One liners for bloggers: A review of the BConnected Conference

On May 2^nd and 3^rd, I went to my first ever blogging conference: The BConnected Conference.

The conference was held at The Double Tree Hilton Ottawa-Gatineau. What an AMAZING location! With great views both at the hotel and around it (above), this set the stage for a relaxing and informative weekend. The sessions ranged from blog security, to social media information, to a knife skills demo! My favorite sessions? The travel blogging session by Vanessa Chiasson of Turnip Seed Travel and the Pinterest session by Chantal Bechervaise of Take It Personel-ly.

This is a smaller conference so you end up getting to know people much faster. And since it was local for me I ended up meeting a lot of Ottawa bloggers. Now I am part of the local blogging groups which keeps me much more engaged versus trying to connect with people who I have little chance in meeting. It was also interesting to see all the different types of bloggers, the different content types, and the different strategies everyone has. Blogging is a diverse area so don’t think you understand it all!

Now onto the stuff the university me would have loved: swag bags! This conference is intended more for parenting bloggers (something unbeknownst to me) so many of the items were parenting related like a stuffie, sing-along DVDs, and anti-lice shampoo. HOWEVER, there we a lot of items that suited even the childless me! Magazines, event tickets, coupons for attractions and products, beauty products, kitchen tools, note pads and more!

There was also more free goodies at the networking party hosted by Outaouais Tourism plus all the food was provided during the conference day. You can see these pictures below. Notably I went home with Chocomotive chocolate, Wakefield Fudge, and tickets to several attractions such as the National Art Gallery and a paddleboat maze.

Now instead of doing a standard review of this event. I want to share with you the key points I took away for bloggers. I’m calling them my “One liners for bloggers.” These one liners share lots of blog savvy into just a few words which makes the lessons easier to remember. So for tips, READ ON!

It is not Blogger versus Blogger, it is Bloggers versus Buzzfeed.

Essentially this means that bloggers shouldn’t see themselves as fighting each other for traffic. The real traffic hogs are aggregator sites like Buzzfeed. Instead of trying to one-up other blogger, band together and build a community so together we can overshadow those big sites.

Make a list, turn it into a quest, and then add your twist.

Spoken by Vanessa from Turnip Seed Travel this one liner is a great tips for writing great posts. First, make a list of all the things you want to talk about. In the case of travel blogging list where you are going or what you want to do. For crafting or food blogging list ththe discolouration of brinks on an old building, e final product and all the memories or stories you want to associate with it in your post. The next step is to take that list and make it into a story (a quest) that is engaging. Finally, add your twist. This is your blog, SHOW IT!

Mindfulness is awareness of the little things.

This talk from Tammy Plunkett was a view into how to take care of ourselves as bloggers. One key point she made was to be mindful. To do this, one suggestion Tammy had was to focus on something small for a while and let everything else go away for a bit. This helps clear your mind and ease stress. Without knowing it, I did this already! I often look around for what I call “The Little Things”.” A fancy sewer grate at the base of a memorial statue, the discolouration of bricks on an old building, or the actions of a squirrel on my back fence. Focusing on these things allows me decompress and see the world from a different view for a while.

On a tombstone we write “(Born – Died)”. What is the dash?

I cannot recall who talked about this (perhaps Tammy again) but this was such a great way to encapsulate the idea of live life to the fullest. You have the power to decide what you do with your dash.

One month to an event, people are searching.
One week to an event, people are buying.

Keep in mind that when a major event is coming up, searches tend to group together in certain categories. For instance, starting one month before the event, people are searching for DIY ideas and things that require forethought for the event. But one week before people are looking for quick solutions and are searching to buy! Let that lead your social media posts. (From Chantal Bechervaise).

Content first.

Self-explanatory but this was repeated so much that I really wanted to include it in this list. The quality of your blog posts is super important. Research, photography, story writing, outreach. Blogging is a lot more than just words on a webpage, blogging is a lot of work!

 

Thanks to all those who made my first conference a success! I look forward to seeing more of you online and perhaps one day in real life once again.