What is BlogHer? It is a women’s blogging conference – lots and lots of women that work online in many different ways! Here’s some quick numbers:
- 6th annual
- 2 packed days, not including BlogHer business, [the schedule is from 8 am - 6 pm but it never really stops]
- 2400 attendees, not including those that just came to party or hang around the edges
- 99% women
- 100 sponsors and 2 floors of Expo hall booths
When the conference tickets were still the early bird price I sold a video to cover the cost and bought the ticket. My thinking was that I could always sell it for regular ticket price later and not have any loss. Then I started pursuing a sponsorship. I was able to get train fare through a company I make videos for, but it looked like I’d only have one day. I prayed and told the Lord that if one day was all I should go I would be content. I didn’t say it was easy, but I worked at telling myself that there were many women that didn’t get to go at all and one day would be more than they would have. The week before the conference MomTV gave me enough sponsorship for one night at a hotel! Woo-hoo!
The next hurdle was the train. I wanted to squeeze everything I could out of Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately there is repair work being done on the train tracks and if I left from my town I would not get to NYC until 8:30 am Friday and have to be on the train at 7:15 pm Saturday. Add in the time to get to and from the station and I was totally bummed. My husband found a solution. We left at 3 am Friday morning and drove to Philly. Once in Philadelphia we found a parking garage and prayed that our vehicle would be safe until we returned. It was a crazy whirlwind of 2 days until we got on the 10:00 pm train Saturday night. Our vehicle was safe just where we left it – thank you Lord. My husband then drove us home where we collapsed in bed at 3:00 am. And collapsed is definitely the right word.
Even though I only attended two sessions I’m happy with how it went overall. I came away with 2 job leads, and my list of “people to meet” is all checked off. I was blessed to meet many others that I interact with online, plus made lots of new contacts. My learning level didn’t skyrocket, but that’s not why I went. I went for the contacts and got lots of hugs!
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Looks like you had a great time!! It seems overwhelming but fun!!
You are so right! And there are so many different reasons to go. I accomplished what I set out to do.
Wow – you go, girl. You’re a professional blogger! :^)
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Well, I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I am a Virtual assistant, Social Media Director, Freelance writer, Video Marketer, and Vlogging Queen!
I am so glad we finally met! And that your trip was a good one. Come back to NYC again soon!
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