weekly faves [01]

so, like, everyone does a weekly favorites post. but i can't help it! i often stumble upon so much wonderful content and i tweet it, but i want to compile what i loved this week into a post! this may not be every week, but when i feel like it... aka the entire spirit of my blog. "whatever, when i feel like it." yeah, suuuuper professional, meredith. that's how we roll here. anyway.

• when i visited molly in athens last weekend, we went to brunch at this fabulous place called the pines. she's got a post about their yummy biscuits & pimento cheese grits. chyeah.
• as you probably noticed, whitney gave my blog a stunning refresh. she's amazing. seriously. direct all your design needs her way at heart & arrow design.
• 3 pieces of advice for introverted bloggers by jennypurr. yes, this. yes. this is a struggle i think many bloggers, writers & creatives share. i've written about my thoughts on introversion here.
• this moroccan style raspberry souffle is beautiful - and it features my favorite fruit!
• megan from lush to blush shares 3 things blogging taught her about herself. i'm a fan of this introspection. how has blogging really changed who you are or molded your life?

blogger collaboration 101: part two

last week, i talked about how to get started collaborating with other bloggers. to read that post, click here!

collaborating with businesses is not always as intuitive as working with fellow bloggers can be. and honestly, it can be intimidating. i remember not having the slightest clue about how to work with a business. i learned the ropes gradually, and now, i'm a lot more confident. this post is mostly going to be about approaching businesses you'd like to work with.

• identify who you want to work with. start small. start local. is there a new local restaurant in town? is there a fabulous candle company owned by a friend of a friend? i fully believe in giving a voice to smaller, locally owned businesses. working with larger companies is ok too. just don't forget your local friends.

• have your list (yes, make a list!) of companies? get the right contact. it is so imperative to do your best to locate the name of someone at the company you can chat with. if it's a small company, odds are the person answering your emails is the owner themselves. find this information and address your emails accordingly. if you search to the ends of the earth and can't find this, double check your email and make sure you sound absolutely sincere in your pitch. when i receive emails that don't use my name, i tend to automatically assume it's spam/someone who did no research. add details to your email that assure the recipient you actually viewed their site and understand their business.

• here's the most important tip i have to offer: this collaboration is not about begging for products or asking to be recognized. initially, this collaboration is about how you can help benefit this business. keep this in mind. that's what you're here for. you're the voice. bloggers are the new media. do not ask what this business can do for you - ask what you can do for this business. i get it. you want the free eyeshadow. and while many companies are practically throwing samples out the window, a lot aren't. you need to build trust first.

• the initial email is not the time to play hardball. you're coming out of the dark, introducing yourself and establishing a conversation. wait until you receive an interested response from the company before getting explicit about what you want. once you've got a company's interest, this email is also the time to talk numbers if they ask - your blog stats, traffic and what sort of reach you feel you can provide. be honest. talk about your social media following as well, or any important roles you play in your local community that bring activity to your blog. stats aren't the only thing you have to offer.

• some businesses don't, well, "get it". many have not worked with bloggers or similar methods of promotion before. this is where you have to get blunt. ask for what you want after a few initial emails. "i am very interested in sharing _____ with my readers. could i try a sample so that i can adequately express my thoughts in a post?

ready? here's a sample "cold call" pitch email with an imaginary company.

dear ______,

my name is meredith davis and i blog over at www.meredithnoelle.com. i just discovered alabama candle company and have really enjoyed reading about your products on your website. as an alabama native, i am passionate about supporting all things local, and as a candle collector, you've kind of already got me sold.

my blog has a loyal readership of both alabama natives and other bloggers across the country. i would love the opportunity to help y'all get the word out about your endeavors, and would be happy to chat with you about promoting alabama candle company on my blog and social media. please let me know how i can help.

looking forward to hearing from you!
meredith

collaborating with other bloggers + businesses are two imperative skills for a seasoned blogger. do you have any other topics in this series you'd like to see?

further reading:

• helene in between's 'my answer to advertisers' - don't know what to say when you receive an email pitch asking you to work for free? helene handles this perfectly, and this is a must-read for all bloggers.
• feast & west's 'working with sponsors for a party' - these tips are applicable whether you're hosting a blogger event or just asking for sponsors in general.
• simply stacie's 'how to write a disclosure statement for your blog' - if you're accepting sponsored posts, you need a disclosure statement!

exploring athens

last weekend, beth and i ventured to athens, georgia to visit molly! since molly got married & moved last october, we hadn't had a chance to check out her new place. beth and i both had never been to athens and were so excited to make the trip.

we got in friday night, talked for hours and promptly got to exploring on saturday. we stopped by cali and tito's for lunch & then walker's pub for coffee as we explored downtown athens. it's such a cute town - really reminds me of fairhope! since athens has a trader joe's, we got the bright idea to go finally try this "cookie butter" everyone talks about. and during that conversation we decided... let's make cookie butter cupcakes! that's for a later post.

that night, we made our cupcakes, photographed them for probably hours (typical bloggers, duh), then made a wine & cheese plate to pre-game before we head out for the night. we ended up eating dinner at south kitchen + bar & omg, was it amazing. duck fat tater tots, truffled mac and cheese, killer cocktails... need i say more?

on sunday, we met up with jennifer of jenny sue makeup and elizabeth of mz savvy style for brunch at the pine. we talked all things blog and southern blog society. oh, and the brunch at the pine is fantastic.

i'm not sure why it took me so long to make my way to athens. it's a fun place and i can't wait to go back! what did you get into this weekend?

birmingham bloggers + bottle & bone

if you live in birmingham, you know who's got the meats: bottle & bone.

bottle & bone is a new establishment at the uptown entertainment district on the north side of town, catering to the beer, wine and meat lovers of birmingham. in addition to a to-die-for brunch, bacon flights (yeah. bacon. flights.), beer & wine on a tap plus any cut of meat you could ever ask for, bottle & bone hosts butchering classes, beer tastings and so, so much more.

the wonderful jen barnett of bottle & bone invited birmingham bloggers to stop by and get a taste of what bottle & bone has to offer. we sampled multiple bacon flights and boudin balls. those went kinda quick, as expected. we also tried the 'beef on wcek', which features brisket, brown sauce & creme fraiche, and the 'the daily grind', an awesome burger with pickles & aged cheddar.

paired with the bacon flights and awesome sandwiches, we sampled some dark beers - even a peanut butter ale! everyone sipped wine, local brews and chatted the night away while we got to know the menu. i met a lot of new birmingham bloggers and had fun talking with everyone!

thank you so, so much to jen and the entire bottle & bone team for hosting us! this place is awesome y'all, and i am so glad we've got such a unique addition to the birmingham culinary scene. bottle & bone is truly one of a kind. click here to take a look at their menu. if you're in birmingham and you haven't stopped in yet, you're missing out. cannot wait to go back!

some photos courtesy of the wonderful www.bethcakes.com :)

blogger collaboration 101: part one

at our birmingham bloggers coffee chat last weekend, we talked about our goals and resolutions for 2015. many people mentioned being interested in collaborating with businesses, events and other bloggers. this task can seem a little daunting if you haven't collaborated before. once you get into a good rhythm and begin to build relationships with the bloggers, creatives and businesses around you, you're going to feel like you're just talking to your friends. which is good, because these people should become your friends!

the first thing you need is a desire to get plugged in. in today's post, we're going to start with collaborating with other bloggers. 

• if you're a new blogger or a blogger looking to become more connected, this should be your first focus. the very, very first thing you should do is make sure you have an active account on the primary mediums bloggers use to connect - bloglovin', twitter, instagram and facebook.

• follow your favorite bloggers and bloggers in your area on all forms of social media. use blogging networks to locate nearby bloggers - start by googling "your area + blog" or "your area + blogging group". check out the southern blog society, the southwest blog society, blogher & more!

• twitter and instagram are my personal favorites for connecting with bloggers. on twitter, respond when they post links to their posts or articles. congratulate their successes. leave comments on their blog. these are the fundamental building blocks for creating relationships and partnerships in the blogging community.  

• but don't forget - maintain these relationships! there's nothing worse than someone leaving you in the dust, so to speak, after they've "gotten what they wanted", whether it be a social media shoutout or a guest post. it's obvious. it's shady. don't do it. you're either here to be a part of a community, or you're not.

• does your blog friend have a small business you'd be happy to support? did they write an awesome post on creating their own online book club, and you'd like to join? speak up! shoot them an email, reintroduce yourself if you haven't connected on twitter or instagram, and mention you'd like to find a way to work together. an easy way for bloggers to help each other out is to guest post. it starts with an email.

dear ____,

hi! my name is meredith davis and i blog over at www.meredithnoelle.com. as an avid reader of your blog, i truly feel like your content is something my readers would also enjoy. i really enjoyed your posts on ____ and _____, and would like to invite you to guest post on my blog. if you aren't available to guest post, i'd really like to find a way for us to work together. let's keep in touch!

looking forward to hearing from you!
meredith

that's it! if you like what they're doing, tell them so. be genuine. strive to create a connection as opposed to just a business transaction, and remaining transparent about your thoughts, intentions and stance are the best way to do that. you can even mention being a new blogger looking to get involved, and ask if they have any advice. bloggers love talking about blogging, let me tell you. chat them up! oh, and always attend local meetups! if you don't have a local community, click here to read a post on starting your own.

next week, i'll be discussing how bloggers can get started collaborating with both national and local businesses - how to pitch them, how to form relationships + more!