Blissdom was always the blogging conference I was most curious about as some of my favorite bloggers always attended the event. This year I finally made it and there were wonderful bloggers I got to meet who made the whole event worthwhile and inspiring.

I travelled to Blissdom with my friend Nikki, who writes from the heart and has a totally different blog than I do. Together we are able to get a good feeling for the overall conference, both for the writer/photographer and from the business side of blogging. We made our way through BlogHer NYC last summer and throughout the weekend we made lots of comparisons. As a green blogger, I appreciated the sponsors approach to swag at Blissdom. It was just right and (mostly) relevant items. Plus I know now not to just accept things to be nice; it only makes it into the luggage to come home if I think I can use it.

Here are some of the highlights from the trip…

Photowalk 

Nikki taught me how to shoot in manual and I learned about what ISO actually controls. I have a lot to learn, but I’m getting there.

Here I got a lesson in capturing motion.

 

The weather was freezing in Dallas, just like Boston. Not exactly what we planned for, but it was lovely to enjoy some beautiful flowers inside the atrium at the Gaylord Texas.

Scott Stratten

His opening keynote was so jammed pack with tips that I wrote a whole post about it.

John Michael Morgan

I love talking about branding and being true to your message. As a healthy living blogger, it would be strange for me to partner with McDonald’s. Be consistent with your brand message. John Morgan said, “the only difference between you and your competition is your brand.”

Wendy Scherer

Wendy provided some interesting tools and tips to represent your blog statistics in a creative manner. My big takeaway is to create a page where I share quotes from the brands I have worked with in the past so future brands understand my commitment to providing a quality blogger/brand relationship experience.

Jeff Goins

While I don’t typically consider myself a writer, I guess that really is what I am doing here in this space as I share commentary, recipes and stories. My favorite quote from Jeff, “Just because it happened doesn’t make it interesting.”

Handmade Marketplace

This was a wonderful opportunity to help support small businesses, social good business and just enjoy some cool new items. My sister is the lucky one who will get a beautiful gift I found at the market. I liked it so much from Better Life Bags I may just have to order myself one.

 

Jon Acuff

Jon’s love for the Blissdom Conference experience is just sweet. He knows how to talk to this audience, which certainly had a Chri

stian influence in it. He was kind enough to share his newest book with us, and I’m going to share it with you!

Two lucky readers will get a copy of Jon’s new book, Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters.

To enter to win, please just leave a comment here sharing your Blissdom experience, comments about a blog conference you have attended or just say hello! Contest will be open until April 5th. US residents only, winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to confirm their address.

Thanks to all my friends, old and new, who made Blissdom a fun and relaxing experience. The pace was much slower than I expected, but at 30 weeks pregnant, it was probably just right for me!