Hi everyone!  I had a great time live blogging from Bloggy Boot Camp Dallas yesterday.  Thanks to those of you who tweeted to me and left comments.  I was glad that you all were finding the posts to be valuable.  Over the next few days I’ll be going back through the posts and adding in a few more resources and some pictures. Tonight I wanted to do a quick recap of the event and also talk about some of the reasons why actually attending a blog conference might be a goal that you should set for yourself as a blogger.

So, first the recap.  I have been to a few blog conferences, but this was my first Bloggy Boot Camp.  It was relatively small – about 150 attendees.  Almost all the bloggers there were from Texas, and a lot of them were attending their first ever blog conference.  Several ladies I met hadn’t even started their blog yet.  They were attending the conference to “learn how to do things so I don’t screw it up,” as one gal put it.

Different Bloggy Boot Camps address different subjects. This one was primarily centered around generating income from your blog. Obviously this isn’t everyone’s focus, but generally the way you make money from blogging is by making your blog better and keeping up with what is going on in the blogging community. Both of those things are good to do for any blogger, so even if you’re not into the business side of things, there was plenty of value to be had (hopefully you saw that in the live posts I did yesterday).

The ticket price for Bloggy Boot Camp is $99.  I would say, based on the amount of things that I learned in the sessions alone, that this is a great deal.  Bloggy Boot Camp is definitely learning-centric.  It really isn’t about big parties or swag.  As you saw in the post, there were some sponsors and some social events, and we did get to take home a goodie bag of fun stuff, but the focus was definitely on tangible take-aways that we could apply to our blogs immediately.  The small size of the conference and the limited number of sponsors that were there was nice because there were plenty of opportunities to interact directly with the sponsors and learn about their brands.  The conference organizers and “big gun” bloggers were also very friendly and accessible.  The speakers didn’t just come in and do their presentation and get out.  They were at the social events, mingling and answering questions. The SITSGirls and the team that works for them were super friendly and genuine – it was hard to tell them apart from the attendees when they weren’t on the microphone.  I think that’s a good thing.

Now, I know I live blogged the whole she-bang for you, so you got the gist of the conference sessions and what they were about.  But, conference going, even at a learning-centric conference, is much more than snagging tips and to-do lists out of sessions.  So, here’s a list of what you missed:

• Networking.  Hands-down my second favorite thing about blog conferences (behind learning) is networking.  If you’re not there, you can’t network.  I’m not really talking about sponsors and big guns.  I’m talking about fellow bloggers.  That’s the good stuff.  Comparing notes, fostering friendships, commiserating about writers block, and brainstorming ways to partner are just a few examples of why getting into a room full of women (and maybe a few men) that love to blog as much as you do can be fantastic.
• Asking Questions. The ability to ask questions of speakers, conference organizers, PR professionals, and brand reps face-to-face is pretty awesome.  Sure, you can talk with these folks via email, but it’s just not nearly as cool as having a real live conversation.
• Immersion. Nothing can get you more energized about your craft than spending a large block of time thinking and doing nothing BUT that craft. Aside from the jewels that you are hand fed by the speakers and fellow attendees, I guarantee your creative juices will flow faster and deeper at conference, and you’ll likely come home with a list of ideas that you brainstormed all on your own while you were immersed in bloggy goodness.
• Confidence. We all have our various social anxieties and worries.  It takes some courage to go to an event where you don’t know anyone in a town you’re not familiar with.  I always have a little case of nerves just before going to a conference. But, once I get there, it’s refreshing to see that everyone – from the blogger who’s making six figures, to the PR mavens, to the brand reps, and on down to the quietest blogger at the table – everyone is a real person.  Every once in a while I am disappointed to find that someone I thought was pretty cool online turns out to be not-so-fantastic in real life, but still, it builds my confidence in knowing that we are all just people.  Getting to the conference is 75% of the battle. Once you get one conference under your belt, you’ll likely feel your confidence rise.
• The little things.  Ok, so yes, I said there wasn’t a ton of swag at Bloggy Boot Camp, but I still came home with two new flash drives with brand information on them, sweet rolls from King’s Hawaiian, snacks for the kids from Happy Family, OPI nail polish from Kroger, a grilling apron for hubby, a fistfull of business cards from bloggers I had never met before (I’m already working out a guest post swap with one of them!), product coupons and samples, and some fun photos.

So, if you’re considering attending a blog conference, I think you absolutely cannot beat the annual Arkansas Women Bloggers Unplugged conference for a first-time go at it.  It’s more of a retreat/camp type atmosphere.  I would highly recommend Bloggy Boot Camp as well, though.  Especially if you are ready to take your blog toward blogging for business, it’s a great value for the wealth of info you get and the amount of time you have to invest.

Thanks again for letting me take over the “blogwaves” on Arkansas Women Bloggers for these past 72 hours.  I’ve had a blast!

~Fawn from Instead of the Dishes

Bloggy Boot Camp Session Posts:

• Top Ten Tips for Blogging Success
• What You Really Need to Know About Blog Design
• Success in eBooks
• Business of Blogging
• Blogging About Your Town: What to do with Local Content
• Growing Your Traffic
• Authenticity is Magnetic: Developing a Unique Voice and Making a Space for Yourself
• Bloggy Boot Camp: The Recap