
SITS Sharefest Guide for Beginners
A few months ago when I decided to intentionally focus on my blog, I came across The SITS Girls. This is a group of more than 75,000 women who connect to help each other find their tribe, grow their audience, share blogging tips and more!
I have learned a lot through The SITS Girls but my favorite part is the weekly SITS Sharefest! And you know it has to be really good because it’s at 7am on Saturday mornings…and there’s not a lot I’m willing to do that early on a Saturday!
The first time I participated in a SITS Sharefest I’m pretty sure I looked like a deer caught in the headlights and I just kept wondering, what in the world is going on?!? Now that I’ve been doing these great chats for a few months, I thought it was time to pass along the wisdom I have learned to those that are new to the chats…
- If you are a blogger and you’ve never heard of SITS Sharefest or even SITS I would highly recommend heading over to the blog and checking it out! The Sharefest has two parts…a link up where you can share your favorite posts from the week and a twitter chat where you can share your posts and most importantly connect with other bloggers! If you are looking to connect with other bloggers, grow your audience, learn some blogging tips, or find new blogs to follow, then you want to participate in the SITS Sharefest.
- Do not try and read all of the links during the one hour Twitter chat! There is so much great content shared during the chat that if you try and read it all as it’s shared, you’ll miss other great tweets. Instead, favorite tweets you want to check out later or open the links in new tabs and then read them later.
- Don’t forget to use the #SITSBlogging hashtag! Using the hashtag will help other people find your tweets and get you involved in the conversation
- It really helps to use Tweet Deck, Hoot Suite or something similar to keep up with the chat because there is usually so much happening. Not necessary (I’ve done in the chat in plain old Twitter and it works fine!), but it can make things a lot easier!
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help! I love that the SITS community is not only welcoming but incredibly helpful! If you’re feeling lost during a chat, ask for help and someone will jump in and help you out!
- Be a friend to make friends! Don’t just link up your posts and send our your own tweets. Check out others’ posts and leave them comment love. Retweet your fellow bloggers and share posts you are loving with your readers. I have found that when you pass along the blog love, others will do the same for you!
- Stay connected after the chat! Don’t let the conversations stop when the hour is up. Connect with bloggers via email, social media, carrier pigeon, whatever works best for you! But continue the conversations after the chat!
- Most importantly, have fun! This is a chance to spend an hour chatting with people who have at least one thing in common with you…they all love blogging! So have fun! Get to know other bloggers, make connections, and enjoy the hour!
Any SITS bloggers have other tips to share?


40 Comments
Toni @ Finding Myself Young
I’ve just discovered SITS girls but I don’t have twitter so I just do the linky. Its been great for finding new blogs.
Susan Maccarelli
This was great! I have never done the Twitter party part, but I always read, comment and share at least 3 other posts. I think I will take your advice and participate in the Twitter party soon!
Nicole @ uglygreencouch.net
I would have loved to have a post like this at my disposal when I started with SITS and Sharefest. The tip about using a twitter chat program is especially useful because the twitter party can be overwhelming the first couple of times that you attend.
One tip I’ll share is use IFTTT (ifttt.com) to set up an RSS notification so that you get alerted when the linkup goes live.
Tiffany
Great Tips and intro to anyone wanting to be a part of SITSSharefest!
Kristen
good tips…I love the sharefest as well! Happy to find your blog!
GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth
Awesome tips! Wish there was something like this when I first started doing the SITSShareFest…I wasted so much time reading posts during the hour instead of actually chatting haha
I’d also say that everyone should also definitely link up on their blog as well, even if you can’t make that chat. Checking out the other links is also a great way to make blogger friends!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Checking out the other links is one of my favorite parts because it has given me the opportunity to meet so many great people!
Leslie
Hi there! I’m stopping by from SITS Sharefest & these are great tips. I like the design of your blog, it’s so clean. I hope you have a great Saturday!
Marie Rossiter
I’m a relative newbie to Sharefest, so I’m thrilled to find some tips to help me get the most out of the experience. I guess I’ll need to set my alarm for Saturday mornings! 🙂 Looking forward to reading more of your blog and being inspired!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Definitely set your alarm and enjoy the chat!
JoAnn
Found you through the SITS sharefest linkup! Great tips 🙂 I was a deer caught in the headlights on my first chat, too.
Patti
Thanks. I’ve been posting only with the linky but not tweeting. Still getting the hang of it. Have a great weekend!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
You should definitely try out the twitter chat!
Courtney Conover
This is such an insightful lesson of sorts, which can actually be applied to many different aspects of blogging in general…
Thanks for this. It has been bookmarked..
Stopping by from…wait for it…SITS! lol
Have a great weekend.
Kristen Hamilton
Hi there! I’m new to SITS this week. I had heard of it before, but had never participated. (In fact, I’ve seen the twitter chats taking place before on my feed!) I just linked up a post and am hopping over to Twitter now to check it out! Thanks for the tips!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Hope you enjoyed the chat this morning and didn’t feel too lost or overwhelmed!
Mel @ brokeGIRLrich
Great primer! I wish I’d read it before my first Twitter party – it was definitely overwhelming!
Susan - ofeverymoment
Thanks for posting this on Saturday Sharefest! I have participated and love SITS, but my Twitter presence is minimal and didn’t even realize there was a twitter part to Sharefest. On the to-do list for next week! Pinning this!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
You’ll definitely need to check out the Twitter chat! It’s my favorite part of Sharefest!
Akaleistar
These are excellent tips!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Thanks!
Tracie
This is a great overview! I love the tips. I usually open up lots of blog posts to read in separate tabs, and then do all my reading and commenting after the chat.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
It’s the only way to make it through the chat in one piece lol!
Heather
I’ve never tried to do the Twitter chat. I just link up. Thanks for making me aware of this.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
You should definitely check out the Twitter chat..it’s my favorite part!
Kate Rigby (@mrsdiggerhound)
Oh I wish I read this when I first started joining in, great tips for newbies. I’ve joined a few times but still feel like a deer in headlights at times 😉
I haven’t been able to join in the Twitter chat too often recently and was hoping to today but unfortunately had to go an collect my car from the mechanics 🙁
Hopefully I’ll be there next week.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Hope to see you next week during the Twitter chat!
Heather @ Life of a Traveling Navy Wife
I discovered SITS recently and I am loving it. I’ve learned so much in the last few weeks. I wish I would have known about SITS last year when I started, but better later than never. 😉 Happy SITS Sharefest!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
SITS is such a fabulous resource and I agree, better late than never!
Lana
Thanks for the great info! I’m a new blogger, so I really enjoy learning new info. Have a great weekend!
Madaline
This is great! I participate in the linkup but never in the twitter part!! I don’t know why but I’m totally a little afraid of twitter!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Oh my goodness, you should do the Twitter part…let me know if you want any help!
Shelly @ Behind Blue Eyes
Thank you so much for posting this. I’ve been meaning to check out the SITS Girls, but never made time to do so. I will definitely be making time!
Sheala Vast-Binder
Wow, thanks! I’m a little nervous about the Saturday chat, esp. since I’m barely awake at 7 a.m. I still don’t really get how it works, but I think I’ll try it soon.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
I’d definitely recommend trying it!
Linda Malcolm
I second the suggestion to favorite tweets to read later. The chat moves too quickly for me to read posts during that hour.
jmdenouden@gmail.com
The chat definitely moves really fast, but so worth it!
Cortney Nichols
Wow, thank you for sharing this! I have been participating in the link up for a few weeks now but for some reason I completely forgot about the chat. I will definitely check it out this weekend, thank you!
Jen@JENerallyInformed
Good job Julie! This is a great tutorial.
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