Let’s talk conferences! Blog conferences or conferences of any sort are all good for bloggers! I’m convinced of it, and I hope to convince you too!
Conferences for bloggers are like recipes for chefs; they can be of any type, style or ingredient, no matter the topic of the conference just like no matter the ingredient of the recipe, a blogger can learn from, be inspired by, and grow as a blogger from any sort of conference!
If you are a blogger, no matter the niche, you can attend a conference, no matter the type of conference, and walk away being a better blogger, a more inspired blogger, and more encouraged blogger, and a happier blogger!
Ready to get excited about conferences as a blogger?! Let’s dive in!
10 Reasons Conferences Are Amazing For All Bloggers
There are allllllllll sorts of bloggers these days. There are common bloggers like food bloggers and DIY bloggers and less common bloggers like step-parent bloggers and math bloggers! (Yes, there are people who blog about math!)
Likewise, there are allllllllll sorts of conferences these days! There are standard blog conferences that call themselves blog conferences and there are non-blog conferences on any topic imaginable that any blogger can learn from and benefit from!
While I’m a big fan of blog-specific conferences, I’m also a big fan of conferences of any topic helping a blogger be an even greater blogger!
My basic formula is this: If you love it, learn more about it at a conference, and your blog will be better for it!
In fact, even if you don’t currently blog on something, but you have a passion for it, by attending a conference on that topic you can be fueled with all sorts of excitement that will be displayed on your blog for sure even if you aren’t directly writing on the topic of the conference!
You see, you as a blogger are the key ingredient to your blog and if you are a happy blogger, an inspired blogger, an excited blogger, your blog will only benefit!
So whatever it is that makes you happy, you want to learn more about, and you fill fueled by, you’re going to want to start researching conferences for that topic as soon you’re done reading this post!
Just a quick note – I’m generally referring to in-person conferences in this post although video conferences that let you attend from home are fantastic too!
All learning is wonderful; just in this post though, I’m referring to the types of conferences where you leave your laptop and physically attend a conference that requires you to put your face in front of other people’s faces. As an introvert and as a blogger who usually is more behind a screen than in front of a person’s face, a real-life-in-person conference has all kinds of benefits! 🙂
#1 Conferences for Bloggers = Blog Ideas!
Any conference can provide blog ideas for a blogger!
A conference can help bloggers with blog post ideas, blog strategy ideas, blog traffic ideas, and more!
Perhaps the most obvious way a conference can help a blogger though is with blog post ideas. While at a conference a blogger can get new ideas for topics they usually write on or they can discover new topic areas they want to start writing about.
Here are some ways a blogger can use a conference to boost their idea generation:
- If a food blogger goes to a DIY conference, they could get tons of new ideas on how to make props for their food photos!
- A finance blogger who has an intense passion for DIY could go to a DIY conference and get lots of ideas for her blog on how to DIY on a budget!
- A fashion blogger who attends a leadership conference might leave the conference with new ideas for how to lead a style challenge on her blog.
- A mom blogger who attends a financial conference could discover a bunch of tips for her upcoming series on how to homeschool for less.
- A travel blogger attending a self-improvement conference might discover her latest ebook idea while attending a session on self-care ideas.
- A dog blogger who goes to a conference on photography could suddenly decide she wants to start a new category on her blog about pet photography!
Any blogger who blogs about anything could attend any conference and find endless ideas for future posts, new directions she wants to take her blog, and blog ideas she didn’t know she was looking for but suddenly realizes are perfect for her and her audience!
My personal blogging conference example: I got the idea to write this post because I just got back from a conference! 🙂
#2 Conferences for Bloggers = Social Media Ideas!
One of the best ways to be active on social media is to have an exciting life LOL! It’s true!
Going to a conference will give any blogger tons of options for pictures to post on Instagram, for interesting facts to share on Facebook, and for quick one-liners to tweet on Twitter!
A conference will allow you to go somewhere new, be around fascinating folks, and provide you with new material for you to document with your camera and video recorder that can all be super fascinating for your social media followers!
My personal blogging conference example: I got a lot of great pictures to post on Instagram from my recent conference!
#3 Conferences for Bloggers = Email List Ideas!
Conferences can help a blogger with their email list!
How many times as a blogger have you heard about the importance of your email list?! Everybody says it’s super important, right?!
Well, conferences can help you with your email list in two ways: Getting people on your list and then keeping them there!
When you go to a conference, you can gather up a lot of juicy content upgrade/opt-in/freebie ideas so people will want to jump on your email list! Then you can also get ideas for fun things to email to your email list, one of which is just a highlight of what you learned from your conference!
My personal blogging conference example: I got an awesome blog opt-in idea from the conference I just went to!
[bctt tweet=”If you’re a blogger, here are 10 reasons why you should go to a conference! #blogadvice #bloggingtips #conference #blogbetter #blog #playingperfect #blogging #blogger #conferences” username=”perfectplaying”]
#4 Conferences for Bloggers = Product Ideas!
Do you have some ideas of what you want to offer up as a product on your blog? Maybe you already sell some stuff but are looking for even more ideas?
A conference is perfect for product idea generation and for product creation brainstorming!
Let’s say you’re a photography blogger and you attend a Christian woman’s conference. Maybe you surprisingly walk away with new ideas on how to create a photography course for homeschooling moms who want their kids to learn photography as an elective in their homeschooling curriculum!
Conferences help bloggers think of all kinds of product ideas and new ways of marketing products to the right people!
My personal blogging conference example: I just got back from a conference and one of the best moments was when I got awesome feedback for a product idea I’ve had for months but haven’t acted on yet!
#5 Conferences for Bloggers = Relationships!
Are you lonely as a blogger? If you are, you’re not alone!
Blogging is hard, but also blogging can be kinda friendless at times!
At a conference, you can meet your people! Go to a conference on a topic you care about, and automatically you’re putting yourself in a pool of people who care about the same things you do, and so you’ll likely get along with them and likely form some friendships!
My personal blogging conference example: I met a super great gal I plan to interview for my blog!
#6 Conferences for Bloggers = Readers!
Do you know what your readers want, what the really, really, want?!
There are a lot of ways to get to know your readers better and to serve them better, BUT. How often do you get to interact in-person with tons of people who are and/or could be your ideal reader?! There are so many benefits to this!
At conferences you can literally ask and find out what things they (people who are or seem like they would be your readers) care about most, what they are struggling with, and see them ask questions in sessions at a conference and see how they respond to answers given and see with your very eyes if people are excited about something!
Conferences can be the ultimate form of market research for your blog!
My personal blogging conference example: I went to a talk on organization and realized a lot of people struggle with organization… like a ton apparently! So I got a lot of ideas about how to help with that pain point.
#7 Conferences for Bloggers = Growth!
Conferences are great for growing you in some way fast.
Depending on the conference you attend, and what you already know, if you put yourself in a conference full of sessions that teach you new stuff and challenge you in ways you never knew you could be challenged you might find yourself, and your blog, growing faster than ever before!
Here are some ways a conference can help you grow no matter what kind of blogger you are:
- Conferences can challenge how you currently blog
- Conferences can encourage you to blog a new way
- Conferences can introduce you to new ways to make money with your blog
- Conferences can help you see ways to serve your readers better
- Conferences can give you ideas to make your blog more on trend
- Conferences can introduce you to new blogging niches you didn’t know about
- Conferences can let you know what people are struggling with
- Conferences can show you what people are interested in currently
- Conferences can give you answers to questions about blogging you didn’t know you wanted to be answered
- Conferences can build your confidence, increase your courage, and encourage you to keep blogging when you feel like you want to quit
Conferences can help you grow in countless ways as a blogger and as a person who just happens to blog!
I highly recommend conferences for any blogger who wants to improve in any area!
My personal blogging conference example: I discovered a few new areas of interest thanks to the conference I just got back from! One word: Lettering!
#8 Conferences for Bloggers = Realness!
Conferences happen in person (at least the ones I’m writing about here LOL) and by the nature of this in-person-ness, you are getting a great chance to step away from the internet which often means a world of not-exact-real-ness and stepping into a yep-this-is-what-I-really-look-like-and-sound-like-and-act-like-when-there-isn’t-a-computer/filter/editing-system-between-you-and-me.
In other words… conferences make you as a blogger more real and others as people more real, and life, in general, takes on a different feeling of realness when you’re around people for real and not in a Facebook group or blog page or Instagram picture.
There are so many benefits to this realness-in-conferences thing!
When I see bloggers for real in front of me at conferences suddenly I remember they might have huge traffic numbers and gigantic social media followings, but in this realness of them standing right in front of me and talking to me and us just being regular people at this real-life event, things become so much more normal and less unreachable and less unfathomable and less unimaginable.
You can talk with a “big” blogger and see that she is totally normal and you also feel like you can be totally normal and not try to have to be “extra-special” because you’re trying to become a “big” blogger yourself.
I think every blogger needs to step away from their computer and phone every once in a while and interact with inspirational teachers and readers in ways that don’t involve technology at all but just involve being regular people doing real life things like being hungry and deciding where to eat or listening to someone give a lesson and then both sharing what you liked and didn’t like about that lesson.
So much of blogging can feel fake; it just can!
You are writing to people that you don’t get immediate reactions from, or you’re doing a social media post because you’re looking for a certain reaction… there can be a lot of times where you lose that sense of “real” when it comes to blogging but when you go to a conference you can feel that realness all around, and it can be awesome for your real-self and your real-blog (that sometimes can feel not so real).
My personal blogging conference example: I met a few “big” bloggers at a conference recently and felt so happy seeing how completely “normal” they are and how approachable in real life!
[bctt tweet=”If you’ve ever thought about going to a conference to help with your blog, here are 10 solid reasons why you should! #blogger #blogtips #playingperfect #blogconferences #blogging” username=”perfectplaying”]
#9 Conferences for Bloggers = Freebies!
Free stuff is incredible, and conferences are often full of it!
The freebies will vary by the conference for sure, but there are bound to be at least a few freebies in the realm of food, bags/totes, and paper goods!
At just about every conference I’ve been to there are free snacks or samples of foods that can add up to a nice snack LOL!
There are usually takeaway bags of some sort that might be full of goodies or empty, and you can fill on your own! Also, paper (probably because people take notes at conferences) is a typical freebie or things you can use on paper such as pens or stickers!
So the next time you go to a conference be sure you come prepared with space in your luggage in case you go back home with a nice haul of freebies!
The free stuff you get can be great for blog giveaways too in case you don’t want to keep your freebies but you know your readers will want them!
My personal blogging conference example: I got free planners, free bags, free food, and free printables from my most recent conference!
#10 Conferences for Bloggers = Fun!
Fun matters, blogger!
Sometimes blogging is not fun, but going to a conference can be complete fun and help you find the fun in blogging you may have lost!
No matter what type of conference you attend, if you go to a conference that interests you, inspires you, and challenges you in any sort of way, you are bound to have your fun-o-meter go up a few notches! You might meet some fun people, have a few fun conversations, get to do a new fun activity, and perhaps travel to a fun location!
If you feel like your blog life has been all work and no play, a conference might be the perfect dose of fun you need to add to your blogging life today!
My personal blogging conference example: I had soooooooooooooooooo much fun at the conference I just got back from! As in non-stop second-by-second fun! I seriously walked around with a smile on my face for days even when I was exhausted!
*Bonus* How to find conferences for bloggers
Now that you know for sure you want to get to a conference, how do you find a conference?!
Here are some tips on how I find conferences for myself and how you might want to go about discovering the next conference you want to attend:
- Google “X conference” when the “X” = something you love, are passionate about, and/or want to learn more about.
- Type in the name of a major convention center (or a large venue for where concerts are held) near where you live and see what events are coming (there’s a good chance some conferences are coming!).
- Email some people you admire in the X field you care about and ask them if they know about any conferences to attend in the area of X.
- Some conferences can cost a lot but have discounts and early bird specials when tickets first go on sale so if you see conferences you want to go to, start making a wishlist for conferences, begin budgeting for them, and put the dates of ticket sales and of when the conferences are happening onto your calendar.
There you go fellow blogger, 10 reasons to get you to a conference ASAP!
I hope you’re feeling excited to check out conferences in your area, in your niche, and in your budget so you can experience all the blogging benefits that only conferences can bring!
Oh, my goodness, how awesome would it be if we showed up at the same conference!
If you’re going to a conference you’re excited about, let me know about it in case I want to check it out too and maybe we can meet up! I’m all about attending all the conferences I can, and I bet there are lots I haven’t even heard of, so I’m always open to ideas!
I hope you’re feeling the conference love too and that you get to attend at least one conference this year that takes your blogging to an entirely new level!
Happy blogging! 🙂
Excited to attend a conference as a blogger? *Pin* this post for blog conference inspiration! If you’re someone regularly on the lookout for amazing blog ideas, follow Playing Perfect’s Pinterest Page for even more blog tips!
Looking to up your blog opt-in game?! Check out all the amazingness of blog quizzes!
FREE Blogger Education Printable Pack
Ready to formalize your blogger education!? Use this 50+ page printable pack to take your blogging to the next level! Never forget an important blogging lesson again!
FREE for a limited time!