5 Reasons to Attend ‘Blended’

Disclaimer: I’m a Blended Conference Ambassador.  I was provided a discounted ticket for my promotion. All opinions are 100% my own.

OK, I know what you’re thinking, another blogging conference. What’s so special about that? Grab a cup of coffee, get comfy, and let’s chat.

Reason #1: This isn’t their first rodeo.  In it’s first annual gathering, Wendy from Around My Family Table hosted 30 bloggers from Arizona for a private dinner on January 19, 2013 which sold out months before the event. We met at a restaurant in Phoenix, AZ, the food was fab, by the way. The speaker was Heather Gill, professional food photographer and a contributor at the James Beard Award Winning magazine Edible Phoenix Magazine. She was incredible! The photography tips she gave were just what a beginner like myself needed. Wendy was a fabulous host {plus the ‘swag’ was amazing!} and my only disappointment was that it was over too quickly.

Reason #2: The Line-up. This year proves to be even better. Wendy has teamed up with Wendy from Choosing Love and Arizona Moms Network for a spectacular event. Rather than just an evening, these ladies are hosting an ALL DAY event at the Double Tree by Hilton in Tempe, AZ on September 28th, 2013.

Here are a few of the speakers and their topics:

• Maureen Fitzgerald, from Wisconsin Mommy, will be talking about Creating a Solid Business Foundation. I don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get in the business department!
• Christine Pittman, from Cook the Story, is full of great information, so no matter what she shares, it will be ‘need-to-know’ stuff. I have worked with her several times already on projects like Brunch Week and Virtual Picnic. This will be my first time meeting her, so I’m pretty excited about that!
• Kimberly Sneed, from A Night Owl Blog, is going to tell us about Creating a Community with Instagram. With over 4800 followers, the woman is a powerhouse! She’s also one of my blogging ‘crushes’ {is that weird?} so needless to say I’m head over heels excited {and a bit nervous} to meet her!

For a complete list of speakers and the conference agenda, visit the Blended Conference website.

Reason #3: Networking. In addition to gleaning a ton of information from the incredible speakers, you’ll get a chance to mingle with the wonderful sponsors. They include Phoenix-based Fairytale Brownies {ah-mazingly delicious!}, PopChips and Rafflecopter. Not to mention the networking opportunities with fellow bloggers, as well. You never know who you’re going to meet and connect with, forming lasting blogging and personal relationships.

Reason #4: Affordability. Let’s face it, we all know that conferences aren’t cheap. And when you live in a state {like AZ} that rarely sees one, you know you’re looking at traveling, and therefore having to consider the cost of travel and hotel fees in addition to the price of the ticket. It’s actually one of the reasons Wendy created Blended. Living in AZ herself, she knew it was about time the Grand Canyon State hosted a spectacular conference of it’s own. Can I be honest with you? I’m a very social person who has limited opportunity to go to conferences and meet other bloggers. I’m a wife, full-time SAHM, a grandmother and a blogger. My time is pretty much spoken for. That’s what makes this event so different for me and why I’m so excited about it. It’s close to home, so I don’t have to spend a ton of money getting there and the price of the ticket is minimal. Visit Blended today to register.

Reason #5: I get to meet YOU! Silly, but true! A few bloggers I already know and have gotten to hang with a few times are going to be there, plus a couple that I have yet to meet in person, and I’m really excited about it!

Blended is the perfect ‘blend’ of learning, networking and socializing. To receive updates about Blended, you can sign up for the newsletter here.

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