Last weekend I dragged my family to the glorious state of Arizona so that I could attend another blogging conference. This was the third that I’ve gone to, and my second Bloggy Boot Camp through the SITS Girls.
This one was HANDS DOWN the best so far. 
If you’ve never been to a blogging conference, there are a lot to choose from. Some are for writers, some are basic how-to-blog events, some are STRICTLY for networking. Some are ENORMOUS and others, like this one, are small and intimate gatherings. Bloggy Boot Camp Phoenix-Brand Edition was geared specifically to the person who wants to do social media or blogging as a business, which is so.totally.me! I went with the expectation of learning a lot and wooooowee, I was not disappointed.
Something that was nice was that while we were all on different blogging levels, most of us had at least an intermediate knowledge of the biz. Sponsored posts, social media strategy, SEO… these were all things we had done going into the weekend, so we could jump right off into the intermediate/advanced areas where we’d been struggling. Or at least where I’d been struggling, not so sure about the rest of the social media mavens.
Regardless of where you are in the blogging world, going to a conference is great for a few reasons, one of which is knowledge. The world of blogging and social media is changing on a minutely basis and it’s all I can do to keep up. The legality of certain things, finding social media jobs, and finding the time to be a better blogger/mom/woman… these are all things we struggle with as we forge this new path.
One of the best parts about going to a blogging conference really is the networking. As someone who has spent their entire adult career life with face to face interactions, you can imagine how excited I get to be in a room full of people that LOVE the same thing that I do. 150 people that love to blog and LOVE social media? YES PLEASE. 150 people that I can talk to? WOOOHOOO! My social skills were in overdrive.
It doesn’t hurt either that the conference was sponsored by Mirassou Wines.
Me + Mirassou + 150 of my closest bloggy friends = HEAVEN. I was even lucky enough to sit down with David Mirassou at an intimate wine pairing and grill him on all things Mirassou wine. From marketing, to flavor profiles, to the terroir of his vineyards, he was probably exhausted by my annoying wine science questions. But lucky for me, if he was, he didn’t show it!
Truly, becoming a part of this social media community has been the most important thing for me. To be able to go to a conference and know more than a handful of people. To connect with other women (and a few men) who are passionate about what they write about, from their kids to technology. To be not just a blogger, but to make this a business.
I want it all.
*****
