When a blogger attends a conference, whether it's one on better blogging or one related to her niche, I believe it's important to set goals in order to really get the most out of the event. Why? Because no conference is perfect and if you're not intentional in your approach you could get caught up the flaws of the event and lose focus on why you came in the first place.
Last weekend I attended the Fro Fashion Week conference, which is a natural hair and fashion event held twice a year in Atlanta by Naturally Me! Media. I raised by a mother who preached punctuality, so I was a bit annoyed when the morning sessions of the conference didn't start on time neither Saturday nor Sunday. But overall I believe the conference was a good investment for me as a blogger. Here's why:
1. Kim Coles.
Most conferences will have at least one celebrity guest. The skirt! Creative Conference I attended this summer didn't have any movie or TV stars but did feature best-selling authors Claire Cook and Emily Giffin, who are certainly celebrities in the world of publishing. Fro Fashion Week's celebrity guest and keynote speaker was actress and natural hair beauty Kim Coles. One of my goals for the weekend was to get a picture with her for my blog GeorgiaMae.com. Not only did I get a picture, but also an inspiring post to go with it, since Coles gave one of the most uplifting talks I've ever heard at a conference. Read all about it here.
2. Bloggers, Brands, and Brunch. The conference featured a lunch designed specifically for natural hair bloggers, which is a large part of what I do at Georgia Mae. The lunch was quite informative and I left with tips on how to boost traffic and comments and how to work with brands for giveaways and events. I was especially happy to meet Jess McGuinty of Jessicurl.
3. Networking. The best bloggers read other blogs. This conference was a great way to meet other bloggers and discover new blogs like Knaps, which has quickly become one of my favorite sites.
4. Post ideas. I left the conference with long, long list of post ideas. Here's a post on fall accessory trends I published today, one that I wouldn't have thought to do had I not attended this conference.
5. Free products.
Who doesn't like free stuff? One reason Fro Fashion Week is a great conference for natural hair bloggers is all the gift bags of free product samples you receive. And if you're lucky (like me) you might even win a prize pack of products from a company like Darcy's Botanicals. Check out my review.
So if you're a natural hair or fashion blogger, visit the Fro Fashion Week website to learn more about the conference and to decide if you'll be on the scene come spring 2012.
Thank you Javacia your attendance was appreciated. I am glad to see your were able to benefit from the conference!
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted on how all the free goodies worked on your beautiful hair!