Well, it’s not. I’d be lying through my teeth if I said it was. But it has to be okay with me because shit happens on occasion and I have to roll with it.
Since April I’ve been trying to turn into a grown up and let me tell you, being a grown up is a pain in the ass. No one told me this… I’m sure they didn’t. I vaguely remember my parents giggling at me when I told them how I couldn’t WAIT TO GROW UP, at the time I thought maybe they were giggling because I looked down right adorable with my bottom lip sticking out in a pout so far that I’d have fallen over it if I wasn’t careful.
No, apparently they were mocking me but because I was young and naive they chose to giggle in my general direction.
I don’t giggle when my kids say it to me; instead I like to look at them and say “careful what you wish for” and tsk tsk under my breath as I slowly walk away. The dear in the headlight look I get in return is priceless.
Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know because unless a miracle happens – like conference tickets, air fare, hotel accommodations and such all arrive packaged neatly at my doorstep, I will not be leaving the state of Ohio.
I tell you this in hopes that you who may be reading and are not going to one (or both) of these conferences does not feel alone that:
A: You didn’t get sponsored.
B: You couldn’t save up the money.
C: You weren’t asked or accepted to speak.
Whatever your “I can’t go” (when you really want to go, and should be able to not barring a death in the family or serious illness that would prevent you from going) reason is… it’s OK. You’re not alone.
I sat out last year’s Type-A Mom Conference too and it was hard to be online that weekend. Every one of my social networks had bloggy friends updating and tweeting and sharing pictures that I wasn’t in. It sucked. Bad. It will suck again this year too.
But having gone to a conference already this year and having sat in the sessions and listened to the speakers… I have to tell you. Much of what you will learn, you can learn from home. Often for free, or deeply discounted!
For example: Want to know about using Twitter effectively? Purchase Allison Worthington’s “The Smart Girl’s Guide to Twitter”.
Kelby Carr, founder of the Type-A Mom Conference and Typeamom.net wrote “Mom Blog SEO” – I have this, love this, refer to it often when I’m starting a new site.
Angela England of AngelaEngland.com has written a number of ebooks including “Making Money Blogging” – another that I am proud to say that I own.
Scott Stratton, unmarketing on Twitter and the Un-Marketing Blog blows me away with insightful and engaging tweets. He’s written his first book, aptly titled “UnMarketing: Stop Marketing and Start Engaging” which will be released this fall. It’s in my wish list. For real.
Chris Brogan, another favorite of mine on Twitter is an author, speaker, and God of social media, has a couple of books on branding and using social media: “Trust Agents” and “Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to Develop Your Business Online”
Darren Rowse, also someone who gets this crazy blog life we’re living and has created probably THE MOST WELL KNOWN SITE about blogging, Progblogger.net is also an author with the book, “ProBlogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six Figure Income” under his belt and an ebook.
This is a short list. It is by far not complete and you’re more than welcome to tell me who you think rocks your socks in social media and the blogging world.
I guarantee you that for every one person, site, ebook or book I listed, there are 12 dozen more and 99.99999999999999 percent of them have free information on building your brand, marketing, SEO, blogging basics, finding sponsors and creating media kits (you know… for next year), being an authentic blogger, making money, social media, social networking and every other topic you want to know about.
If it makes you feel better, the average cost of a conference can be upwards of $1,000 (out of pocket) depending on the conference, the location (travel costs), and the cost of the hotel. For anyone who is brand new to blogging, I’d say to attend ONE CONFERENCE to get your feet wet, to meet new people face to face and to just have the experience.
After that? It’s up to you. My first conference experience was last year at BlogHer. I never attended one session (no ticket) and I learned pounds more outside the session rooms. I heard that many didn’t learn what they’d hoped to or found more of an education outside of the sessions. In February of this year, I attended BlissDom (this time with a ticket) and I found that I already knew just as much, if not more than what the speakers were saying. In one particular session (Evolution from Earned Media to Paid Media), I had a slightly different view of parts of that session since I was approaching it from a professional writing standpoint, (Content that is directed by the company should be paid for, never given away for free. No matter how much you love the brand or want in with the company. It’s not called “paid media”. It’s called content writing and makes you a freelance writer or copywriter. You’re doing COPYWRITING. You’re no longer a blogger. End of story). Others may disagree with that standpoint (and that’s fine) but from my corner of the session room and the company I was keeping that day, one thing is for sure: paid media and writing content for a brand or company should not be confused with one another.
Once again, I found myself learning things I didn’t know outside of the sessions, learning from the women that I was meeting outside of the rooms, networking with and loving the women I already knew even more for their insight and knowledge on blogging, writing, and branding.
In May, I ventured to Palm Beach, Florida for a retreat and meeting with the folks at Lifetime. We worked, we played, we learned. It’s the small groups and intimate interaction that I am finding I gain knowledge from; not necessarily a large conference setting. Anymore I am more eager to work with small groups of people who are eager to share and grow their brand or their business as well as their community.
I’m not trying to discount the value of a conference; I love attending them and look forward to attending one or two next year. But I am saying that I know bloggers who are crying, have cried (self included) because they’re not able to attend their choice conference(s) this year and in the big scheme of things, the crying, the frustration won’t do us any good. We’ll still be at home while others are conferencing and networking.
So what do I suggest? Pick up some good reads on what you want to know more about and start putting it into play. Figure out the best formula for selling ad space on your site; create a skype room with other like-minded bloggers to bounce ideas off of or Google your topic of choice and then bookmark all the good results. Read them at your leisure or tweet your community and ask them what their favorite blogging resource, website book, or ebook is. Make a list and keep it close by.
You’re going to be fine. I’m going to be fine. We will plan better for next year. We will clear our calendars and meet up soon.
*Note: There may be affiliate links in the amazon links. I’m bad at affiliate marketing so I just copied the link that came up in the address bar. This is why I’m a writer and not an affiliate marketer.*
Girl, I feel ya. I’m so tempted to attempt TypeAMom. I don’t even know why really. I’ve been to two, and I’m not sure I could learn much more. My real dream is BWE; that’s a whole new crowd and I have several friends outside the mom-blogsphere going this year. So want to meet them. But I don’t see that happening. Maybe I should just sit back and be happy I got to do Blissdom and Mom 2.0 (both free tickets!) and try for BWE next year…
Erica Mueller´s last [type] ..WordPress 30 Custom Menu Tutorial
You know, I really wanted to speak at Type-A this year but it wasn’t in the cards for me to do it. I look at it this way. It gives me another year to prove my worth as someone who has a voice and something to share. I also would like to go to BWE but it’s an EXPENSIVE trip that I couldn’t justify this year. The best thing I can do is work towards next year and spend the rest of this year soaking up all the free (or deeply discounted) information that I can find. It will only help me in the long run!
Here’s hoping we’ll both end up at BWE next year together!
I really wish you could come Nikki, but I definitely understand. I don’t know if it helps, Nikki and Erica, but I have tried to come up with a way to make the conference more affordable. I think CommentLuv pulled it in as the last post, but you can apply to volunteer to get a free pass.
I hope to see you guys at a conference soon! If not BlogHer or Type-A Mom, then hopefully BWE next year!
Kelby´s last [type] ..Volunteer Applications
Good way of explaining that we can’t always have all the candy in the jar! Thanks for this post.
Oh Kelby I know you are working hard to make it affordable for bloggers and you’re one of the few conference hosts that I’ve seen advertising all the ways to save on a ticket, which is one of the reasons I love you! It’s just not gonna be in the cards for me this year… as much as I’d love it to, I have to be OK with that (kids and family first!)
Still I think that for new bloggers, it’s important for them to know that there is a ton of free and inexpensive options right at their fingertips and sometimes I think we forget that it’s out there.
You will see me next year, I know it.
Yeah, I definitely understand what you are saying, and there is NOTHING wrong with missing conferences. Shoot, I run a conference and I have to miss several great conferences each year. I cringe when they are going on and I see all the tweets, but it’s just not realistic to expect to get to any and/or every conference you want.
This blogging and social media community is wonderful and supportive, and there are definitely many ways to learn and connect even at home. Shoot, if there weren’t, we wouldn’t be here, and there wouldn’t be conferences for us. LOL.
Kelby´s last [type] ..Volunteer Applications
Thanks for your thoughtful post, Nikki. I started blogging about 10 months ago (right before my daughter was born) and over this past year, I have learned more & more about the “blogosphere”, and have had a few neat experiences as a result. But, I still thought myself too much of a “newbie” to attend Blogher. In the last few weeks, the more I’ve read about the conference on blogs/Twitter/etc, the more I’m now bummed I won’t be there. The worst part? I live in NYC!! Oh well. I’m trying to ignore Twitter for the next couple of days, which should be easy as we will be out of town this weekend anyway. Perhaps I’ll make it to a conference next year. Honestly, though, I’m not sure I could justify spending the extra $$ on a ticket, hotel, etc, if it were other than in NYC, as much as I would like to meet other bloggers face to face. Reality bites, eh?
Thank you so much for the resources you provided in your post– I hope to check them out soon.
Cheers,
Ellen
http://www.babymeetscity.com
[...] I contemplated swearing off all forms of social media until Monday morning. Because, as you know, I was OK with missing BlogHer (really). I didn’t think I could take seeing the tweets, and even my cute little mug (on card stock no [...]
very well written post. As an organizer of the first Blissdom conference, there was a part of me that hated being a part of something that others were going to feel badly about not being able to attend.
I’ve only attended two conferences. I agree – you can find most or all of the info on the internet. I think what it really comes down to is that desire to be a part of something. And the reminder that it sucks to feel left out of something.