I Want to Go to BlogHer!

I’m writing this post as an entry to the Label Daddy BlogHer 09 Sponsorship.

So I’m supposed to tell why I want to go to the BlogHer 09 conference. Here’s my story.

I’ve been blogging for nearly three years. I’ve been pretty isolated as a blogger for the majority of that time. Last year, however, I went to BlogHer, at the urging of Sparkplugging’s Wendy Piersall. I didn’t know what to expect. I figured I’d get a few business cards and learn a few things at the session. But what I got was so much more.

At the first newbies mixer, I nervously looked around. Like most people, I despise walking into a room full of people and making friends.  I took a deep breath, and the very first people I saw, I talked to. I think I said something like, “Where’s the free booze?” It turned out that those people I chose were very cool, and we stuck together throughout the conference. So, #1 I made really neat blogging buddies.

Owning a PR firm, I looked for opportunities I could use for promotion of my own brand or one of my clients’. There were amazing sponsors at BlogHer, including PBS Kids, Leapster, and Smilebox, among many others. I made great contacts and even found opportunities to use my blog for promoting some of their brands. #2 Made great work contacts.

I learned the power of bloggers. There were huge corporations there trying to get bloggers to talk about their products. This was the first time I truly understood the power bloggers have in terms of advertising and promotion. #3 Discovered my inner blogger superpower.

But best of all, I found a community of people just like me. Women (primarily) who were blogging for business or pleasure, women who work or blog from home and don’t talk to many people other than the kids’ teachers and maybe themselves. Women I could reach out to for advice, or lean on in times of trouble. #4 Made a lifelong network of supporters.

With that said, I’m hooked. I have to go this year. I’m doing everything I can to find a way, despite money being tight. I want to feel like part of something (in person) once again; something I can believe in. I want to look at my blogging sisters and know that we understand one another. I want to blog.

So I hope Mom Dot picks me to win this contest. If they don’t, I will cry. Promise.