This weekend I went to the Bloggy Boot Camp conference put on by the SITS girls. It’s a great blogger conference for first timers and small blogs like me. There were only about 130 women there and they have assigned seating most of the day which is great for those who go without knowing a soul…like me.
Saturday morning the alarm came reeeeeealy early. I had a 3 hour drive ahead of me and I wanted to make sure I made it on time. Thankfully my NPR app is loaded with lots of podcasts and the drive flew by.
The day was filled with sessions from successful bloggers on their best blogging tips, how to make money blogging, how to write an ebook, keeping your writing voice authentic, growing traffic, local blogging, and blog design. One of my favorite quotes of the day was “Don’t try to win over the haters, you’re not the jackass whisperer” – Scott Stratten. This quote was part of the authentic voice session by Elizabeth Jayne Liu from Flourish in Progress. Elizabeth is my new besty, she just doesn’t know it yet. She is hilarious, irreverent, speaks her mind and it’s afraid the drop the F-bomb whenever the need arises. I wanted to put her in my pocket and take her home. I did get to talk with her a little bit and found out she lives in LA and we used to live in LA soooooo, I think we bonded over that. Later that evening she even followed me on Twitter. Hopefully she won’t realize any time soon that my twitter account is a joke because I have no idea what I’m doing. Speaking of Twitter…can anybody explain to my why I should give a crap about it? Also, I need a better Twitter bio. Any suggestions? Anyhoo – I’m trying not to become a stalker.
We all were wowed by Laurie at Tip Junkie and her blogging success. She shared her top 10 best blogging tips with all of us and I was frantically writing with the goal to turn her success into my own. I started to feel like just being in the same room with successful bloggers would somehow have a direct effect on my own blog stats. If I could get close enough to Laurie maybe something magical would happen and my blog would become viral overnight and turn me into a blog superstar. Later that evening during the wine reception I sidled up to her thinking that if I could just touch her then some of her amazing page view numbers would be transferred to me. I felt like the woman in the bible who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years and thought if she could just touch the hem of Jesus’ robe a miracle would happen.
Side note – Let’s be real here, Ladies. We all know what was wrong with that woman (assuming we’re reading the story literally). She had been having a period for 12 years, before Always and Tampax had been invented. I think I would have gone out of my mind by month 3.
Back to my story. I asked Laurie a question about WordPress.com vs. .org even though I knew what her answer would be just so I could get close to her. I gave her arm a squeeze as we said goodby and then I immediately (well, not immediately) ran upstairs to check my blog stats on the laptop. Hummm…nothing had changed. Turns out Tip Junkie doesn’t have miraculous powers after all. Turns out I’m going to have to keep working really hard to push those page views up up up.
I met some great women and made some new friends. Sure, it was hard to walk into a room full of strangers and be on top of your game. There were some uncomfortable silences and some small talk (I despise small talk) but I’m really glad I went. I’m pretty sure I would go again next year. Plus, sleeping through the night w/o your 7 year old waking you up just to tell you he is going to go to the bathroom and getting to sleep in past 6:30 is worth the price of admission.
One other momentus thing happened on this trip. My car rolled over 100,000 miles.
I swear my eyes were on the road the entire time I took this picture.
crazytraintotinkytown
What a fab event! If it any consolation, I’m a complete twitter numpty too!
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
That makes me feel good. I really clueless when it come to Twitter.
Lilly
It was so nice to meet you! I too saw great value in a day away from errands and one glorious glass of champagne. Looking forward to keeping in touch!
Lilly
pancakesandbeetjuice.com
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
It was great to meet you too! Here’s to new friendships
happymomsusann
I tried to see if Tip Junkie’s magic mojo would rub on my blog too. No such luck… sigh. But she was charming and amazing to talk to anyway.
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
ha! She was very charming even if she didn’t have fairy godmother powers.
puddinggirl
HI! I really wish to attend Bloggy Boot Camp, but it is way too impossible with my current location. I figure it is fun just as you have written.. I wish someday I will have my chance!
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
If there is ever one near you, you should go. It’s a great one and a great price
Julie
Love this re-cap, Stephanie. I too, wished Laurie’s mojo could have rubbed off on me and LOVED the jackass quote and Elizabeth’s session. Unfortunately, I had to leave before she was done speaking to get to my father-in-law’s birthday dinner. Oh well, good stuff anyway. It was a good day and a great event even though I’m not much of a small-talker myself. It was great meeting you and I’m glad to have met so many nice bloggers!
As a side note, I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one confused by Twitter. I dont’ use it for my blog because I’m a total failure at personal use! lol
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
Thanks! I’m so glad to hear about another clueless person when it comes to Twitter. I kinda wish Twitter would just go away.
Blogging Envy
[…] communities, I read dozens of posts about SEO and I made online friends. I even attended a “Bloggy Boot Camp recap“ last year in order to sharpen my blogging skills. Like most bloggers, checking my stats […]
Bloggy Boot Camp 2013 Recap | Hugs, Kisses and Snot
[…] adventure in learning everything there is to know about being a blog super star. I attended BBC last year and knew I would want to try it again. Last year I made some great friends (that I am still in […]
Rose Martine
“First off I want to say awesome blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to
ask if you don’t mind. I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear
your head before writing. I’ve had a hard time clearing my
thoughts in getting my thoughts out. I do take pleasure in writing but it just
seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are generally
lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or tips?
Appreciate it!”
Stephanie Clinton
Hi Rose – I apologize for taking so long to respond to your comment. I’m just now seeing this and realizing that you made a comment back in Sept. Anyway – To answer your question…I have to find a time when I know there won’t be distractions. So maybe that will be when the kids are at school or in bed. I’m not an early riser but some people are very productive early in the morning. Even though you feel like you aren’t getting anything done for the first 10 or 15 minutes, don’t think of that as a waste. Think of it as getting the juices flowing. Sometimes you just need to do a word vomit before you hit a stride. Keep it up!