rewardStyle Conference: What I Learned + Was It Worth It?

Liketoknow.it He(art) Art Mural (located at The Standard Pour | 2900 McKinney Ave, Dallas, TX 75204)
Jumpsuit: SheIn Bow Tie Waist Jumpsuit c/o – wearing XS (similar, similar)
Shoes: Sam Edelman ‘Yaro’ in oatmeal suede – go down 1/2 size (mid-heel option)
Bag: Clare V Leopard Foldover Clutch (similar under $80)
Earrings: Nickel & Suede Champagne Shimmer Leather Earrings c/o – size M
Watch: Shore Projects ‘Salcombe’ c/o

Hello and happy Tuesday!  I spent the end of last week through the weekend at my first rewardStyle conference and couldn’t wait to share it with you all!  I know I’ve personally debated attending this conference for years now and have always wondered what happened behind the scenes as well as if it was worth it to attend.  Read on as I share the deets of my experience!

WHAT IS REWARDSTYLE CONFERENE?

This past weekend I went to my first rewardStyle conference!  If you’re not familiar with rewardStyle, it’s a marketing and affiliate platform that allows digital influencers to monetize their content.  I can create personalized links to items that I feature on my blog / social media, and for anything that is then purchased, I receive a commission.  You may notice that many of my links are prefixed with “rstyle.com” and this is why.  : )  I actually am only recently switching over to use rewardStyle links over here on the blog as I have previously mostly stuck with Shopstyle links (they are not commission based but pay per click).  But I do use rewardStyle exclusively on my Instagram account as they are also the ones behind Liketoknow.it, a service that allows you to shop influencer pics from amywhere on the mobile web via their latest app and screenshot technology.  Anyways, I could go on about my decision to use either platform (as well as my recommendations if you’re a blogger!) so let me know if that’s a subject you’d like for me to blog about in the future.

WHAT IS #RSTHECON?

Every year in April, rewardStyle invites the top 200 influencers to their headquarters here in Dallas, TX for a 3-day conference.  It’s an opportunity to hear the updates from rewardStyle, learn how to improve and grow their brand, as well as network with other influencers.  In previous years I had always declined my invitation to go despite the fact that it’s right here in my local city as I had considered the registration fee a bit high (which I will go into detail later as to whether it was worth the financial cost) and thought I would feel awkward the entire time with no one to talk to (middle school memories all over again!).  But towards the end of last year, I’ve been making a point to get outside of my comfort zone more often and it has made such a big positive impact on my life.  So yes, I told myself I would be going to the conference this year!

rooftop pool party at The Crescent Court Hotel
Dress: Banana Republic Bold Floral Maxi Dress – on sale! (similar, similar)
Belt: Banana Republic Skinny Belt
Shoes: Steve Madden ‘Carrson’
Bag: Gucci ‘Marmont Matelasse’ (similar)
Earrings: BaubleBar ‘Crispin’ Drops (similar – 30% off!)
worn to work earlier in day with these flats (35% off w/ FLAVORFAVE) and this cardigan (also on sale!)

Audrey of Putting Me Together | me

CONFERENCE IN SESSION

The conference kicked off with a pool party and it was a great way to welcome everyone to the city!  The party started at 5pm so I actually went to work earlier that day before leaving a little early to head downtown.  I seriously agonized for at least 30 minutes on what to wear as I figured everyone would be dressed to the nines.  I ended up picking this maxi dress that I found at Banana Republic weeks ago and hadn’t had a chance to wear yet.  It was perfect layered with a cardigan and flats for the office and so easy for transitioning for the pool party.  Most importantly, I felt good in it and it gave me just the confidence I needed as I walked into a huge crowd earnestly looking for a face I recognized.  Luckily, I ran into Audrey of Putting Me Together almost immediately and you guys, she is seriously just as nice and real in person as she is on the blog — it was so refreshing!  We’ve actually both been blogging since wayy back in the day (over 6 years now!) and it was so great to finally meet her in person.  I also later found a group of other Dallas bloggers who I’ve slowly become friends with as we’ve hung out through multiple blogging events including Lynlee, Natalie, and Christina (these girls are all so sweet!).

CLASSES

The next couple of days were filled with lots of classes, brand meeting, and panel discussions.  I’ve attended many rewardStyle classes in the past that they’ve held locally and the ones at the conference were indeed similar in format and usefulness.  I’ll go into detail regarding my notes from each class below, but ultimately, I would say that I actually learned more outside of the classroom just from talking with other bloggers!  There was built-in extra time around lunches and in-between sessions and for me, hearing what worked for other bloggers and how they grew their brand is where I learned the most!  Be sure to read on below for my listing of what I learned!

NETWORKING

One aspect of the conference I wasn’t expecting was having the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with brands that I wanted to work with to discuss potential collaborations in the future.  While I had heard of other bloggers attending such brand meetings, I never thought of my blog as being big enough to warrant such a meeting.  I was so honored that I had the chance to sit down with 3 brands that I really admire and loved sharing ideas with them on how our stories fit together!  On the last day of the conference, there was even a networking room that had different stations for each brand (kinda like a college job fair but with more photo-worthy setups!) and it made approaching representatives so much easier than just a cold email sent their way!

PARTIES

And lastly, there were lots of amazing parties every night!  Besides the pool party hosted by Sole Society on Thursday night, Friday night had a cocktail party with Bumble BFF, and the conference ended with a grand finale party at Wyly Theater!  Each event was incredibly decked out in Pinterest-perfect fashion with lots of different spots setup for photoshoots and boomerang videos.

outdoor picnic hosted by Banana Republic at Shake Shack (get their portobello mushroom burger!)
Romper: SheIn Fluted Sleeve Romper c/o – wearing XS (similar, similar)
Shoes: Steve Madden ‘Carrson’ (low-heel option)
Bag: Gucci ‘Marmont Matelasse’ (similar)
Earrings: J.Crew Floral Chandelier (old, similar, similar)

Caryl (More Pieces of Me) | Audrey (Putting Me Together) | Cyndi (Grace & Beauty) | Kilee (One little Momma) | me

WHAT I LEARNED

• the blog is not dead.  even though more users are moving towards social media, the blog is still important.  91% of all collaborations required a blog post and rewardStyle saw blog widget sales increase.
• social media can be unpredictable and influencers are at the mercy of the platform.  Liketoknow.it introduced screenshot technology via their latest app launch to allow users to shop on their mobile device so that it would not be limited by the social media platform — screenshot anywhere (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc and use the app to shop!).
• a new Liketoknow.it channel will be launching in May: @ltkfamily (yay!!!)

SEO

• customize your meta-data field
• create and submit a sitemap (need to do this!)
• use focalmark to find useful hashtags (just started doing this too!)
• use Google Trends or moz.com to identify useful keywords

USER EXPERIENCE

• optimize for mobile — mobile traffic overtook desktop traffic in 2016!!
• remove slider widgets (never used and take too long to load) any widgets that automatically scroll including Instagram widgets (I was guilty of both of these!)
• do not auto play music or video
• switch from using the 3-bar “hamburger” menu to instead having a top or bottom navigation menu (on my todo!)

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

• tell your story.  people are interested in hearing your thoughts and personal take.
• create a community.  listen to your readers and give them what they’re interested in.
• network, network, network.  grow and learn from others!

Top: SheIn One-Shoulder Top c/o – wearing XS (similar)
worn with this bra (highly recommend!)
Bottom: J.Crew Ruffle Skirt (similar)
Shoes: Steve Madden ‘Carrson’ (low-heel option)
Bag: Gucci ‘Marmont Matelasse’ (similar)
Earrings: BaubleBar ‘Flamenco’ Drops

WAS REWARDSTYLE CONFERENCE WORTH IT?

Yes!  It was so inspiring and motivating to be surrounded by so many amazing boss babes who were killing it in influencer space.  I loved meeting so many of the bloggers that I’ve followed for years and while it did take a little courage to approach them, everyone I met was so nice and personable!  I left the conference feeling a renewed sense of energy and passion on how I wanted to tackle blogging and sharing my life with you guys.  While at first I was afraid that it would be really clique-ish and that I wouldn’t know anyone, I actually found that most people had the same fears that I did!  A friendly smile goes a long way and over the course of the 3 days, you could tell that everyone opened up more towards the end!  The rewardStyle classes definitely gave me some todos that I need to do and it was great to see the overall big-picture view of where they think the industry is going.  For those bloggers that are out of town, it’s also a great opportunity to meet with your account consultant and speak with them directly on ideas to grow your brand.  I would definitely recommend anyone who’s on the fence about coming to the conference to give it a shot — I’m still feeling a high from my last 3 days there and have some exciting post ideas coming up!  : )

And now for this week’s On Trend Tuesdays linkup!  Sandy and I are excited to feature Laurie from Vanity and Me this week.  I love her classic weekend look!

Now it’s your turn to share a recent outfit with the rest of our community for a chance to be featured!  Just link up a recent outfit and remember to include either the button below or link to both me and Sandy in your post.  We’d love if you could comment on 5 other bloggers too as this is a community where we can all get to know and support each other!  Tag us on social media too to join the conversation with #OnTrendTuesdaysLinkUp!

Shop This Post:

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin | Email