It’s not your Traffic, it’s your Voice

This is the beginning of the BlissDom Series. How can I properly describe how mind blowingly amazing BlissDom was? I’ve spent the week digesting everything I learned. It’s important that I share my personal thoughts, my memories, but also, what I learned business wise. It would be impossible to share it only once.

BlissDom was like being forced to sprint through Disney as a kid. I wanted to slow down a savor every moment. Megan, Tsh, Nester and I look so happy in this beautiful photo from Mishi. We were having a blast!

And just to show what an amazing photographer she is, look at her mosaic I stole from her site. {with permission, of course} She is a talented contributor at Photo Bliss over at Blissfully Domestic, too.

As I drove to the hotel Friday night I was full of butterflies. I realized that I was a little worried. I was about to meet so many women for the first time. What if someone was a weirdo? Or a big jerk? You never really know till you can hang out in person. Would the camaraderie we share online carry over to real life? If not, I knew my concept of the community of women bloggers would be crushed.

I walked in my hotel room and found Tsh, Megan, Robin and Heather. My heart just blew up right there at that moment. They were perfect, all even more amazing than I imagined. Bliss.

The whole weekend I found myself throwing my arms around the fabulous women I met. It just happened automatically because I LOVE these people. I love their stories, their vision, and I loved the fact that they came so far to share the day.

Even more important than all the tips I learned, more than our plans to take over teh interwebz, was the overwhelming sense of sisterhood. We spent our time encouraging each other, sharing our knowledge and banding together.

In a panel I told the crowd, “Blogging is not a zero sum game.” My success doesn’t cause someone else to not be successful. Your success builds mine, and vice versa. Our successes and influence build us all up. We all blog for different reasons: to share our hearts and thoughts, for attention, because we are lonely at home, to support our families. Whatever the reason, it is of utmost importance to remember that we are a community, and our voices are growing stronger everyday.

Because of traffic based ad networks and the newness of the blogosphere, we believed our success as bloggers was based on our stats. I want to go climb a mountain with my megaphone and yell, “It’s not your traffic, it is your voice!”

Some sites have a readership in the hundreds of thousands, some have one hundred; it is what we do with our sites that is important. Do we share our lives in a way that opens someone’s eyes? Do we share an experience that starts a grassroots movement to change a company policy? Maybe we use our sites as platforms to launch a book, develop a support group, launch a business or support a cause.

That is the measure we must use. It is all about finding your voice, letting your wonderful personality come through and building your dream for your self and your site. It is influence. It is NOT traffic.

My motto is “Respect the Brand.” You are a brand, your sites are part of your brand. What does your brand stand for? Where do you see yourself, your site(s) and your reach in one year or even five years?

It’s time we rethink what makes this platform work for us. I don’t know all the answers, but as I learn them, I want to share them with you. Who wants to join me?

Please, please share your thoughts in the comments. Don’t be afraid. What are your thoughts about your brand, your site(s) and your future? What do you think about the traffic vs. influence concept? Or just say, “Hi”. I’m done talking, so talk back to me ladies!

I love to hear from you.