How to Save Money on Blog Conferences

By Amy

So you’ve decided to go to a blog conference.  Kudos to you!  This is a great step in the right direction for any blogger looking to better his or her skills.  But let’s face it; conferences can get pricey after you factor in conference tickets, hotel, travel costs, and food.  So I want to let you in on a secret:

Conferences do not have to break your budget!

That’s right!  You can attend a conference without spending a fortune.  Here are just a few ways to cut costs on attending a conference:

Conference Admission

• Give Your Time. Ask the conference organizers if they are in need of volunteers.  There are a lot of behind the scenes (and not so behind the scenes) things that go on in order to make the magic happen.  They may need volunteers to help with things like registration, directing guests, fetching microphones, etc.  Often they will give you free admission to the conference in exchange for your volunteer time.
• Talk It Up. You may think you know very little about blogging, but chances are you know enough about something interesting to be a speaker.  It definitely doesn’t hurt to put your ideas in front of the conference organizers and ask to be a speaker.  If you speak, you will get free admission to the rest of the conference.
• Get the Worm. No, not the tequila worm.  The early bird worm, silly!  Many conferences offer early bird discounts for registering (and paying) early.  While it’s not a free admission, it will save you some green without any effort.

Hotel Rooms

• Home Sweet Home. Try to choose conferences that are close to your home.  This will cut down on or eliminate travel and hotel costs.  Conferences change locations each year, so even if your favorite isn’t near you this year, chances are, it will be closer in another year or two.
• Get the Group Rate. If you will be staying in a hotel for a conference, make sure you tell them you are with the conference.  In most cases, the conference organizers will negotiate a discounted group rate with nearby hotels.  This requires zero effort, so there’s no excuse on this one.
• Share and Share Alike. If you know others who will also be staying overnight for the conference, share the room and share the cost.  Sharing with just 1 person cuts your hotel cost by 50%!

Food

• It’s In the Bag. If you know you will get hungry throughout the day, do a little planning.  Carry some snacks along in your bag to munch on.  Sure, you won’t want to pack anything requiring refrigeration, but snack bars and nuts travel very well.
• Scope It Out. Look online to find nearby restaurants and eateries before you go.  This will enable you to find coupons or maybe rack up some My Points to earn gift cards to those restaurants.  This will help reduce your overall food costs.

So there you have it.  You don’t have to let cost stand in your way of attending these valuable learning and networking experiences.  You really can have it all!

What money-saving tips do you have to share?
Have these tips ever worked for you?

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About the Author:
By day, Amy Metherell (@OrigCouponCoach) is a mom of 2, wife of 1, grad school student, and full time software tester.  She just barely holds it all together!

By night, she blogs over at The Original Coupon Coach, where she offers ideas, tips, resources, and money-saving advice through blogging, classes, and more.  She teaches people how to save money at the grocery store without giving up the products they love.  She’s been couponing for over 6 years and has learned quite a few tips and tricks during that time.

She’s a little bit geeky and a little bit goofy, but she loves to help people and knows her stuff!