Conferences For Newbies

I’m back from NOLA, people, with a lot of stuff floating around in my head. So much so that I decided to recruit one of my new BFFs from Mom 2.0 Summit to write me a guest post today.

I love humor bloggers, and Ilana of Mommy Shorts is one of my new favorites. I was not surprised that we hit it off in NOLA. She is awesome, and I am delighted to now call her an IRL friend. Today, she’s not here to make you laugh your ass off. {She will do that if you go and visit her blog, though, so make sure you drop by}.  She is here to talk about some tips for newbies going to blog conferences. I wish she had written this before I left. I also wish I had brought some Valium to Mom 2.0, but that’s for my post later. Take it away, Ilana!

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I actually was going to guest post about something different but having just come back from Mom 2.0 in New Orleans where I spent about three full days strapped to Gigi’s side, it feels silly to talk about anything else.

First, it is important to note that Gigi and I had not met each other before. In fact, we have only recently started following each other’s blogs. I even mispronounced “Kludgy Mom” more than once— did you know it’s pronounced cloo-gie, not cluh-gie? Me neither! But regardless of how little we knew each other, in Conferenceland, Gigi was my new best friend.

Mom 2.0 was my second conference, the first being Blissdom a couple of months ago. Most people don’t realize that I only started Mommy Shorts this past August, so although I have built somewhat of a following, I am very new and extremely tiny compared to the blogging world at large. In fact, before Blissdom, I was only vaguely aware that there WAS a blogging world at large.

Which brings me to the #1 thing you have to be aware of when first attending a conference— BEING A NEWBIE IS TOUGH.

Remember what being a freshman your first day of high school felt like? Hoping that you’d be able to find your classes, praying you’d have someone to eat lunch with in the cafeteria and being terrified of the seniors? YEAH. All of that.

I am sure there are plenty of people who feel totally comfortable walking into a situation like a conference and meeting people, mingling and putting their best face forward. Good for them. I am not that person. It’s not that I’m socially awkward or anything. And in my day job, I am in front of people and prove myself competent quite regularly. It’s just that I’m not used to the feeling of being NEW.

If you must know, I spent the majority of both conferences in a mini-state of panic. Am I in the right sessions? Am I missing opportunities? Am I talking to the right people? Unless you are being sponsored to be there (which as a newbie, you most likely are not), this is an investment you have made in yourself and you want to make sure it’s worthwhile. That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.

Which brings me to #2— SET YOUR EXPECTATIONS.

Don’t go expecting to learn the secret to blogging success. There are not going to be any major shortcuts to gaining traffic, writing better, personal branding or monetizing. In fact, a lot of the people you think are successful are still trying to figure all of that out too. You may get valuable tips and you may be inspired but they are not going to change your world without a lot of hard work.

Does this all sound horrible? Sorry. I’m working towards my last point which is a positive one.

#3— ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS MAKE A FEW GOOD CONNECTIONS.

You will meet a couple of people that are seemingly at the same level as you. People that you feel comfortable around and you seek out as a home base at all times.

You will meet a couple of people that have read your blog or know your twitter handle and will be excited to meet you. This will mean the world to you.

And then you will meet a couple of people that you admire, that you can learn from and that seem willing to help.

Every one of these people will become part of your network and your network is the main reason you are there.

At Blissdom, a conference where I was pretty much on the verge of tears the entire time, convinced I was going about the whole thing all wrong, I met three such people. I met someone from New York who has since introduced me to other bloggers in my area. I met someone who’s specialty is persuasive writing and a few weeks later, helped me write a business proposal. And I met someone who works for a major parenting website and ended up inviting me to be part of their network.

At the time, these seemed like very small blips compared to what I thought I was supposed to be getting out of a conference. But I have now come to believe that these people are invaluable. Especially since I saw them all again at Mom 2.0.

Over the last few days in New Orleans, I continued to build my network. I expanded my home base, I stalked a few bloggers I admire and I was even sought out by one or two wonderfully delusional people. Whether Mom 2.0 was worthwhile depends mainly on what I do with these connections going forward.

Hopefully, by the next conference, I’ll start to relax and do a little more of what all the sophomores, juniors and seniors seemed to be doing— HAVING FUN.

Tagged as: blog conferences, Mom 2.0 Summit