We had a fantastic launch event in November and got our Chicago chapter up and running! Our very first event ever was a huge success.
We learned all about growing your brand through positive authenticity from local blogger Alexa Morelli. Alexa shared her top tips for growing your brand while being authentically YOU! She has had tremendous growth in her last year of blogging and had a ton of valuable tips to share with our audience of ~40 local bloggers. Some of her tips included:
- Give a GREAT first impression with consistent branding, bios, and photo editing across all your platforms.
- Put yourself out there! Attend events alone, reach out to bloggers you admire and ask for advice, and pitch yourself to brands.
- Be authentic: figure out what makes you YOU and embrace that!
- Learn and Improve constantly but just START. Don’t wait for perfect to start but do commit to learning from your mistakes and constantly evolving.
Alexa shared so much knowledge with us and we are so incredibly grateful that she was our launch speaker. She shared tons of more blogging tips regularly in her own blog at: www.runyourmouthchicago.com
We also got to partner with some AMAZING local businesses for this launch. We were hosted in the incredible You Are Beautiful gallery. You Are Beautiful started as a passion project in 2002 with 100 stickers, with a goal to help people feel better every day. The project was run (and all orders were shipped) out of a two car garage until 2018. YAB HQ was then opened in Chicago, offering a retail store front (open to the public daily), as well asa studio that houses our installations. The space is incredible and message is even better! YAB hosts workshops and events all the time and we definitely plan to be back. You can keep an eye on their storefront offerings here.
No blogging event would be complete without amazing bites and sips. We sipped on delicious cocktails made with Bearcat Bourbon. Bearcat Bourbon is infused bourbon which celebrates the power of women.
Bearcat /bair-kat/ noun is a 1920’s slang term for a fiery-spirited woman. Although whiskey may be known as a “man’s drink”, women played a major role in the history of American whiskey – as early distillers, bootleggers and industry innovators. Bearcat Infused Bourbon was named in honor of the countless women throughout history whose unsung contributions were indispensable to the story of American bourbon whiskey. You can check out this delicious beverage that is PERFECT for cocktails at http://bearcatinfusedbourbon.com/.
We savored delicious cupcakes from Intoxicakes Chicago. Intoxicakes cupcakes are alcohol-infused cupcakes made to order, baked from scratch and crafted with quality spirits to create an unparalleled sophisticated dessert experience. This business is a Chicago-local , female-owned business and we were honored to partner with them and provide our bloggers with delicious bites in several flavors, including margarita and pumpkin-spice! You can place your order for these unique treats here.
None of this would have been possible without the help of the incredible Ratanya Olaves, our very first volunteer who helped with everything from event set-up to day-of photography and social media! Check out her page and send her some love. Our launch was such an amazing event and we can’t wait to keep hosting monthly meet-ups and promoting collaboration over competition!
XOXO
Xi, Chapter Officer
The Chicago Bloggers
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