I told an online friend the other day that I was attending The Blog Workshop(an online blog conference) and that maybe she would want to attend also. I have been really excited about this and telling everyone I talk to. The fact I can attend a blog conference in my jammies is so awesome to me. She went and looked at it, then said “Meh, if you want to really get out there you have to go to a real one. Online ones just don’t have the same impact and as soon as those people hit the x in the chat they forget who you are.” Needless to say, her words stuck with me and then I started to feel disappointed. It is like when you are a kid and you wait hours to ride the new ride at the carnival and when it finishes after only two minutes you feel let down and just a little sick.

However, I am not the type to give up. If I was I wouldn’t still be looking for sponsors for Blogher 13 that is only two months away. ( talk about last minute). I knew this conference was going to be important to me, I just needed to figure out how and why. What was I going to learn, who was I going to meet, and more importantly why was this worth my time? Those are definitely three loaded questions that needed answers, like now.

What was I going to learn?

They have a lot of things you are going to learn listed but there a couple that means the most to me

• “How to connect and build effective relationships with brands, advertisers and more.” I really want to learn how to connect with brands, advertisers, and PR. How do you get your foot in the door? Or, rather how do you get your best dressed foot in the door. How do I knock someone out of their Jimmy Choo’s when I write them? Most importantly, how do I keep them out of them? That is a whole new world for me and I want to learn how to navigate it. Let’s be honest, I am as shy online as I am in real life. My real life friends laugh over it because they thought I would be less shy since I didn’t have to talk to actual people. Hopefully with this conference I will learn to open up and shyness will run away.
• “Providing a great starting point and tools to further your blogging enterprise.”I am not going to lie. I have been thinking about throwing in the towel since January. I guess you can tell because posting has become kind of sporadic. BUT before I do that, I need to ask myself “Did I give myself the right tools to further my blog?” Honestly I don’t believe I have. I think I have tried, but never really gotten inside the door after saying “Hello!” So I am attending this conference to give myself a fair shot before saying “Okay, I need to go in a different direction.”
• “Preparing Yourself For Advertising & Pitching To Brands/Advertisers/Sponsors”- When you look at the speakers and then read that sentence, a light bulb so bright that it could be seen in outer space should be hanging over your head. We want to bring awesome stuff to our readers, but most of us need to learn how to. The people speaking at this conference are not just some minor people they plucked off in the unknown part of the internet world. They are well known people that own major companies, blogs, etc. They know what they are talking about, they have been there too. Why wouldn’t you want to learn how to bring AMAZING stuff to your readers, from them? That is almost a no-brainer.

Who Am I Going To Meet?

Well if you went and looked at the speakers you already know. Sverve is like an obsession with me. I don’t share there a lot but the information I pick up there is amazing. If you are not a member of Sverve, you need to join now. I already connect with brands there and I learn valuable information there. So to hear the owner speak, that is really exciting to me. He may not remember who I am when he hits the x button in the chat, but I will remember him and his words. That is what is important, remembering what was said. Also, Da Vinci. I haven’t really said much about her because I talk to her when I write these posts and I didn’t want to gush. But I was reading her blog before I ever even heard of The Blog Workshop. I have learned a lot from there and again, she may not remember me when she hits the x but I will remember her and her words. You are there to learn and if you are learning, everything else seems kind of like icing on the cake. Would I love for there to be a moment when a blogger like Da Vinci says “Oh, I know Bobbie! She is my rebelle girl chick friend!” Of course but really, I am attending to learn and grow as a blogger. These people can teach me things in an intimate setting you can’t learn online and throw in the fact that we get to ask questions, there is going to be some highly valuable information tossed around. I for one don’t want to miss it! Plus, there are ones that I haven’t heard of before and I am excited to “meet” them and see what they have to teach me and who knows, maybe I may teach them a little something. Like how to make a killer cocktail or the best way to blog, make dinner, and help with homework while trying to talk on the phone. What? That is a valuable thing to know! Trust me.

Why is this worth my time?

After answering the other two questions, I already knew the answer to this. It is worth my time because learning and growing is always worth your time, regardless of how you learn and grow. I think sometimes we get this notion stuck in our head of how things are supposed to be. Like my friend, she believes the only way you can succeed is to learn at a real conference. Maybe she is right, I don’t know. But if you don’t try and take a step that may not be the one everyone else is taking, you don’t know. When we stop learning and growing, we are dying inside. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to get to where you need to be. Lord knows I spend a lot of time outside that box. I mean, really, I named my blog Dishin’ With Rebelle. That right there tells you I don’t think like normal people. I guess what I am trying to say is, sometimes you need to do the not so ordinary to become extraordinary.

Conference Dates- May 17th-19th

If you would like to attend with me ( and seriously, I would love to see you there! I will save you some wine and snacks) you can purchase your ticket HERE. Tickets go off sale May 10th and you still have time to use the code “TBW25HURRY” to get $25.00 off your ticket! Anddd, as if that wasn’t enough, they have a payment plan! Oh and did I mention the prizes? There will be some awesome giveaways, including LLC packages from Zoomlegal! YAY!

See you there!

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