{all photos by Kim Graham Photography}
I still can’t believe Cathy of Poor Little It Girl and I have officially wrapped the 4th Annual Blog Societies Conference over a week ago held at Belmond Charleston Place hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. It was hands down our biggest and best event yet. Considering we began this once regional network 4 years ago and had our first “event” as a 15 person brunch, we’ve come a long way! It wouldn’t have been possible without all of the amazing digital publishers from The Blog Societies who attended, our incredible brands and speakers. A few other names to mention who were a big part of this event are Kim Graham (our amazing photographer), Caroline of Birdie & Boe for keeping our heads straight and Drew Glickman who was our videographer, a fun addition from last year! You can see his amazing video at the very bottom of this post.
This year was an exciting one as it was the first time we had ALL regions able to attend. There were 75 digital publishers from all over the country from New York City, Boston, all the way from Salt Lake City to Houston and more. It’s incredible to see so many creative and hard working people in one room all eager to learn more, network and grow their businesses. Once everyone arrived in the Holy City, it was time to begin the 3 day event. Here’s what went down!
DAY ONE
The event kicked off Thursday with welcome goodies at Belmond Charleston Place Hotel thanks to Mary Kay (seriously, have you tried their lipsticks?!) and the sweetest maps from Cheree Berry Paper. I honestly think these cute little maps may be one of my favorite parts of the conference, they’re always so cute and fun! To begin the festivities, Vera Bradley hosted a gorgeous welcome party complete with umbrella party favors that came in handy the next morning as there was a total downpour when everyone headed to the Riviera Theatre. We mixed and mingled with bloggers and brands and got to know everyone before the weekend really took off. Between light bites, bubbly champagne and good music, we were all well aquainted for the weekend. A good nights sleep was in order and it was off to bed for me and Cathy.
DAY TWO
Friday morning everyone headed to the theatre with Vera Bradley umbrellas in hand to stay dry. This art deco space was the perfect backdrop to hear from some experts in the industry which included Lindsay Humes of White Oak Creative who discussed branding (she designed my site and I was thrilled to get to hear her speak), mastering Instagram with rewardStyle, finding your voice with The InStyle Collection team and how to pitch yourself with Amy Flurry of Recipe For Press, an Atlanta native. Everyone was taking lots of notes and I think we all took away some great tips. Plus, a long to do list of things to tackle once the fun was over.
We worked up a serious appetite and headed into lunch before the big networking and gifting suite. I’m still thinking about that fried chicken salad from that afternoon, the food was to die for! The networking and gifting portion is always the highlight of the 3 day event. This part of the conference is where all the brands and digital publishers can network and learn more about the brands! From Moon and Lola’s charm bar, to L’Oréal’s braid bar, it was a super fun and interactive afternoon. Everyone grabbed a Vera Bradley tote bag to fill with goodies from each brand. This is a great way to start working on creating content and trying new products.
DAY THREE
Bright and early on Saturday morning, Kendra Scott hosted a colorful breakfast for all of our attendees. Their support has been incredible and this is their third year being a part of our annual event. Once our bellies were full it was workshop time! For the first time ever, we introduced workshops to the agenda. I think it was the most popular portion of the whole weekend. It’s nice to get to sit and chat in a smaller group with experts like Lindsay Humes of White Oak Creative who chatted all things SEO (someone please send me all their notes!) and Amy Northard, our CPA. We also had two members, Beth of Bethcakes and Molly of Hey There Sunshine host a hands on photography class complete with props and backdrops. Attendees also could learn from LikeToKnow.it guru, Sarah Bertness from rewardStyle.
Cathy and I also hosted our very own Founders Workshop which we were surprised, was a hit! Who knew people wanted to hear us chat. We discussed how to price yourself, negotiate and taking your part time gig, full time. We realized how valuable this open and very honest conversation was. This conversation is important to have with other publishers. We need to help each other in this very new and ever changing industry with these types of discussions. It also may be sparking some new ideas that you’ll just have to wait to learn more about!
After all the note taking and photography practice, we wrapped the whole 3 day event with a beautiful lunch hosted by Atlanta skincare brand, COSMEDIX. You all know how I feel about this brand so I was really excited to have them there this year. We all chit chatted about skincare while devouring lunch. We finised the meal off with the BEST blueberry trifle I’ve ever had. I wish we could eat like this every week!
These are just a few fun snaps from the 3 day event. You can see all our attendees photos under #TBScon on Instagram. You can also see more photos on The Blog Societies today as we’re rounding up a few more favorite photos from the weekend! If you aren’t a member, or want to learn more, head on over to The Blog Societies and apply!
Below are our incredible sponsors who helped to make this event possible (and may I add, awesome!).
PLATINUM SPONSORS
Vera Bradley | COSMEDIX | Kendra Scott
GOLD SPONSORS
Swoozies | Lilly Pulitzer | Moon and Lola | iT Cosmetics | Mud Pie Gifts | Wayfair | Physicians Formula | The InStyle Collection | Mark & Graham | The Container Store | YMI Jeans | Chantelle | L’Oréal
SPEAKERS & WORKSHOP LEADERS
rewardStyle | White Oak Creative | Amy Flurry | Beth Branch | Molly Burton | Amy Northard | Victoria of The InStyle Collection
SILVER SPONSORS
Palm Beach Tan | asos | Talbots | Mary Kay | aerie | Cheree Berry Paper
AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO THE BEHIND THE SCENES TBSCON TEAM
Birdie & Boe | Kim Graham Photography | Drew Glickman Films | Whitney Hawkins
The Blog Societies Convention from Drew Glickman Films on Vimeo.
