There’s a real buzz in the air now that the ProBlogger Training Event schedule has been released. Everywhere, people are chatting about where they’re going to be when, sessions are being highlighted, and bloggers are stalking the guest list, wondering who they’re going to meet.
We have some exceptional speakers this year, presenting on some of the most sought-after and useful topics. We grilled them about some of their habits and practices to let you peek behind the scenes of how they do it all. Keep an eye out for the other posts in the series that detail their secrets to productivity, and how they stay motivated.
HEATHER ARMSTRONG: Author, speaker, and blogger at Dooce
At 7 AM I go into my 5-yr-old’s room, wake her up, carry her into her older sister’s room and we linger there for a few minutes while everyone yawns. Then we all head downstairs, and I continue to the basement where my dogs sleep. I let them out of their crates, feed them breakfast, and let them out for the morning making sure to change the older dog’s diaper in the process.
My kids eat breakfast while I prepare their lunches, then we head back upstairs where I help them get dressed and brush their hair and teeth. That leaves me with about 20 minutes to throw on my workout clothes, put on a little mascara and take a deep breath in consideration of what lies ahead of me that day. After I sign homework and help them check off everything they need in their backpacks, we head out the door.
Heather will be presenting the keynote session: The Courage of Compassion: Transforming Your Experience with Criticism
MRS WOOG: Mouthy 40-something housewife from the burbs. Blogs at Woogsworld
- Where is your jumper?
- Where is your lunchbox?
- Get off your brother!
- Have you cleaned your teeth?
- Do you have normal uniform or sport uniform today?
- No, I have not seen your uniform
I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. I log on when the kids are ready for school which is such a lie. I log on after my first coffee. First I check the site is working, skim emails, make sure I the site has not been invaded by spambots. I check all the news sites for inspiration. I check the notes on my phone and recent photos I have taken before I decide on the topic of the day. Then I spend about 20 minutes banging it out, press publish before I go for a 5KM run, another lie.
I spend the rest of the morning working on various writing projects.
Mrs Woog will be on the panel for: How to monetise a personal blog with Heather Armstrong
BENJAMIN MANGOLD: Director of Digital and Analytics at Loves Data + Google-certified expert for Google Analytics
Benjamin will be presenting the session: Metrics that Matter: Google Analytics for Actionable Insights
KELLY EXETER: Owner of Swish Design, a boutique web and graphic design company.
Then 6-6.40am I go for a run or go to CrossFit. Once home from that it’s shower > get kids up > send husband and 2yo off to work/daycare > take 6yo to school … and by 9.30am, I finally get to sit down at my desk and start my working day :)
Kelly will be presenting the session: Blogging voice and the art of creating meaningful connections through writing
RUTH SOUKUP: Founder of LivingWellSpendingLess.com
Then I get dressed, grab my stuff, and ride my bike (technically it is an adult tricycle) to my office, which is only a mile away. I try to get there no later than 5 or 5:30 am so that I can get a good 3 or 4 hours of quiet, dedicated writing time in before anyone else arrives. I have a kitchen there & I also keep a spare set of toiletries, so that I can just GO and get my coffee, eat breakfast, and put on makeup later.
My first priority is always to work on creating amazing content for my readers, whether that be books, courses, blog posts, an e-newsletter, etc I think the more you write, the better you get, so I spend a lot of time writing every day.
By 9am most of my team has arrived to the office, at which point I switch into “manager” mode—planning social meda, working on projects, discussing marketing ideas, responding to emails, etc.
Ruth will be presenting the keynote session The 5 Ordinary Habits of Extraordinary Bloggers, and breakout session Pinterest Marketing 101: The Three Elements of the Perfect Pin
NAT KRINGOUDIS: Women’s health revolutionist and fertility fixer at natkringoudis.com.au
I do however follow more a night time routine. I enjoy some downtime of an evening, I like the ritual of writing/journalling, taking a shower, a cup of tea, I like to set my intention for the next day and have myself organised. It’s all about the small things especially once kids are in the picture!
Nat will be presenting the session: How to create your gangbuster e-product
BRANDON COWAN: 21-year-old co-founder and Director of Crazy Dog Apps
After that, I’ll sometimes make a few phone calls, take my foster dog [as of time of writing] for a walk (I sneakily let her jump on people when we walk and if they react positively, I tell them that the dog is available for adoption – how’s that for marketing?) and then the rest of the day varies. It can include creating or modifying an app specification document (it’s as fun as it sounds), reviewing and testing apps, providing information to people wanting to make an app, creating animated videos and speaking with clients. I sometimes also speak at events and other times I have random meetings (but not often).
On other days, I might wake up at about 6am to work for the whole day looking after dogs at dog day care at my local vet. Then at nighttime I do my app work. It’s nice to balance what I do and I ironically recently got another job to give me a break from my app work although I still usually work on about 6 apps at once…
I don’t usually follow weekends or public holidays with my work as each day blends into the next for me.
Brandon will be presenting the session: Creating Business Ideas
PAMELA WILSON: Big Brand System and Copyblogger Media
I drink warm water and lemon, followed by a cup of tea or coffee. Then I check email to make sure nothing urgent has happened overnight.
In the first part of the day I review the list I set up for myself the night before. And I visit 750words.com to get my first 750 words of the day written.
This site has helped me adopt a regular writing habit. Oftentimes I repurpose what I write there for blog posts or email newsletters. And sometimes I just use it as a place to sort through my thoughts.
I try to do a bit of exercise first thing before my day gets too busy. That may be a walk, some Qigong, yoga, or a bit of time on an elliptical machine.
I do love the mornings! It’s a great time to be productive.
Pamela will be presenting the session: Design 101: How to Use Design Basics to Polish Up Your Blog, and How to Create a Content Event That Builds Your Email List
DAN NORRIS: serial entrepreneur, award winning blogger and the author of the best selling business book The 7 Day Startup
I walk back along the beach, maybe listen to a podcast on the way and think about what I’m doing that day. I either work from home or head into co-working to work from there.
Dan will be presenting the session: How to use your blog to supercharge your small business
CAROLINE MAKEPEACE: Co-founder of y travel blog
Caroline will be presenting the session: From Blog to Business – the steps you need to take from to create a profitable business online
THE EVENT
There are a handful of tickets left, so be quick to ensure you don’t miss out! You can go here to purchase.
PBEVENT is Australia’s biggest and longest-running blogging conference. Our first 400 tickets sold in around 20 minutes this year, firmly establishing it the ‘go-to’ event on the blogging community’s calendar for training and networking.
In 2015, ProBlogger Training Event is presented by Olympus and will be relocating to the spacious RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast, ready for over 650 bloggers on August 14 and 15.
