Conference Bound

I am so excited that this week I will be heading to Texas to attend Blissdom 13. Staying at the beautiful Gaylord Texan Hotel with roommates. I have attended conferences in Canada before (ShesConnected 2 years in a row) as well as various blogging events with Ford, P&G and other brands. However this is my first out of country conference. I am very excited to meet so many of my American friends and to see a few Canadians I have met before . I am feeling that this conference is my opportunity for blog growth.

Some of my favourite brands and reps are located in Texas and there is no doubt we will be hanging out whenever possible. I hope that by attending this conference I can open my blog up to more companies located throughout the USA. I know I have been doing more than my normal amount of Canada only giveaways lately. If you know anything about the conference scene, you will know that Blissdom also does a Fall conference in Canada. If this ones goes as planned, I will be there in the Fall as well.

Why attend a blogging conference?

I had asked myself this last year before attending my first conference. Every conference offers something different. For me as a Review and giveaway blogger who wants to make money from my blog I look at it as a way to make connections. Grow my blog and get my blog and name out there. Being able to talk face to face with people is very beneficial as you can imagine. Being able to put a face to the name helps develop the relationship and sometimes seal the deal. Way too often emails get mixed up, details left out or they want a phone call to make sure oyu are real. Meeting in person bypasses all the initial checking each other out stages, I find.

Being a Canadian blogger I feel it is important for me to break away from the pool and expand. I love working with my local companies but feel it is needed to grow. After all half my readership is from outside of Canada.

Other reasons I think conferences are important are

• Helping you think outside the box. We tend to see things one way after a while. Attending a blogger conference gave me ideas and self esteem I never would have had
• Improvement- Sessions include writing (improving content), photography, and SEO (we all want to be seen by searches) 
• Networking, networking, networking. Not only with companies but fellow bloggers, peers as well. Partnerships, friendships and support are key to success in any workplace. 

The speakers Blissdom has lined up look amazing. One is even Canadian so I am really looking forward to hearing them speak. If you are trying to find your blogging groove, bust out of your funk or get inspired. I highly recommend attending a conference. There are many of them out there and throughout the entire year. Locations vary as do content. I am pretty sure there are a few lists floating around with them all on. If you can not find one, let me know. I will try to point you in the right direction.

As a mom of four working from home I must admit this is my version of a vacation lol  Restaurants, night life and maid service. Not having to clean up after anyone for 4 days is my idea of paradise 🙂 Not to mentions no serving, cooking or refereeing.

Will you be at Blissdom in Texas? Have you attended a blogging conference before? What did you take away from it ? (Other than the swag)