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Events

Why You Need a Logo for Your Website or Blog

July 31, 2015
Blogging, Branding, Conferences, Events
0 comments
by javacia

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Laura Vincent Printing & Design, presenting sponsor for the 2015 Bloganista Mini-Con, but all opinions are my own.

At last year’s Bloganista Mini-Con afternoon keynote speaker Megan LaRussa Chenoweth said that getting a new logo for her blog was one of the game changers that helped take her business to the next level.

Could this one day be your story, too?

When Dionne Love of Laura Vincent Print and Design signed on to be the presenting sponsor for this year’s Bloganista Mini-Con I was so excited. I knew her talent and knowledge about designing logos would be invaluable to the women of See Jane Write.

“A logo will help your business become more recognizable, but it also establishes credibility with potential customers,” Dionne says. “It is the fundamental component of branding and marketing that reflects your personality, your values and principles.”

And this doesn’t just apply to big-name businesses like Nike or Apple. As Megan’s story shows, this applies to bloggers, too.

Here are five things Dionne recommends you keep when mind when creating a logo for your blog or personal brand — whether you’re working with a company like Laura Vincent or designing the logo yourself:

1. Keep it simple. Consider again logos like that of Nike or Apple, or even McDonald’s. They are some of the most popular logos around but yet also the simplest.

2. Make an impression. “The ultimate goal of all businesses is to have their logo image imprinted in your memory and to make a lasting impression,” Dionne says. So be sure your logo is memorable.

3. Find a font. “Selecting the right fonts is one of the most important steps in logo creation,” Dionne says. Choose a font that’s easy to read but distinctive. Also, Dionne says you shouldn’t use more than two different fonts in your logo.

4. Get color coordinated. When choosing colors for your logo remember that color can create an emotional response, Dionne says. Also keep in mind all the different places you’ll need to display the logo such as across your various social media networks.

5. Be versatile. Remember that your logo will not only be used on your website or blog and social media accounts but also on stationery and business cards. You may even decide to sell merchandise with your logo. Be sure that your logo looks great on any medium.

“So invest the time in developing a great logo,” Dionne says. “You and your business will reap the rewards!”

Dionne Love of Laura Vincent Printing and Design will be available at the Bloganista Mini-Con to chat with attendees about logo design and more. She’ll also be giving a discount on her logo design services to one lucky attendee.

3 Reasons You Need to Get a Massage

July 30, 2015
Dreams & Goals, Events
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by javacia

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by LightWorks Chair Massage, but all opinions are my own.

If you’re like me, you’re a juggling your blogging and writing pursuits with a full-time job plus responsibilities to family and friends and community commitments. This leaves very little time to just take care of yourself, and so you don’t. But it’s time to change that and you can start Saturday by simply getting a free chair massage at the Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincent Printing and Design. LightWorks Chair Massage will be on site offering free massages to us bloganistas.

Here are three reasons you need to get a massage Saturday and beyond.

You need to be more productive.

Because we women writers and bloggers are so busy working our day jobs and taking care of our families, we usually have very little time to actually work on our writing. So when we do we need to be as productive as possible. Jo Anderson of LightWorks Chair Massage says that research shows that chair massage in the workplace significantly reduces stress and increases focus and productivity.

“Our corporate clients tell us that their 15-minute sessions have made a big impact on employee morale and sick days,” Anderson said.

So chances are massage — whether you get an hour-long full body massage or just a quick chair massage from the folks at LightWorks — will help you be more productive when working on your own projects as well.

You’re sick and tired of being sick and tired.

“There is no doubt that in order to be healthy we have to keep our stress levels low,” Anderson said. “That’s not always an easy task, but knowing that stress increases the risk of heart disease 40 percent and stroke 50 percent can be a great motivator.”

Anderson added that massage improves sleep, soothes anxiety and depression, boosts immunity and relieves headaches.

“Those are huge health benefits since at least 60 percent of all disease is stress related,” Anderson said.

If getting an hour-long massage is just out of the question with your budget right now, try convincing your boss to invite LightWorks Chair Massage to your workplace.

“Many people think they have to get an hour massage to reap the benefits but that isn’t so,” Anderson said. “Even a 10-15 minute massage contributes markedly to one’s health and well being, making it a good fit for the business community.”

You’re breaking your New Year’s Resolution.

At the start of the year I made a resolution to get a massage every month. We’re now at the end of July and you know how many massages I’ve had — NONE! Self-care is an area in which I constantly come up short and chances are you probably struggle with this too. Chances are you too vowed to take better care of yourself this year and yet you keep pushing self-care to the side for work or the needs of others.

If you’re coming to the Bloganista Mini-Con Saturday I hope you will take advantage of a free chair massage. And I hope that on August 1, the start of a new month and thus a new chance to get things right, we all will vow again to take better care of ourselves and remember that self-care is not a luxury.

Party Like a Blog Star!

July 27, 2015
Birmingham, Blogging, Events, Fashion
2 Comments
by javacia

Thursday I had a bad day.

Actually, I’d been having a bad week.

Planning for the Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincent Printing & Design had been stressing me out! In fact, I’d been so stressed I was started to doubt myself and everything I do.

Who am I to think I can empower women with See Jane Write, I asked myself.

Then Thursday night happened.

On Thursday, July 23 See Jane Write held the 2015 Bloganista Mixer presented by Collage Designer Consignment and it was fabulous!

How amazing it was to see so many bright and beautiful women gathered in one place all because they believe in self-expression through blogging and writing.

What I loved most was how all the women in attendance treated one another like family. Even if you were “blogless,” as a few women described themselves, you were welcomed with open arms.

I loved learning about the blogs these women were building or the ones they wanted to created. Women shared with me their writing hopes and dreams and the fears that are holding them back from pursuing them.

We chatted about fashion, food, fitness, and so much more.

Only with a group a lady bloggers and bloganistas can you have a serious conversation about aging and a silly conversation about barbecued pig ears in the same night!

Of course, some ladies did some shopping and they were quite impressed by Collage’s wide array of sizes and styles.

Thursday’s mixer wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Collage Designer Consignment. I can’t thank Collage owner Tracy True Dismukes enough for opening up her Vestavia store to us. The ladies of the Collage team were the most gracious of hostesses, treating us to delicious hors d’oeuvres and even giving each of us a free Collage tote bag!

Check out pictures from the event below and be sure to head to the See Jane Write Facebook page to tag yourself in the photos!

*Photos by Deidre Clark

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Meet the Bloganistas!

July 24, 2015
Birmingham, Blogging, Conferences, Events
2 Comments
by javacia

The theme for this year’s Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincent Printing & Design, set for August 1, 2015 at Vestavia Hills Library, is BLOG LIKE A BOSS!

Here are the conference speakers and panelists who are going to help you do just that:

TV and radio personality Eunice Elliott will be our special guest at the conference and MC for the morning half of the event.

Eunice joined Alabama’s 13 in August 2013 as the traffic reporter. A native of Bessemer, Eunice is a proud graduate of The University of Alabama, where she earned a Journalism/Theatre degree in 1997. She has enjoyed working in sports/entertainment over the years including stints at ESPN in Connecticut, The Tennessee Titans, The FedEx Orange Bowl Committee and helmed her own public relations firm for many years representing professional athletes. Eunice performs weekly as a stand-up comedian at the Stardome Comedy Club, and also enjoys acting, radio broadcasting and writing/producing new television shows. Follow Eunice on Facebook and Twitter to see where she’s performing next!

Jeniese Hosey will be our afternoon keynote speaker.

Jeniese Hosey is a 30-something woman from Birmingham, Alabama who loves all things fashion! In 2010 she started her blog The Jenesaisquoi, to show women that style has no relevance to size or age. Jeniese has appeared in Ebony.com, Essence.com, Plus Model Magazine, Centric TV.com and DARE Magazine. Her blog has been showcased by several of her favorite fellow plus-size bloggers. She is a monthly contributor to the Plus Model Magazine Blog and she has collaborated with several of her favorite brands. By day Jeniese works as a PR/Marketing professional. Along with fashion Jeniese loves football, traveling and food. She received her BA in Public Relations from The University of Alabama and an MBA in Marketing from Capella University.

During her afternoon keynote address Jeniese will discuss how she landed the many opportunities she’s enjoyed to work with brands and big names and will also reveal how she deals with the not-so-glamorous side of fashion blogging.

Chanda Temple will be our morning keynote speaker and during the Morning Mingle will be on hand to critique your business card.

Chanda worked as a journalist for nearly 20 years before switching gears to public relations in 2012. For the past three years Temple has crafted numerous public relations campaigns that the public and media noticed. Her latest success was coauthoring the Birmingham’s Best Bites cookbook. The self-published paperback book sold out three times in late 2014 and earned an international gold medal award in 2015. Also in 2015, her public relations campaign for the book, and the Birmingham food festival it was connected to, won a first place state award in public relations. Follow her blog at chandatemplewrites.com.

During her morning keynote address, Chanda will offer tips on how bloggers can build a personal brand and get that brand noticed by media and more.

***

Our afternoon panel discussion MAGAZINE DREAMS will offer tips on how you and your blog can be featured in your favorite magazine, how you can write for your favorite magazine and how you can start a magazine of your own. Our panelists are Maacah Davis of belladonna magazine, Annie DeVries of Hoffman Media and Kaneshia Sims of Red PaSH Magazine.

Maacah Davis is the founding editor and creator of belladonna magazine, which she started to provide an outlet for some of Birmingham’s fashion and art-minded creatives. A former biology major at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, she is currently taking a gap year to figure out her future. In the meantime, in addition to being the creative director of Birmingham’s first fashion magazine, her work as a stylist has been published in B-Metro’s recurring feature segment, Birmingfamous. She has directed photoshoots for independent local makeup brand Fancy is Flawless, and she is excited to be at the helm of her first ad campaign with local cosmetics company, Hayah Beauty. As someone who has called Birmingham home for ten years now, she revels in making her twenties all about further exploring and presenting her, and her teams’, creative capacities.

Annie DeVries is the online editor at Hoffman Media, where she oversees web and social media content for the company’s eight magazines. After freelance writing and styling for several years, she began working as the assistant editor of fresh style magazine, and then became Southern Lady‘s associate editor before starting her current position. Working in magazine publishing was a somewhat unexpected career path. Annie holds a PhD in history from Rutgers University, and previously taught at Birmingham Southern College and the University of Alabama. The research, problem-solving, and writing skills she gained during graduate school and while teaching have proved invaluable in her work as an editor.

Kaneshia Sims has a deep passion for Birmingham, all of its small businesses and local charities. Using her background in public relations and mass communications, Kaneshia took her passion and turned it into a business. Kaneshia now serves as editor of Red PaSH Magazine and head public relations coordinator of Southern PaSH.

***

Our morning panel discussion BLOG LIKE A BOSS will cover best blogging practices, how to grow your blog’s audience, and how to build your blog into a business. Our panelists are Heather Brown of My Life Well Loved, Jennifer Dome King of Stellar Fashion and Fitness and yours truly!

Heather Brown has been blogging for 6 years and has worked in social media since graduating from Samford University. She married her college sweetheart and they are expecting their first baby this month! Heather built her initial blog’s social media following to over 27,000 members, helped grow her employer’s Facebook page to over 150,000 followers, and currently has over 50,000 social media/newsletter subscribers to her current blog, MyLifeWellLoved.com. Heather’s passion is helping others grow their blog, brand, and social media as well as empowering women to be their best in healthy living, southern style, recipes, faith, beauty and finding balance.

Jennifer Dome King is the assistant editor of Bassmaster Magazine and also works as a freelance writer and copy editor. She blogs about fashion, health and fitness and body positivity at StellarFashionandFitness.com where she hopes to encourage women to lead a stellar life. Originally from New Jersey, she has adopted Birmingham has her new home for the past 8 years and loves exploring it with her husband of one year, Jermaine.

Javacia Harris Bowser is the founder and CEO of See Jane Write LLC, a membership organization and website designed to empower and enrich women who write and blog. Before returning to her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama in 2009 to teach at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, Javacia worked as a features reporter in Louisville, Kentucky. Today she continues her journalism career as a freelance writer for a number of media outlets including USA Today, Birmingham magazine and WBHM90.3 FM, Birmingham’s NPR affiliate. Javacia also writes a monthly column for B-Metro magazine on women’s issues. Javacia holds a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley and is a proud graduate of the University of Alabama. Follow her blogs at WriteousBabe.com and Javacia.com.

Get your tickets to this year’s Bloganista Mini-Con at bloganista2015.eventbrite.com now! Ticket sales end July 30 and no tickets will be sold the day of the event.

The Bloganista Mixer presented by Collage Designer Consignment

July 20, 2015
Birmingham, Blogging, Events, Fashion
0 comments
by javacia

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Collage Designer Consignment, sponsor of this year’s Bloganista Mixer, but all opinions are my own.

If you feel as if you just can’t wait until the See Jane Write Bloganista Mini-Con presented by Laura Vincent Printing & Design to meet other Birmingham-area bloggers, then I have good news: you don’t have to!

Join us for the Bloganista Mixer presented by Collage Designer Consignment. Mingle with local bloggers while noshing on delicious hors d’oeuvres. Chat with some of this year’s conference speakers. And, of course, while you’re at Collage you can shop for your conference outfit!

Collage is celebrating its 23rd birthday this month, so you can get 23% off summer apparel and if you spend more than $75 you’ll receive a free gift!

Collage Designer Consignment was a vendor at last year’s Bloganista Mini-Con and I am so proud to partner with Collage again for this year’s Bloganista Mixer. In fact, I think there’s a lot we bloggers can learn from Collage owner Tracy True Dismukes.

Tracy teaches us to be selective. Collage is known for being exceptionally selective in the items accepted to sell on consignment. Clients include news anchors, government officials, pageant winners, actresses, professionals and soccer moms who all know they can find anything from boutique brands to high-end designer labels, from GAP to Gucci, with all the benefits of a cozy and friendly full-service boutique – all at prices less than wholesale.

Likewise, we must be selective when blogging. We can’t post simply to post and we shouldn’t accept posts from guest bloggers who aren’t in line with the voice and vision for our blogs. We must give our readers high-quality content with a relatable and friendly tone. That’s what makes for good customer service in the blogosphere!

Tracy’s strategies have worked. Collage has been voted Best Consignment Shop and Best Women’s Boutique in Birmingham Magazine and the Birmingham News and was awarded Retailer of the Year by the Alabama Retail Association. Collage has been featured nationally on FOX Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, Southern Living and in the national publication of AARP Bulletin. Tracy has appeared numerous times on NBC13, CBS42, FOX6 and ABC 33/40 as well as CBS Atlanta and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Enquirer, Entrepreneur.com, Birmingham Business Journal and Birmingham News.

Tracy teaches us to give back. In the past Collage has partnered with My Sister’s Closet of the YWCA and to give prom gowns to teen girls who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford one. And she’s worked with WellHouse Ministries to host events to bring greater awareness of human trafficking to the Birmingham area.

We should all consider how we can use our blogs to spread awareness for the causes we believe in.

I hope to see you Thursday at the Bloganista Mixer presented by Collage Designer Consignment. This is a free event but registration is required. Register at bloganistamixer2015.eventbrite.com.