Blacksburg Belle

Behind-the-Scenes of Planning an In-Person Event

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Behind-the-Scenes of Planning an In-Person Retreat

After running my business behind my computer screen, except for speaking at events hosted by other people and other companies, I decided to step out of the virtual world and into the real one.

Every year I partner up with my best friend (business and real life) for a joint venture in February.

And, this year, Hermione waved her magic wand to make everything align like it never has before so that we could host an in-person retreat together.

We love connecting with creatives via virtual masterminds and retreats, but we craved something different and we’ve been getting this feeling that the women we work with have been, too.

For the past couple of years, anytime we’d mention doing something in person, we got massive positive responses from it.

We wanted to do it. We knew our people wanted it. So, it became about timing.

Neither of us had hosted anything quite like this (Mayi was about to host her first small mastermind at her house) and we quickly realized there was a lot of stuff we needed to consider that wasn’t on our radar.

Have you thought about hosting an in-person event? Just curious about the behind-the-scenes planning? Either way, here’s what you need to know and what we’ve been arranging:

1. Location, Location, Location!

When you’re hosting an event, you can’t do anything else until you pick a location. And, the location can make or break your event.

Decide to host your 500 person event in a town that is a two-hour drive from the nearest airport and you’ll be lucky if you can get 20 people there. On the other hand, if you’re only trying to get 10 women to that same location and you’re going to provide a taxi service from the airport to the venue, it’s much more realistic.

You’ve got to think about your ideal customer.

Can they get to your location easily? How much does it cost to get there from different parts of the country/world? Is there an international airport close by? Does the location have lots of hotels? Will there be lots of taxi and Uber options? Are there lots of restaurant options?

When we were thinking about Austin, we knew it wouldn’t be as convenient as Miami or L.A. (two other locations we had looked at), but as we researched airfare, it was actually pretty low–even from Panama. Plus, we love the motto: Keep Austin weird. There are plenty of restaurant and hotel options. Ubers won’t be a problem. Check…check…check…check!

2. Your Venue

Another element you have to decide on pretty fast is the venue. It’s hard to sell an event without a venue. You need pictures of the place. You need to be able to tell people where they’ll be going. Without a venue people are reluctant to hand over their credit cards.

Now, here’s a little chicken egg scenario. You can either: decide on the amount of attendees first and then find a venue that can hold that amount of attendees OR you can find a venue you love and base your amount of attendees off of the venue.

Before you hunt for a venue, think about the mood you want to create for your event. What are the top three priorities for your venue to have? Envision the space and then look, so you don’t pick a venue that creates the wrong vibe for your event.

When we found the Austin house, we knew it what THE SPACE we’d been looking for.

We imagined a space that creatives would find inspiring–that they would love so much that they couldn’t stop taking pictures. We wanted a venue that had a pool and a lovely outdoor space so we could all chill and relax together. The Austin house has a 2-acre garden. We wanted multiple large living areas–our venue has three. And, we wanted the bathrooms to feel like spas.

3. Amount of Attendees

Are you looking to create a massive event with lots of speakers? Do you want a more intimate event where all the attendees can get to know one another? Are you looking for something in the middle?

Creating your own event means that you get to decide on every detail.

The amount of attendees will affect how your event feels. If you have five women all staying at a beach house, your event will feel extremely cozy. If you’re filling a large conference room with 300 hundred people, your event will feel big and exciting.

When we decided that no more than 40 women could attend our event, we knew that we wanted enough women at the event for everyone to find people they really connected with but we didn’t want it to feel overwhelming.

A lot of our ideal customers are introverts and some suffer from social anxiety, and we want those women to feel comfortable. (Don’t worry if you fit into the social anxiety category…you can hang with me cause I’m right there with you!)

We want it to feel like a girls vacation while handling business and learning. Holla!

4. Food and Refreshments

This is just my opinion, but no matter how short your event is, I think you should always have some kind of refreshments available. That could be as simple as water and coffee. This always picks up the energy in the room and gives people something to do when they enter.

If your event is more than a few hours, provide more than water and coffee if you want to keep your attendees happy, energized and refreshed! You also don’t want them to leave because they’re hungry or thirsty.

Again, this doesn’t mean you have to provide the world. You could have water, juice or lemonade, coffee, single serving size bags of pretzels or trail mix, easy to eat fruit like bananas, etc.

Mayi and I have already done a lot of behind-the-scenes prep for Austin, because we want to make sure our guests feel very taken care of.

For the VIPs, we’re providing breakfast on Saturday so they don’t have to leave the house to go get something. We’re also giving the VIPs the chance to order lunch with us both days if they don’t want to leave the house. On the first night, we’re having a private dinner with the VIPs when we break for the day. For all the attendees, we’re providing drinks (multiple options) and light snacks the entire time. We’re also providing pizza and wine for dinner the second night so we can hang out until the last possible second!

5. Other Experts

Are you going to have other experts speak or provide their services?

You have to take into account your budget and how much this will cost. You should also consider if your attendees are coming for your expertise or for a mix. Do they expect a conference of multiple speakers or do they expect a retreat setting with you as the main host?

For the Austin retreat, Mayi and I are both running a workshop each day. If we did more than that, if wouldn’t feel like a work-cation…it would just feel like work and that’s not our objective.

6. Photography and Videography

You’re putting on an amazing event, so you probably want to document it, right? You especially want to document it if you’re going to host it again, because the photos and video will be your best form of marketing.

My husband has always been my photographer. Every single picture of me on my website has been taken by my husband. I’m lucky he grew up with an artist as a mom who constantly pushed him in that direction, because he has an eye for photography.

Mayi and I hired a professional photographer when I flew to Panama for our work-cation, but we ended up using Kris’s photos because we liked them soooooooo much better. We’ve already “signed” him as our Austin photographer.

We haven’t decided on videography yet, but we definitely want video from the event.

We’re doing this even though we don’t think we’ll be able to host another retreat next year (super sad emoji) due to personal reasons. We hope to be back at it in 2021, so we’ll use them then.

7. Transportation

A lot of events don’t include transportation, but every once in a while smaller events do.

For instance, I spoke at a retreat that was hosted by the lovely Bonnie Christine and my husband drove a number of the attendees back and forth to the hotel they were staying at.

My husband will also be providing a similar service in Austin for the ladies who stay at the hotel that we recommend. Isn’t he a keeper? (Love you, heart!)

8. Extras

Is your event going to include anything extra? A notebook for attendees to write down their notes? A yoga session first thing in the morning?

We’ve built the Austin retreat around the extras! We want our women to feel pampered. They’re going to receive a tote bag that Mayi has designed. We’re going to have a spa session, we’re going to go hiking, we’ll have a chill session by the pool, and more that we don’t want to give away because we want there to be surprises!

9. VIP Level

Have you thought of offering a VIP level? If your event is a day-long event, you could sell a VIP level for 10 people who get to join you for dinner at the end of the event. If your event is a few days, you could have a VIP level for 3 people who get 45-minute consulting sessions with you.

All you have to do is get creative to come up with a VIP level that your ideal customer would be interested in.

For Austin, it was built in. There are seven extra beds in the house, so we created seven VIP tickets for women who want to stay in the house with us. We added breakfast, the option to order lunch both days, and a private dinner with us on the first day to the package. And, there you have it…the Austin VIP package which I think is an incredible bundle.

10. Clean Up

Here’s the not-so-fun-part of planning an event. The clean up.

If your event is a multi-day event, are you going to hire cleaners to come in and clean at the end of each day so that it’s sparkling new each morning? Or, are you going to take care of that yourself when you’re worn out and need to get sleep?

Is clean up built into the price of renting the venue or do you need to hire someone to clean up when you’re finished?

For Austin, we’ve hired cleaners to come in at the end of the first day and clean so that everything will be looking new again at the beginning of day two. We also have clean up ready for the end of the event.

This is everything we’ve planned so far. I’ll do another post once we’ve planned more and I’ll definitely publish a post after we’ve accomplished our first retreat in September, so stay tuned!

Our retreat is 20% full and we have a few VIP tickets left if you’re interested. You can find all the details right here. (We’ve included flexible payment plans!)

I’d love to spend a couple days with you in Austin in September my friend.

The Secret’s Coming Out…

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Do you know that episode of Friends where Phoebe tells Monica that she has something she needs to tell her but she can’t tell her what it is?

The one where Pete is in love with Monica and lied about getting a girlfriend so that Monica would come and work for him. And, possibly fall in love with him over time. (Yes, I might know every Friends episode a little too well. Who’s with me?)

Monica responds by saying something like, “Wouldn’t it just be easier if you could tell me?”

Then Monica tries to guess and gets nowhere and they both get frustrated. Monica says she feels like she’s having a conversation with Lassie.

Well, I have something to tell YOU but I can’t tell you just yet.

Isn’t that the worst?

Don’t you want to call me a bad name? Possibly kick me in the shins?

Before you do…I have good news.

I can tell you the thing I can’t tell you right now on Friday at 3pm EST. Yep, THIS FRIDAY!

I’ve teamed up with my gal pal (do people still say that or have I really dated myself?) Mayi Carles and we’re hosting a live call to reveal a secret we’ve been striving to make happen.

I’m so excited to tell you about this thing that I’m having trouble sleeping at night. Thankfully, it’s only two sleeps away.

RSVP to the call right here to save your seat.

We’d love to see you there live, but if you can’t make it, use that same link to watch the replay.

We’ll chat more on Friday…

The Top 10 Nonfiction Books I Want to Read in 2019

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A good book. A doggie laying beside me with his/her head in my lap. A blanket wrapped around me. Candles glowing in the room. My husband on the other couch either reading or watching a movie.

Who knows what this is?

If you’ve been around here for awhile, you probably guessed that this is my ideal Friday night.

I’m an introverted nerd. Don’t let the Anthropologie shopping sprees and red lipstick fool you.

And, I know that many of you love reading, too.

That’s why I always share the list I create of the top nonfiction books I want to read each year.

Here are the top 10 for this year (Let me know in the comments if you find some to add to your reading list!):

1. Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon

This is my #1 most anticipated nonfiction read of 2019. It comes out in the beginning of April and I’m counting down the days like kids do with Christmas. I’ve read (and adored) Kleon’s two previous books–which is why I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of this one. I’ll read anything he publishes. His books give me the feeling of a warm hug…and a gentle shove to get stuff done.

In this new release, Kleon delves into how to stay creative and focused when dealing with distractions and burnout. There are chapters on building a bliss station, slaying the art monsters, and planting your garden.

I’ll be stalking the mailwoman on April 2nd, because I’ll want to start reading this book as soon as it arrives on my doorstep.

2. This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin

I’ve read the majority of Seth Godin’s books and I tend to devour them in one sitting (except that giant one with the ducks on the cover). I admire the way they all have a very clear message and I always feel inspired for days after reading one of his books.

This Is Marketing seems to be Godin’s marketing strategies all in one book which is like candy for me because marketing is my ish.

This book came out in November of last year, but I haven’t gotten around to it due to the holidays. I’ll dive into it soon!

3. Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin

I haven’t met a book by Gretchen Rubin that I haven’t looooooooved to pieces. Not only is she a brilliant storyteller, but she always includes actionable tips and advice that you can apply to your life immediately.

I’ve also been on a decluttering and organizing journey (thank you, Marie Kondo!) and this book will continue to help me make my home an oasis instead of a landing space for junk.

This book comes out on March 5th and it can’t come soon enough.

4. One Million Followers: How I Built a Massive Social Following in 30 Days by Brenda Kane

More than anything, I enjoy reading about how other people have done something really impressive such as gaining one million followers in a month. It doesn’t hurt that this author has worked with my bae to grow her following, Taylor Swift. YES, I want to read about that, too.

If you’re interested in this book, it’s already out. Woohoo!

5. Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis

Just last week, this book was released and it focuses on something that I’m passionate about: staying small on purpose.

I’ve been asked if I want to grow my business as big as Marie Forleo or even bigger if possible. The answer is no. I don’t want to manage a handful (or dozens) of employees. I don’t want the work hours that go into running a multi-million dollar business.

I want to run a business that allows me to live the life I dream of which includes lots of mornings filled with doggie snuggles, plenty of afternoons spent reading and weekends away from my phone and computer.

And, these are the types of clients that I work with, so this book is right up my alley. I can’t wait to give it a read and see what Jarvis has to say on the topic.

6. Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose by Jean Case

This is another book that came out in the beginning of January and it’s “a call to action for those seeking to live extraordinary lives and bring about transformational change.” -Amazon

I constantly talk about the importance of taking risks in order to succeed in business, so I’m excited to pick this book up.

7. Building a Story Brand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

I was introduced to Miller through one of Amy Porterfield’s podcast episodes.

Story is one of the most important things to learn about when you want to write anything compelling for your business, so I try to get better at it every year. I can’t wait to read about the seven universal story points all humans respond to that Miller covers in this book.

This book is already out if you want to give it a read.

8. Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less by Michael Hyatt

Every year, I pick out at least one book on productivity, because it’s one of my favorite topics to read and discover more about.

Hyatt’s book that comes out in April looks more appealing than anything else I came across. I love that there’s an entire section on cutting things with chapters titled “flex your no muscle” and “subtract yourself from the equation.”

I’m also eager to read the chapter on beating distractions and interruptions. I’m pretty sure we could all use some help with this one, amiright?  

9. Story Driven by Bernadette Jiwa

I’ve read multiple books by Jiwa. They’re all bite-sized and can be consumed in one sitting at a coffee shop with your favorite beverage. But, don’t let the size fool you. They all pack a solid content punch with theory and tips.

This one sounds like another hit that I’ll enjoy:

“Story Driven gives you a framework to help you consistently articulate, live and lead with your story. This book is about how to stop competing and start succeeding by being who you are, so you can do work you’re proud of and create the future you want to see.” -Amazon

This book came out last year, so you can pick it up anytime.

10. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport

Last on my list, is a book that comes out in the beginning of February and it focuses on minimizing the amount of time we spend on our computers and phones.

Digital minimalists are happy people who can hold long conversations without constantly checking their phones and pay attention to their work without the itch to open up email and Facebook.

In his book, Newport describes how you can use technology to support your goals and values instead of allowing technology to rule your life.

This is such a relevant topic, so I’m interested in giving this a read.

These are the top ten nonfiction books I want to read this year. I also have a list of fiction, but that one is a lot longer.

Now, I’ve got to know what you’re dying to read this year. Do you have a number one most anticipated nonfiction book for 2019? Please share it in the comments below, because I love adding good books to my Amazon wishlist.

P.S. I’ve got some big announcements coming really soon…one includes A LIVE RETREAT that I’m hosting with my biz bestie. Make sure you’re on my email list so you don’t miss anything!

My Goals for 2019

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I rang in the New Year with a plate of carrot pasta (pasta made out of long shreds of carrots for those of you non-celiac people out there who get to devour real pasta), a couple glasses of champagne, my husband and a lovely couple we tend to always eat out with on New Year’s Eve.

I arrived home a bit buzzed because I hardly ever drink (due to my affinity for migraines and unfortunately, alcohol can induce them) and turned on Taylor Swift’s Reputation Stadium Tour on Netflix and delighted in that during some of the first moments of the New Year.

It was wonderful! I hope you had a fabulous New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day!

I love the beginning of a new year.

It’s like the smell of the first snow of the season or the feel of fresh cut grass on your bare feet in the summer. Almost magical.

It’s a do-over. You get to say “see ya” to last year and decide you’re going to be the best version of yourself.

For a lot of us, this is a time to set new goals or resolutions.

And, I’m a goalsetter. Oh boy, I love to set some goals!

Goals really help me focus my time and avoid shiny object syndrome.

Before we dive into my top goals for 2019, I want to reflect for a moment on the last half of 2018 because this has been one of the toughest periods of my life.

For those of you who are new around here (hiiiiiiiiiii my darling!), I have serious autoimmune health issues. I’ve officially been diagnosed with CVID and just recently, one of my practitioners said she believes I also have fibromyalgia. This basically means that I have little to no immune system function and suffer with all over nerve pain.

I used to kinda be like bubble boy with no bubble which meant if I was in a room with anyone who was sick, I would contract it. The person could be in the very back of a movie theater that I was in the front of and I would still get sick.

After years of searching for answers, I found a specialist at UVA who had seen my set of symptoms before (no other doctor had) and suggested monthly IVIg treatments which means I spend one day a month at the hospital getting an infusion of other people’s immune cells so that I’ll have an immune system. No more contracting every sickness from any person I barely come into contact with! OH YEAH!

I’ve been getting the infusions for almost two years now and they work pretty darn well.

But, the infusions didn’t take away of all of my symptoms.

I still had severe pain everywhere…my muscles and joints and skin. And, a side effect of the infusions has been an onset of migraines that feel like a deranged rabbit is trying to rip its way out of my brain.

Due to the migraines and pain, my doctors have tried different medications and every time I take a new medication, my body freaks out.

It takes my body about two to four weeks to adjust to a new medication. You know those fun side effects that are listed for medications? “Call your doctor in case of nausea, vomiting, loss of energy, numbness, dizziness…”

Well, I always get a number of them until my body adjusts to the medication. I don’t know why…it just happens. Every. Single. Time.

My doctors changed my medications at least once per month from July to December. Sometimes, my medications changed two or three times per month.

I suffered from the usual side effects of nausea and drowsiness from some of the medications to super scary side effects like really blurry vision that I could barely see and involuntary tics.

August was one of the worst months of my life. I can’t even describe the type of pain that I was in. I laid in bed, moaning and crying around the clock, begging my doctors to figure something out.  

That’s when one of my practitioners realized it was nerve pain. In the beginning of September, I was prescribed a medication for nerve pain and the pain went away. I was so grateful.

Unfortunately, a side effect of the medication was drowsiness and I didn’t adjust to it.

When I say that I slept from September to the end of November, I mean it. I ran Sunday Society and hosted all of the live calls for that program, but that was it. Other than that, I just slept.

My doctors kept saying that I would adjust to the medication, but after three months of sleeping day and night, they switched me to a different medication for nerve pain.

With this new medication, I only have to take it at night and it doesn’t cause me to be drowsy. THANK GOODNESS!

December has been my month of “getting back to April.”

My medications are all figured out for now! I’m no longer adjusting to side effects. I’m no longer exhausted from a medication that put me in the longest nap of my life.

I’ve hit a pretty good health plateau that is allowing me to get back to normal life. It’s the best I’ve felt since June of 2018.

Thank you to everyone who has been patient with my absence on social media. If you aren’t a member of Sunday Society, I’ve missed you to bits!

After a month of building my energy back up, I can confidently say that I’m ready to get to back to things as usual.

With that said, here are my goals for 2019:

1. Learn as much as possible about my health.

If you read the intro (if you can call that crazy true life story an intro) to this blog post, you know that my health was horrendous in 2018 and I’m finally getting back into the swing of things.

My biggest goal for 2019 is to find the right family doctor for me and get a lot of stuff re-tested.

When I started getting sick about seven years ago, my doctors tested me for everything. I saw infectious disease specialists, allergists, dermatologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, and rheumatologists.

But, I haven’t had my vitamin levels or thyroid or other things tested in years. Being vegan and gluten-free, I have a very limited diet and it does affect my health. If I’m low on B-12 or vitamin D, it could be affecting my energy and lots of other things.

The more I know, the better equipped I’ll be at helping myself.

I know I’ll have achieved this goal once I’ve found the right family doctor and have had testing I want done.

2. Try block scheduling for one month.

Block scheduling is basically blocking out time from your day for specific tasks. For instance, you might block out 8am to 10am to exercise, shower and get ready, block out 10am to 12pm for admin tasks, block out 12pm to 12:30 for lunch, block out 12:30 to 4:30 for writing, etc.

In the past, I’ve always worked from a to-do list with a top three (top three things that must get done), but I’d like to try block scheduling for one full month to see how it works for me.

Then, I’ll decide whether I want to continue with block scheduling or return to using a to-do list for each day.

***I would’ve started this at the beginning of January but I want to document the process and my video camera is currently getting fixed. I’m going to start once I get it back.

3. Go to pilates twice a week.

In the first half of 2018, I went to pilates pretty much every Tuesday and Friday. Because of the decline in my health, I missed a lot of my sessions in the second half of the year.

I want to pick it back up in 2019 because pilates makes a huge impact on my health.

It lowers my anxiety, in just under two months it helped me lose two dress sizes, I tend to feel creative and energized for hours after each session, and I have less overall pain when I go consistently.

This is a goal that I know I can reach because I’ve done it before.

4. Read every day I don’t have a migraine.

I wish I could list read every day in 2019 as a goal, but those of you out there who get migraines know it’s impossible to read when you’ve got one.

Reading brings me so much joy that it feels silly to list it as a goal, but I’m including it because sometimes I pick other things over reading at night that don’t make me as happy…such as Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.

When I choose to read, I get better sleep and I enjoy my time before bed a lot more. I just need the reminder…or gentle push.

5. Publish 52 blog posts.

Other than in the last half of 2018, I’ve been known for my very consistent blog posts. In the eight years of running Blacksburg Belle, this was the first time I didn’t keep a steady blogging schedule.

That’s not happening this year. I’ve already got a TON of topics I want to cover and I’m ready to commit to publishing 52 blog posts this year.

I’m moving away from publishing them on the same day of the week every week but you’ll get a blog post every week from me. Make sure you’re signed up to receive my emails if you don’t want to miss them.

I’m going to stop at five. I have more goals. Many more things I want to accomplish in 2019. But, this is enough for now.

What’s one of your goals for 2019? I’d love to hear about it in the comments of this post!

Giveaway: The End of Boring (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)

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Only one person could inspire me to wear a crown of butterflies, a host of temporary tattoos and a witch-like outfit for a photoshoot.

(Spoiler: I liked it.)

Her name is Mayi Carles and when anyone describes her they use words like: entertaining, hilarious, smart, playful, cute, artistic, weird, imaginative, beautiful and witty.

You know what word they never use when describing Mayi or her brand?

Boring.

Hang out with Mayi and you’ll feel like you can conquer the world. Spend time scrolling through her Instagram account and you’ll laugh and smile and want to create something amazing of your own. Watch videos on her blog and you’ll spit out your coffee from laughter and you’ll feel like Beyonce dancing with her during her outtakes and you’ll learn how to run a successful business during it all.

But, you won’t be bored. You’ll never be bored.

One of Mayi’s greatest superpowers is that she can pull the extraordinary out of others.

She uses this superpower for good by teaching people how to make their brands distinct. Once a year, she opens her program, The End of Boring which is a master class on how to make a living by being yourself.

It includes 7 video lessons, missions, hand-crafted funsheets, office hours, a members-only space and a medal of honor upon graduation. The lessons range from choosing originality to finding your weirdos to the art of making money.

(video provided by the lovely Mayi Carles)

You can find out much more about The End of Boring right here but before you click that link, you need to keep reading…seriously…it’s worth it!

We’re both lucky this year.

I’m lucky because I get to work with all the women (hey, girl haaaaaaay!) who enroll for The End of Boring this year through a lesson I’m teaching all about ending boring content. (Say goodbye to dull blog posts and emails and social media posts FOREVER!)

You’re lucky because I’m giving away one seat to The End of Boring and you could win it.

Even though a golden ticket to The End of Boring is worth jumping through several hoops, I’m making this super duper easy on you.

Here’s how you enter:

If you want to enter to win a spot inside this master class, all you need to do is comment below with the number one reason you want to join THE END OF BORING. What do you think it’ll do for you and your business?

Leave your comment before October 30th at 11am EST.

THE WINNER OF THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLARISSA! CONGRATS!

Mayi will be in touch soon to get you hooked up with The End of Boring! YAY!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. I loved reading through all of your answers and getting to know you better.

Interested in learning more about The End of Boring (I mean…who wouldn’t be)? Click here!

(If you’ve already joined The End of Boring, I’d also love to know in the comments cause we’re gonna be hanging out soon during my lesson!)

Must Read for Perfectionists (a.k.a. the Monica Gellers and Hermione Grangers of the World)

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Should you publish your blog post even though you might not have caught every error or wait until you can read through it another 17 times?

Should you launch your website even though you designed it yourself (and…gasp!…you’re not a designer) because you’re brand new to business and you can’t afford a designer or wait until you save $6000 to afford your dream designer?

Should you start an Instagram account if your photos aren’t up to the level of a professional photographer or wait until you can take a few photography courses and get a DSLR camera?

Is it okay to sometimes put out or even strive for B or B- (instead of A) work?

This is something I haven’t stopped thinking about since listening to a conversation between Amy Porterfield and Jon Acuff where they briefly chatted about this on Amy’s podcast, Online Marketing Made Easy (here’s the specific episode if you want to give it a listen–highly recommend!).

I’ve always been of the mindset that you should put out your best work…ALWAYS. But, I follow that up with the idea that it means YOUR best work…not someone else’s standard.

What’s the point of publishing a book if you’re just going to give it most of your effort but not all?

Or, what’s the point of creating a painting that you phone in?

Even though I believe this, the idea of putting out “B” work is genius for a specific group of people: perfectionists.

(Hello, my name is April and I’m a recovering perfectionist. I could tell you some stories that would make you think I have major Paris Geller problems. Such as how I went to my Dean when I received my only B in grad school at NYU–every other grade I got was an A–to demand my grade be changed to an A.)

This “striving for B work” idea serves perfectionists because they never, ever think something is good enough.

I know creatives who’ve come up with brilliant blog post ideas but didn’t write them because they might not turn out perfect or as good as “so-and-so’s” blog posts.

I know creatives who have blog posts sitting on their hard drives that they never posted because after the nineteenth round of editing they still didn’t think they were up to snuff. (Oh yeah…you know who you are. I’m pointing my finger directly at you.)

I’ve worked with entrepreneurs who’ve thought about selling “x” for YEARS, but they haven’t done it.

Why? They couldn’t do it perfectly.

They couldn’t hire a website designer to put together the perfect website, they didn’t know everything there was to know about Etsy, they didn’t know how to take professional photos of their products, and they didn’t know how to write the perfect sales page.

And, guess what has happened?

Life has gone on and these people have missed chance after chance after chance. Possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars. Possibly connections that could’ve led to a book deal or a deal for a fabric line or getting their stationery into Anthropologie or teaching at CreativeLive or leaving that day job they despise.

Perfectionists live in fear.

They delete their photos instead of posting them on Instagram. They talk themselves out of doing a Facebook Live because they’re terrified people won’t join, or there will be awkward silences or they’ll stumble over their words (also known as being human and learning). They delete their helpful and entertaining video footage instead of creating a video for YouTube.

Fear is ruling their ability to create and share what they create.

If you fall into this group of people who constantly questions themselves and never shows their work because “it’s never good enough” and always talks themselves out of trying creative things because it won’t be perfect, this idea is for YOU.

Aim to put out “B” work.

This takes the pressure off of having to perfect things before you share them with the world. It gives you permission to publish that blog post that might have an error that you missed even though you went through five rounds of editing.

When you find yourself falling into the perfectionist trap, come back to this thought process and tell yourself that you’re going for a “B” today–not an “A.”

Now, being a perfectionist in recovery, I know how hard this is to actually do.

You want that “A” sooooooooooooo damn bad. It’s hard to let go.

It’s a muscle you build up. The more you do it, the easier it gets to stop carrying such a hard load on your shoulders and letting go of the little stuff.

We’re human.

We all make mistakes and almost all of us (except that loser at his keyboard wearing dirty underwear and spilling Cheetos on himself who’s waiting to hate on anybody) overlook mistakes, because we make them, too.

Remind yourself that you’re doing your best and if you don’t want to have regrets ten years from now, start sharing that “B” work!

Thank you to Amy Porterfield and Jon Acuff for starting this conversation and giving me the inspiration for this blog post!

Are you a perfectionist in recovery? Has this been holding you back from sharing any of your work or trying anything new like Instagram Live? Let’s chat about it in the comments below.

One Reason Many Creative Businesses Fail

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One Reason Many Creative Businesses Fail

One reason why many creative businesses fail is because entrepreneurs expect regularity.

They assume they’ll make about the same amount of money they did last month and last quarter and last season.

Creative businesses don’t work this way.

You have periods of time where you have big spikes in sales and you have lulls.

Same with attention.

If you host a webinar in mid December when your ideal customer is extremely busy and not paying attention, you’ll probably have a lot less attendees than if you wait until around January 5th when your ideal customers are back in front of their computers and ready to make big changes for the year.

I have many clients who ask questions like, “How can I get more consistent sales?” or “How can I figure out how much I’m going to make every month so I can budget things out?”

When you’re running a creative business, the answers to these questions are you really can’t.

If you sell handmade jewelry, you should have a huge increase in sales around holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas.

If you sell digital courses, you’re going to notice that less people are in front of their computers and less willing to take online courses at certain periods of time such as around holidays and in the summer, especially if they have kids home from school. People get fired up to learn new things in September and October and in the beginning of the year.

If you sell knitting patterns for scarves, socks and hats, you’re going to have a lot more sales in fall and winter and a lot less sales in late spring and summer.

Knowing what to expect in each month, quarter and season of your business helps you to plan well, launch new products when people will buy and launch your best content when your ideal customers are paying attention.

If you don’t think about these things and just put out new products whenever, expect hundreds of webinar viewers in your slowest month and hope to grow your email list when no one is paying attention, you’re going to end up frustrated and with an empty PayPal account.

Instead, you need to make the most of each season of your business and this is how you do it:

Step 1: Analyze your business.

If you’ve been in business for at least one full year, make a list of your biggest promotions, launches, ads, webinars, blog posts, etc. for as long as you’ve been in business (or the last three years).

Now, get three pieces of paper. On the first one, make a list of all twelve months. Separate the second one into the four quarters (quarter 1: January, February, March; quarter 2: April, May, June; quarter 3: July, August, September; quarter 4: October, November, December). Separate the third piece paper into four sections, one section for every season: winter, spring, summer, and fall.

Now place the first list you made of all your promotions and launches and everything else into where they belong. Put each launch, promotion, ad, blog post, etc. into the month they took place, the quarter they took place, and the season they took place.

Next, pick two different color highlighters or markers and assign one as successful and one as “could’ve gone a lot better.”

Highlight or mark each event that was a success. Highlight or mark each event that could’ve gone a lot better.

Are there any big themes?

Have you noticed that almost everything in the month of July “could’ve gone a lot better” or everything in the first quarter is a success for you?

Maybe you have a mix of things but most of your successes lie in the fall and in January.

This is how you decide when to plan your launches and which months you should put a lot of emphasis on growing your email list.

It also shows you that in particular months you’re going to have to be extra creative to keep your ideal customers’ attention. And, since many of your followers will miss the content you put out during these months that you should reference it or even re-post it during your best months.

P.S. If you haven’t been in business for more than a year, you’re going to make your best educated guesses on your busiest and slowest months, seasons and quarters. Then, as you go through your first three years, pay attention to the themes.

Step 2: Make a financial plan.

One of the hardest issues creatives deal with is the financial ups and downs.

But, the good news is that if you plan for them, they won’t hit you hard. You’ll know they’re coming, you’ll know you have to save until the next big pay day and you can even plan products or services that will sell during your slow months to get you by.

I’ve had multiple clients who save their one-on-one spots for their slow months and only coach or consult during those months/seasons. They keep a waiting list open and have clients who are ready to sign up as soon as they open up the spots.

Maybe you offer your one and only sale during your slowest quarter of the year to get a big payday to help with the downtime!

No matter what…you need a plan.

You need to know which months, quarter, and/or season are your slowest. You need to know how much you need to save to pay your bills and your employees and not have to eat ramen noodles every night for dinner.

Most importantly, you need to expect this to happen.

If you sell handmade handbags and have a rush of sales before Mother’s Day, you can’t expect to have the same sales the next month.

Set your expectations accordingly and you’ll get a lot more enjoyment out of running a creative business.

Step 3: Plan your launches and big promotions during the time they’ll be most successful.

Now that you know when your launches will get the most sales and your content will attract the most eyeballs, you can plan respectively.

Get one of those huge twelve-month calendars where you can see all twelve months at the same time. Highlight your best months with one color and your worst months with another color. If you have some months that fall in the middle, you can pick another color for them.

What upcoming products and services are you planning to launch? Pick a month/season/quarter that will work best for you.

Also, consider holidays. Do they work well for your business or do they work against your business?

For instance, if you have a product-based business that sells something that would make a nice gift, holidays probably increase your sales whereas in a consulting, teaching or service-based business like mine, holidays decrease sales.

Put a star next to holidays that give you a spike in sales. Put a cross next to holidays that always impact your sales poorly. This way you know whether or not to plan promotional material around those holidays.

This visual will help you consider when to invest in ads, when to host webinars, when to post your best blog posts, when to post more frequently on social media, when to invest more time on live videos and more.

Step 4: Decide how to use your downtime wisely.

When you don’t have sales rushing in, you might think it’s the time to sit back and relax.

While this is a great time to plan a vacation with your family, that’s only a week or two. What about the rest of your slowest quarter?

This is the time to take a bit of a creative sabbatical and develop your next line of fabric designs. It’s your chance to write 10 blog posts to use during your busiest time of the year when the last thing you have time for is blogging. It’s perfect for creating content for your next launch.

Want more ideas and more details? I wrote an entire blog post on 18 Smart Ways to Use Your Business Downtime that you can find right here.

It’s just as important to plan this time as it is to plan your busy time. If you don’t use this time wisely, you’ll find yourself frantic when the sales rush in.

Do you know your busiest seasons? What are they? And, how do you use your downtime to prep for your busy seasons? I’d love to know in the comments below.

How to Come Back After an Unplanned Break

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How to Come Back after an Unplanned Break

Did you your autoimmune disease flare up causing you to stop blogging for three months?

Did you get a new day job that took over your life causing you to take a break from posting regularly on Instagram?

Did starting grad school take way more time than you thought causing you to stop almost everything including emailing your list for the last five months?

Whatever it was, you felt you had no other option but to take an unplanned break and now you’ve found your footing. You want to return but you don’t know how to do so gracefully. It’s been months and you feel guilty and wonder how your followers are going to react.

Are they going to be upset? Are they going to ignore you? Are they going to think you’re just going to disappear again?

Let me ease your mind.

Your followers are busy with their own lives. Your super duper ‘check all the time to see if you’ve posted new content’ fans will have noticed that you’ve been absent. They might’ve even checked in with you to see if you’re okay.

But most of your followers are overloaded with their own lives to notice your absence in their inbox or on Instagram.

They’ll just be happy when you reappear with great content.

So, how do you come back?

Do you need to acknowledge your absence? Do you need to apologize? Do you need to come back with a party or some over-the-top content to grab your followers attention?

I’ve been asked these questions by probably 100 clients over the past eight years of running my consulting business, so let me tackle this once and for all.

Here are three suggestions to help you return after an unplanned break:

1. Jump back in without apologies.

Your followers don’t want your apology. They want you to get back to the content they love.

Like I said above, the people reading your blog or subscribed to your email list have overwhelming lives of their own. They probably haven’t noticed your absence, so don’t make it more obvious with flashing lights and long apologies.

Instead, create valuable, entertaining content for them. They will appreciate that more than an apology about how your day job is draining all your energy and you broke your toe and you’re taking care of your sister’s cat while she’s backpacking through Europe and you’re sorry for not emailing for the past three months.

Think about the ‘I’m sorry for not posting’ apologies you read. Don’t they fall into the annoying category?

Don’t stumble into that trap.

Just jump back into posting your regular content.

2. Don’t overthink it.

Many of my clients who have taken an unplanned break think they have to come up with Beyonce-at-the-superbowl-like comeback content for the first thing they post when they return.

This keeps them from posting because they can’t think of the “perfect” thing to post.

It doesn’t have to be the most brilliant piece of content you’ve ever posted. It should be good and offer value, but don’t stop yourself from moving forward because you haven’t created the best blog post of all time.

After a break, your first Instagram post or blog post or email to your list should look like the content you created before the break. Write something you’re used to writing or take a photo similar to the photos you uploaded before you stopped posting.

You want your followers to see the content and think, “yep, that’s so-and-so.” It should work with your brand.

3. Come back with consistency.

So you took an unplanned break? Sh*t happens. (Yeah, I just cursed. This is serious!)

I get it. For the past three months, I’ve had to change medications about six times and it has taken a huge toll on my health. I never thought I would miss a week of blogging, but I had to prioritize my work and Sunday Society was my absolute priority.

I finally have my medication under control and I’m back!

When you return, decide what consistency means to you. Emailing every week…blogging every other week…posting on Instagram three times per week.

Establish that rule for yourself and stick to it.

Don’t disappear again for another three months.

If you keep disappearing and reappearing, you become an untrustworthy brand and when you ask for money, your followers are going to decline because they don’t know if you’re actually going to be there. They don’t know if you’re going to deliver on your promises.

Coming back with consistency is key to returning with grace.

If you do these three things, you can return with confidence.

The bottom line is get back to work…the world needs what you have to offer.

Have you taken a unplanned break? What was your experience returning to blogging or emailing your list or Instagram or Facebook?

Learn to Enjoy Writing Sales Copy

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During our last Sunday Society call, one of the members talked about her inability to write her sales page or sales email for a product that has been done for months.

This isn’t unusual.

More than three-quarters of my clients struggle with writing sales copy.

They create products or services with no issue. They might even sell some via word-of-mouth. They write free content like blog posts and social media posts.

But, when it comes to writing anything “sales-y,” they’d rather salsa with a wild lion.

I’m constantly trying to get to the bottom of this and the main issue I’ve uncovered is inner critic sabotage that takes over when someone who isn’t sales oriented sits down to write sales copy.

That’s why I’ve written a short guide to change your sales mindset each time you write anything related to sales so that you learn to enjoy it.

Here are your six steps:

1. Remind yourself that people are reading the page or email for a reason.

When your nasty inner critic takes control of your brain matter and tells you that everyone is going to unsubscribe as soon as they read your sales email, remind yourself that they are on your list for a reason.

It didn’t happen by chance.

They didn’t lose control of their fingertips and magically input their name and email address into your opt-in form.

And, they haven’t stayed subscribed to your list by chance either.

Some of your subscribers may need an email declutter but most stick around because they want more from you.

They like your brand which means they want to know when you have something for sale.

When people enjoy your free content, they want the option to buy your products and services. They want more information. They want to be the first to know about new offerings. And, they want to receive sales emails.

If they didn’t, they would unsubscribe.

The same goes for a sales page. If someone lands on your sales page and sticks around, they’re interested. So tell your inner critic to stick it.  

2. Change your mindset from “sales-y” to “decision making.”

The biggest pushback I get from clients when I tell them to sell to their audiences is “I don’t want to be too sales-y.”

I have to hold back an eye roll because I’m not fourteen-years-old and I also understand.

I work with women and many women struggle with coming across as pushy and sales-y. They’re afraid it will backfire and they’ll lose potential customers.

It won’t work for me to yell, “GET OVER IT. YOU’RE RUNNING A BUSINESS!” That’s just going to make you feel even worse and probably have you running to hide under your duvet.

Here’s how we’re going to deal with this.

Instead of approaching a sales page or sales email with the intent on selling, you’re going to set the goal of helping readers make an informed decision.

You want to help them decide whether or not buying is the right option for them.

That’s less scary, right?

We’ve left the “sales” topic altogether. Now, you’re doing something that a woman does really well: helping a potential customer problem solve.

This will change your mindset but give you the same results.

3. Only sell to those who will love it.

One of the reasons most people hate sales is because of the slimey, sick feeling they get just thinking about the word.

That feeling comes from trying to push products and services onto the wrong people.

People who don’t actually want or need the product. People who won’t like the product. People who will wish they didn’t buy the product.

You will always feel good about selling if you sell to the right people. You do this by simply telling the truth and writing your sales copy to your ideal customer.

If your product is best for people who already know the knit and purl stitch, don’t sell to those who’ve never picked up knitting needles. If your service is right for women who want to be Instagram influencers, don’t say that it’ll work for anyone who wants to grow their IG account in your Q&A section.

It’s never worth the short term monetary gain to sell to the wrong people. It won’t feel good to you and you’ll be left with unhappy customers.

The best way to change your mindset about sales is to keep this tip in mind.

If you’re only selling your jewelry to women who adore it, you’re always going to feel good about selling it, right?

4. Don’t write it all at once.

If you want a calm mindset when you sit down to write any type of sales copy, then you need to break it up into sections.

For instance, if you’re writing a sales page, you should have deadlines for: the rough draft, the first, second, and third round of edits, the visuals/photos, and putting it all together.

If you’re trying to do it all at once, your inner critic is going to have the best time mocking you.

Don’t wait until the day before the launch. You think differently when you’re in drafting mode versus when you’re editing. You also need different rounds of editing so that you can focus on distinct things such as cutting everything unnecessary versus adding more personality and story versus making sure every word is the exact right word.

It’s much easier to write a sales page or sales email draft when you know it’s just the draft and you have multiple rounds of edits to improve it.

Otherwise, it’s too much pressure.

5. Remind yourself of your business why.

Another way to keep a positive mindset when writing sales copy is to keep in mind your business why.

Write it down on a post-it and stick it on your computer screen.

If you’ve created a membership site to empower women to build their own websites, brands and businesses and no longer rely on cookie cutter options or $5000 designers (hey, Amanda Creek) and you’ve got this posted on your computer screen while you’re writing your sales copy, it’s easier to keep going and feel less icky about it.

You know that you’re doing good. It’s not just about the money…it’s about so much more than that.

6. Remind yourself of your personal why.

When all else fails, remind yourself about your personal why.

This is a lot less altruistic, but we go into business for partly selfish reasons.

One of my personal whys is that working from home allows me to work despite my health issues.

It would be next to impossible for me to work a regular 9-5, so I’ve built a business with very flexible work hours that allows me to work when I’m feeling good and rest when I’m feeling bad.

If I’m sitting down to write a sales page or sales email and none of these other tips above are working, I can tap into one of my personal whys such as this one. It helps me to shut down my inner critic pretty fast!

So, what’s one of your personal whys that you can think about when nothing else is pushing you to write that sales email?

It could be paying for a child’s college education. It could be finally leaving a day job that is making you miserable. It could be taking your family on a Disney vacation. It could be paying off a credit card.

These personal reasons can push us to do the uncomfortable.

I hope this short guide helps you change your mindset when you sit down to write sales copy, especially sales emails and sales pages.

I know they’re the hardest things to write in business, but these six points can change the game if you focus on them.

Instagram Hashtag Cheatsheet for Handmade Careers

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It’s my birthday!!!!!! Well, yesterday was, but let’s overlook that minor detail. And, because it’s my birthday, I made you a present.

I spent well over 40 hours working on this 1300+ hashtag cheatsheet for handmade careers for you. I hope you love it. If you sell in any of these categories, this cheatsheet will help you grow your following on Instagram:

  • Bath/Beauty/Soap Making
  • Calligraphy/Handlettering/Stationery
  • Ceramics/Pottery
  • Doll/Toy Designer
  • Embroidery
  • Jewelry Designer
  • Knitting/Crochet
  • Sewing/Textiles
  • Surface Design
  • Woodworking

I’ve also covered the following categories:

  • Maker/Handmade
  • Business/Marketing/Selling
  • Crafts/Crafted
  • Etsy

This cheatsheet lists a bunch of hashtags in each category and the hashtags are listed in order of usage. Each hashtag has the number of uses (at the time I created it) next to it so that you can decide which you should use based on your number followers, likes and comments.

Here’s an example of the Sewing/Textiles category:

  • sewing 7,380,309
  • wallart 6,600,000
  • fabric 5,000,000
  • weave 3,355,198
  • sewin 2,998,596
  • sew 1,662,910
  • fabrics 1,300,000
  • quilt 1,182,263
  • qulting 1,182,170
  • weaving 1,100,000
  • imadethis 1,000,000
  • fiberart 773,000
  • handwoven 732,000
  • wallhanging 656,000
  • tapestry 627,000
  • textileart 605,000
  • sewingproject 520,635
  • sewingmachine 451,230
  • isew 451,000
  • seamstress 427,000
  • applique 389,000
  • sewingforkids 349,628
  • handloom 313,000
  • quilts 292,790
  • naturaldye 256,000
  • sewcialists 250,000
  • sewinglove 228,320
  • handmadewardrobe 223,000
  • sewersofinstagram 202,900
  • weaversofinstagram 198,000
  • sewingaddict 194,135
  • diyfashion 188,000
  • bohemiandecor 178,000
  • fabriclove 176,000
  • fiberartist 175,000
  • handsewing 174,000
  • fibreart 172,000
  • sewingblogger 159,650
  • quilted 151,660
  • quiltsofinstagram 149,868
  • quiltersofinstagram 147,553
  • bohemianhome 147,000
  • fabricstore 139,000
  • fabricaddict 129,000
  • sewer 122,654
  • naturaldyes 121,000
  • sewingpattern 120,802
  • textileartist 118,000
  • instasew 118,000
  • quiltcover 110,993
  • sewist 110,429
  • fabricshop 107,000
  • wovenwallhanging 107,000
  • lovetosew 106,000
  • sewinglife 105,544
  • handweaving 103,000
  • sewingroom 102,703
  • longarmquilting 96,200
  • quilter 95,116
  • sewistofinstagram 94,245
  • modernquilt 92,300
  • cottonfabric 87,000
  • naturalfibers 86,800
  • sewn 84,927
  • sewingisfun 82,657
  • weaverfever 82,400
  • freepattern 81,200
  • wewingforgirls 77,296
  • ilovetosew 75,400
  • quiltmarket 74,383
  • modernquilting 71,600
  • sewingclass 70,796
  • handstitching 70,500
  • sewingtime 69,710
  • weavers 67,500
  • handknotted 65,900
  • weavingloom 65,600
  • fabricstash 64,300
  • sewingmama 63,877
  • sewcute 62,700
  • freemotionquilting 61,800
  • fabricshopping 60,600
  • sewingblog 57,900
  • sewsewsew 57,822
  • isewmyownclothes 56,300
  • sewingforbaby 55,695
  • sewingpatterns 55,188
  • sewingprojects 52,757
  • weaveweird 52,600
  • handquilting 52,000
  • imademyclothes 47,700
  • seamstresslife 47,400
  • quiltblock 47,012
  • sewmuchcrafting 46,259
  • quiltlover 46,245
  • newfabric 45,900
  • sewingissexy 45,344
  • sewingfun 45,276
  • floralfabric 44,700
  • imakemyclothes 44,300
  • sewingforboys 43,779
  • sewingbee 42,800
  • quiltingfabric 42,535
  • sewingstudio 40,561
  • pdfpattern 39,300
  • ilovehandloom 38,200
  • sewingwithlove 36,215
  • sewallthethings 35,700
  • wovenart 35,100
  • printedfabric 33,300
  • quilters 32,465
  • wovenwallart 32,500
  • machinequilting 31,500
  • sewingclasses 31,493
  • premiumcotton 31,300
  • quiltshop 21,224
  • loomweaving 31,200
  • sewingkit 31,175
  • handmaderug 28,400
  • quiltingfun 28,357
  • sewingforme 27,733
  • sewingbox 27,543
  • sewingmom 27,116
  • handsew 26,100
  • newfabrics 25,300
  • sewingschool 24,686
  • sewinglovers 24,110
  • sewingday 23,914
  • woventapestry 23,800
  • homesewn 23,300
  • sewingskills 22,201
  • patterntesting 22,000
  • fabricscraps 21,500
  • sewinginspiration 21,211
  • weavingart 20,800
  • sewersgonnasew 20,700
  • sewingtools 19,473
  • onlinefabricstore 18,700
  • sewinglessons 18,658
  • woventextiles 18,400
  • quiltshow 18,246
  • sewingmachines 17,977
  • sewingmakesmehappy 17,748
  • quiltpattern 17,473
  • sewingworkshop 16,500
  • quiltedbag 16,445
  • quiltblocks 16,162
  • quiltfabric 16,162
  • sewingtutorial 15,528
  • sewingwithknits 15,200
  • quiltlife 15,182
  • quiltalong 15,043
  • sewingbags 14,305
  • sewcreative 14,200
  • sewingismytherapy 14,069
  • sewingtable 13,809
  • quiltdesign 13,300
  • quiltart 13,181
  • weaversofig 13,100
  • modernfabric 12,800
  • quiltingismytherapy 12,775
  • sewingislife 12,612
  • sewingtips 12,358
  • sewingspace 12,300
  • quiltshabby 13,319
  • quiltcoverset 11,603
  • sewingtherapy 11,511
  • jerseyknit 11,100
  • prettyfabric 10,600
  • quiltingcotton 10,300
  • sewingboundaries 10,201
  • quiltfestival 10,063
  • sewingnotions 9,626
  • sewingcraft 9,312
  • quiltinprogress 8,977
  • sewingcommunity 8,266
  • quiltbag 8,032
  • modernweaving 7,806
  • sewingismysuperpower 7,730
  • quiltbinding 7,568
  • quiltretreat 7,486
  • quiltedwithlove 6,994
  • sewingideas 6,387
  • handmadecloset 6,301
  • quiltingtreasures 5,834
  • quiltingit 5,727
  • sewingwithstyle 5,397
  • diydressmaker 5,356
  • fortheloveofsewing 5,351
  • sewinglifestyle 5,332
  • quiltkit 5,166
  • quiltingtips 5,047
  • quiltingismybliss 5,013
  • weavingtapestry 4,839
  • quiltmaker 3,831
  • quiltmania 3,779
  • quiltingonthego 3,172
  • sewingchronicles 2,959
  • measuretape 1,294

In my last blog post, I shared five tips on using hashtags effectively along with a cheatsheet for artists. If you missed that blog post, read it. It’ll make hashtags a lot more useful to you.