Should You Attend a Blogger Conference?

When you’re a blogger, whether you do it as a side job or as a full-time career, you may find yourself regularly debating if it’s worth it to attend a conference. There are general blogging conferences, as well as conferences within various niches, but they usually aren’t inexpensive. 

Are these events worth the investment? Should you attend a blogger conference, and if so, what should you know?

The following are some things to consider if this is something you’re trying to decide on.

Deductible Expenses

First, something that’s important to know is whether or not conferences are tax deductible. When you’re a blogger, you’re likely self-employed, and that means tax time can be painful for you.

If you do opt to attend a conference you may be able to deduct these expenses.

Some of the specifics you might be able to deduct include the registration fee, a standard mileage fee if you drive, or the cost of an Uber ride, lodging, and a portion of meal and entertaining expenses.

You can’t, however, deduct things like expenses associated with sightseeing, or the expenses related to bringing your family to the conference with you.

If you do attend a blogger conference make sure you keep records and receipts for everything. You’ll be glad you did when tax time rolls around.

How Big Will the Conference Be?

While the bigger blogger conferences can be alluring, sometimes it’s the smaller options that are more worth the money.

When you attend a smaller conference, you may get a better ROI because you’ll be more able to network and also focus on the speakers and the small groups. Bigger conferences can get overwhelming to the point that you don’t know where to focus your attention.

A lot of the bigger conferences can pretty quickly feel elitist and exclusive as well. It can seem like most everything is geared toward the biggest and highest earning bloggers, and if you’re just starting out, you might not feel like there’s a place for you. It may all be focused on the bloggers that are already big names in your niche.

The bigger conferences are also just going to be more expensive in most cases, and is that worth it to you? What will you get from a big conference that you can’t get from a small one?

The smaller ones are going to be more intimate, more geared toward bloggers who aren’t already making six figures and less expensive in most cases.

What Are Your Objectives?

Before you even decide on a specific conference, think about what you hope to accomplish by attending.

For example, is your biggest goal to learn and receive actionable advice to start immediately increasing your earnings? Maybe you just want to be inspired, or perhaps it’s most important to you to meet people you could collaborate with in the future.

Attending a conference isn’t just about traveling and having fun (although it can be fun). It’s a business investment, and you should look at it strategically.

Sit down and look at your expenses or what you anticipate your expenses will be, and then create business objectives for your blog so that you can measure your return on investment. Make your objectives specific and measurable. For example, set a number of new visitors you’d like to see as a result of what you learn at the conference or outline new ways you’d like to monetize your site.

Travel Logistics

When you think about attending a conference, you might think you have to fly, and that’s not always true. Blog conferences are held all over the country throughout the year, and if you do some digging, you might be able to find one within driving distance.

This will help you save money on flights, and you can get a feel for blogging conferences in general before you make a bigger investment in another one.

Finally, as with any other business, making real, human connections is important in blogging. You’ll need guest posting opportunities and links, and it can be extremely helpful when you’re asking other bloggers for favors if you’ve met them in person.

This is what can set you apart in your niche and help you identify new opportunities, and one of the best ways to get to know other bloggers is by attending a conference. Then, once it’s time to send them an email later on down the road, they’ll be able to put a face with a name, and it’s likely to be a better overall experience.

Related:
Blogger Resource: A Point of View For Writers
Newbie Bloggers Learning Curves