Everything I Learned at Bloggy Conference 2018

This week I had the absolute pleasure to attend and speak (twice!) at the Bloggy Conference at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio! My first speaking at a conference! So, I’m sure you can imagine that I was both terrified and excited.

My best friend, Mariah, volunteered to take the road trip with me. Of course by volunteer, I mean she had no other choice in the matter! So, we headed out from Cleveland for a one hour drive to Cedar Point.

Hotel Breakers

I’ve literally been to Cedar Point a million times as a kid and never heard of or seen Hotel Breakers. Staying overnight was never a thing for my family. It was mostly day trips. After staying at Hotel Breakers, I don’t think I can ever not stay overnight. This hotel was fabulous!

We stayed in a room with two Queen sized beds that overlooked the park. The room has a nice little bathroom, fridge, microwave, desk and a tv. The beds were nice and the room was roomy. The best part was the multiple restaurants and pools inside (and outside) the hotel! We walked straight down to T.G.I. Fridays our first night and couldn’t believe it.

Cedar Point

A really cool part about the conference is you receive a complimentary pass to the park if you stay at their resorts. Since we stayed at Hotel Breakers, we had a great 3 day pass to the park. After soaking up knowledge at the park, we were able to spend some time riding rides.

My absolute favorite part of blogging is truly being able to share the amazing things I receive with my loved ones, so being able to do this was so rewarding for me. But, I must admit. I am NOT a thrill seeker. Plus, with the opening of Halloweekends, there was extra thrill at the park. Plus, with my first time speaking, my anxiety was on an extra high. But, we still enjoyed a few thrillers and we ate Chick-fil-a, so I was content.

Bloggy Conference

Okay, let’s get into the good stuff! The reason we had this awesome reason is because of the Bloggy Conference. This amazing conference is put together by Tiffany of Bloggy Moms and is for bloggers in all niches, from all backgrounds, and at each level. I found this conference after a friend posted about it in a blogger group on Facebook. I checked it out and saw they were looking for speakers, so I applied because they wanted more topics geared toward social media.

The conference already has some cool factor because it’s at Cedar Point, but then it decided to be right on the beach for perfect views. Then, you throw in some awesome speakers and I’m sold! This is one of the best conferences I’ve been to and I’m definitely will go again!

Related Post: How to Find Speaking Opportunities to Grow Your Influence

Speakers

I seriously learned so much from so many awesome ladies this weekend.

The keynote was given by Rachel Brenke who literally had me tearing up with how real she was with not letting your business come before your more important priorities like family. She also gave some great advice on protecting your blog legally, creating your Ava avatar and being specific in your brand and selling proposition.

Claudia Krusch gave an enlightening talk on developing your content strategy. The biggest takeaway was to be authentically you! Elayna Fernandez laid some serious pitching knowledge on us. I loved her quote “The answer is always no unless you ask.”

The last presentation I saw inspired me to take a closer look at my content strategy. I’ve been wanting to get back into video and Cielo De la Paz taught us how easy it is to use your smartphone to create amazing video content. Pamela Frost enlightened me on how I should be using my messenger bot even more!

My Talk

Even though I was the one teaching, I learned so much about myself during my first time speaking at a conference. I’ve been to so many conferences in the past and speaking has always interested me. I’ve even been to conferences where I know I’d present the topic better, but still my introvertness and utter lack of confidence held me back. But, when I saw this conference was looking for speakers, I took a leap and gave not one but two sessions!

My first presentation was so great, but prior to I was a nervous wreck. I practiced a million times, had stress dreams and literally felt like I was going to throw up or shit myself the whole day. Then, I did it. At first I was nervous, but I knew this stuff back and forth. I talked all about Facebook groups which is my jam. I was so happy that everyone seemed to really love the talk.

The next day, I did a live demonstration on how to use Later and Hootsuite to schedule out your social media content. Luckily, I was less nervous for this one and it also went well.

Bloggy Con was truly a great experience. The people, the fun, the location! All made this event a great one. Already can’t wait for next year. What’s one of your favorite conferences?