Mediavine On Air Mediavine

Usually as a content creator, you're creating blogs, video content, and podcast. But there's multiple avenues to get your content and brand out there.







Which all begs the question: have you ever wanted to publish a book?







Writing a book is a natural segue for many bloggers, but the journey can seem large and long.







In Summer of Live 2019, we talked to two Mediavine influencers who are both published authors: Jen Ruiz of Jen on a Jet Plane and Valerie Stimac of The Space Tourism Guide and Valerie & Valise. Jen and Valerie pack this episode with their honest individual experiences in publishing their own books, and give action-packed tips on how you can get started today.







Make sure to tune in!















Helpful Resources







* Jen On A Jet Plane* The Space Tourism Guide* Valerie & Valise* Become A Published Author with Jeffrey Eisner | Mediavine On Air Episode 16* The Solo Female Travel Book* Dark Skies 1

















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV0CgXjrtC0









Transcript







[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Happy Thursday, everybody. It is July 11th, and we are in the Summer of Live. I'm Jenny Guy, Mediavine's marketing manager, and it is our month of beyond blogging. So we are talking about the things that tie to your blogging career but might be a little bit outside just the nuts and bolts of operating your website. But we are here and we are so excited today to be talking about book publishing. And I have two amazing guests.







But book publishing can seem like a really natural segue for a lot of bloggers. It's an extension of you sharing that expertise that you're already sharing with your audience-- that's sometimes it-- and then other times, it can be the impetus for people to begin blogging in the first place. We've heard a lot of publishers tell us they're great authors, but they aren't able to quite navigate the system and get published, so they decide to start a blog so they can make use of their expertise and their writing skills.







But whatever your experiences with book publishing, I'm here with two guests who are both highly successful publishers. We're really excited to have them-- both on their websites and with their books. So first I have Jen Ruiz. Hello, Jen. Welcome.







JENNIFER RUIZ: Hi, Jenny. Thank you.







JENNY GUY: Awesome. So she is the Mediavine publisher with the site Jen on a Jet Plane, where she writes about affordable female travel solo-- which I think is so fierce and amazing. She's a frequent conference speaker, and she also has her own TED Talk. No big deal there. And, exciting news, she just told me she is doing another TEDx Talk, which I'll have her tell us about a little bit later. But her current TED Talk that's already available for release is "The Power of Flying Solo," which is advocating for travel as a cure for what ails you.







She's also a lawyer and the author of the books You Need a Vacation, which is about how to travel with a full-time job, which we all could use, The Solo Female Travel Book, which is tips and inspiration for women who want to see the world on their...

With all of the constant shifts in the blogging industry, from social media algorithms to influencer marketing trends, the one thing that stays consistent is your brand.







After being a content creator for a while, you realize pretty quickly that you don't have control over many things. You'll never be able to control how many likes you get on a post, or how much engagement your blog pieces get But, you can always optimize your brand to be in the best position possible day in and day out.







Back at MVCon 2019, Jocelyn Delk Adams took the stage to talk all things brand. She's the founder of Grandbaby Cakes, a brand inspired by her grandmother which shares classic recipes in a modern and accessible way.







In this podcast episode, you'll hear her top tips on how to align your brand with your personal passion and create a community that you love. You don't want to miss it!















Helpful Resources







* Grandbaby Cakes* Jocelyn's Cookbook* Grandbaby Cakes Merch* Mediavine On Air Episode 49

















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx1UhSZM6UE&t=115s









Transcript







[MUSIC PLAYING] JOCELYN ADAMS: Good morning. Yeah! I'm the only one excited to be here? OK, I just want to apologize for the weather in Chicago. It sucks. I am sorry.







[LAUGHTER]







I am sorry. It will get better tomorrow. How is everyone doing? Yeah, I feel like I'm doing the Oprah-like thing.







Well, first of all, we're going to go from high energy to probably some kind of cooler energy. And we'll go back and forth because this is a serious topic. So for you guys who are blogging a year or less, raise your hands, a year or less. Oh, so everybody is like OGs up in here?







[LAUGHTER]







Right? OK, so what about four to five years? OK, yeah, y'all need this. You burn out. Anything above that? Oh, my gosh, and you're still doing it. OK, clap for yourselves for real, right? Because this is hard.







Staying fired up about your brand is very, very difficult to do. You've got the ebbs and flows. I mean, I'm sure most of you are not waking up every single day like, oh, my gosh, I can not wait to do SEO today. No? No, right?







This is difficult. And it's like, oh, my gosh, I cannot wait to go out and do 20 more Instagram shoots today. It gets difficult to stay in the mix. So I have a presentation, and I have all of these thoughts about things you guys can do to externally keep the fire going and internally keep the fire going.







But this morning, I had a lot more revelations. It was at like 3:00 in the morning. And I was up with my daughter. And I started writing in what looks like my eighth grade journal. Does anyone still do that?







And so I have more stuff to offer too. And the first thing that came to mind for me is that staying fired up about your brand, that's inner work, right? So when you come to these conferences, you're going to learn so much about strategy, about how you can do all of the things, the things that keep your brand growing.







But what about the things that keep you invested? What about the things that keep you excited about what you do every day? Because it's difficult.

If content creators have learned anything recently, it's that the only constant in the blogging industry is CHANGE.







As we usher in the privacy-centric era for the web, the winds of change are blowing more strongly than ever, but what does it all mean for publishers?







On this Teal Talk, Jenny is sitting down with Mediavine CEO Eric Hochberger for a no-holds-barred conversation about the state of the blogging industry and everything Mediavine is doing to ensure that content creators not only survive the coming shifts but THRIVE.







Make sure to let us know what you think and check out the helpful resources below!















Helpful Resources







* Helpful Resource Slide* Grow and First-Party Data* Exclusive Content with Grow* Grow Product Tour* Mediavine x Slickstream

















https://youtu.be/e4ytEVZRvAs









Transcript







[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hello. Howdy, friends. Welcome. Welcome, one and all, to another episode of Mediavine's Teal Talk. For any of our first-time viewers, welcome. This is our live program where we feature experts from around the blogging industry on any and all topics that could help content creators build sustainable businesses. So basically if it concerns publishers, we are talking about it here.







I am with you as always as your host, Jenny Guy. So happy to have you here today. We have a very big show for today, so we are just going to kind of speed through our little opening. But I did have to say that believe it or not, however you feel about the various memes announcing it, like it or not, it is already May. Mother's Day is Sunday. 2022, I have to say, is winning the award for Bat Out of Hell years. Like, I don't-- I don't know if anyone-- like, how is it already May? That's insane to me.







This is our final episode of Teal Talk before we go on our hiatus for our fifth annual Summer of Live. So I don't know how that happened, but it is happening. It is the truth. And in a world this crazy where time has no meaning, it can be comforting to rely on traditions. And from Mediavine, for Teal Talk, for this show, we traditionally start things and end things with a certain guest. He's here with me today. He's Mediavine CEO and co-founder. Please welcome the one, the only Eric Hochberger back to the program. Eric, welcome.







ERIC HOCHBERGER: Thanks, Jenny. Good to have my usual anchor spot.







JENNY GUY: It is.







ERIC HOCHBERGER: That's the anchor, right? Yeah, OK.







JENNY GUY: Yes, anchor. You're batting cleanup, for all you sportsball fans out there. Eric, is this year happening in a bananas, like, flying by crazily to you, too? Are you in shock?







ERIC HOCHBERGER: I feel like the last three years, so why make an exception to this year. Don't even-- is it May? That's great. Awesome.







JENNY GUY: What does time mean anymore? It doesn't mean anything. And I also-- I've said this repeatedly. I'm sorry for people who are hearing me say it over and over again, but I feel like anything that has happened in the last three years, like significant milestones, shouldn't count. Why? I turned 40. Why? That shouldn't--

As a content creator, there's a bunch of milestones.







The first blog post you publish is huge. The first time you place ads on your site? Amazing. Finally going full time as a content creator...WOW.







Then, there's the first time you land your dream sponsored content gig! Congratulations!!







...Now what?







In this session from the Mediavine Influencers Conference in Austin back in 2019, attorney Jamie Lieberman of Hashtag Legal LLC gives tips to negotiate the best deal you can get, the terms of the contract you should include and what you should look out for when reading a contract.







Jamie's a treasure trove on knowledge being in the business for over 15 years: you don't want to miss it!















Helpful Resources







* Hashtag Legal* Negotiating Contracts* The Art of Negotiating | Mediavine Summer of Live* Getting Legit with Legal | Designed for the Creative Mind

















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77gPtobP4N4









Transcript







MUSIC PLAYING: I just feel so good, good good. Just feel so good, good, good. Just feel so good.







JAMIE LIEBERMAN: Y'all just had drinks. Come on. I think it's suspect that the lawyer has to talk after the drinks. I get it, it's not as exciting. We're going to do our best.







So, today, we're going to talk about covering your assets. And we're specifically going to talk about sponsored content. And I'm going to talk about it from start to finish. So let me tell you about me. So I am Jamie Lieberman. I've been a lawyer for about 15 years.







I run #Legal, which is, like they said, a full-service law firm. We are dedicated to making legal accessible. We work with entrepreneurs. We work with influencer marketing professionals. We work with creatives, content creators. The thread that sort of binds all of our clients is there aren't a lot of lawyers out there who speak that language. And so that is really our goal.







There we go. So we're going to talk about contracts. And pretty much instantly, everyone went to sleep, right? We're going to make this as interesting as I possibly can. There's going to be some technical stuff that we talk about. I'm going to leave space for questions, because in a really weird turn of events, people always have questions for the lawyer.







So if you do have questions, I will happily take them and answer them as best as I can. Although, famously, I like to answer questions with, it depends, if anyone has ever heard me speak. So I will do my best not to use that answer, but I might. You'll have to forgive me.







So I want to talk about contracts from start to finish. I want to talk about the sponsored content deal. So the last time I stood on a Mediavine stage, I talked all about negotiation. And this is a really powerful topic, one that I love more than anything. I love to negotiate.







And so I definitely say-- I know all the talks are up on YouTube. I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about negotiation, but I feel like it's something worth touching on. If you want to go in-depth about negotiation, go to the Mediavine YouTube channel. My whole talk is up there.

One of the best things about being a content creator is doing what you love. But at a certain point, we all hit a wall and have to ask ourselves:







How do you stay passionate when your hobby becomes your job?







Digital content creation offers the opportunity to share our passions with the world, which is deeply rewarding, but just like any job it has its pitfalls. Clients don't pay on time; internet trolls leave mean comments; and sometimes, the content you work so hard on barely catches an audience.







Over time it can start to feel like, well, work. Sometimes it feels overwhelming. What should you focus on? What’s the best way to divide your time? How can you tell what’s important and what’s noise?







At the Mediavine Influencers Conference in Austin back in 2019, Andy Dehnart of reality blurred took the stage and tackled this very topic. In this episode of Mediavine On Air you'll hear all about Andy's strategies, techniques, and tools to help you center your focus on what matters most.







Check out the episode below!















Helpful Resources







* reality blurred* The Four Tendencies Quiz* Elizabeth Gilbert's Framework* Bird By Bird by Ann Lamott

















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ils2qcpz-J4&t=304s









Transcript







MUSIC PLAYING I just feel so good, good, good. I just feel so good, good, good. I just feel so good.







ANDY DEHNART: Oh, welcome everybody. Thank you so much for coming to this session. I know that the competition is Pinterest, which is basically the-- I don't know. That's tough competition. So thank you all for rejecting--







[LAUGHTER]







--the Pinterest cult for a moment, at least. You can go back to pinning things in the next 45 minutes. But I'm excited to talk to you today about passion in our lives, and how we work the most effectively, and how we can improve on the stuff that trips us up sometimes.







My name is Andy Dehnart. I publish a site called reality blurred. As the title maybe suggests, it's all about reality television. And I've been publishing it since the summer of 2000, so 19 and a half years of blogging now.







That was back in the days before there were blogs. Or we called them web logs-- two words-- as I heard someone say yesterday. And most of them were personal diaries, not really about a subject.







So I've seen this industry change, and grow, and shift over time. And it's been really exciting to be part of it and really, ultimately, a beautiful experience at first to take my passion for reality television, turn that into something that I create myself, that I control. I'm kind of a control freak. So I love to make everything mine and look exactly like I want it to. And it's amazing.







And then also, sometimes, making a little bit of money from it, too, and being able to discover-- and that was in the BM days, before Mediavine was the-- a little bit of money. And then now, obviously, it's become more sustainable and more than just something that can pay for itself. So yeah, all really good, and really exciting. And I think it's such a privilege to be able to do this kind of w...

It's finally here! 







Without further ado, please allow us to introduce Mediavine University, where we teach content creators how to build sustainable businesses. 







Our debut course, Growing Traffic, is now live and available to purchase. In honor of that, we're celebrating with Mediavine's VP of Support Heather Tullos. 







She and Jenny will be dishing on all things Growing Traffic and Mediavine University (MVU), talking about how the course is set up, the different topics that are covered and what's up next. You don't want to miss it!















Helpful Resources







* Mediavine University* Helpful Resources from the live* Using Heat Maps* Spotlight Subscribe

















https://youtu.be/dKtejvEeBSI









Transcript







[MUSIC PLAYING] JENNY GUY: Hey. Hello. Howdy. Hi, long lost friends.







It feels like it has been about 500 years since we last saw each other. How are you all? Hello. The last time that we were all together for an episode of Teal Talk it was February and cold, and we were having a terrific conversation with two of the founders of Black People's Recipes as part of our Black History Month programming.







Now March and the whole of Women's History Month has passed us by and it is already spring. The days are longer and all kinds of things are blooming from flowers to seasonal allergies. And I am suffering on the regs.







But I just wanted to first say thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to join us for another episode of Mediavine's Teal Talk. I'm with you as always as your host, Jenny Guy. Our goal with all of the programming we put out at Mediavine is to provide education in service of our company mission statement, which if you don't know what that is, here it is, helping content creators build sustainable businesses. It sounds so noble.







And it is noble. We're very passionate about it around here. And I have to say that our topic today falls absolutely in line with our Mediavine mission. And it's really been a dream of mine for a whole lot of years. So I will try to keep any squealing or pinching myself off camera, so y'all don't have to watch.







So that's right. If you missed any of the times in the last few days that we blasted it out over social media, we have officially launched Mediavine University, where we teach content creators how to build sustainable businesses. Yes! We need an applause track.







OK. Our first course of many is available for purchase right now, and the long title is What I Wish I Knew When I Started My Website About Growing Traffic. And while this one is designed for content creators earlier on in their blogging career, we have many courses coming up that will be perfect for wherever you are in your publishing journey. Our goal with this is to have to be meeting people in different places wherever they are, whether it's they're just getting started or they've been doing this for many years.







In fact, part of the reason that we are here today is to ask you,