It took me nearly two years of blogging to feel the desire to step out of my comfort zone and attend a blogging conference. Once the little “I want to attend a blogging conference” seed was planted in my brain, FitBloggin’ was the conference that intrigued me most because I read review after review about the conference that said the environment was so inviting.
This year, the organizers even had little silver star stickers that you could place on your nametag if it was your first blogging conference or you came alone which I thought was incredibly awesome. I often feel really awkward approaching someone and randomly introducing myself out of nowhere, but when I saw a little silver star on someone’s nametag, it made me feel like maybe that person was looking for someone to talk to and might not think I’m some overeager looney. Thoughtful little things like that really stand out to me.
My first day at the conference was spent hopping from session to session and meeting lots of new bloggers. I really had a blast chatting to bloggers who blog about all sorts of topics ranging from running and yoga to healthy eating and weight loss.
Almost immediately when I arrived, I was greeted by Samantha.
Samantha is a blogger and Zumba instructor and I loved talking to her about Zumba. She’s actually helping to teach a Zumba class at the conference tomorrow morning!
I then ran into Sana who I was really excited to meet! I started following her blog after she commented on my blog once and it was great to see a familiar face.
We ended up at the Reebok table together where we were encouraged to complete the sentence, “Fitness is my sport because…”
I stole a line from Miss Elle Woods and said that fitness is my sport because endorphins make me happy!
Bright colored sneakers also make me happy!
I wore my Reebok SmoothFlex Run shoes to the conference and thought it was cool that the same shoes were one of the featured pairs that attendees could select as part of the swag from the event. (I actually used them as the background image for my 25 minute incline walking workout!) Aside from my aesthetic love of the neon laces and steel gray color combo, the shoes really are very comfortable and supportive and people were snatching them up like crazy!
As for the sessions, I found Sarah Dussault’s presentation about YouTube very interesting.
She makes a strong case for bloggers to incorporate videos on their blogs, only further reiterating what I learned at CFLBlogCon last weekend. Key takeaways: Keep videos 3 – 5 minutes long, promote videos most within the first 48 hours they’re posted if you hope to have your video make it on the YouTube homepage, look into becoming a YouTube Partner and JewelBeat sells songs you can use in your videos for $1.
I’m not planning on doing a full run through of the conference sessions like I did with my CFLBlogCon recaps last week since I know a lot of you aren’t bloggers and have zero interest in blogging. I’m sure two weeks of blog conference recaps on PBF might make some of you die a little inside. If you are a blogger and have questions about any of the sessions, feel free to ask away in the comments section of this post!
After attending Sarah’s session and a session about writing a book proposal, I met up with Kelly from GNC and she made my morning when she handed me a bag of Prince of Peace ginger candy chews.
I absolutely love ginger and anything ginger flavored, so this candy knocked my socks off. I kept finding myself unwrapping candy after candy throughout the day. Yum!
Hi Brittany!
Lunch
Lunch at the conference was fresh and flavorful. I filled my plate with mixed greens, marinated vegetables, pears and chicken before topping it off with the dressing they had on hand.
Followed by more ginger chews, of course.
At lunch I met Gabrielle and Michelle and met up with Sana and Brittany. I loved our little table and had a good time laughing a lot. They are a fun bunch!
Can’t wait to see what day two of FitBloggin’ has in store!
I would LOVE to attend a blogging conference. The swag and the forums are nice, but it would be meeting others that I would LOVELOVELOVE to do. Oh man. Pretty sure if I were in your (very adorable and yes, excellently coloured) shoes, I would be over the moon with excitement!
Chelsie @ Balance, Not Scale
i absolutely LOVED meeting so many bloggers today. everyone was so friendly! i highly recommend fitbloggin’ based on my experience so far.
peanutbutterfingers
If I am ever blessed enough to be sponsored, I will take advantage of every single moment. For the time, I will be living vicariously through all of you lovely ladies who are there.
Chelsie @ Balance, Not Scale
I love the idea of putting stars on the name tags of new attendees! Such a smart way to break the ice. Is it weird that I’d probably be “star-struck” if I ever attended one of these conferences? I’d be the strange person in the corner saying, “Oh my goodness. It’s JULIE of pbfingers!”
@pluvk
So jealous that you’re there!
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance
I’ve only been to the foodbuzz event but even from that I was so so excited about meeting so many bloggers! It is sooo strange and yet fascinating when you can finally put the face to the writer of the blog, isn’t it?
I hope to someday meet you in person too! That would be fun!
Ellie@Fit for the Soul
i hope we can meet soon!
peanutbutterfingers
I’d love to go to a blogging conference, but the idea of attending alone is intimidating; I love the silver-star sticker concept–that would make it much easy to strike up conversations without feeling super awkward, lol.
Carrie @ Fitness and Frozen Grapes
I love ginger candies, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen that kind! They look good! And have fun! I went to HLS and LOVED it, but Fitbloggin looks pretty great too, I just love all the blog information and getting to meet people I have so much in common with!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats
Awww I love the little star sticker idea! I haven’t gone to a conference yet and know I’ll be super nervous at my first one!
Erica
Sounds like a great conference. I hope you are learning a lot, your tips are very helpful.
-AJ
FitTravelerAJ.blogspot.com
AJ
Looks like a fun day. I definitely want to make it FitBloggin next year, especially since it’s in Portland!
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More
Those Prince of Peace ginger candy chews were amazing. Definitely need to find those babies!!
Brittany
Sounds very cool (love your pink top, btw!). Do you think you’ll start doing videos?
Katy
I have yet to attend a blogging conference, but Fitbloggin’ looks like a lot of fun!
Erica @ For the Sake of Cake
Haha YES those Asian candies were always around when I was younger, although I’m not the biggest fan of ginger!
Connie
I love the idea of putting stars on the name tag for new attendees. I am always a little intimidated to approach people I don’t know and that would make it so much easier!!
As for the YouTube videos have they said what kind of content the videos should contain? Fitness moves, quick recipe ideas, people just talking to their audience?
Suzanne @ Fit Minded Mom
Sounds like a fun conference! I haven’t been to any yet (I’ve only been blogging for a few months) but I’m hoping to get to at least once next summer.
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles
Ha! I’m a ginger-fanatic too. In fact, one of the first things I did this morning was ponder how to alter a recipe I’d been eyeing to include ginger.
Marilyn
Fun day! Sana is awesome
Khushboo
I would love to go to a blogging conference, but I’ve only been blogging two months, so part of me still feels like an imposter. Maybe some day I’ll work up the courage!
Jenica
I would shaking in my boots going alone but looks like you made plenty of friends in no time! I’m not sure I could be so brave! : )
stevie
I think this looks awesome! I have a question though, what’s a good way to find out about blogging conferences? I’d love to find something like a meet-up group locally, and wondered how I would go about doing that
Emily
Ditto what Emily said! I’d love to attend a conference. And…bright sneaks make me really happy, too. Almost as much as froyo…*almost.*
Ellen @ Wannabe Health Nut
This looks like such a great conference! I’m still new to fitness blogging, but live in the Baltimore area. I’ll have to remember for next time it comes around!
Is there a site that lists blog conferences?
P.S. I have learned SO much from your blog help posts. You helped me me the motivation I needed to stick with it
Elyse @ Sand Between My Sneakers
Sweet swag goodies! Looks like it was a ton of fun
Brittany Peters
So glad you’re having fun. I think the silver stars are an awesome idea. I haven’t attended a blogging conference yet, but I know I’d like to in the future. I’m so shy and it’s hard for me to introduce myself so having that little star to identify me (hi! I’m new!) would be so helpful! I love the endorphins thing. A co-worker asked me yesterday why I was smiling, and I said “I rode my bike to work. I’m high on endorphins!”
Natalie @ Free Range Human
Glad you enjoyed my session
You need to make a guest appearance in one of mine to get your numbers up!!
Sarah Fit
Can anyone register for a blog conference? What other sessions did you find the most valuable?
Maybe I should try to find something local and small, like the one you attended last week for a first conference.
The Kidless Kronicles
Nicole
Totally doing that thing where I’ve been reading your blog for months and am just now commenting on a post of yours. Mostly because I finally started my own blog! Anyway, I completely adore your blog and your approach to food and fitness. Keep up the AMAZING posts!
Natalie
Do you ever feel overwhelmed at these type of blogging conferences? I went to BlogHer11 and loved it but also felt very fast-paced.
Nancy
I just started blogging a month ago, so I’m loving all of the info you have been sharing from the blog conferences! Makes me very excited to attend one someday!
Marielle
It looks like you’re having a blast. A blog conference looks like an amazing experience to be a part of!
Kerry @ Totes My Oats
Thank you so much for all of these conference recaps. I hope to attend a conference some day! Also, I’m a blogger from Florida (Gainesville) and I love all the insight you’ve provided about local meet ups. I would love to meet some other local bloggers … this world of blogging is so much bigger than I thought! Anyway, if you have time, I’d love to hear a few more details on Sarah’s presentation about videos…I’ve been thinking of starting some “vlogging” and this sounds like a great resource. Thanks!
Catie @ The First Rep
Those ginger chews look so good! Do they taste kind of like gingersnaps?
Megan@funsizedfitness
All of your food shots are inspiring this picky eater to try new recipes. Thanks for posting pics – it brings life to the food, and makes me want to eat everything in sight. Well, almost everything.
Christina @ livedreamrun.wordpress.com
How fun! I have not been to a blogging conference yet, but this one is on my list of options. To bad I didnt make it this year to meet you!
Andrea Merrigan
How excitin! Maybe you could do up a second post with blogging tips- as well as your usual posts as an optional for those who do like to read them
Bek @ Crave
I love the blogging conference posts
For those of us who didn’t attend, I love learning the inner workings of them, so I’d know what to expect if I ever went. My question for you is: Is there anything interesting you learned about blogging that you didn’t know before the conference?
Alysha @ Shesontherun
Love the Legally Blonde reference!
Thanks for sharing so much about these conferences, the information is SO helpful to me
Sam
What a fun start to the conference! I reference Legally Blonde all the time, haha. From a blogging perspective, did you learn anything in the sessions so far that you haven’t heard in other sessions/conferences that really stood out to you?
Erin @ Girl Gone Veggie
It was great to meet you at FitBloggin and talk about our ridiculous dogs!
Gabby @ Gabby’s Gluten-Free
Hey Julie
I am not a blogger nor do I think I ever will be lol but don’t feel like we (the readers) don’t want to hear about these blogging conferences. I’ll never go to one so I think it’s so cool to get an inside scoop in a way.
So I have not died a little inside by reading about all these conferences the last few weeks … if anything it amazes me at how busy your life is!!
Marissa Pass
I love reading about blogging conferences too! They seem so interesting and exciting. As a fellow non-blogger, I’ll probably never attend one either.
Thanks for posting about your trip!
Alana
“Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don’t shoot their husbands. They just don’t.”
By the way, I LOVED the blogging conference recaps last week, and they made me really want to find a local conference for myself to attend.
Kenzie
I am a blogger so THANK YOU for sharing what you do share about these conferences. I have been blogging for a little bit and still have so much to learn and a lot to work on. I hope to attend a blog conference one day, thank you for sharing a lot of the information!
Dani @ Run Daniella Run
I still have my ginger chew! lolll it was great to meet you!
Michelle @ Esculent Dreams
btw i may need to steal that last pic for my own fitbloggin post…. hehe
Michelle @ Esculent Dreams
I came across your blog right before Fitbloggin (an AWESOME pancake recipe) so I really wanted to say hi, but I never got the chance to catch you…
I completely agree- everyone was so welcoming and sweet, I was really impressed with the overall atmosphere of the conference. Hope to see you at another one, Portland maybe?!
Laura @ Mommy Run Fast
So glad you enjoyed Baltimore over the weekend Julie… it’s where I live.
I love Pazo and Brio so much! I get a beautiful view of the Harbor everyday at work.
Looks like the blog conference was so much fun!!
sally @ sallys baking addiction
Thanks for sharing your experience here. I would love to attend a blogging conference, but suffer the same anxiety about being a newbie that some folks mentioned above. Hoping to find one to attend in the next year.
We used to live in Baltimore, too — what a great city!
squirrel circus