My Experience at the Blog Elevated Conference

Hey, guys, I am so excited to share with you the amazing time I had at Blog Elevated Conference!!! This was my first blog conference ever and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Worth Every Penny. So sit back as we stroll down memory lane and I recap the awesome weekend!!!

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Blog elevated is a conference that is held every year in the Houston and Dallas area of Texas. It is a conference that is centered on improving your skills as a blogger, finding inspiration, and have the ability to network with other amazing and talented bloggers. The conference centers on Be You. Be Inspired. Be Professional. I literally googled upcoming conferences in Houston, Texas and this conference popped up.  

The conference was located at the picturesque South Shore Harbour Resort. It was located approximately 10-15 minutes from the Kemah Boardwalk. The Resort provides views of the Marina and the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  A great place to rejuvenate a bloggers creative juices. Overall the rooms were very nice and comfortable. The pools were absolutely gorgeous, but due to the chilly weather, we just hung by the pool.

 Day 1: The first night was registration and the Welcome Reception. We received small blog bags with goodies. We were in a room full of buzzing bloggers sipping champagne and snacking on yummy eats. What was so cool about this evening was the “Influencer Speed Dating”!!! I got to meet two amazing people just starting their journey in the blogging game (like myself)  Mutt & Chops and Little Feet Big Adventures. Now when I first saw that on the schedule I was like, huh? I’m married how is this benefiting me? Well think of a speed dating setup, one person stays put on one side and the other person moves down and that’s how you interacted with different bloggers. Which took away the stress and anxiety of meeting new people. Loved it!!

 Day # 2: This is where the fun really started!! You mean not from the first night??? It opened up with an awesome Keynote speaker Sharon Hines. One of the key quotes that really stuck out to me was:

She stressed about staying true to who you are as a blogger. Her presentation was broken down into three sections:

Really powerful stuff. At this point, we were able to choose breakout sessions, which were smaller sessions that focused on specific areas in blogging for example one session was on Instagram and promotion for your blog and managing the process of blogging. All of them were phenomenal!

Day #3: It is now Sunday the last day of the conference (tear)! We kicked off the day with another awesome speaker Karee Laing who talked about understanding and building your brand for your blog. For a newbie, this session opened my eyes to seeing my blog as a business and taking the necessary steps to really connect and understand what your audience wants. Here is a snippet is taken from Karee Laing’s presentation:

 Picked up a lot of gems from her presentation. On this day I met a more seasoned blogger The Bajan Texan. I was off to more breakout sessions. The sessions on this day included getting the most out of your email list and every blogger’s dream? How to optimize your search engine on the net. In blogger terms SEO. We closed out the conference by another powerful speaker Bobbi Byrd who is the co-founder of Blog Elevated. Her presentation was on “The Art of Authority”. One of her quotes that really resonated with me was:

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What an eye opener. She used Martha Stewart as an example of someone who started from humble beginnings and because she knew who her audience was and what she believed in she took authority of her field.

The Verdict: This was an incredible experience. I recommend a conference to any bloggers who feel they are in a rut, or just starting out like myself to search for a conference in your area and go!! This one obviously was in Houston but I know there are a ton out there. What’s also great about Blog Elevated is that it was open to any blogger.

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You didn’t have to be in a specific niche to attend. The amount of knowledge and wisdom you take away from these presentations and sessions you will never find just googling it. You are getting it from the masters and experts themselves. Most important the People!!! This community is so supportive of one another. Everyone was so nice and you really build relationships with people in a short time. I would definitely attend Blog Elevated again and cannot wait to find another conference!!

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-Janel