The Real Blogalicious Recap

This time last week I was eagerly anticipating Blogalicious and almost a week after it started, I am sad that it is over. The conference was absolutely amazing and I am so thrilled that I got to be a part of this groundbreaking experience where a community of women came together to talk about their experience and all aspects of blogging.

The two predominant themes that I heard echoed over and over again in different sessions, keynotes, and plenary sessions were determining your own goals and being passionate about what you do. Goals are so personal. Everyone blogs for different reasons. Whether you are a mommy blogger sharing the adventures of parenting, providing a local resource or linked to your profession), or dabble in different blogging communities, our different voices, the passion to write, and share our stories is the commonality that motivates us.

The passion to write is internal but apparent to your readers in what you write. Your readers can tell if you don’t love writing or if becomes a chore, bore, or something that you do not enjoy. If you love what you do, you don’t stop learning about what you do to improve. The constant honing of our voices and craft is how we grow as bloggers.

And once you set your goals, you begin to hone your craft. Honing your craft comes from trial and error, varied experiences, and treating blogging like a job. Accept different blogging experiences whether writing for part of a community or going solo as long as they fit with your goals. Don’t be afraid to turn down the things that aren’t a good fit. I’ve found that with each blogging experience, I’ve made connections to individuals who have helped provide me with the kinds of professional growth that makes me a better blogger. While blogging may not generate a salary like my day job, the satisfaction I get from blogging is neverending.

Neverending satisfaction is getting to connect with a whole world of bloggers that I never knew existed before the conference and having a chance to talk more to the ones who I read all the time. I met DC area bloggers like WhimsiGal who I need to plan my next social event and has a gorgeous line of cards, fell in love with Rosa and her cousin from Dancing HotDogs (Curious? Check out her site!) because she’s just so sweet, connected with Kathy Sykes, cried as I listened to My Brown Baby talk about her mom, met BabyBuncher 2 after knowing BabyBuncher IRL, got a super cool stainless steel Sharpie (be jealous teacher friends!) from Karen Hartzell, admired Broke Socialite’s incredible flower pin so much I had to get a photo, found a kindred spirit in Aparna who created a site for busy parents who need to keep up with news from children’s classes and activities through Parentella, and realized exactly how little I sleep when Rosemary from The Geek Treatment asked how I work, blog, and consult! I realized that I love Mommy Niri even more than I did before since she was kind enough to give me a call in the Clever Girls Collective Suite to tell me that I won a HP Mini from SunKissed Mommy because I missed their tweet because my phone which was charging in my room.

And speaking of the Clever Girls Collective…Love, love, and more love for the three amazing women behind this new company that launched in June and works with great companies like Little Passports, Yummie Tummie (really truly yummy!), TinyPrints, and more! Stefania, Cat, and Sheila are truly talented women and while this powerhouse trio could be completely intimidating because of their many accomplishments, they are just so nice in person and absolutely hilarious online. For hilarity, see 40 Whatever and that says it all!
So now that I’m mourning the end of Blogalicious, it is time for me to practice what I heard throughout the weekend…Stay true to my goals and keep doing what I love!

For more posts about Blogalicious, read what fellow attendees are saying! See you next year in Miami!