In the three plus years that I have been blogging one of my favourite bonuses have been going to blogger meet-ups. I have met some truly lovely people who I hope will be in my life for a long time (even if it is just that encouraging tweet when they move half way across the world).  I am not an expert but here are some tips from my experience.

tip number 1: don’t meet anyone in a dark alley

Chances are you will be meeting at a nice restaurant or other equally instagrammable venue so this is probably not going to be a problem. The first one I went to, Blognic, was over two years ago and when I told my mother she was rather concerned.  I am guessing if you haven’t been to one either you will probably feel the same. But my answer to you is the same as what I said to my mum: “this is a bunch of ladies who craft and take photos of their food, I think I will be fine”. Amend as is appropriate to your genre.

tip number 2: don’t stress too much about what you are wearing

Yes everyone will put effort into what they are wearing and you should too. Wear that top which makes you feel like confident, put a bit of make-up on, and that necklace that you love. Yes there will be the lady there who has the most amazing outfit on and the other one with the perfect hair, but once you get chatting to the lovely lady next to you, you won’t be that concerned about what you are wearing.

tip number 3: don’t be afraid to go by yourself

The first event I went to I hadn’t met anyone and I was super nervous. But being by myself and not wanting to look like a weird lurker forced me to speak to other people.  I am still in regular contact with several people from that day and have had great opportunities because of the friends and contacts I have made. If you start going to events regularly, after a while you will start bumping into people you know. This is lovely for having a chat and catch up. When this happens do still try to make the effort to meet new people and sit down next to someone you don’t know.

tip number 4: do you have a card?

I have to admit I don’t always have a business card and sometimes for smaller events it isn’t necessary as there will be a list of people sent around.  However, it does help if you have a card with your blog site and social media profiles. It doesn’t have to be super fancy either. The handmade ones are often the most memorable (and an additional conversation starter). You can get cards made by companies like Moo or like me just head over to the printer on the high street and have 20 postcard size cards printed at a time for something budget friendly. Seriously though, don’t go and buy 200 business cards. Before you have used them all up you will probably have updated your site or your twitter profile and then they are useless.

tip number 5: have fun!

For me blogger meet-ups are not about ‘networking’ or trying to get business. They are about meeting people, building community and having a good time. If something ‘work’ related comes out of it brilliant but don’t have that as your main goal, it will show. And isn’t it better to have lovely friends?

Thank you to Lulu and Bobbi who organised the most recent event I went to and to all the lovely ladies I met. As I was a rubbish photographer/blogger I didn’t take any pictures so check out what Rosie had to say and show.  Lovely to also meet  Che, Xandra, Becca, Tania, Amy, Helen and Lou and catching up with Freya and Siobhan

The picture from the recent Crafty Fox Talk. You can find more pictures that I took of the Crafty Fox Talks and a video over on their blog.