Casual Bloggers Conference: What I Learned

Besides all the meet-n-greets,
there were actual classes for all attendees to choose from--
From Design Labs: The Art of Digital Scrapbooking,
Photography Labs, Writing Labs, Tech Labs, and
for the beginners, Geek Labs--the basics of blogging.

We had Rustin Banks of BLOGFROG
he gave some smart advice on increasing traffic,
finding your niche, and how to grow your ideas into reality.
His last great words were:
"Don't get discouraged."

Then some guy from "Screamin' Coupons" spoke a bit
about his company coming to a city near you,
and they'll be looking for bloggers to partner up with for marketing.
Screamin' Coupons is not in Colorado yet,
but the idea is neat, and you can bet I'll be in line to work with him.
What pulled me in?  The fact that they give back to the community.

Next, was Sarah Kimmel from Tech4Mommies.com--
a virtual banquet of information served up in heaping helpings
and garnished with simplicity...
I'd like to sit down with her one-on-one
to pick her brain--
she is THAT good.
Knows her stuff for sure!
Best nugget I got from her?
SEO "Search Engine Optimization"--
remember that if you don't already know it.
SEO is placing keywords in your blog title, blog post titles,
and blog posts themselves...
doing so bumps your rank up in GOOGLE
which equals more traffic
which equals more opportunities for growth and,
if you're marketing a product,
can result in more mula.
How do you do this?
Well go to her website and find out!
Oh and one more quick nugget,
never
never
never
use the words
CLICK HERE in your posts.
Write the best description of the link you can.
And tons more...so go see her.

Another class was taught by Sarah Kimmel, (the Tech4Mommies.com gal)
and also Marie Ricks of House Of Order--
called
"Keeping Your Real Life Organized So Your Online Life Works for You".
It was a unique class that I hadn't picked to go to,
but Nan did,
so we went.
I'm so glad I did because of the information I learned
that I am pretty sure will affect the way I do alot of things--
for instance,
cooking all of your ground beef at the same time
in a deep pot
to save prep time and clean-up too.
Such a simple, awesome tip!
Or how about the notion
that serving up sweets and treats
actually be
scheduled during the week
to give the yahoos something to look forward to??
Love it, yes?
Anyway, it was a fun, smart class just like the others.

What else did I learn?
The vendors were all gracious
smiling smiling smiling
patient and generous...
there were sweet treats lining every hallway
free for the choosing.
The giveaways were outta this world!
IPAD, Sony Bloggy, Digital Scrapbooking,
and more stuff than I can recall.
I also learned that the women who took the time
to come to the Casual Bloggers Conference
were glad they came.
There was no murmuring,
no complaining
no "why'd-they-do-it-this-way" yammering.
Nope,
everyone was just happy to be there!
Familiar faces were matched up
and hugs were handed out like free samples
at Costco!
Everyone was approachable--
the Event Organizers (MomBabe, Motherboard)
the vendors
the Speakers
and especially the Bloggers!
Will I go again?
Oh you betcha!
And just like spaghetti sauce,
the second day (or conference)
is always better than the first!
It's only going to grow and get sweeter
from here on out
and I for one,
am grateful I had the chance to go to the
First-Ever
Casual Bloggers Conference.

I'll be sharing the SWAG I received tomorrow.
Good stuff, Maynard.