale party we were shuttled from the hotel to the Wyly Theatre for a progressive party. The first hour started on the rooftop! When then progressed down to the lobby for the second hour! It was so much fun to see everyone really dressed up and check out all of the gorgeous dresses. Towards the end of the second hour we were told there would be a surprise! We made our way outside and soon a dancing drum line appeared! They were so talented! For the final hour we made our way to a massive tent for one big dance party. It was probably one of the highlights of the whole weekend for me! It was so much fun to cut loose and have a really good time.
Overall the rewardStyle Conference was an absolutely wonderful experience. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to go! YOU are a big reason for that opportunity. I honestly don’t say it enough but I am beyond blessed by all of you that take the time to read this little ‘ol blog and support me in this adventure. I appreciate y’all more than you know! I hope that I am able to go back next year {even though I will have to fly to Dallas since we are moving!} and get to do it all again. Thank you so much for reading through my #rStheCon posts this week. Don’t forget to check out Day 1 and Day 2 if you haven’t already! Have a great weekend babes! xox
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I hope you had fun girl, I love that green dress you wore!
These are SUCH great tips Kelssey! I know you had an amazing time!
These are such great tips, and you looked fabulous while you were there too!
xo, Lily
Beauty With Lily
love that wall!!
Jenna from http://www.visionsofvogue.com
I absolutely love your advice in this post! As a smaller blogger sometimes I can get down on myself, but this is a great reminder that just by being "you" – that can often be the most impressive thing of all!
Great tips!! Way to be innovative with your insta stories! I totally need to get better at putting myself out there annnnd figure out how to build a media kit, ha just to name a few things on the "to do" list. The floral romper is my absolute fav!
I am so happy you wrote this post! It was so fun to follow all the bloggers that attended on social media- makes me want to work extra hard on my blog to hopefully be invited next year! All of these tips are great, not only for this conference, but for networking in general! Going to be very useful- thank you!!
xo Kelsey | http://www.chasingcinderellablog.com
So cute babe!
Sabrina | Gypsy Tan
These are great tips!! I was so excited to get invited this year, but bummed I couldn't make it! Saving this post for future reference!!
Such great tips! It looks like you had a blast.
Sounds like you had an amazing time! These are always such great tips. I always have my business cards handy!
xo Jessica
http://www.whatsfordinneresq.com
I would love to make to the rS conference someday! It looked like so much fun!
xx,
Amanda || http://www.fortheloveofglitter.com