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| I'm Going |
Later that day I received a message from ArtSeaChic stating it was her first time as well. I replied “awesome, can’t wait to meet you!” We discussed the various breakout sessions that were going to take place in between the meetings. We were going to attend the same sessions except for one. She informed me there were a handful of bloggers that she was going to meet and asked, if I would like to join them, of course I stated yes and she added me to their Facebook thread. From there, we introduced ourselves and eagerly awaited the conference. My uneasiness slowly faded away.
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| Welcoming Entrance Sign |
When I arrived at the conference I informed everyone that I was there and would meet them for registration. Registration started at 6 p.m. and the Welcoming Reception started at 7 p.m. so we all agreed 6 p.m. would be our meeting time. When the time came for me to go register, my uneasiness slowly tried to reappear but I once again pushed it out of my mind and headed to register.
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| Blogger Volunteers |
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| Artseachic and I |
Once I registered, I walked over to a table and there was
Artseachic. We introduced ourselves and started mingling with the other bloggers. We even went outside and took this picture by the pit, that was later used for toasted marshmallows s'mores and I must say they were delish. (Another new experience).
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| New Blogger Community |
Some of the bloggers that were in the Facebook thread joined us shortly thereafter.
Now it's time for the Welcoming Reception.
The reception
was hosted by Imperial Sugar.
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| Fresh Fruit and Fruit Kabobs |
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| Plantains w/Mango Salsa |
Everyone talked and mingled throughout the welcoming
reception. The bloggers were well
prepared and brought business cards to exchange with other bloggers. I didn’t
know what to expect at a blogging conference and I didn’t think to Google it in
preparation for the event. So, that’s the one important tool I didn’t have. (1st
Lesson) Do your homework.
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| Kristen w/Kroger, Marie w/Procter and Gamble and Yours Truly |
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| Meet and Greet |
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| Meet and Greet |
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| Goodie Bag |
After the welcoming reception, I went back to my room and
looked at all the goodies in my goodie bag. It was going to be a full day on
Friday and I didn’t know what to except, so I prepared for the next day, laid
everything out and called it a night. I would say for my first night at the
conference, except for not having business cards, all that nervousness I had
anticipated leading up to the conference turned out to be a waste of my time.
Friday
 |
| Yours Truly |
The next morning I woke up earlier than usual, excited about the day’s activities. I had a full day ahead of me so I went down early to survey the meeting room. I had my laptop, so I wanted to make sure I could sit close to a wall outlet. I wanted to stay connected because I had a lot of tweeting to do throughout the sessions of all the valuable material I was learning.
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| Blog Elevated Founders |
Our
meeting started off with announcements and a welcoming introduction from, the
Blog Elevated Founders, Bobbie Byrd and Lisa Conder Stauber. They are soooo awesome!
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| Dayna Steele |
Our Opening Keynote speaker was Dayna Steele and she spoke
on “Blog
Like a Rock Star.” Ms. Steele made several good points, but what held my attention is when she stated “We are not just bloggers, we have to
believe in ourselves, that’s the first step in being a Rock Star. We have to
believe we are a Rock Star in whatever we are doing.”
 |
| Brands and Bloggers PR Panel |
Our next session was the Brands and Bloggers PR Panel. The
panel spoke on many topics but the most important tool for me was when Kristal
Howard stated, “that large brands can be approached, you just have to find the right
technique to approach them with.” This particular statement gave me
hope in that I would love to work with a large brand one day and now I know
that I have to work on a technique that will make my dream a reality one day. I
now know “it’s all about the technique.”
BreakOut Session Time
I attended the Breakout Session “Why Creating Charming Cheeky
Content Matters in Social Media” by Marie Bonaccorse. I had the
opportunity to sit and talk with Ms. Bonaccorse during the welcoming reception.
Can I say hilarious, yes, I can! Her
presentation was just the same. She had the whole hand animations going on. Ms.
Bonaccorse’s presentation really made me think about where I wanted to go with
my blog. Yes, I have a lot of work to do.
My key take away points included:
·
A
vision plan
·
A
written plan
·
Know
who your audience is
·
Have
guidelines in place
The last key point that was important to me, was when she
stated, “Everyday moments make for great content.”
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| Marie Bonaccorse |
Winding down to the last session of the day, before our
Beauty, Bubbles and Bites Cocktail Party, we heard from Matt Cherry, “30
Easy Changes to Make for Giant Growth.”
My key points from his presentation included focusing on
distribution, meaning focus on two or three social media channels that you love
and that you are familiar with and get your content distributed. Mr. Cherry
stated, “Distribution is important, you can be the best journalist in the room
but if your content is not getting out there, no one will ever know about it.”
Wow, this sums up my first day of the blogging conference,
the wealth of information is overwhelming but much needed to go forward with
growing my blog.
I was
so busy recording his session with my phone, I didn’t get a chance to take his
picture. (2nd Lesson) Invest in a recorder. Here is another picture from the conference:
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| Meet and Greet |
It’s
Party Time
Beauty, Bubbles and
Bites Cocktail Party
Hosted by: Kroger
.jpeg) |
| Kroger's Finest for the Night |
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| Strawberries dipped in chocolate (yummy) and other goodies |
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| Giveaway gift baskets from Kroger's worth $250.00 |
.jpg) |
| Goodie Bags from Kroger's |
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| Amazing "FREE" products from Kroger's |
Wow...What an amazing way to end our 2nd day at the conference!
Saturday
Yes, it’s Saturday already, the time has flown and it's the final day of the conference.
Bjork
Ostrom kicked off our session with “Giving Yourself a Raise: Practical Ways to
Increase Your Income Online.”
My key
points from Mr. Ostrom included:
·
There are no dumb questions
·
Ask questions, if you have a blog or a website
·
Your raise becomes effective when you do
·
Learn one thing that will pay for your weekend
times 10
·
You have something that is beneficial to others
This is
another scenario where I was recording a session with my phone and didn’t get a
picture. So, here is another picture from the
conference:
 |
| New Blogging Friends |
The
Rest of Our Day Was Filled With Breakout Sessions
There were three different
breakout sessions and I choose BE creative: Blogging with Your Heart
by Ashley Hacksaw.
Ashley Hackshaw gave an awesome
presentation about how she developed her blog. She also shared her personal
testimony on the death of her father. She was also diagnosed with cancer,
shortly thereafter. She used her blog to chronicle her journey. It was a way
for her express her feelings.
The key points I took away from
her presentation included:
·
A writer has to be focused on writing (no chores
can be done)
·
Disconnect from everything and everyone.
·
She emphasized on reading and expanding your
knowledge.
She shared this quote, “A
close door is telling the world, you mean business.” by Stephen King.
This is another scenario where
I was recording a session with my phone and didn’t get a picture. So, here is another picture from the conference:
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| PhilaTravelGirl and I |
The next breakout session I
attended was BE Social: Facebook’s not Dead: Bringing Your Page Back to Life by
Holly Homer.
The key points I took away from
this session included:
·
Have consistency and increase frequency of blog
post
·
Do more of what is working for you
·
Figure out goal content and schedule into first
blog post.
Ha, I must have taken this
before I started recording Holly’s presentation, #winning:
 |
| Holly Homer |
The last and final session I
decided to attend was Representing Brands with Style by Fred
Goodall.
The key take away points I
learned from this session is that even though I’m a new and small blog, through
hard work, perseverance and dedication, I can stand out and get notice by a
brand. It starts with believing in myself, engaging with the community and
writing content that my audience wants to read about. Lastly, I have to
remember my audience is my foundation and to keep them at the front of my mind.
Once again I was recording, so here
is another picture from the conference:
 |
| Bloggers listening to a presentation |
Wrapping up the conference our
final closing keynote presentation included How Your Blog Can Change the World
by Kristen Welch.
The key take away points from
this session included:
·
Joining blogging communities and interact by
leaving comments
·
Find your blog purpose
·
Make your blog about others and not about you
·
Start small and make goals
·
Write strong content by writing intelligently
and authentically,
·
Focus on purpose
·
Empower people
·
Keep relationships going
·
Stay connected with the blogging community
Lastly,
if we change one person in the world it’s impactful.
Wow, these are just key nuggets
of the conference I learned, there’s so much more that I could have written
about.
So with my final closing this
is what I want to share with someone attending a blogging conference for their
first time:
·
Be prepared meaning do your homework
·
Bring business cards
·
Google “What to bring to your 1st
blogging conference?”
·
If you want to record bring a recorder other
than your phone
·
Have a good camera and capture quality pictures
Remember pictures tell your
story, so make sure to take lots of meaningful picture, don’t to forget to
breath and HAVE FUN!
I want to take this time to
thank everyone that made my 1st blogging conference memorable. I’m
so thrilled that I was able to connect with some amazing women and men in the
blogging community to share my new blogging journey with. You all are amazing!
Be Encouraged,
Daria
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