This week I got the chance to attend my very first blogger event organized by Parent Bloggers Unite. Okay, this wasn’t the massive BlissDom conference, but I was never going to leave my nursling and family and fly to the other side of the country for an entire weekend. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I figured I wouldn’t find out unless I went. What I found was a valuable and fun affair that I can’t wait to experience again!
We were hosted by Neverland Tea Salon, a gorgeous little tea place that just opened up on West Broadway. The friendly owners served us yummy teas and beautiful high tea goodies. Word is they also offer a dress-up trunk for the kids and tea-infused cocktails for their exhausted parents!
Photos courtesy of mumfection.com
Nicole Christen, founder of My Real Review, was the guest speaker. I learned some things about when and how to monetize, as well as keeping my authentic voice while monetizing. My favourite food for thought quote of the night came from Nicole:
“Saying yes to certain opportunities sometimes means saying no to your family.”
I don’t take this to mean that I shouldn’t say yes to anything. I’m more than just a mom, and I need to take time to do me stuff too. But it’s definitely a huge part of the equation I’m calculating in my head when I decide where and how to spend my time.
After all was said and done, here are the lessons I’ll be taking with me to my next blogger event:
1. Step outside your comfort zone.
I’m not a social butterfly. Most days, I would describe myself as introverted and pretty disinclined to strike up conversations with complete strangers. I think a lot of us enjoy blogging because talking from behind a keyboard is so much easier than making friends in person. But I wanted to learn more about this blogging thing, so I took a deep breath and walked in, sat at the nearest table, and introduced myself. By the end of the night I was swapping twitter handles and birth stories, so there you go!
2. Don’t forget your camera!
I can’t believe I left my camera at home! I have no pictures of the beautiful venue, the fantastic goodies, or my fellow bloggers. I had to beg the pictures for this post. (Thank you Eschelle and Rebecca!)
Photo courtesy of rebeccacoleman.ca
3. Bring a smartphone.
Believe it or not, I don’t have a cell phone (gasp!) let alone a smartphone. It’s not that I’m some kind of a Luddite. On the contrary, I love my gadgets and technology! But I’m a stay at home mom (with a home phone), and hubs has the car for work so it’s not like I’m running errands all over town. Up until now, I haven’t really missed it or felt the need for a phone. But it would be nice to borrow hubs’ phone next time so I can be like all the cool kids and live tweet and network from the event. Plus, this would cover point #2 as well!
4. Bring business cards.
I’d never really thought about business cards before, but passing along my contact info on a nice glossy networking card is so much more professional than a corner torn from the back page of my notebook.
5. Don’t assume it’s over when it’s over.
I told hubs to show up at 9:30 p.m., and he ended up waiting almost half an hour while I chatted with some of the other attendees after the formal part of the event was over. But you know what my sweetie said when I finally got in the car? He told me he was happy to wait while I enjoyed my first evening away from the kids in months. Love this guy!
If you’re a blogger, what did you learn from your first blogger event?
Oh my gosh, that tea salon looks amazing!
I just attended my first two blogger conferences in one week (SheBlogs and Blissdom). Like you, I am shy naturally, so I work hard to socialize! And I have a cell phone but I barely use it. I really did enjoy meeting other bloggers most of all.
It is a beautiful place! I agree it was wonderful to talk to other people with similar experiences, questions, etc. (we were all parent bloggers), even though I was pretty nervous about it at the beginning. Congrats on your whirlwind week! You must be so ready to just curl up in your PJ’s on the couch (I would!).
ALWAYS bring a smart phone to blogger events, live tweeting, sharing pictures is a must, and lots of fun!
I won’t forget again! 🙂
Congrats! I remember my first time getting away. Everyone starts somewhere and it’s okay you didn’t have those things, it just means you will…when you’re ready.
Thanks! And now I know for next time. 🙂
Going to any event where you can learn a thing or two and meet some of the lovely bloggers you connect with online is a good thing, whether it’s Blissdom or not. I really wanted to be able to go this year as well, but had a family emergency and couldn’t go. From the pictures it sounds like you had a wonderful time. So glad you stepped out of the comfort zone and got to meet others. I can’t wait to do it one day! 🙂
I just reread my post and realized it may have sounded dismissive because this wasn’t a huge conference, something I absolutely didn’t intend. I had a great time here, and it was definitely a valuable experience. I made a minor edit to better capture what I really thought about this event. Thank you for prompting me to take another look at what I wrote!
I’ve yet to attend a blogger event but I am totally jealous – as someone who is tea-obsessed, that would be a perfect location for my first!
I’m a tea girl too! I loved this location for the event.
This is great to know! I’ve never gone to a blogger event. I’m like you,stay at home mom. We use our regular cell phones that just call and text. I have my old iPhone that I had service on but I use that thing as a computer for when I’m away from the PC. I would really love to go to one of these for sure. It may need to be close as well because my nursing is attached to my hip too 🙂 thanks so much for sharing these tips!
I was so happy to find a local blogger community just starting up. It will probably be at least a year before I’d feel comfortable leaving my youngest overnight, so it worked out really well. You could try searching online or on FB if there’s anything similar near you.
thank you soo much again for coming out and enjoying the night with us we really love having you!! Hope we will see you at our upcoming event at Brentwood 😀
Thanks for the heads up Eschelle! Going to check it out now!