Baltimore Bloggy Boot Camp Breakdown

As you’ve all heard by now … since I broadcast it all over Twitter and Facebook, as well as here on the blog. I had SO MUCH FUN, learned so much, and now, want to be a conference junkie!!

Baltimore is a quick 90 min flight from Louisville, so I decided, hey, why not. After the green light from my husband, talking Angie into going, and deciding to take Laura and Rachel along, the packing began.

Adam … “mom, I don’t want you to go!”

Rachel and Thomas, waiting for me to pack!

I was worried about Rachel, since she had never flown before. No worries — this kid trucked through the airport, plopped down in her seat on the plane, and wanted it to take off like a rocket. She’s a flying champ, at almost 4 years old!!

Angie, Rachel and Laura, waiting for the cattle call

Rachel, waiting for the plane to take off

We stayed at the fabulous Pier 5 Hotel in Baltimore. Enjoyed the Crabby Hour — a Happy Hour filled with beer, wine, crab crepes, and famous celebrity sightings. Someone like ……

Kathy, from Mama Kat’s Losin It

Seriously, I did a total Miley Cyrus jump up and down squealing thing in the elevator when I saw her. After a half glass of wine, I introduced myself.I think I hugged her — and man, is she tall!!

Later, we were off to dinner at the incredible McCormicks, where we stuffed ourselves full of seafood chowder and flounder. Ya’ll have to understand that when I’m away from my children, I eat like a lumberjack … it’s the only time I get to eat a hot meal, without the boys hanging on me -literally.

Tiffany, putting us all at ease

The dinner was a meet and greet, to put a few names with faces before the big conference began. I was a little overwhelmed at the prospect of meeting 85 people, but paring it down to 25 or so was AWESOME!!

networking, and having some grown up girls fun times!

Didn’t realize how big those glasses of sangria were!!

The next day, we settled down to business, learning about promoting our own personal brand, increasing our Twitter and Facebook presence, search engine optimization, the FTC regulations, and so much more.

Angie, chatting with Tara (Feels Like Home), and Amy (The Original Coupon Coach)

While Angie and I were busy in the conference, Rachel toured the city with Laura. Although I didn’t get to see a whole lot of Baltimore until Sunday, I really loved it.

What’s a trip without cheesecake??

OK, tell us what you learned!!

Whether you’re a brand new blogger, or have a few hundred posts under your belt, there’s so much you could learn from these conferences! I started blogging back in December 2007, and the things discussed this weekend were incredibly helpful. Some things I knew a little bit about (Twitter), some things I’d never paid attention to (FTC guidelines), and some things I never thought I needed to even consider. (Public relations, media kits, etc)
Start small — this conference had about 100 people. I felt a little overwhelmed at first, partially because I felt like I had to have at least glanced at most of the people’s blogs who were attending. (yeah, I gave up around 65 or so) Luckily, Tiffany went out of her way to plan some small group assigned seating, which really took the guesswork out of “Who am I going to sit next to??”, and took a lot of the clique potential out of the meeting.
Take a risk — walk up to that person you’ve been reading, and say hello. We’re all human, we all breathe and eat the same way. Keep in mind that an online persona may be a little (or a lot) different in person.
Take a buddy — Looking back at this conference, I can’t imagine not going without Angie. It’s not like we sat together, holding hands the whole time, but at least I knew I could count on at least ONE person being nice to me.
Take business cards — it’s so hard to connect a name with a face. Be sure your cards have your real name, Blog title, and Twitter handle. Mine have my email and phone number as well, and because I am a geek, they match my blog.
Take a fun attitude! I didn’t really know what to expect — I had a rough idea of what topics we were going to be discussing, but didn’t know how the day was going to pan out. Tiffany did a fantastic job with seating arrangements and the flow of the day, to maximize the experience. I didn’t meet everyone, but honestly, I don’t know how anyone could.