Attending Alt Summit SLC Summer was one of the best experiences of my life.  I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I’ve done several free online classes through Alt Summit + Alt for Everyone. These were pretty great too, but if you ever get the chance to attend Alt Summit SLC, you NEED to take advantage of that opportunity!

The things I learned at Alt are things that I plan to use. I have gone to countless conferences where I had some good takeaways, but Alt actually taught me things to better myself + my blog. I won’t go into everything thing I learned, but I do want to sum up my Alt experience with 10 things that I learned.

1.  Go out + make opportunities.

Joy Cho gave a extremely motivational keynote. She shared her experience and made it clear that you have to be a go-getter to get what you want. Figure out what you want to do and then do it!

2. Know your numbers.

Ryan Stern (@collectivelyinc) + Ashlee Prisbrey (@imtopsyturvy) showed the averages of blogs in the various stages of blogging. They encouraged us to use Google Analytics because of the information it can provide about your blog + your audience.

3. Dream BIG!

Alice Yoo + Eugene Kim of My Modern Met taught about growing your community. You should set goals, long term, and then break them down into steps. Believe in yourself and work hard!  They showed this video during their session and I’m sharing it with you!

4. Share your story.

Sarah Deragon of Portraits to the People + Lisa Anderson Shaffer of Zelma Rose really broke Instagram down! I came away with SO many tips and tricks to really step up my Instagram game. They also gave us a coupon to Photojojo and I plan to use mine to get the Foldio that they showed us.

Practice, practice, practice. I’m thinking a photo challenge may need to happen…Maybe I’ll come up with my own!

5. Stop + smell the roses.

Audrey King of French Knot Studios made us get hands on with photo styling. She gave us supplies a few basic tips and said that the best way to learn is to do. So we did! The pointers she shared allowed me to take a step back, see what I was working with, and gave me the confidence to try all kinds of things…I was even asked if I was a photographer a couple of times!

6. Get growing!

These ladies (PJ Feinstein of A Girl Named PJ, Tan Rutley of Squirrelly Minds, Ciera Holzenthal of Ciera Design, Mariah Danielsen of Oh What Love, and Melissa Bahen of Lulu the Baker) kill it when it comest to collaborating, period. They inspired me to think outside the box and consider new ways to engage.

7. Media worth considering.

I use social media. Mostly Instagram + Twitter. I’ve tried Google+, but Jamie Dorobek of C.R.A.F.T. really made me want to give it another go! And Meg Conley of Meg in Progress + Kris Schoels of Young Married Chic talked about break into radio and TV. I plan to try more videos and now maybe even podcasting…

8.  Sponsors are your friends.

All the Alt sponsors were amazing! I learned to see them as people, because they are, and that changed everything for me. During her keynote, Martha Stewart even spilled that Home Depot loves to work with bloggers.

I’m sad Alt is over, but it was just the spark I needed!

 

All photos in this post were obtained from the Alt Summit Flickr Photostream.

 

Also, side note, if you’re not following me on Instagram, you should! Check out my giveaway!