Hey ladies! I’m so excited to finally be able to share with you all the amazing things that happened at Her Conference! As I mentioned earlier this was my first blog conference and I’m happy to say that I had an incredible time. It was my first time being in a room filled with bloggers who are just like me and I got to share the experience with my blogger bestie (I just invented that haha), Holly from The Blonde Chiffon. We decided to attend the Saturday panels which is open to Her Campus members only. The Sunday panels is open to everyone so if you feel like attending next year (which you defiantly should!) then you can whether you’re a member or not.
Right when I walked into the conference center and waited in line to check in (and get the awesome gift bag!), I was greeted by Brittany Lewis who is the Director of Community Development at Her Campus and who I’ve frequently worked with in the network. She instantly recognized me (even though we’ve never met in real life haha) and I can’t tell you how much of an incredible feeling it was for someone to remember me and my blog. It’s one thing to talk to people online but to make that connection in person and have someone recognize the hard work you’re putting in, well let’s just say I got a little emotional haha. If you’re reading this Brittany, thank you for the kind words! 🙂
Moving on, we were all treated to a continental breakfast and then walked into this big conference room for the welcome and introduction. Afterwards, we get to choose which panels we want to attend so I went to the Careers in Social Media panel. It was PACKED and I ended up having to stand for an hour (in heels! ugh #shortgirlprobs) but it was worth it cause I got to hear some valuable advice from the experts. Social media is still a very new field and I usually don’t get to meet people who work in the industry back home so it was great to really learn about what the profession is like.
Next up was the panel that I was most excited for…THE BUSINESS OF BLOGGING! Her Campus, I freaking love you for getting this panel together. One of my favorite bloggers of all time was there…CARLY FROM THE COLLEGE PREPSTER *stops breathing*. And I got a picture with her! Yup, my day wasn’t made. My year was haha. It’s incredible to see how someone so successful can be so humble and down to earth. It’s like I was talking to my best friend! There was literally a line to get a picture with her and I was the last one but she took the time to answer my questions and really left a good impression on me. I’m incredibly inspired by her and she taught me that we should all aim to have both a good character online and in real life.
Afterwards, it was lunchtime so of course Her Campus being awesome, got us all free chipotle! That right there is the reason why you should go to the conference next year haha. Then we went back to the big conference room to hear valuable life advice from Michelle Tan who is the Editor-in-Chief of Seventeen. You would think she’s intimidating because she has a powerful position but it was the complete opposite! She’s everyone’s spirit animal and had hilarious things to say such as “The devil doesn’t wear prada. The devil eats chipotle.”
The last panel I went to was Building Your Brand on Instagram with Hilary Rushford who is a personal stylist and creator of Dean Street Society. She was also at the Business of Blogging panel and was such a sweet lady so I was looking forward to hearing more from her. After a quick dance party (you think I’m joking!) we learned about Hilary’s strategies, apps she uses, and why certain Instagrams are popular while others aren’t. It was certainly eye-opening and I can’t wait to start using her tips for my own account.
That concluded the panels and we finished the conference with a raffle (sadly I didn’t win anything haha) and it was time to say goodbye to all the new blogger friends I made and head to the 7 For All Mankind after party which was also another first for me! I’ll be sure to put up the post later on this week.
Thanks for reading this ridiculously long post and I hope this answers some questions on what blog conferences are like!
-Ruya
