By now you know I am heading to We All Grow Latina 2017 as a guest– and it’s my first blog conference ever! After the initial shock of realizing I want to look good for the event- I then realized I had to think about how to prepare my gear for the conference. I definitely want to put my best foot forward when networking with other bloggers and brands! After doing lots of research and talking to more experienced bloggers, I have put together a list of the things I am going to do to prepare for my first blog conference!
Business Cards
Conferences are social events- which means I will be talking to lots of people, and processing those conversations after the fact. I want people to remember me and my brand, and the easiest way to do so is by handing out a business card. I took stock of the cards I had ordered when I first started Pura Vida Moms, and saw they needed a refresh. My friend and graphic designer extraordinaire Sarah Shultz of Duo Designs had helped me design my logo, and she came through for me again with an amazing design for my cards. I ordered them at moo.com– and am just waiting for them to come in the mail! (Note- Moo creates amazing designs that are fully customized- but they don’t ship as fast as some other companies. I ordered mine two weeks out, and had to pay a bit of extra shipping to get them here on time. Check the delivery date if you are short on time like I was.)
Site Audit
I’m going through my site with a fine tooth comb to make sure it is up and running in tip top shape. When people visit my home on the Internet, I want it to be welcoming and beautiful. Here’s what I’m working on:
- Spiffing up my “About Me” page- as I have grown the business in the past year, my mission has evolved, and I want that reflected on my site. Additionally, I have lots of new and great photos to be add to this section- and my bio in my sidebar needed updating too.
- Making sure my top posts have affiliate links in them. Enough said.
- Making sure my site speed is good, and double checking I don’t have any plugins that are slowing things down. I also make sure to back up my site using Vault Press.
Preparing My Gear
I will take my DSLR, iPhone and MacBook to the conference with me- and I don’t want them to fail me! I went ahead and got my camera cleaned and checked, and it works so much better now! I have an older Canon T2i (affiliate), but it feels like a new camera after the cleaning. I also purchased a couple extra memory cards so I don’t have to worry about trying to upload photos during the conference. I love these memory cards (affiliate) – they are reliable, inexpensive and hold a ton of photos. I’ll label them as I shoot so I can more quickly identify which photos need immediate uploading when I get home, and which can wait.
I am backing up my MacBook (affiliate). God forbid anything happens to it while I’m gone, I want everything backed up at home- twice. I have two identical external hard drives (affiliate) I use to back up everything. In theory I should do this every week- in practice it happens whenever I remember it.
My Elevator Pitch
I am thinking and re-thinking what I will say to fellow bloggers who ask about my site, and to brands who might want to work with me in the future. More on this in as I figure out exactly how to craft it (ideas, please!)- but I’m thinking it through and practicing it already.
What am I missing? How else do I need to be preparing for my first blog conference? Any advice is much appreciated in the comments below!
Get it, girl!