My dear friend and blogging buddy, Deb, invited me to attend Bloggy Boot Camp in St. Louis this past weekend. I wanted to go just to spend time with her, but I honestly wasn't so sure I wanted to attend a blogging conference. I wasn't even sure I wanted to keep blogging.
When You're a Blogging Nobody
I looked through the photos of Bloggy Bootcamp and this is the only picture of me I could find. What? You don't see me? I'm the bluish-purple arm in the back on the extreme right. How appropriate! That is how I've felt as a blogger until recently: invisible. If you're a blogger, maybe you can relate. You pour your heart and soul into posts that get lost in the millions of others online and you wonder if you're wasting your time. The good news is I came away from the conference feeling like a blogging somebody. Here are all the benefits I enjoyed in attending that I believe you, as a blogger, could have as well.
- Meet other bloggers. I only have a couple of local friends who blog. Most of my friends don't blog, don't read blogs (including mine), and don't want to talk about blogs. How refreshing it was to meet other women who speak blogese. I also had the chance to check out some of the attendees' blogs ahead of time and I'm excited to have made those connections.
- Determine what you want. In a session with other bloggers who love the writing side, I realized that I really, really love to write. I can't walk away from it, even if I never become a popular blogger. My goal is to increase readership simply because of my passion for helping others.
- Determine what you don't want. As I listened to discussions of blogging as a business and the long hours required, I knew that wasn't what I wanted. I think it's wonderful that the opportunity to blog for money is available, but I'm not looking for a job. That realization is freeing.
- Be inspired. The sessions on blog design and using video were so motivating that I couldn't sleep the night the conference was over. I was inspired to completely redesign this blog and move it to NotWonderWoman on the Wordpress platform soon. If you want a sneak peak of it, go ahead and click. My focus for the blog going forward will be giving women tips and how-to's from a Christian perspective, some of them being in video format.
- Take time for your personal passions. Devoting a day to something of interest to you is so important for women who spend most of their time serving others. That's especially important for mothers of young children. Several of them were at Bloggy Bootcamp and I was glad they were. I believe we become better mothers, wives, and servants when we take time to be refreshed.
Have you been to a blogging conference? What did you enjoy most? If not, are you considering attending one soon?
