On November 16 and 17, I had the opportunity to attend the Spark Sessions, a blog conference targeting fashion and beauty bloggers at the Centre for Social Innovation in the Annex area of Toronto. It was supposed to be a networking and learning opportunity for bloggers in the industry where we heard speakers from various related organizations. On the first day, we heard from experts in SEO, branding, as well as tips on building one’s media kit and proper blogger image at events (i.e. don’t pull a Rob Ford). There was also an opportunity to network with brands through “speed dating.” On Day 2, there were sessions on the business of blogging and how to make the most of your photos (which I had to miss) as well as blogging from the PR perspective and how one should pitch to editors. These last two seminars were definitely very interesting to me and probably the most relevant as I would love to work more directly with certain brands as well as with traditional publications. I now know not to be nervous about contacting traditional editors with ideas – you just have to approach them the right way and contact the correct person.
Spark Sessions Logo
At the same time, however, the conference itself seemed to target more towards newer bloggers – people who have had fashion blogs for fewer than, say, two years. If you include DelectablyChic!‘s years as Prospere Magazine, I have been blogging in the lifestyle realm for six years this coming January (and if you include my Shorty Stories days, we would be looking at seven). There were many tips mentioned that were things that I already knew, and frankly, I felt like they were preaching to the choir. Of course, many others might find it more beneficial. Meeting with many brands, including Almay (and most of us got a bag of make-up just from doing so) and Smart Set were great opportunities and of course, it’s always great to hear Jeanne Beker speak (even though I heard that exact same speech at the Sheblogs Conference earlier in the year).
Beauty items from Benefit (left) and Almay I picked up on Day One
So what tips do I have for the organizers for the second event? Definitely break-out sessions, perhaps ones that would be targeted to more experienced bloggers in addition to those for beginners. Smaller groups would also allow attendees to ask more questions, without having to sit through ones that might not be relevant to them or to their blog. The “speed dating” opportunities with brands was also fun – I met with reps from one of my favourite beauty brands, Benefit Cosmetics. However, I came into the session expecting to speak with more than one brand – isn’t the whole purpose of “speed dating” to speak with multiple? When Spark Sessions sent me an email to check off four companies I’d like to meet during the speed dating session, I expected to see at least two (or maybe even three), and I think it should have been a little clearer that we’d only be meeting with one (and of course, not calling it “speed dating”). But it was a good learning experience in all – especially since we had the chance to speak with many brands in person, including Almay, one of the sponsors and of course, the lovely swag.
