Fun.
Exceeded my expectations.
Filled with networking opportunities.
Packed with bloggy goodness about how to monetize and grow your blog.
These are words I’d use to describe the Bloggy Conference I attended last week.
I had the opportunity to attend the conference with my sister, Sarah, who I hadn’t seen (other than Skype) in nearly 6 months, so you can imagine that we did quite a bit of talking and catching up. π I was so glad to be able to go to my very first blog conference with her, because, like so many bloggers…I’m a bit of an introvert. It was nice to have a fellow introvert with me to take in the conference, learn, and enjoy it together.
The conference ran from Sept. 27th to Sept. 29th, and in order to keep these posts from getting too long, I’m going to break them up into at least 3 parts over the next 3 days.
I’m going to jump right into the good stuff now!
Β Day 1 – Keynote
Phil Hollows of Feedblitz shared his story about how he ended up where he is today and how Feedblitz evolved. Feedblitz sounds like a great service, if I ever decide to move my subscribers from Feedburner. I’m signed up for a few newsletters from other bloggers that use Feedblitz, and I admit that I love how pretty their links look.
I didn’t take any notes during this session, because I was at the back of the room nursing Elisabeth and keeping her entertained. She did great, and I was able to hear Phil’s entire talk.
Next Session
Andrea Deckard of Savings Lifestyle spoke and gave some great tips for monetizing your blog.
Some of the main points I wrote down:
Sign up for IZEA, if you are interested in doing sponsored posts on your blog.
Sign up with the affiliate CJ (Commission Junction).
Get an EIN number for tax purposes
Savings Lifestyle accepts guest posts
Find out your top sources of blog traffic, and focus on those.
Run giveaways on your blog
Create unique promotions for your blog
Take advantage of the resources that Google offers, such as gmail and google docs.
Optimize your top 10 posts (going to be adding a link to my book to my top posts)
Recommended Plugins:
– Editorial Calendar Plugin
– Post Templates Plugin
– Gravity Forms Plugin
– SignNow Plugin
*I haven’t personally used any of these plugins yet, but I’m looking forward to trying them out.
Thanks for the suggestions, Andrea!
I’m always on the lookout for great plugin recommendations. I had the chance to chat briefly with Andrea before she left, and I’m looking forward to seeing her again at the Savvy Blogging Summit this week! Andrea had a lot more to say than just the points I mentioned, but those are the main ones that stuck out to me and that I was able to jot down in the midst of entertaining my baby girl. π
As a side note, it was really neat to sit in on Andrea’s talk, because I’ve been following her blog for a very longtime – back when Andrea’s blog was named, Mommy Snacks. It was neat to hear her story about how she got to where she is today.
More to come! I wish I could write more now, but I have a messy kitchen to clean…
This post contains my affiliate link.
Man, it’s hard to believe that those two beautiful girls are introverts…..LOL Hi! Sandra, it was great meeting you girls at Bloggycon and we look forward to working together with you in the future!
Thanks!
Take Care
Greg “Tikiman” Devlin
Thanks, Greg! You guys have a great line of children’s books, and I love that they are dyslexia friendly.
So glad to meet you!! I had a great time! Now, I can’t wait to go to another conference….this could get expensive…my husband is getting worried LOL
Hi Emily! So nice to meet you in person, too! π And, yes, conferences can definitely get expensive…fast. Lol! I won’t be going to anymore soon.
Thanks for sharing what you learned. I am an affiliate for CJ.com. Now I just have figure out how to use it more efficiently. Looks forward to more posts from you soon.
CJ can be so confusing, but they are highly recommended, so I’m going to start checking out links there more often.
I missed meeting you! π I love how you put your notes in with your post – smart girl!! I’m so jealous you were able to balance nursing, a baby and the conference – I would never be able to multi-task like that!! π
Thank you, Amanda! Sorry we didn’t meet, either! π
I think putting my notes into blog posts helps me (to remember) and other mom bloggers, who want to improve their sites and earn a little money. π
Sounds like you had a great time Sandra! Thanks for all the great information…I can’t wait for parts 2 and 3 π
Thanks, Erin!
I can’t wait to read more!! I think it is great that you went to a blogging conference & you are sharing your knowledge!!
Thank you, Tamara! I have learned SO much from other bloggers, and I’m glad to share what I learned at the conference. Writing these posts is helping me all over again, too. Lol! I had forgotten some of my notes already.
I came back to re-read & found so much more info this time. Thank you again. I have learned so much & I didn’t even attend a Conference, well…other than from the comfort of my couch by reading your blog π
What a great wrap up! I just found your blog through Bloggy Moms and am SO enjoying it!