Managing Blogger Expectations: Conversions vs. Impressions
If you’re reading this because you’re attending our session at Affiliate Summit West 2016, thank you! This is a companion resource list to go along with the panel “Managing Blogger Expectations: Conversions vs. Impressions” from ASW16.
Read MoreCat Attack: Et tu, Lunchbox
WARNING: This post will contain a graphic image of my injuries. Recently I was attacked by my cat. I don’t know why. I don’t know what set him off. But this is a lasting event that will leave me scarred and here’s the story. This is kind of long winded, but bear with me.
Read MoreWhat I’m Bringing to BlogHer ’14
Are you going to BlogHer ’14? I am! This will be my first journey to a BlogHer conference. I’ve been to plenty of conferences in my career, but none that seems as, well, laid back as this one. When I found out that BlogHer is going to be in San Jose this year, I decided that it was a good opportunity to finally go since I’m an hour away in no traffic from San Jose. I’ll be pulling double-duty at the conference as I’ll be representing this here blog as well as my other blogs (Girl Scout Guide and Food Askew) and my day-job, Snow Consulting. I’m used to wearing many hats, so it should be a breeze!
Because my co-worker, Ginette, will be coming from Las Vegas, and I don’t care to commute, I’ll be staying with her at the Hilton San Jose, conveniently connected to the San Jose Convention Center. Of course, I have the advantage of being able to pack full size items in my bag, but generally speaking I still won’t. I keep a full set of small travel sized toiletries in my suitcase for travel, and I don’t really feel the need to tote a lot of stuff down when it’s not absolutely needed. Of course, I’m bringing the usual toiletries, clothing, etc. but these are some suggestions of things you might not have considered bringing.
Toiletries
- Julep Mint Condition Pedi Crème – My feet take a beating at conferences, so I like to have a good foot cream that soothes that ache to put on before bed.
- Julep Doublestep Foot Treatment and Friction Stick – I just got this in my July Julep Maven box and I love it. I have wide feet, so it’s awesome on the wider areas that rub the most and take the biggest beating when doing a lot of walking.
- Tea Tree Oil Foot Wipes
– For the same reason as the creme, I like having the wipes handy in case I need a quick foot refresh during the day when I run back to the room for something I inevitably forgot, but really need!
- Dry Shampoo – Always good to have for a quick hair refresh if there’s just no time for a full shower. I like the new Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo.
Office Supplies
- Business Cards – this is non-negotiable! You’re going to meet a lot of fellow bloggers and brands. Networking is crucial and business cards are still a must-have item. I trust PsPrint, but by now you don’t have time for that. Even if you have to go to your nearest FedEx Office, Office Depot, or OfficeMax TODAY to have some made, DO IT. It’s totally worth the investment. If you’re on a super tight budget, buy the kind you can print yourself. They’re better than nothing and a missed opportunity.
- Tablet – I like my iPad because it fits into my stylishly huge purse and it’s easy for quick internet usage if there’s WiFi (I have a WiFi only model) and convenient to look up stuff as a speaker is talking and take notes.
- Notebook & Pens – Because some speakers speak WAY too fast to be able to get everything typed out on that screen keyboard! So I personally find it faster to write things down sometimes. Being Back to School, notebooks are super cheap right now at most stores. Personally, I’ve been using the same composition notebook since 2007 for all my conference notes!
- Nikon D5000 DSLR – Complete with extra batteries, different lenses, monopod, battery charger, filters, etc. Besides being an amateur photographer, it’s always easier to use your own pictures in a blog post instead of trying to get permission to use someone else’s!
- Smart Phone & Extra Juice – My iPhone 4S still works just fine, but in some low-coverage areas the battery can go to hell. So I have one of those USB battery backup chargers AND an external battery charging case, just to be sure.
- Laptop – with cord, mouse, etc. It won’t leave my room, most likely, but I’ll need it for evening work so I don’t get too far behind.
Clothes
- Comfortable Shoes – I love the few different pairs I have of SKECHERS Women’s Work Shoes.
- Cardigan or light sweater – Sometimes conference centers are colder than you’d think.
- An extra of nearly everything – You never know when a glass of wine might get spilled on you and you’ll wish you had another shirt to go change into! It’s worth the room in a suitcase, TRUST ME!
- A Geeky Shirt – This is really only if you’re attending the little geek meet up spearheaded by Williesha Morris (see Facebook group thread). Personally, I can’t decide which fandom to represent. At least I have options. Need one? Try ThinkGeek!
Miscellaneous
- Granola or cereal bars – I always WANT to make it to the provided breakfasts, but sometimes I’m just running too late and I’d rather have a snack with me than have to wait until lunch. Plus, I’m a rather picky eater, so I don’t always like the food that is provided.
- Gum and/or mints – Because no one wants to talk to someone with gross breath. You can never have too many either.
- The nail polish you’re currently wearing – I’ll be wearing some custom Minx wraps, but I always bring my current color of nail polish with me when I travel. I’ve tried several at-home gels and even they are unreliable, so I’m always prepared if my polish chips and I have to do a quick touch up. If you’ve got an elaborate design, I’d stick with whatever color is the base or closest to the tips as that’s the most likely area that might need a touch up while you’re at BlogHer. Don’t forget to keep the polish in a sandwich bag – the bottle is glass and can break, and you’d rather in the unlikely event of a breakage to have the disaster contained, right?
Like I said before, everything else is pretty run-of-the-mill in terms of travel essentials. I used to bring my own water bottle, but I found there was ample water around the conference centers to keep me hydrated. This is the first time I’m going to BlogHer, so I’m glad that I’ll be driving and can easily run to a store to get anything I might forget or, worse case scenario, drive the 60-90 minutes back home if there’s something irreplaceable I forgot at home!
What’s on your packing list for BlogHer ’14?
Read MoreBOE 232 Tutorial for California Affiliates
I created this video after chatting with my co-workers here at Snow Consulting about how to make filling out the affidavit as painless as possible for affiliates. I hope this helps my fellow CA affiliates!
Read MoreDays -1 and 1 of Affiliate Summit East 2008
Just a quick recap of days negative 1 and 1 of Affiliate Summit East 2008 before I head off to the Share a Sale Under the Stars party that started an hour ago (give me a break, I’m fashionably late!).
Day Negative 1 (a.k.a. Saturday)
- The Affiliate Classroom Live event went well overall. I feel like the people in most of my discussions were picking up what I was putting down. I feel like I could have been better prepared, but that was really my own fault. I hope that I’m asked back in the future of other events and can do a bang up job! Also met some cool peeps.
- AffSpot.com forum meet-up was fun – got to meet some new people like Angie & Roger from Snow Consulting, talked at length with the ever charming Lisa Picarille of Revenue Magazine, finally met the lovely penguin Jen Good of JGoode Designs, was thrown schwag by Sam Harrelson & Aunesty Janssen the admins of the Spot, and met Bill (Beachy), Ron (7daysRon), & some others that came & went. As I was looking down reading something on my phone outside the bar I recognized Jim Kukral of Scratchback soley by his mandals with socks walking by! Love it.
- Speaking of Sam, he had to bail on the Affiliate Dinner last night so he graciously gave me his ticket! I went and had a great meal, lots of laughs at the expense of the roastee Connie Berg of FlamingoWorld.com, and talked at great length with apparently my #1 fan Kim Rodgers from 4Checks.com. It’s funny that I JUST ordered my new checks from them for the first time last week, so we had a great discussion! The highlight just might have been Brian Littleton from Share-a-Sale dressed up as Captain Jack Sparrow for Connie’s love of all things Johnny Depp.
- Finally, while the concept of recording a live podcast for GeekCast live was a terrific idea, it ended up being a FAIL of epic proportions. It was an insanely fun time talking and having fun with peeps but between the audience, topics, & Shawn’s BeerTender, it was too much of a party. It was a blast though that kept me up until 3:45am.
Day 1 – Affiliate Summit Kicks Off
- Registration was incredibly easy now that they’ve come up with self check in kiosks. Love it!
- Missed the PPC and Social Media tracks I wanted to attend thanks to a righteous headache this morning (no, I DON’T think it was a hangover!) but heard the social media was good.
- Headed into the Meet Market and MAN was it packed! Got my fare share of awesome schwag, bought myself an “I Gave Back!” button, and got some good info on some cool networks and programs. It was a zoo in there so I had to bail, bu t it was good that I did since I’d lost track of time and was able to get to the NY tax laws session.
- The day isn’t over! I’m shutting this bad boy down in lieu of blogging about the other session I attended today and I’m heading over to the ShareASale party on the Odyssey Cruise yacht… can’t promise how long I’ll stay but it should be a blast!
