The Blogger Union: Blogger Communities, Education, Networking & Collaboration

As a blogger, content creator, influencer, or entrepreneur there are two things you need to own. One is your website. The second is your mailing list. Owning these two important assets allows you to always reach your audience. No matter what happens in the social media landscape, having a mailing list gives you direct access to your loyal readers. Using this direct line to your subscribers is one of the keys to monetizing your brand. So let’s get started and start building your mailing list! Sign Up For Flodesk The first step to building a mailing list is signing up for an email marketing service provider. I recommend Flodesk because: Flodesk offers a great service for an incredibly low price. You can try Flodesk for FREE (without adding a credit card) and if you use my affiliate link below you’ll get 50% off. Flodesk has beautiful email templates that make it easy for anyone to start their mailing list. Click here to start a Flodesk account Setup Your Flodesk Account Setup Your Welcome Email Setup your welcome email. Create your audience segments. Connect your email form to your wordpress website. What To Email Your Subscribers It takes work to grow …

Join us and Lutze B. Segu as we talk about how we can use our platform for positive social change. We’ll be discussing what actions we can take to combat racial injustice. Our society needs to listen and learn for real change. As influencers, we have hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of people who go to us for advice. We have a unique opportunity to make a real difference. Watch The Webinar Replay: Using Your Influence For Social Justice About Lutze B. Segu (www.lutzesegu.com) Lutze (loot-see) Segu is a first-generation Haitian-American who is a citizen of Miami, FL, which is the traditional and ancestral home of the Seminole, Miccosukee, & Tequesta First Nations. Lutze is a multipotentialite. She is a writer, social worker, Black feminist thinker, racial justice practitioner & doctoral student at the University of British Columbia studying Gender, Race, Sexuality, & Social Justice. Lutze is a social justice doula who creates the conditions for social justice learning and transformation to happen. Her work is done primarily through the antiracist feminist coaching that she does with individuals and organizations. She helps people and organizations operationalize their social justice values. Lutze believes that political education is a love language. You …

As a network of blogger communities we renew our commitment to directing our influence towards positive social change that is long overdue. The Blogger Union leadership stands in solidarity with the black community in this historic push for justice.  We also take a stance against injustice in action. Here are some ways you can too: Educate yourself Read the books listen to the podcasts TED talks follow activists on social media Here’s a list to get started: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BRlF2_zhNe86SGgHa6-VlBO-QgirITwCTugSfKie5Fs/mobilebasic Donate to organizations making a difference NAACP Southern Poverty Law Center Color of Change The Sentencing Project  The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.  Vote at State and Local Elections “But the elected officials who matter most in reforming police departments and the criminal justice system work at the state and local levels.

February 9th, 2020 was a beautiful day for the South Florida Blogger Awards, with a cool breeze at the lovely grounds of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. We’re excited every year to celebrate the achievements of our bloggers and the constant support and collaboration amongst those in our community is truly great to see. All of our work throughout the year culminate in this fun event celebrating our love for the creatives who inspire and amaze us. Scroll to the list below to see the award winners who’ve inspired us in 2019. Ceremony Excitement Indoors As attendees arrived, they strolled the Montgomery Garden House lawn to a large sailcloth tent housing food stations, tables and floral arrangements. This, with sponsor booths, creative backdrops and the garden house itself all made for a beautiful indoor/outdoor setting. When it came time for the awards ceremoney, Paola Mendez, our founder, kicked off the excitement on stage and talked about her admiration and gratitude for our community’s achievements in 2019.  She has worked hard to grow the South Florida Bloggers and The Blogger Union nationally and it shows. Keep an eye out for more blogger awards shows around the country in the future! By the …

It’s that time of the year, we have to prepare our tax returns for ourselves and our business. Join us and learn the best tips for submitting your taxes now that you have a blog. Our panelists LeeBetsy Charon from The Craft Accountant and Franklin A Jara, Esq. will be sharing accounting and legal advice for bloggers, content creators, and influencers. Not sure if your purchases are tax deductible? When should you start a company for your blog? What terminology should you look out for in a partnership contract? Does a brand have the right to use your images on their social media without permission? Bring all your tax and legal questions and get some clarity in your content creation business. RSVP Now Powered by Eventbrite Speakers LeeBetsy Charon (facebook.com/thecraftaccountant) The Craft Accountant takes the worry behind your organization’s finances and frees you from wasting time on tasks that don’t add value to clients or contribute to bottom line. Owner, LeeBetsy Charon, specializes on running organizations’ finances including licensing, permitting, taxes, accounting, and payroll. Allowing craft breweries and small business owners to focus on their business. Stay true to craft, grow the numbers.  Franklin A. Jara, Esq. (jaralaw.com) Franklin A. Jara concentrates his …

Thank you to AARP for sponsoring this post. #AARP_Partner What age do you consider to be old? We posed that question to millennials and asked them to show us what “old” looks like. Then we introduced them to some real “old” people. Watch what happens when folks let go of their outdated beliefs and embrace the idea that aging is not about decline – it’s about growth. #Disrupt Aging

February 9th, 2020 was a beautiful day for the South Florida Blogger Awards, with a cool breeze at the lovely grounds of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. We’re excited every year to celebrate the achievements of our bloggers and the constant support and collaboration amongst those in our community is truly great to see. All of our work throughout the year culminate in this fun event celebrating our love for the creatives who inspire and amaze us. Scroll to the list below to see the award winners who’ve inspired us in 2019. Ceremony Excitement Indoors As attendees arrived, they strolled the Montgomery Garden House lawn to a large sailcloth tent housing food stations, tables and floral arrangements. This, with sponsor booths, creative backdrops and the garden house itself all made for a beautiful indoor/outdoor setting. When it came time for the awards ceremoney, Paola Mendez, our founder, kicked off the excitement on stage and talked about her admiration and gratitude for our community’s achievements in 2019.  She has worked hard to grow the South Florida Bloggers and The Blogger Union nationally and it shows. Keep an eye out for more blogger awards shows around the country in the future! By the …

Are you earning income from your blog? Join us to hear how to set rates and get paid as a content creator and influencer in 2020. Veteran blogger and monetization coach Danielle Faust of OKDani.com will offer tips on earning income for your content from ads, affiliates and sponsored work. Join us at Her Power Space, the new coworking space in Sunrise by Michelle Talbert. Photo branding experiences also available by Unforgettable Entertainment. RSVP to Save Your Spot Date: Saturday, March 7th, from 11 am to 1 pm Location: Her Power Space, 4300 N. University Drive, Suite F-100, Sunrise, FL 33351 Free with RSVP. Guest Speaker:Danielle Faust Danielle Faust is an intuitive life and wellness coach and freelance writer based in South Florida. She candidly creates written and video content for OKDani.com, a positive lifestyle blog focused on wellness, manifesting and travel. She has partnered with numerous brands during her decade making a living as a blogger and now coaches bloggers, influencers and small business owners on how to monetize their digital presence as well. The mom of two also hosts the “Manifest It, Sis!” podcast and writes a monthly column in Birth of a Woman magazine.  Find her on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, Facebook. Sponsors: Thank …

Beauty blogging is a big category for our local bloggers, so we’re especially excited to welcome BoxyCharm as a sponsor of the 2019 South Florida Blogger Awards. BoxyCharm is a pioneer of monthly beauty subscriptions and works closely with bloggers and influencers on social media. So it’s no surprise they’ll be presenting the Best Beauty Blogger award, with CEO Joe Martin doing the honors himself. Join us at the award ceremony to meet CEO Joe Martin and to find out who will be named Best Beauty Blogger in South Florida. And there will be goodies too! BoxyCharm is providing every attendee with a box of full-size beauty goodies! Follow @BoxyCharm Follow @BoxyCharm on Instagram or Facebook and visit them online at boxycharm.com. Get Tickets Be sure to get your ticket for the South Florida Blogger Awards. Tickets are $25 in advance and $50 at the door. And Vote! Have you voted for your favorite Beauty Blogger? Voting closes January 30.

On Thursday, Feb. 22nd 2020, The DC Chapter of the Blogger Union was honored to have two local DC Bloggers, Emily from theemilyedition.com and her sister Kate from classyandkate.com to hear all things Travel Blogging at The Furniture Department at Macy’s at Fashion Centre Pentagon City ! They covered a variety of topics to include photography and editing, drones, pitching, and planning content while traveling. Below is a recap of what we learned: Establishing a brand: Have a professional email address and website. It gives you credibility and professionalism. You don’t have to start with a paid domain, you can give a free website a trial run first. Have a nice email signature and an email address that comes directly from your website domain. Think of interviewing for a job, how do you stand out and set yourself apart?  Be open to trying new things and finding your niche. Being present and consistent is important when working with brands. Having engagement from followers helps show it will be a mutually beneficial partnership. Working with travel brands (getting started/pitching): Start creating content that shows what you can provide. When you travel, take photos of all of the different amenities at your hotel, tag the hotels …

On Sunday, January 12th, the DC Bloggers hosted their first event of 2020 at the premier hair salon in DC, Ian McCabe Studio at their West End location. Sara McDermott, Founder of Eleven Eleven PR talked all things Public Relations for Bloggers. Here are the top three takeaways from this sold-out event: It is important to establish your identity. The better you can define who you are when you reach out to PR companies, the better a company can match you with events and brands. PR companies love when you reach out to them! Keep it conversational in your initial email; avoid sounding like a spam email. Define your opportunity beforehand- Is it paid? What exactly are you offering? What is the timing for blog feedback? Who controls the brand voice? Who approves the post? Thank you to Ian McCabe Studio, Eleven Eleven PR, and Arch Photography for capturing this event!

On Sunday, November 24th, the DC Chapter of the Blogger Union hosted their first-ever Blogger Closet Sale where over 30 members of the Blogger Union sold their closets at eLofts located in Alexandria, Virginia. Thank you to all the people who came to shop our closets, our blogger members and all our vendors, e-Lofts, Disciple Coffee, Eyeobee Photobooth and C. Nwosu Photography! Comment below if you are interested in attending another Closet Sale coming late Summer 2020!

We kicked off the new year with an exciting presentation made by Sian and Lorna from The Roman Guy and Katie from The Hostel Girl at the brand new hostel, The Rome Hello, located in the center of Rome, just a short walk from Repubblica metro station. February’s meetup was all on brand and influencer collaborations with Katie sharing her tips and advice on the influencer side and Sian and Lorna sharing their advice on the brand side. They spoke about their experiences working with brands/influencers, the right way on approaching collaborations, and do’s and dont’s. The evening started with a brief introduction by everyone. We had a full house this evening with a total of 25 people present! The Rome Hello was kind enough to offer those attending complimentary wine and prosecco to start the evening off. After the initial introduction, we went straight into the presentation with Sian, Lorna, Katie, and Estrella answering questions and speaking on their previous experiences with collaborating. Some of the points discussed during the meetup were: The Different Ways to Collaborate in return for product/service testing sponsored posts and affiliate programs social media takeovers co-creating content together How to Find One Another How …

We had such a great time during our April meetup with journalist & public radio professional, Katy Sewall, as she spoke on the topic of interviewing. The meetup took place on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Rome at the Alembic restaurant in the neighborhood of Trastevere, as we welcomed a packed house full of bloggers, writers, and photographers. During the presentation, Katy gave us practical tips & tricks we can use for interviewing- not only in a professional setting, but also when having day to day conversations with others. To become a better interviewer, Katy spoke to us about how to bring out personal stories of the people we encounter, how to mine for more depth in their answers, how to create a narrative arc in our questions, and even find out about the common mistakes interviewers make. Katy Sewall is also the host of the internationally known podcast, The Bittersweet Life, alongside co-host Tiffany Parks. Together the duo discuss expat life, repat life, travel, and try to answer some of life’s biggest questions, with some guest interviews along the way. To tune in and subscribe, click here. To summarize the conversation on how to be a good interviewer, here are …

To kick off the end of the year, Rome Bloggers hosted a fun, interactive aperitivo meetup at the Peaky Blinders cocktail bar located right in the center of the city, between Piazza Navona and Castel Sant’Angelo. Peaky Blinders cocktail bar is the perfect place to go sit down and enjoy a drink from their carefully crafted menu. During the aperitivo, they provided us with drinks, cheese, and curated meat while chatting about holiday plans, travel, work & more. Although many of our Rome Blogger members were traveling during this time, we were able to keep the meetup small and intimate to really get to know one another and chat about ideas for future blogger meet-ups. Having this time to chat was well-needed to settle into the end of the year. We plan on having very exciting events to come in the new year and can’t wait to have everyone participate. If you are new to Rome Bloggers, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates on events which are hosted monthly. Also, a huge thank you to Peaky Blinders for hosting us in their beautiful space. If you’d like to check out Peaky Blinders while in …

One of the most beneficial things about being a Blogger Union member is having access to successful content creators in the community who are willing to share their knowledge. Last Sunday, an intimate group of Houston Blogger Union members gathered at Wisteria for a special blogger brunch. Over light bites and mimosas, our members got to ask Anastasia Hansen and Natalie Harms about their accomplished careers as bloggers. Anastasia and Natalie recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of their thriving blog, It’s Not Hou It’s Me. The two hosted our blogger roundtable at Wisteria, Houston’s newest destination for home decor. Wisteria offers traditional furniture and home decor featuring unique designs and one of a kind items. Before the informative workshop took place, we had a full tour of the Wisteria showroom. From a rainbow-hued pillow wall to holiday decor and gifts, the location has all you could ever want for decorating your space. When we finally sat down to chat with Anastasia and Natalie about their exciting five years in the industry, we pressed them on everything from their favorite tools to how they manage their busy schedules. Here are a few of the key takeaways from our conversation: It’s Not Hou …

Vibrant, colorful, fun, and informative—there are too many ways to describe the blast we had at our June meetup. Our June 8th meeting was held at STORY at Macy’s inside of Memorial City Mall. We had the privilege of learning photography tips from Maritere Rice, Houston’s very own the color queen and professional photographer. If you don’t know Maritere, you’ll want to follow her ASAP. Maritere Rice is a contemporary portrait, travel, fashion and lifestyle photographer and content creator located in Houston. She has a passion for inspired living, travel, and color—all of which you’ll see on her vivacious Instagram page. The morning began with members browsing STORY, dining on breakfast from New York Deli & Coffee Shop (catered by Houston Catering Concepts), and indulging their sweet tooth with themed cookies from Dessert Gallery. When the workshop kicked off, Maritere and Chapter Officer Jillian Goltzman kicked off a lively Q&A on all things photography related. Following the Q&A, Maritere gave one-on-one advice to each Blogger Union member so they could perfect their photo game. When our bloggers weren’t striking a pose or staging products at our flat lay station, they were connecting and making new relationships with local content creators. …

Join us for a Q&A session and hands-on tips with Houston photographer Maritere Rice (@mariterec) to learn about photography styling, shooting, and editing. Let STORY at Macy’s be your colorful backdrop as you learn to craft the perfect photo!  What to Expect:  Explore a world of color in one of Houston’s most Instagrammable destinations! From photo walls to flay lay stations, STORY at Macy’s is a colorful playground where our special guest Maritere Rice will be hosting a hands-on workshop to help you craft the perfect shot. Light bites and beverages will be provided by Dessert Gallery and Houston Catering Concepts. What to Bring:  Bring your camera/phone for a hands-on workshop to practice what you learn.  About Maritere:  Maritere Rice is a contemporary portrait, travel, fashion and lifestyle photographer and content creator located in Houston, TX. She has a passion for inspired living, travel and color. Maritere was born and raised in Mexico, and moved to Houston almost 20 years ago after marrying her husband, where they now live with their 4 children. About STORY: STORY, the narrative-driven retail concept shop brings to life an editorial approach to retail in 36 Macy’s stores nationwide. Opening with “Color” as its inaugural …