Teresa O’Connor, Keynote Day 2

The Journey of Building A BrandTeresa O’Connor of Seasonal Wisdom

1http://garden-bloggers-conference.com/

Copyright Teresa Connor SeasonalWisdom.com

Please Fasten Your Seat Belts

• A Quick Trip Back to Past• Various Stops Along the Way• Moving Forward

– 7 Social Media Steps to Success• What’s Your Direction?

http://garden-bloggers-conference.com/ Copyright Teresa Connor

SeasonalWisdom.com2

But First, Let’s RewindBack to ...


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2009

My Journey Began

• Professional Writer ... With strong background in marketing and PR.

• Master Gardener ... Trying to break into gardening and food writing.


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Three Women Pushed Me On


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Seasonal Wisdom Was Born

• New blog• New creative direction• New way to network

Baby Steps


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2009 – 2011: Glory Years of Twitter

• Lots of excitement• Everyone “new”• More interaction• Less self-promotion• Conversations galore• Many friendships began


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GWA 2009

• First Tweet-Up Ever• Hosted by @HelenYoest• All “knew” each other• Instant recognition• Steps ahead already!


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You Can Still Benefit from Twitter

We’ll talk about HOW in a minute.


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Next Stops on Journey


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But most of us met on Twitter...

Unexpected Side Trip• 3 Months on Twitter• Asked to Co-Author• First Crowd-Sourced

Garden Book• Social Media Driven• Recipes, photos, ideas

from across the globehttp://garden-bloggers-conference.com/


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Grocery Gardening TeamOther Authors:• Jean Ann Van Krevelan

@JeanAnnVK• Amanda Thompsen

@KissMyAster• Robin Ripley

@RobinRipleyhttp://garden-bloggers-conference.com/


12100 % Virtual Team

Next Stop? Podcasting



Nest In Style on iTunes

Co-host: Jayme Jenkins @JaymeJenkins

Interviewed Nearly Everybody

• Rosalind Creasy (Leader in Edible Landscaping)

• Magazine editors, garden designers, book authors and more...

Recorded on iPhone



Nest in Style Interviews• Garden designers like @SusanCohan (NYC

metro) and @SweetRebecca (San Francisco)• Garden Show organizers like @JanetEndsley

(Northwest Flower & Garden Show - @NWFGS)• Garden editors at @FineGardening @SunsetMag• Book authors like @DebraLBaldwin



Benefits of Podcasts

• Met lots of people• Gained knowledge• Got great content• Built relationships• Showed skills



Nest in Style Hort Radio

Monthly Segments for Horticulture Magazinehttp://garden-bloggers-conference.com/


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Next Stop? A New Look



Moved On to WordPress



Web design and technical help - Fern Richardson of LifeOnTheBalcony.com

Kicked Off with Week of Giveaways



Hasn’t Slowed Down Yet...



Trip Highlights



Garden2Blog with P. Allen Smith

One of “Ten Great Garden Blogs,” P. Allen Smith.



Two Years of Garden2Blog Invites



Best Part? Meet Other Bloggers



• @UrbanGardens• @OurLittleAcre• @LifeOnTheBlcny• @HelenYoest• @MulchMaven• @PunkRockGardens• And many more fun,

talented writers...

Bing’s Summer of Doing Vertical Gardening Expert



Speaking OpportunitiesPanel on Incredible Edibles Talks from Boston to Boise



Joe Lamp’l, Willi Galloway and Graham Kerr “Galloping Gourmet”

Resource for Garden Companies

Pleasant Valley/GrowOrganic.com Burpee’s Blog



Edible flowers video on company site Herb tips in Burpee’s blog

Media Source Gardening, Food, Folklore



Columbia News Wire Story Multiple Stories on Seasonal Folklore

Editors Started Calling





National Garden Authors Team

What About Your Journey?



Success You Want1. Often when you’re most discouraged, the

phone will ring. Keep moving forward.2. It’s easy to forget what you’ve accomplished.

Schedule time to pat yourself on back.3. Success is much easier when you’re working

with others. Find travel companions.



Seven Steps to Social Media Success



#1 – Think Outside YourselfYou are NOT alone:• Share like crazy• RT/FB shares/ G+• Reach out to others• Join conversations• Promote more than self

Social Media = Communityhttp://garden-bloggers-conference.com/


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From the Very Beginning ...

• Stories about others:– Favorite plants– Favorite projects– Favorite seasonal tips– Favorite recipes– Favorite books– Reviews of their books



Speaking of Recipes ...May Wine from

OurLifeinIdaho.Blogspot.comTomato Sauce from FoodandStyle.com



Four out of Five Hall of Fame Nominations for

“Best Overall Blog”Already featured on

SeasonalWisdom.com



#2 – Collaborate• Partner with others• Interview others• Form “support” groups• Link to each other

Garden Designers Roundtable

http://gdrt.wordpress.com/



http://gdrt.wordpress.com/

Guest Contributors



Plus! 5 Reasons Bloggers DON’T want Guest Posts @ TeresaTOconnor.com

#3 – Provide Value• Go the extra mile• “News they can use”• Links, photos, research,

other sources• Think refrigerator

journalism – would they hang this on fridge?



#4 - Entertain

• Show versatility• Give hard-to-find info• Do unexpected• Make them laugh

Would you want to follow you on Twitter?



#5 - Reciprocate

• Repay “favors”• Show gratitude• Do unto others ...

Reciprocity makes the social media world turn.



BonBonBreak.com

• Features other bloggers• Promotes weekly• Receives lots of

RTs/shares

Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook support



#6 – Step Up!

• Speak at garden events• Do podcasts• Consider products• Support community• #gardenchat, #rosechat,

#treechat, #groundchat



Gardeners on TwitterBrenda Haas @BG_garden

#gardenchat @TheGardenChat

Monday 9 p.m. ET

Trends on TwitterOften reaches 100K folks via 100+ participants.



Rose Lovers #RoseChat

• Hosts: Chris VanCleave @RedneckRosarian, Teresa Byington @AGardenDiary

• Podcast, Twitter chats, and more...



Gardeners on Pinterest• Pamela Price of

Redwhiteandgrew.com• Vegetable Garden

Bloggers + Garden Bloggers on Pinterest

• Garden bloggers share posts, reach thousands



7 – Stay on the Right Path

• What feels right?• Is it still fun?• Are you growing?• Showcasing your skills?• Time for new direction?



Questions to Ask Yourself

• What matters most to you? Fun? Portfolio? $?• What does “success” mean to you?• Advertising? Guest Posts? Giveaways?• Who could help with writing, photos, design?• What stories do you want to tell?



Trip Report Summary

1. Blogging is a journey, filled with unexpected surprises.

2. You never quite know where you’ll end up.3. Don’t go alone ... travel with others who

inspire you.



A Few More Travel Companions• Growing a Greener World @GGWTV• Leaf Magazine at @LeafMag• Theresa Loe @TheresaLoe• Robin Haglund @GardenMentor• Nancy Wallace @SassyNancy• Niki Jabbour @NikiJabbour• Annie Haven @GreenSoil• LaManda Joy @TheYarden• Carole Sevilla Brown @CB4wildlife• Kerry Michaels @ContainerGarden• Lynn Felici-Gallant @IndigoGardens• Chris McLaughlin @Suburban_Farmer• Maggie Lawrence @BackyardWisdom• Kathy Vilim @NativeGardener



Plus, so many more...

Wherever You’re Heading ...Enjoy the Ride



Any Questions?



www.SeasonalWisdom.com

Photos Courtesy of Flickr and ...Amphalon

Crazy House CapersDamian Gadal

Enoksonerjkprunczyk

H is for HomePamla J. EisenbergThrift Store Addict

UpNorth Memorieshttp://garden-bloggers-conference.com/


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Self Improvement

Teresa O’Connor, Keynote Day 2