I had the pleasure of speaking at my first large scale conference in March...two weeks before Covid-19 hit the US hard and things started shutting down. I’m thankful the conference happened and that I could share my tips on reclaiming your creative time using automation. Here’s a picture of me on the stage delivering the goods :)

I attended so many sessions and took so many useful notes and wanted to share the most memorable gems that I caught there.

1. “Success is doing what you want when you want to” -Soledad O'Brien

Opening Keynote

The opening keynote was with Soledad O’Brien and I was so stoked to listen to her speak. It was the perfect way to get the positive energy flowing and kick off the conference. I loved this quote because she’s simply saying success is freedom. The thing is, freedom to one person is totally different to another. It’s important to know what your definition of freedom is and strive to accomplish it rather than trying to replicate someone else’s definition of freedom.

2. “You must customize your process to who you are.”- Sarajane Case

Making Content Creation Work For You- Solo Talk

I loved the Solo Talk by Sarajane Case. This quote flows perfectly from Soledad’s because your processes must align with who you are. For example, I’m a lover of digital tools (apps, note taking tools, automated tasks, etc.), but digital is not the way for many people...and that’s okay! Everyone does not thrive equally by taking the same approach as someone else. You have to know what works well for you even down to the time of day when you’re most productive. I am a night owl and get my best work done in the middle of the night (like right now at 3:30am). Others thrive early in the morning. Each approach is fine...whatever works best for you is what you should do. Don’t let others shame you for not getting up early to work on your blog/biz, and don’t let them shame you for not staying up late to work. Cliche, but everyone’s path is different including the vehicle they’re driving to get there.

3. “Content attracts brands, not always the numbers” - Rosie Nguyen

How to create content that compels- Roundtable

I loved this roundtable session because Rosie dropped plenty of gems as a successful online influencer. We tend to get caught up in our social media numbers and get down about them if it’s not growing at a rate that we want. One important thing to remember here is that we shouldn’t be investing so much time into social platforms that we do not own or control the data and algorithms on. We especially shouldn’t get down about the numbers when it’s well known that people buy followers. Sometimes you’re comparing your numbers to an account with followers that aren’t even real. Of course the most important thing is your engagement rate; who wants 500k followers and only 30 people engaging with the content? Brands are getting smarter and are now asking for engagement rates because that is much more meaningful than just a following. So instead of focusing on the numbers all the time, start focusing on creating helpful and useful content that your audience will be excited about and actively engaging and sharing. I always tell my friends that you never know who is watching your feed, so run it as if it’s being watched by huge brands. When you think with that mindset your quality will instantly improve.

4. “Know your audience and why they’re there.” - Rosie Nguyen

How to create content that compels- Roundtable

This is such an important gem! It’s important to know who your audience is so you can create content, products and services that they want. There is no purpose in creating content that you love and not even thinking about your audience. You should be surveying them and getting their insight so you will know what content to create. Don’t be a fashion blogger then post a random post about cars. Stay on brand and aligned with your audience and their needs.

Related: Automating Market Research

5. “What sets your course apart- It's YOU that the course is coming from, it's your story, perspective and expertise” - Pearl Pilbeam/Pearlybird Creative

Creating Amazing Online Courses - Workshop

Pearl broke this down in a simple way. Just be you! There is no one else you can be better than but yourself. Individuality is a great thing and what makes the world such an interesting place to be. Though Pearl taught strategies for creating an amazing online course, that quote can be applied to life at all times. Here’s something to think about…there are so many glazed doughnuts being made by different brands…and they’re all selling. It’s the same product, but each brand has put their own spin on it to make it unique and appealing to their audience. This goes for bloggers and content creators as well! Sure, there are plenty of people blogging about food, but they each do it in their own unique way tailored for what their audience wants to see. It’s important not to get caught up in thoughts of an over-saturated market and instead think of how you are going to stand out from the crowd.

6. “Only you can be you and you're as awesome as you need to be” - Alison Faulkner

Closing Keynote Speaker

Alison was an awesome closing speaker because her energy and message was the perfect thing to ponder on as you left the conference and traveled home. She had plenty of awesome quotables, but this quote stood out to me. With social media, bloggers, influencers, etc. it is difficult not to get caught up in thoughts of imposter syndrome. You see people that are in the same niche as you and they seem to be doing things better than you are. They seem to have it all together meanwhile you’re just trying to figure out what your next blog post is going to be about. You start feeling like an imposter and like you’re not really an expert in your niche, because someone else was doing it so much better than you. To this I call BS. While imposter syndrome is real, it’s important to stay focused on the right things and channel those thoughts into positive energy and action. You don’t need to change anything about yourself because your uniqueness and personality will attract your audience.

7. “Let go of your agenda and have an open mind” - Cyndie Spiegel

Keynote Speaker

I feel like this is a bonus tip because although I didn’t attend Cyndie’s session, I did see an image that someone shared containing a few of her quotes from her keynote.

I feel like the word Agenda is a double entendre here. In one sense, Agenda can be the plan you have set for yourself and sticking to a planned path to get there- so Agenda meaning your main goal. In another sense, Agenda can be a literal agenda of how you run your day- so Agenda meaning schedule. Schedules and routine are definitely great, but it’s important to expose yourself to new and different things so you can constantly get new and different ideas. It’s also important to think outside of your box and be open to pivoting. Sometimes the things that we are working on just aren’t getting us where we want to go and pivoting is necessary. Change is not always a bad thing; it’s all in how you define it!

I felt compelled to share these quotes because although Alt Summit was nearly 5 months ago, these quotes can be applied at any time in your life. I think especially now that we are all going through this pandemic, we can use some positive words to keep us encouraged and in the right headspace for blogging and running a business (ex: not falling victim to the comparison monster).

Have you attended Alt Summit before? If so, what did you think? Leave a comment below!