Blogging conferences aren’t just great for learning new tricks of the trade alongside some A-list bloggers. If you take the right steps and implement the right strategy, you can create some huge growth in your blogging business. The whole point of a blogging conference is to leave with some huge steps to take when you get home. Here’s how to start!
Network Growth
Don’t underestimate what you can learn from the person sitting beside you. What attracts us to conferences is usually the speakers and the session titles. We know from experience though that the people we have met at conferences have also given us a huge boost in our businesses.
We wouldn’t be anywhere without our tribe, and we’ve built such a strong one by attending conferences and making big connections. It’s easier to make a connection with someone when you’re face to face and not behind a screen.
Aside from our peers, let’s talk for a minute about brand connections. If you’re not looking at who’s sponsoring a conference before you’re attending, you should be! Connecting with brands 1-on-1 is huge when you’re attending a blogging conference. The brands are there to network with you and to collaborate with you in the future.
By networking with brands at a blogging conference, you’re able to put a face to a name and vice versa. So when you follow up after the conference is over, they’ll remember you because you made a connection. That increases the likelihood of landing a brand deal down the road.
Wanna learn more about landing some awesome brand collaborations? Check out How to Pitch a Brand and How to Make Brands Love Your Sponsored Content!
Learning
Number two, learning! While it may seem obvious, we have some tricks to help you get the most out of each learning experience during a blogging conference and believe us, there are a lot!
First are the sessions and workshops. Take a look at the schedule beforehand (if it’s available to you) and print it out or write it down in the notebook you’re taking to the conference. If there are multiple sessions happening at the same time, highlight the ones that you want to attend the most so you’re not second-guessing yourself in the moment.
Think strategically about what you need to learn and take away from the blogging conference so you can leave with the best information to improve your blog.
You can also make notes for each session you’re most interested in attending before you go! It could be things like questions you want to make sure are answered so you don’t forget in the moment.
Motivation & Inspiration
Go to be inspired and motivated! There is nothing worse than pouring into your audience from an empty cup. You need to take the time to do things for yourself that are going to teach and inspire you.
Hopefully, the blogging conference you’re attending will leave you with a notebook full of ideas and many new connections to keep you motivated long after you leave the conference. Just be sure to make an action plan once you leave so you can put that inspiration to good use.
And remember, you don’t know what you don’t know. So if you’ve had doubts about attending a conference because you’re not sure if you will learn anything – chances are, you will. Even if the session topics seem to be things you’ve heard before! Even the blogging pros have room to learn.
We know that for a fact, because Bree, the founder of Thrive, makes it a point to attend conferences, retreats, and workshops every chance she gets. Even after years of blogging and hosting blogging conferences of her own, she learns something new through every experience. Let’s take the lead from her!
If you want to attend a blogging conference, but are unable to travel right now, we have all the recorded sessions from our recent virtual conference in the Thrive Tribe with speakers like Amber Kemp-Gerstel (@DamaskLove) and Helene Sula (@HeleneinBetween) and sessions about everything from email growth to increasing your page views! Go check it out.
