2013 The Blog Workshop Conference Review #TBWC13

I attended a blog conference this past weekend.  There was no traveling involved, no flights, no layovers, no driving for hours, no hotel stay and no eating out three times a day.  My family stayed together, played together and allowed me to attend the conference in the comfort of my own home office.  Thanks to The Blog Workshop & Sverve I was able to attend their first ever blog conference.  It was ONLINE!!!

Until probably the last six months the thought of going to a blog conference seems foreign and out of reach.  I knew I would learn a great deal and get a chance to network with other like minded bloggers, but the costs including the entry fees made it prohibitive.  With a tight budget and two small children, one of which I homeschool, the idea of mommy leaving home by herself for more than a few hours was not even a possibility.  When the opportunity to review this online blog conference I jumped at the chance and was elated to be chosen as one of the blogging community to review, attend and promote the TBW conference.

The conference is slated as the place where Blogging Meets Business.  When you think of business conferences you may think that they are boring and drag on, but when it’s about something that you love and are passionate about there is little that can’t keep you riveted.  The speakers were all leaders in their niche’s – experienced and influential in their own right.

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”350px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Thanks to our speakers:

• Laura Summers (@NakedBloggers)
• Deborah Anderson (@SocialWebCafe)
• Dan Morris (@DanRMorris)
• Lindsay Lee (@BlackBlondeOne)
• Kelly Whalen (@CentsibleLife)
• Jeneba J. Ghatt (@JenebaSpeaks)
• Robert Mooney (@DjMooney)
• Ryan Schram (@RyanSchram)
• Holly Hamann (@HollyHamann)
• Deborah Anderson (@SocialWebCafe)
• Dee Dee Cocheta (@DeeDeeCocheta)
• Paige Wilcox (@PaigeWilcox)
• Rohit Vashisht (@_TechCEO)
• Crystal Duncan (@CrystalDuncan)
• Jennifer Beaupre (@JenBeaupre)[/dropshadowbox]

We learned about:

• Blogging Basics
  • Niche
  • Focus
  • Planning
  • Vlogging
  • SEO & Content
• Blogging as a Business
  • Branding yourself
  • Consistency of image and tone
  • Importance of Disclosure
  • Bookkeeping basics
  • Taxes
  • Copyright
  • How to avoid getting sued
• Preparing for Ads and Pitching Sponsors
  • Why your blog may be passed over by advertisers
  • What bloggers should expect from brands
  • What metrics bloggers should focus on
  • Don’t buy traffic
  • Pay attention to your social media involvement and community
  • You are an Influencer – act like one genuinely
• Media Relationships
  • Understanding brands, restrictions and compliance
  • Working with a PR agent
  • Creating a 15 second elevator pitch
  • Making a media kit
• Advertising vs. Affiliate Marketing
  • How to attract advertisers
  • Diversifying your ad options
  • Diversify your affiliate options and picking programs that fit your niche
• Monetizing your blog
  • Connect with other Influencers
  • Balanced blogging (organic posts vs. sponsored)
  • Working with brands

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”500px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]I want to give a shout out to the conference sponsors –

• RaffleCopter
• LegalZoom
• Cloudswipe
• Big Honcho Media
• Lela
• SocialWebCafe.com
• And our conference presenter – YourLifeAfter25.com.[/dropshadowbox]

Here are the tweets I sent out during the conference.  This just gives you a glimpse of the knowledge gained and community developed during the conference.

[tweet https://twitter.com/earthformed/status/335528578982739968]

[tweet https://twitter.com/earthformed/status/335531826141609984]

[tweet https://twitter.com/earthformed/status/335560714422996993]

It is no longer OK 2 disclose @ end of blog post if your content was paid, sponsored review, or ad it has to be upfront & center 🙁 #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

Curate responsibly – always give credit and don't get too crazy with the amount of content – just a few lines #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

Do this, not that: Banner ads are increasingly a race to the bottom 🙁 #TBWC13. Learning more at The Blog Workshop

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

Focus on developing YOUR brand and find what a brand you are seeking to partner with finds important about their core values #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

Reach and frequency are the main goals in advertising, scale is very important #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

Build your community – don’t view your local bloggers as competitors they are your key to growth #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

Think of yourself as bloggerpreneurs and influencers not just bloggers you are part of something bigger and special #TBWC13 @TheBlogWorkshop

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

Put a QR Code on your business card to keep your media kit/influencer profile always at hand #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 18, 2013

In everything you do KNOW who YOU are – don't fall for just anything that might make you money #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 19, 2013

When considering what ads 2 place on your site & ad networks 2 work w/ – test everything & diversify your options #TBWC13

— Lucero @ Earthformed (@earthformed) May 19, 2013

Pros of Attending The Blog Workshop Online Conference

– No need to leave your home and family obligations

– No travel costs

– No need to pack clothes

– No expense for eating out (unless you want to)

– You can connect WHEREVER you have a PC or Laptop and a good internet connection

– You can attend in your pajamas with no makeup and baby on your lap if you want 🙂

– Your attention can focus more on knowledge instead of just getting SWAG

– It’s more about learning and improving and less focused solely on brands

– Dedicated time for questions and answers where anyone can ask anything

Cons of Attending an Online Conference

– Your attention may be divided between the sessions and family obligations because you are at home

– Your ability to connect to the conference depends highly upon the strength of your Internet connection and the reliability of your computer

– Your local weather could prevent you from attending (one of our group @pnkheelspnktrk was victim of a tornado strike near her home leaving her without power and therefore Internet; but she and her family were OK)

I was glad to be able to be at home all three days and enjoy the beautiful weather we had this weekend.  I got to mow the lawn, work in the garden, play with my girls, help my hubs set up our tent outside.  After the conference Saturday night we camped out in our yard after enjoying a relaxing time by the fire and a few roasted marshmallows.  Sunday I got to go to church with my girls as usual, hang out, take a nap and get everything ready to go for that evenings session.  Unfortunately, my husband ended up having a fender bender and wasn’t able to help out with the girls during the conference.  Thankfully he was OK but the whole ordeal was a bit distracting.

All in all the experience was enjoyable and in coming weeks you are going to see some changes to my blogs based on what I learned.  One item of concern that has been bugging me is the FTC endorsement disclosure requirements.  Even though it isn’t a hard and fast law it is still an enforceable guideline by the FTC.  You probably noticed the disclosure in the image above; you’ll be seeing that more often here and on my other sites.  My goal in the end is to be able to share my experience, knowledge, thoughts and concerns with all of you in a way that creates a pleasant experience.  I feel that attending this blog conference was one step in the right direction for improvement and growth.