1) Find friends before hand!
Once you register for your blog conference there is usually a facebook group for conference attendees. Look through the attendees list for people in similar genres, or who live in your area. Send them a private message and get to know them a little better. Do this with a few people and start a facebook group chat where you can interact, introduce each other and talk about how excited you are about the conference. The worse part of going to a blog conference is showing up and knowing no one there. Now you have a group of friends who will be there, so go ahead and coordinate where you will meet up, exchange phone numbers so you can text when you get there and figure out where everyone is sitting. You have built your conference tribe. Of course you can branch off when you get there and meet others but you have a group who you know you can meet up with and the icebreakers are over.
2) Check out the Conference Speakers and Sponsors.
Look up conference sponsors and speakers and follow them on social media, especially twitter and Instagram. Shoot them a message saying you can’t wait to meet them at the conference. Go ahead and create a conference twitter group. Now you have them saved in your friends list its easier to tweet them during the conference for shout outs and maybe quotes from their talks.
3) Make Yourself Memorable
Get lots of business cards, and something unique you can hand out. Everyone hands out business cards, make yours unique by adding flair or even hand making your own cards. Its always awesome when you can hand out something extra as well. There are lots of economical things you can do but its always memorable to do something that people can actually use during the conference such as pens, highlighters, or my favorite chapstick, all ordered with your logo of course. Another idea is to get your branding on a t shirt or bag and wear it to the conference. People will remember your brand the more they see it!
4) Be Strategic with your Notes
Purchase a special notebook for the conference. I love something with an inspirational saying. Think small so it doesn’t weigh down your bag, yet with enough space for notes from all your sessions.
- Now here is a pro tip. Leave the first 20 pages of your notebook blank! Why because you are going to get some many actionable ideas from the conference. When you get back home read through your notes and use those blank pages to prioritize all the things you want to implement on your blog.
- Use the last page of your notebook to write the names and urls of any bloggers you meet that you really want to remember and possibly collaborate with in the future.
5) Be Sponsor Ready
Research the sponsors of the conference and think of ways that you could work with them, have your elevator pitch ready for when you meet them. Also print out several of your media kits, so you can provide to all the sponsors you meet. If you are really excited about a specific sponsor, customize your media kit to describe how you can work with them specifically. Brands will love that you already did all the work for them and it sets you apart from the hundreds of other bloggers they will meet.
6) Post Strategically
Pay attention to what you are posting the week before the conference! Lots of people will be checking out our blog during and after the conference. I like to add a post about free printable that can be downloaded if you sign up for my newsletter. So not only am I giving away value, I am capturing all the new people who are coming to my blog.
I hope you find these tips helpful and let me know your tips below. Stay tuned for tips for during and after the conference as well. Conferences I highly recommend are Blog Elevated, Blogging While Brown and Haven
Looking for more inspiration? Add your email below to download this free inspirational printable.
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