So if you follow me on twitter, Instagram, or facebook you KNOW that I attended BlogPodium this past Saturday. Earlier I posted Part 1, my tea with Sarah Richardson experience and today I’m going to talk a bit more about the actual conference. First up – I would say the most popular BlogPodium topic in twitterland before the conference was what everyone was wearing. Of course.
I decided on this outfit the day before and I bought that cute bag just the evening before. I was early to dinner with fellow bloggers and decided to peek into the Marshall’s across the street. I’m usually not a big purse kinda gal but I knew I would need it. I love fashion but I also get bored super quickly so I don’t like to spend lots of money on fashion. Shopping at thrift stores is not beyond me and I love to mix thrifted finds with new pieces and create my own look.
On friday I posted about how important it is to bring your business card to events like this. I decided to to go the extra mile to set myself apart in a room full of bloggers by putting together these cute packages of colourful printed buttons with all my contact info (business card also included). Who doesn’t love a little present?!
By far the guest that everyone was most excited to hear speak was Sarah Richardson. It was great to get a more personal visit with her the day before but she really was in her element in a room full of people looking for inspiration and she didn’t disappoint.
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She spoke very candidly, without any notes about her rise in the industry and had a long list of traits and tips to help you realize your potential. I won’t go into each one but the list looked something like this:
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The decor by We Create Hoopla looked great! They knew that a room full of bloggers would be looking for lots of Instagram shots. There was a great wall of ribbon for everyone to display their creative business cards and pretty custom notebooks from minted.
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| (left photo Annawithlove Photography for BlogPodium) |
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So right about here is where you can insert hours of super great workshops & speakers. My goal for this conference was to really get down to business…literally. I was most interested in attending panels that spoke about how to turn your passion and hard work into a living. I learned that the key to this is to make friends with the Public Relations team of brands you want to work with and build those relationships. But I also learned that you can’t be contrived about it and that you must always be authentic or your readers & brands will be able to recognize it. I’ve known this to be true but it’s refreshing to hear from the folks over at the corporate headquarters.
I also really enjoyed a talk by Karen Bertelsen from The Art of Doing Stuff. (you may also recognize her from tv). She was not only hilarious but her advice was super useful. She talked numbers, gave specific information and was brutally honest about what it takes to make your blog return some of your hard work.
And then after the long & productive day there was this….
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And this…
oh and who can forget about all the great sponsors and the swag we went home with. I also won a power drill from Home Depot which will definitely come in handy!
Thank you to the organizers, speakers and all the amazing bloggers I met for such a great experience!
4 responses to “BlogPodium Part 2: the main event”
how did I leave without grabbing your business card (and buttons!) the folks from Indigo and PC were joking that my mini-card was uber lame in comparison to the bloggesses that packed a little extra with their’s – I had NO idea they were talking about you. way to make me look bad ;) just kidding. I remember who connected us on Twitter now – Sarah Newark – we had a slumber party after the conference and she was like, “did you meet The Sweet Escape?!” – sure did! :D
xo
Ha! Well I had a room full of amazing bloggers, I had to do something :) It was great meeting you. I wish the conference was longer so we could’ve chatted more. I’ll be following and you can bet I’ll be in touch if I ever come visit the West coast.
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