With so many blogging conferences to choose from this year (check out our conference round up) we’re going to focus on one a month to find out a bit more about them. This month we’re starting with a chat with Laura Seaton, the brains behind Blog On. One of only a few blogging conferences held outside of London, Blog On will return to Manchester this year on 1st May.
Thanks for joining us Laura. Why don’t you start by telling us a bit about Blog On?
Blog On has been running since 2012 in Manchester and is aimed at bloggers from all genres. It has a very friendly atmosphere so is perfect for those starting out or for those who may feel lost or intimidated by the bigger events. Blog On always has lots of breaks to encourage networking as we understand that catching up with friends or making new ones is just as important as learning a new skill.
What inspired you to set it up?
I love blog conferences and try to go to as many as possible but I noticed lots of comments from people who either didn’t want to travel to London or who found the concept of being with so many people terrifying. There were also lots of bloggers in my local area of Manchester who wanted to see an event run up here so I accepted the challenge. One of the main focuses for Blog On has always been to get bloggers and brands to work well together so I always wanted to have a brand area where I could introduce the attendees to brands that I had worked with and who appreciated bloggers whilst at the same time showing bloggers how to work with brands in a professional manner. Blog On has grown way past that now and focuses on all the skills we need as bloggers, whether that is SEO, Pinterest, Vlogging, Photography or content marketing the list is endless and my biggest struggle every year is choosing which sessions to put on.
What have been your highlights from previous years?
The Blog On Goody bags have always been a highlight but the biggest achievement was trending on twitter the day Princess Charlotte was born last year. Having the Scummy Mummies perform the Keynote at BlogOnWin last October had to be the funniest thing I have ever seen at a conference and I am looking forward to welcoming them back to Manchester this year. My own personal highlight is how many companies now approach me to be involved in the event rather than me chasing them and this year we have some brilliant companies running some of the sessions including Pinterest and Channel Mum.
What can we expect from this year’s event?
Blog On this year will offer a larger variety of sessions to enable the attendees to have more choice on what they want to learn. It will also be the first year that we will have a Craft Den although we have played host to Black Sheep Wool previously we are taking this one step further this year. As usual we will have a gorgeous cake, lots of yummy food and some amazing brands to interact with as well as the best goody bags full of products from companies who would love to build relationships with bloggers.
Sounds good, hey? Tickets are £40 and I have it on good authority that there aren’t many left so, if you want to go, head over to the Blog On website before they’re all snapped up.
I’ve never yet made it to a Blog On and I#m gutted as I only ever hear fabulous things about Laura’s conferences. I’m sure anyone who goes will not be disappointed. Mich x
We’ll hope to see you at one in the future then, Michelle. Thanks for stopping by.
I haven’t made it to a Blog On yet but always hear great things about it.
I still haven’t made it to a blog on conference but I hear such great things that I’m determined to get there one of these days – which is a lot coming from me as I never do these sorts of things x x