5 Things I Learned Attending My First BlogHer Conference

#BlogHer16 conference

Early this month I had the amazing opportunity to attend my first blog conference. But not just any conference, it was the BlogHer conference. Last year I really started getting my ears wet with blogging business, and all of the bloggers I was listening to had just come back from this conference called BlogHer. They all praised how wonderful their experiences had been so I put that on my 2016 to attend list. When I found out that my current city of residence, Los Angeles, was going to be the host city, I was too excited. The experience was just what those ladies described and more.

Here are 5 Things I learned from attending my first BlogHer Conference:

  1. THE FALSE EXTROVERT COMES OUT

For all of you introverts out there, you might find yourself morphing into this unrecognizable extrovert. I’m serious! There are so many people and things going on you will find that you make friends quickly. Even if it is just to ask questions. There is so much wisdom in one place you would have to be crazy not soak something up no matter what stage you are in your career. Remember a closed mouth doesn’t get fed.

  1. I AM MORE THAN A MOTHER

When someone asks what you write about I’ve always identified as a mom-blogger which always made me feel some sort of way. Mainly, because I only have one child and he’s older. I’m not talking baby products or baby stories, so I have always felt limited about what I can talk about. However, at this conference I heard several times how other “mom” bloggers were talking about things that went beyond parenting and reflected other parts of them. This made me think for the first time in a long time, I am more than a mother.

Also Related: Pete’s Dragon Star, Bryce Dallas Howard Talks Motherhood & Movies #PetesDragonEvent

  1. TALK TO A PRO BEFORE YOU GO

If you have the chance to talk with someone who attend the conference before, do it! I met this amazing woman who had been to several conference before and she was a wealth of info. She knew everything from how to navigate the special sponsored events to helping identify the conference executives.

  1. DON’T ATTEND WHEN IT’S HOSTED IN YOUR CITY

I know you’re saying, “Whaat”?! Most people that live in major cities don’t take advantage of the tourist attractions their city offers because they are “touristy”. Same thing with attending this conference. You will more than likely approach it as a native thus not taking advantage of the 2.5 days of endless events because you have to go home and cook dinner or attend a friend’s baby shower. You’ll miss chances to hang with other bloggers and build relationships in the informal lobby meetup. Instead you’re home in bed, whereas if you attended with the mindset of a tourist you would be staying at the hotel and could’ve grabbed a nap before the meetup.

  1. BRING ALL TECHNOLOGY

The first day I left home without a camera and only had my cellphone. Who does that? Clearly I do, and my phone could only last so long. The next day I brought the camera, but the batteries were low and on the last day I left the SD card in my laptop. So, my photo selection was limited because the camera’s internal memory was almost non-existent. So take it from me and bring EVERYTHING. Preferably fully charged, and with plenty of memory space.

Overall, all I learned a lot, met amazing people, and was exposed to great new products. Inadvertently, I learned that I was busy listening to how everybody did it their way and I wasn’t doing it my way.

Have you ever thought of attending a blogging conference? If you’ve been, what was your experience? 

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