How to Shop Like a Fashion Blogger

megan and jeniese graphic

In my next writing life I want to be a fashion blogger. I love reading about fashion. I love thinking about fashion. I love planning outfits for special occasions and everyday looks.

There’s only one problem — I hate to shop. And this weekend I’m attempting to revamp my wardrobe as I prepare to return to the classroom for the 2016-2017 school year and try to upgrade my look as I prepare to take my personal brand and business to the next level.

To get my mind right for this adventure, last week I watched a webinar by fashion blogger Jeniese Hosey of The Jenesaisquoi and style coach Megan LaRussa Chenoweth. The webinar was meant to teach us attendees “How to Know Where to Shop and What to Buy…Without Breaking the Bank.”

I knew it would be helpful. Jeniese is one of my favorite fashion bloggers and two years ago I was a student in Megan’s virtual style coaching program, Style Yourself Chic, a program that helped me improve my look in a way that gave me the confidence to turn my blog into a business. Now it’s time to turn that business into an empire! And I want to look good while I do so.

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5 Things Women Writers & Bloggers Should Try This Month

5 things to try Aug 2016

As I sat in my home office with a notebook and my favorite planner before me, preparing to set my goals for this month, I heard a voice whisper to me. That voice said: “Don’t lose yourself.”

No, I’m not presumptuous enough to say that this voice was the voice of God. I believe this voice was my inner warrior woman that speaks to me often and helps me survive circumstances I can’t control and the consequences of my own foolishness, too.

And so, as I set my goals for August, I kept those words in mind.

Losing myself would be easy to do this month. This month the 2016-2017 school year begins, which means I go back to juggling my full-time job with all my part-time hustle. So in the midst of it all I have to make sure that working on my side hustle doesn’t result in treating myself like a side piece.

I can’t lose myself in teaching. And as much as I love my blog and my business, I can’t lose myself in See Jane Write, either.

Instead, I must find myself by writing for myself, while also making boss babe moves.

Here are five things I’m going to do this month and perhaps you should give them a try, too.

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7 Ways to Build Buzz for Your Blog, Book or Brand

build buzz graphic

We had a packed house Saturday at the See Jane Write workshop, How to Build Buzz.

During this free workshop I shared with attendees the story of how I’ve grown See Jane Write from a small women’s writing group and BlogSpot blog to an award-winning business.

It all started on March 24, 2011 when I gathered with a group of about 14 women at a local Mexican restaurant. Most of these women I had never met before, but these women and I all had one thing in common — we all loved to write. And I’d gathered them there that evening  to ask them what they wanted and needed from a women’s writing group. This meeting would be the first See Jane Write event.

Two months later See Jane Write hosted a workshop on Twitter that drew 40 women.

Two months after that we hosted a panel discussion that drew 75 women.

See Jane Write was in full swing!

crowd
We had a packed house at “How To Build Buzz” Photo Credit: Christina J. Wade

Eventually I started to get quite a bit of attention because of See Jane Write and even started winning awards. In 2012 I received the SMART Award from the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, an award given to local women who are doing innovative things in business, education, or the arts. In 2015 I was named one of the city’s Top 40 Under 40 by the Birmingham Business Journal and just this year Southern Living magazine included me on its list of Innovators Changing the South, a list that included the likes of the iconic Dolly Parton and actress Reese Witherspoon.

After this recognition people started to ask me my secret. They wanted to how I was getting so much attention for myself and my brand. And I told them, “I know how to make a scene!” In other words, I got really good at self-promotion.

If you’re still stuck in the mindset that self-promotion is somehow dirty or wrong, read this.

Go on! I’ll wait…

Now here are the seven ways I build buzz and make a scene!

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How to Be a Confident Writer

be a confident writer

Last month I asked the ladies of See Jane Write what they were struggling with most regarding writing and blogging. The same word came up again and again: confidence.

One member told me, “I need help with building writing confidence. I seem to have lost mine!”

A member of the See Jane Write Facebook group said, “Some days I swear a brilliant, authentic writer lives inside me and is waiting to be born. I keep suffocating her by not writing. Can I get a session for writers that lack confidence?”

Here’s the thing: there’s no magic potion for writing confidence. Is there a session, seminar, or workshop that I could host that will boost your confidence? Maybe. But it’s probably not what you had in mind.

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