My First BlogHer Conference

I went to my first BlogHer conference this past weekend in Chicago.  Wow—what an experience!  I met the most amazing bloggers and learned so much from them.

My favorite portion of the conference was the BlogHer Community Keynote, where several bloggers were given the opportunity to read the most beautiful and moving posts of the year.

The critical take-home points for me from BlogHer ’09 were:

• to value your skills and your worth as a blogger
• to have a strategic plan & not to be afraid to ask for what you want
• to package yourself, differentiate yourself, & make yourself visible--you are a brand
• to be true to your passion--know your brand and be consistent with your brand
• to be selective--know when to say “No” if an opportunity doesn’t suit your brand
• to outreach to other bloggers in your community and to help one another
• to use Twitter to have a conversation, build relationships, conduct research for your ideas, and have a space to talk about other things that don’t fit on your blog

Most of all, I loved getting the chance to meet so many of the bloggers whose blogs I have been following over the past few years, and getting the opportunity to meet so many wonderful new bloggers, too.

BlogHer ’10 will be in New York next year, and I can’t wait!