Snap! My First Blogging Conference!

SNAP! MY FIRST BLOGGING CONFERENCE IN SALT LAKE CITY!

Your parents always tell you that you can be anything that you want to be. Well, for years my mother told me I should write a blog. I didn’t listen. Then for years, my co-worker Wendy told me I should write a blog. I didn’t listen. Then January 2018 rolls around. After 13 years in the Halloween industry, I had finally quit for good. I was finishing my last two weeks and ran into my old coworker Triton. When asking me what I was going to do with my life, I replied… “no clue, but something good!” He said, you should write a blog! WAIT WHAAAT? Now this is the 3rd person who has mentioned this to me. Hmmm, maybe I should listen?? He went on to tell me about blogging conferences and I am like what?? a blogging conference? Those exist?! Flash forward 3 months and I have now attended my first blogging conference in Salt Lake City!

ABOUT SNAP! 

The Snap! conference started in 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah and is still going strong. The goal was to bring like minded people together to support, inspire, learn and invigorate. The conference hosts a variety of different classes that range from hands on crafts to legal to social media. There are different guest speakers each year to also help motivate and inspire. Snap also hosts a couple of parties to get everyone chatting, dancing and let loose! This year there was a dessert themed party and 80’s! So fun!! 

SNAP! ATTENDEES

The conference is for all bloggers but the majority are crafters (if you know me, you know that I am not crafty!). I didn’t really know what to expect, but I did know I would be probably be overwhelmed by the time I left. I expected that there would be a ton of information during the classes, what I didn’t expect was all of the information outside of the classes from the hundreds of women that are ALL AMAZING. I met so many women and a couple handfuls in particular that I got close with over the 4 days in Salt Lake City. It was in those connections, that the real magic happened.

I quickly learned that these women are SMART. These women are SAVVY. These women have their finger on the pulse of social media and know how to run a business. These women are well versed in Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WordPress, writing, creating and thinking outside of the box. They are courageous, creative and just flat out PHENOMENAL businesswomen.  

These women have all learned the ins and outs of these different platforms and built businesses around them. The best part?? They are all so SUPPORTIVE. Every single person that I spoke to (and believe me, there were a lot!) immediately told me tips, tricks, advice and more. I didn’t just experience it, I witnessed it happening to others daily. I was so impressed and in awe of these smart and savvy women who are truly influencers! 

ROOM ACCOMMODATIONS

The conference took place at the Little America Hotel (which was surprisingly modern and clean!).  Attending a conference can be quite costly, so I reached out to some other attendees to share a room.  I was a little nervous quite frankly, not only staying with strangers BUT also sharing a bed with one! This turned out to be the best decision ever (once we learned how to make a pillow wall to keep out rolling, snoring bed-mates, LOL). We had a blast, learned so much from each other and laughed non stop! Shout out to Allison, Rose and Crystal, you all ROCK!! Viv, Michele and Kara you also made this trip unforgettable and I learned a boatload from you all!

PLAYING TOURIST FOR THE DAY

I ended up staying an extra day to be a tourist in Salt Lake City. So glad I did!! The night before everyone was leaving I met Jamie and Laura from Floracraft. They were supposed to be heading back to Michigan the next day but got stranded in SLC because of Storm Xanto. There were also two other women, Laura and Wendy from Home Right that were stranded. I am so glad they were all stuck with me! We had an unbelievable day sightseeing! We headed to Temple Square, Park City, Antelope Island and downtown Salt Lake City (mainly to eat). I would have never seen all of these AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL places in Utah without these women. We had a wonderful day filled with laughter and great food. (Click HERE to read some things to do and places to eat in Utah!)

LIFE POST SNAP!

Now I am back home and have a ton of work to do! I have so much new information at my fingertips and I need to start implementing it into my business. What I have come to find out over the past two months is that writing a blog is A LOT of work. I never realized how much effort and time you have to put into creating content.

For all of you that don’t know, Blogging IS a career. These bloggers are KILLING IT in the real world. To see all the different avenues that they have taken to turn their passions a career was inspirational and motivational. I know that with perseverance and support from my Snap Sisters I can make an impact on this world through blogging (and of course through dancing on my YouTube videos LOL).

I am so happy I attended this conference (Thanks Viv!) and met so many amazing women. Lookout world, Brie O.C.D. is going to take this world by storm!!!