When people find out that I run the BlogU conference, the first expression on their face is usually confusion. Sometimes people have a hard time understanding exactly how much awesome is involved in attending a blog conference and how much it can fast-track the success of your writing career or small business. It’s not just about hanging out with friends and meeting the people who live in your computer (although you totally get to do that too). Attending a blog conference is a solid career move and will almost always translate into earning you real money and getting your foot in the door for great opportunities.
You will get face time with brands and sponsors who want to build a relationship with you.
The first time I went to a blog conference it was a big sacrifice for our family monetarily. Between the ticket, hotel, and travel costs, we spent hundreds of dollars. But while I was there I made connections with big-name brands and sponsors and when I got home I had their contact information. I was able to create relationships with them and for the rest of that year I did monthly sponsored posts for one brand in particular. Just eight weeks after the conference I had earned back every cent I had spent on the conference and was making hundreds of dollars a month in extra income for our family. The investment in myself was totally worth it.
There are hundreds of influencers in one place.
If you are a writer of any sort, blog conferences are a great place to network with other people in your field. Many bloggers have transitioned their blogs into books and some have even become New York Times best selling authors! Blog conferences are the place where they spill all of their secrets, tell you exactly how they built up their large social media followings, and share all of their other tips and tricks for getting noticed in the sea of internet anonymity.
If you are a business owner, hosting a vendor table, becoming a sponsor, or donating an item to the swag bag can get your brand noticed by a large group of people with an even larger social media influence.
You will learn from the best.
You can spend all day every day searching the internet for tips on how to build your blog or business, but the speakers at conferences have already been vetted and determined to be the best of the best. They know their chosen topics. You will be learning from some of the top earners and performers in the field and you will be live in the room with them, able to ask questions and interact in person.
You will get unique opportunities.
At our 2014 BlogU conference NickMom and The Huffington Post presented a joint lunch panel where representatives from both gave a presentation and told the attendees exactly what they were looking for in submissions and how to get published on each of their platforms. In 2015, HuffPost Parents is the media partner for the BlogU conference and we are partnering with them to hold our Term Paper of the Year contest, which is open only to BlogU attendees. Four winners will each receive an award during our conference and have their winning piece published on the appropriate HuffPost vertical. That is only one example of the many unique opportunities that attending blog conferences presents.
Our conference is different.
I started BlogU after going to several blog conferences and being consistently disappointed that I bought my tickets to see certain speakers and I never got to really talk to any of them. The speakers would give their presentations and then they would seemingly disappear. BlogU breaks down those “us” and “them” boundaries between those who are successful and those who are just starting out. After our sessions are over we hold “office hours” where all of the BlogU speakers are available to mingle with attendees and answer questions.
We also hold BlogU on a college campus and give attendees the option of staying in dorm rooms. This means that you can buy a ticket to BlogU for the same price as many other blog conferences, but you don’t have to worry about the additional cost of a hotel or food. Because we host BlogU on a college campus with its own catering staff, we are able to include all of the meals in the ticket price as well. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks–once you get there everything is included.
You will find your tribe.
I often hear bloggers talking about finding their tribe. I was lucky enough to find a very supportive group early on. In fact, that “tribe” of women became the same group who helped me start BlogU. If you have been finding a hard time finding your tribe, then a blog conference is a great place to start. Making those face-to-face connections with real people in real time is special. It’s something that can’t always be done through the computer screen.
If you think you might want to consider coming to BlogU this year, you can check out our website here.
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