She walks in to the room, glancing nervously around, trying to find her place. Women are everywhere and noise is crashing through the room in waves. Laughter, excited voices, smiles, hugs with new and old friends.
Thoughts run through her mind one after another, gaining momentum until she is almost in tears…
What am I doing here?
Lots of helpful information and advice were shared during the conference. But, as the day went on, I began to hear the speakers in terms of a big list of do’s and don’ts. And, I started to panic. Because, I don’t do all the “right” things on my blog; I do some of the “wrong” things.
When asked about my blog, I would shrug the question off and say something like “Well, I don’t really have any readers,” or “I’m probably the smallest blog at this conference.” I realized once I got home and began reading other peoples’ re-cap posts that I had consistently sold myself short—to myself, to other bloggers, to companies and PR professionals in attendance. So here’s my advice to YOU!
I recently got my “bliss” on at Blissdom 2010. Leading up to the conference, I was so excited about attending and meeting bloggers in real life (and seeing Harry Connick Jr.), that it wasn’t until a week before the conference I realized, “I only know a handful of these ladies from online. I haven’t met a single soul in person!”
In January I was a conference virgin. I had read all about them on other blogs and on Twitter, but had never been to one in person. The excitement that seems to swirl around them was intoxicating to me. I wanted a piece of the action – partly to see what the all the hubbub was, and partly to really learn about becoming a better blogger.
Since starting Blog Conference Newbie, I’ve been talking to many newer bloggers and new blog conference attendees about their fears, concerns, and expectations about conferences. Just like with anything in life, when we are doing something new, our nerves take over and our imaginations become a roadblock.
Hollee Schwartz Temple talks about her experience as a conference newbie at Blissdom in this vlog recap.
I see it at every conference—wide-eyed newbies with entirely too much knowledge crammed in their head and a stack of business cards they have no clue how to handle. Don’t panic! We’re here to walk you through the entire experience.
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