Hi everyone hope your day is going well!
A couple of weeks ago I went to my very first 30-40 Blogger Meet in London. Totally awesome suddenly being face to face with people I had been chatting to via social media for the past year – thank you so much Catherine from Not Dressed as Lamb for organising!
from left to right: me, not dressed as lamb, music & wine, keeping it fabulous, alternative aging, well styled
Arriving at the event down Kings Road in London felt a little like going back in time, having lived just around the corner for a year before moving to Switzerland.
Of course being a fabulous group of women there was tons of chatting and networking to start the event but later Catherine shared her 3 key tips for “how to win at blogging” – they make alot of sense and are worth a read in case you too would like to start blogging:
1. Giving :
It is important to be thankful and give back to those who help you along your blogging path.
2. Receiving:
You have to get this right – make sure brands don’t take advantage of you. When entering into collaborations it should be for brands of interest to both you and your readers.
3. Exposing:
Taking risks is an important part of blogging – dare to take a risk and write something personal about yourself, exposing the true you and you’ll be surprised at the positive impact!
Based on my own experience it is important to have strong blog ethics and a consistent strategy – the following are 3 blog ethics set up for FunkyForty:
Honesty – this has to be key, no point in lying online! My readers need to know they can trust me. Even if I am writing for another brand I will only ever write what i personally believe.
Positive – there are enough sad or tough things in life, so FunkyForty should be a platform that lets people escape a little into a fun positive world.
Silence – if I don’t like something I won’t write about it!
Was amazing meeting Greetje from no fear of fashion (in yellow coat), and the adorable Annette from lady of style
The Audacity of Hope:
The blogger event was sponsored by a new brand I had not heard of before but instantly fell in love with – Hope.
“The Hope story is about a personal journey for Nayna that started when her grandparents made the voyage from Jamaica to the UK looking for a better future. Hope and optimism was all they had when they arrived and are sentiments that go to the core of the brands values. This combined with the fact that ‘Hope’ is her Mother’s name were an obvious source of inspiration for a name to give the brand”
Listening to Nayna and seeing the wonderful garments being presented in front of me instantly made me think of a dear friend of mine Michelle – I knew these clothes would be perfect for her. She had a trip planned to London later that week for a huge piano exam… the Hope ladies met Michelle in her hotel room with the outfit carefully selected by me (smile) – the clothes looked amazing on her and gave her that last little confidence boost she needed to make sure she passed her piano exam with flying colours!
My Mum arrived from NZ at the end of the week and it was fabulous having a Hope top to give her as a little welcome present…she seems to be living in it ever since – perfect for packing and super comfy yet at the same time chic!
I love the sizing system Hope has. I tried on their trousers too and they fitted me perfectly – there is seriously something that ensures every shape and size looks fabulous!
This is super cute Lizzy from what lizzy loves, wearing the trousers.
Here is Sharon from keeping it fabulous wearing the most super cute pink poncho everyone was given as a present from Hope – can’t wait to wear mine!
There are no Hope shops so if you want to find out more about their clothes be sure to check out their website www.hopefashion.co.uk.
All in all the 30-40 Blogger meet was an amazing day, lots of adorable 30-40+ bloggers to exchange ideas with – I look forward to staying in touch with them and meeting up again in future.
In case you too would like to join the next blogger meet – register yourself here
Wishing you all a fabulous day!
11 Persons think this post is funky
I bet your mum was over the moon with that top! I might have to treat myself to one, it looks perfect for travelling.
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
Hi Emma,
Yes she was – hehe – am thinking the same as I can see how small it folds up and then still looks great once unpacked!
Have a fab week,
Yvonne xxx
😀❤️😘 Very nice story and stylish, Hope is also a very good inspiration
Glad you like it Sweetie!
XO Yvonne
I really enjoyed the day too. Hopefully we will get to chat more at the next one x
Yes it was a lovely day – will make sure we get a chance to talk more next time Laurie!
Have a lovely rest of week,
Yvonne xo
Lovely post about the blogger meet. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for featuring me too. So pleased with that. You did great for your friend and your mum. Styling is in your blood. It was great fun meeting you and the others. Who knows, we might meet again…
Greetje
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Greetje. I was really touched when I read it!
XO Yvonne
Yvonne, thank you so much for sharing this experience with us readers! I hope to someday get to a blogger meet up as well. I have met so many wonderful, positive, supportive women through my blogging adventure that it would be amazing to meet them in person some day! The Hope line looks amazing as well! I will continue to follow up on it, for sure. Really fabulous post!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Shelbee. I must admit that the whole experience made me want to set up a blogger meet in Switzerland too – I would possibly see if my neighbours in Germany, Austria etc would like to come too – smile.
Have a wonderful day and looking forward to seeing more of you online and maybe one day in person!
Yvonne XO
What a fun post Yvonne and how nice to get to meet all these bloggers in London! I love the points you make that are so important to keep as a ‘code of ethics’ for blogging.
xoDale
Thank you for your lovely comment Dale:-)
xoYvonne
Yvonne this is such a fantastic post!! Thank you for your kind words – I am SO glad we got to meet at last as we’ve missed each other a couple of times as you know… Didn’t we have such fun?!! It went so much better than I could ever have hoped for 🙂
I loved what you said about keeping it real and only blogging about what you love – there’s no other way to do it genuinely IMO. Oh and before I forget how fantastic do your friend and your mum look?! That was so lovely of you, the Hope collection was made for them!!
I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon, fingers crossed
Much love,
Catherine x
P.S. My chocolates were sooooo delicious, thank you so much for them! A perfect accompaniment to a peppermint tea!!!!
Catherine thanks so much for this lovely note. I am so glad I made the effort to come all the way from Zurich to your blogger event – it was so so so worth it – I loved it so much! Awesome to finally meet you face to face as well as all the other lovely bloggers! As for Hope – well I am sold on them – smile!
I am looking forward to seeing you again soon – am sure something will come up.
The chocolate and peppermint tea combination made me smile – this was my staple diet when I was at uni – hehe.
Yvonne XX