This post was originally written after one of my Blissdom years.
I have long been an advocate for attending conferences that are relevant to your business or blog (or sometimes personal) growth. I usually attend at least one a year, and have since I started blogging. Then I also look for local events as well.
I know how quickly these days or weekends can go, as you fit in time to network, to learn and to absorb as much as you can in a short amount of time. You may leave the event feeling overwhelmed which is why I recommend having a post-conference plan of action.
Now what?
I’ve put together my post conference tips to help you exit the fog (and come to realize that no, there is no, you don’t have a vat of coffee at the back of every room now that you are home).
Try these tips after your next event to maximize your post-conference experience.
1- The Business Card Shuffle
Do you still pass out business cards? I do and I love them. After the event , I task myself with going through the cards, following people on Twitter, Instagram, following some on Facebook and checking out websites.
If something strikes me, I may even email and idea or thought about working together.
2- Dammit, Jim!* I’m a blogger, not a strategic planner!
Sure, many of us are overwhelmed at the thought of what the future may bring and planning for immediate and long term goals. I get that. But I also LOVE setting some goals each year. You want to get featured on another website? Make it a goal, and find out what you need to do to reach that goal (setting a goal and working to achieve the goal are very different things!) Looking to attend more networking functions? Make that a goal. Having a strategy filled with goals, even if ghostly at times, really can help.
If at your conference you thought of something that you want to do, or learned a new skill to try, make it part of your goal setting.
hint: goals can change!
3- Follow up and Connect
Now that you are following a bunch of new people, start chatting with them. Look at your blog and other blogs/businesses you came across and consider how you might be able to form collaborations. Even if there are no potential ‘opportunities’, just having fun people to chat with is pretty great.
hint: follow event hashtags before AND after the actual event.
4- Draft out blog posts, topics and ideas
It may seem like you want to have a word vomit all in one post about your goals or experience or ideas, but take a quick step back and see how you might be able to organize your ideas into various content pieces. Don’t skimp on sharing your story and experience, that deserves it’s own post, but take your notes and ideas that you’ve had and start opening up drafts in your WordPress or in a word document. Jot a few notes down, insert images that you may be able to create a post around and hit ‘save draft’ for future development.
Conferences and events are content filled!
5- Set a ‘staff meeting’ for 2 or 3 months from now.
Meet with yourself in a few months and check back on your notes. Re-read any posts or journal entries about your goals and plans and check to see where you are at. Does something need tweaking? Are you on the right path? Maybe the path has changed. But checking back will motivate you and encourage you to move on and best capitalize on what you’ve learned.
Hopefully these tips have helped!
I have tons of different things I want to say about Blissdom but my worry is they will fade away before I have a change to write about them all.
draft posts!! one sentence each if you have to but put them somewhere – then build on them!!
That way you don’t lose them – but put enough jot notes in to follow up with a longer post. A title ‘waffle muffins’ with no context may be tricky! (Orrrr delicious…)
That is exactly what I did. I got a few posts with rough titles and a couple jot notes for when the time comes. You so smart 😉
aw thanks 😉
I’m addicted to draft posts. And then I have cold sweats in the middle of the night worrying that they’ll accidentally be published. But I keep putting them out there anyway. Great advice. I’m wading through the business cards, too.
haha I do that with drafts too! I figure someday everyone’s RSS reader will be a random partial post from me 😉
I totally accidentally published a draft post once! You just trust that one of your fabulous readers will email you immediately and say ‘either you either just accidentally hit publish on a draft post or you’re having some kind of cerebro-vascular incident.”
heehee, I have fantastic reader friends who send me messages like ‘there’s a typo in your title’. Crap. 😉
These are great tips to deal with post-Bliss! Thanks for them!
thank you!!
Oh my! Are you ever a wise woman. And I thought I got a lot out of your session on Friday. Thanks for the way to organize my many thoughts after Blissdom. 🙂
You are far too kind! Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed the session too!
Thanks Rebecca! Plan to read and/or reread the Blissdom posts once a week to keep myself inspired 🙂 ~A
Luckily Blissdom puts them all on one linky post so we can refer back to them!! They are super fun to read!
“Word vomit” *snort! That’s the best advice for me! Great post!
Whaddya watchin’?!
Ha, glad you liked that 😉 I was watching Sleepy Hollow last night 😉
YES! this is so what to do!! It’s easy to say, I’ll do it later and lose momentum and then forget the details. Perfect advice Becky!! 🙂
p.s. don’t forget to thank the sponsors & what they did to stand out to you. without them, this would never ever have happened. xxoo
Thanks Shannon, and thank you for all you did this weekend!
The sponsors were stand out!
I got it and that’s just one of the reason I like you. Your sessions were informative and concise and so is this post. Thank you!
heehee, so glad you got it 😉 And thank you – that is very kind to say! I’m glad it was helpful!!
Thanks for this Rebecca, it’s terrific advice and seems simple enough that even I can do it!
I’m all about action that is actually attainable, know what I mean? 😉 It was lovely seeing you again!!
Genius, of course. One of the things that makes it genius is that drafting blog posts is SO simple – in fact, it’s one of the most basic functions of WordPress, to write a blog post – yet I’ve never thought of using it as a notepad / placeholder for future stuff. In fact, up to now, I’ve never had a single “draft”, unless you count auto-saves. I just write and hit either “schedule” or “publish”.
Thank you for this.
thanks! Just don’t do what I sometimes do – draft a bunch, then never go back, or think you posted and then forget until it’s Easter and you see the ‘Spooky crafts for Halloween!’ draft 😉
Great tips! And yes I got it * (I will freely admit my geek side) I have a draft post in my wordpress right now but now I’m thinking i want to go another direction. Oh it’s so confusing, while this is not my first conference it was my first Blissdom. So glad I ‘met’ you (it was more sat beside you at your blogging local microsession but you saw my face) Anyway, great post with great advice. Time to go rethink my “word vomit” 😉
This is just what I needed right now! I’m so overwhelmed with ideas and emotions…a bit paralyzed. You’ve given me a concrete place to start. Thanks you! PS – love the phrase ‘word vomit’!
I’m glad you found it helpful! It’s hard not to leave these events without a buzz of ideas – but harder to action them. And glad you like word vomit lol
These are great! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.
I have yet to write or even draft a post of what I am thinking and feeling after experiencing Blissdom. So much I want to say but I have no idea where to start!
I am so glad you found it helpful – your words will come in waves sometimes, grab them when you can!
Damn it Bec, I’m a therapist not a blogger.
But working on it 🙂 I half write articles all the time, loathe them and then a few days later think, hmmm maybe there is something there, or agree yes, this utter unsalvageable word vomit. Thanks for the great tips and fab pop culture references.