Ok, so I am more of a background kind of gal, not particularly extrovert and outgoing and prefer to tap away at the keyboard in my home office rather than face a room full of strangers.

First, a little background-  I started my Super Cool Stuff Blog a few years ago to share what was important to me and what inspired me but then just got busy with life and work and neglected it a bit. My love is research and writing and that is what I do for a living for other people so as I was revisiting my goals and life plan, I was reminded of why I started the blog. Part of my Personal Vision under Vocational is to create and manage a lifestyle and parenting blog that firstly inspires, educates and uplifts people all over the world and secondly generates an additional income for me.

That is when I saw the invite to the #CTmeetup and thought, hmmm, perfect timing. I registered, paid, put some make up on and headed off to Eat on Main in Observatory. Cindy Alfino– organizer of the event and award winning blogger (3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House) and even cooler and prettier in the flesh was there to welcome me.

How great to walk into the room and chat and interact with a group of motivated and influential bloggers who want to make a difference and who’s goals are in alignment with mine.

So this is what I learnt from the speakers at the event-

Sam AKA techgirl shared with us her insights and expertise

Know you Worth

With everything you have online, consistency is the key. Schedule and post at the same time every day or week

Don’t work for free. If someone wants to work with you they’ll give you a cut of the budget. Your blog is your art

How much are you worth? How much do you value your time? Work out your hourly rate. Your time is valuable

Choose the brands yourself and align yourself with the ones you believe in

Ask yourself… before you write about something or promote it, does your audience care about this?

Don’t try and be all things to everyone. Narrow your niche down

This is what I learnt from funny man and geek extraordinaire Ruan from Gevaaalik.com

The do’s and don’ts of blogging

Don’t work for free

Don’t dilute your own influence

Don’t rely on one source of income for your blog

Don’t make promises you can’t keep

Don’t suck up to brands

Do invest in your Blog

Do post regularly

Lastly and possibly most importantly, do start an email subscriber base. This is a valuable resource to have

A word to the sponsors;

Thanks to the sponsors for the contents of the awesome goody bag which my son grabbed out of my hand as I got home and claimed all the ‘’fun” stuff.

I kept all the cool pamper items and beauty stuff;

• High quality coconut oil from Coconut Connection
• Pretty bracelets from Oh Voila
• Eyeliner from Almay
• Buchu first aid gel and moisturiser from Buchu Life
• An awesome voucher to use when buying from overseas from Aramex
• Skin polisher and eye cream from African Extracts
• Men’s deodorant from PlayBoy
• Rescue Pastilles from Bach
• Body wash from Oh So Heavenly
• Varied body products from Shower to Shower
• Hair Products from Aromas
• Mascara from Revlon
• Ultra-Rich Advanced Anti-Ageing Renewing serum from IQ Skincare SA

And social printing from Brand Rocket– super cool Instagram and Twitter Photo Kiosks

Did you miss out on this #CTMeetUp? Sign Up to the mailer and be the first to know when the next event is.

If you’ve enjoyed this post and would like to engage with me, you can find me posting pics, stories and other inspiring stuff on Instagram, Face Book and Twitter.