From the other side of the fence #BlogOnWin

I have been to a couple of Blog Conferences since I started blogging, my first being Cybher in 2012 when I was a compete newbie and didn’t have a clue about pretty much everything – PR, photography, disclosure etc.

I enjoy blog conferences for a chance to learn more about my trade but mainly to network and meet other bloggers but was always frustrated that they always seemed to be held in London – then came Blog On which was founded by Laura back in 2012 in her home city of Manchester.

I have known Laura about as long as I have been blogging as we started roughly at the same time and have always got on really well, so after the success of BlogOnMOSI I started nagging her to bring it further south, which she resisted at first but finally agreed as long as I helped.

I had no idea what I was letting myself in for if I am honest and the first challenge was finding a venue. I live in Dorset and my first thought was close to home, but it can be a nightmare to get in and out of, so somewhere along the M27 / M3 corridor. I looked into Southampton first but then came across Winchester Science Centre which was close to excellent transport links.

After a visit to have a look around the facilities, the decision was made and it was time to begin preparations. The work that goes on behind the scenes is more than you could ever imagine and I can only thank Laura and her plethora of contacts and my Mum for taking in numerous deliveries and letting me take over the spare bedrooms in her house for the goody bag items.

The worst bit about putting the goody bags together is breaking down all the boxes they come in and then having to grovel to the dustmen to take them on recycle days as they are very strict about how much they will take……thankfully ours were very helpful and didn’t grumble too much.

The day before the event involved collecting all the goody bags from my mums (if I ever see another flight of stairs again it will be too soon), playing car jenga with everything we had to take in our two cars and off loading them again in Winchester Science Centre, where we ended up staying to help prepare the conference areas with Charly from PodcastDove who we roped in to help too. My evening was spent with the ladies from Hotter Shoes at a local event before heading home to get some rest.

Finally the day we had been preparing for had arrived. I emptied my fridge of 80 odd yoghurts and set off. We arrived early and with the help of my daughter Abbey and several bloggers who arrived early to help, we cleared the conference rooms of tables, set up all the chairs and helped the brands set up before everyone arrived.

It is all a bit of a blur from there. I apologise if I was a bit bossy as I moved people into the rooms to make sure sessions began and ended on time. Our opening keynote was from Peter Lunn from Cracking Media who spoke about the Principles of Social Media which went down brilliantly. He is doing a guest post on my blog later this week for those that missed it.

All our speakers were amazing, Annie from Fable and Folk did a fabulous photography sessions with flowers and sweets, whilst Katy from HeyMummyTV gave lots if advice to those interested in vlogging. Sarah from The Unmumsy Mum introduced me to perfect mum Dawn and talked about blogging without a rule book and Tanya from Mummy Barrow alongside Laura and Michelle Bates from Evolution PR discussed working with brands.

I took part in the “No question is a stupid question” session and learned so much about accountancy for my blog, I certainly need to claim back more than I do. We also discussed DA and the fact that SEO’s and PR’s are now using Citation Flow and Trust Flow scores. To find yours go to Majestic.com – anything over 13 is good apparently.

My favourite session of the day however goes to the Scummy Mummies who have their own Podcast which has been featured Radio 4 all about being less-than-perfect parents. I laughed until I cried as they described being a modern-day parent using stand-up, songs, costume changes and sketches covering all the parenting issues from farting to fish fingers.

They finished off  getting us in the audience to tell them our worst / funniest parenting confessions and then us voting which was the “best one”. Who won shall remain anonymous as “what went on at BlogOn stays at BlogOn” but it was very entertaining. They finished off with a great take on “I need a Hero”, changing it to a very apt “I need a Vino”

I want to say a huge thank you to all of you who came, who helped, had fun and networked with each other and the fabulous brands. It was a pleasure to see you all. I must apologise for the wifi, it seems although they have the superfast network installed now, it cannot cope with 80 bloggers all in the same place at the same time – I hope you enjoy your goody bags.

See you at BlogOnMOSI on Sunday 1st May 2016!