A Newbie’s Guide Of What To Expect At Blog On MSI

We are only a couple of weeks away from Blog On MSI and this will be my 2nd time going to the conference. I had only been blogging a matter of weeks when I bought my ticket for last September’s Blog On and still blush at the fact that I indirectly asked Laura Seaton ( the organiser ) if it was any good and worth going to !! Rooky mistake No1. Not quite sure what to take with me or what to expect on the day I wish I had read a post with some hints & tips. So being the nice person I am I thought I would write a quick post about my own newbie experience of my 1st Blog On so you can learn from my mistakes.

1. Find the biggest suitcase you own ( think a family of 4 going to Florida size ) and bring it with you. You may have thought that people were joking when they said you would need a big suitcase to transport the goody bag home but they weren’t. I edged on the side of caution last year not wanted to look like an idiot and brought a cabin size suitcase and I had to carry 1/2 my gift bag home with me on a packed train. There is a place to leave your suitcase on the day so don’t worry, you won’t need to wheel it around with you all day.
2. Take a look at the running schedule for the day and decide before you get there which sessions you would like to attend. Some sessions fill up very quickly so you don’t want to be driving around and miss out on a session lead by one of your favourite Bloggers/Influencers. This year’s speakers are all amazing and each has a lot to teach you so if the worst case scenario happens and you don’t get into your 1st choice, go and find another session and I promise you will learn something new.
3. Take something to make notes on. Either a notepad & pen or your Ipad/Tablet. Most of the speakers will provide notes of their session after the conference but I personally like to make my own bullet points and refer back to them whenever I need something.
4. Be really confident and introduce yourself to everyone there. If there is a blogger you really admire, go and tell them. For someone who deals with MD’s, CFO’s and chairs meetings for a living I lost the ability to talk due to nerves and I really missed out on connecting with people. I have to give a shout out to the wonderful Fi from A Mum Track Mind who kindly let me follow her around like a lost sheep all day. There are lots of brands at the event and huge potential for discussing collaborations with them. Don’t be a wallflower, get stuck in and talk about your blog like it’s the best thing known to man. And as the old saying goes ‘ Fake it till you make it ‘.
5. Take business cards with you. Not only can you hand them out to the different brands, but you can give them out to the Bloggers you get chatting with and check out their websites. I get my cards through MOO and they are great quality. Get them ordered now as you don’t want to be messing about with bits of paper writing your details out for an amazing brand. 50 cards are plenty and use this link *  for £10 off your 1st order  ( 50 cards = £10.99) you will only pay £3.90 for them delivered. For what to include on your business cards take a look at the Oracle that is Zoe from Mama Geek guide here              *This post contains an affiliate link.

A few quick tips –

Wear something comfy and flat shoes. You will be moving between rooms and stood on your feet during the breaks ( drinking wine & eating cake ) so high heels will not be your friend.

Bring cash with you to buy raffle tickets. Not only will the money raised go to very worthy causes but the prizes donated are pretty amazing.

Make sure to fully charge your phone and tweet, post pictures & Vlog throughout the day. MSI does have WIFI that you can sign into.

Lunch and refreshments ( Wine ! ) are provided on the day. If you have any special dietary requirements and haven’t already told Laura, do it now – Laura@BlogOnConference.com

Nervous about walking in on your own? Use the Blog On Facebook Group to put a shout out and arrange to travel down together or meet up outside the museum.

If you want to add the below badge to your blog  in preparation for the 21st then copy & paste the below HTML onto your sidebar

<div align="center"><a href="https://www.blogonconference.com/" rel="nofollow" title="Blog ON Conference"><img src="http://blendedparentnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/BlogONUKBlogger.jpg" alt="Blog ON Conference" style="border: none;" /></a></div>

I hope this post has been helpful and answered a few questions you may have had about what to expect on the day. Please do come and say ‘Hi’ to me and if you are stuck for someone to walk in with just leave a comment below and I will arrange a meeting point.

See you there