Lifestyle Bloggers Conference 2014

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post was given to me for attending the conference. I am not affiliated with the companies nor getting paid to advertise the products. This post is written with my honest opinion.

This past weekend March 27 to March 29th, 2014, I attended the 4th Annual Lifestyle Bloggers Conference. It was hosted by Latina Lifestyle Bloggers and SoCal Lady Bloggers. It was my first time attending this conference and I did not know what to expect. I was excited, at the same time, nervous. I'm glad I got to experience the conference. Here's my recap.

March 27:
* VIP Kick-off Party

The VIP Kick-off Party was held at Besame Cosmetics. I was pretty excited that it was held close to my work and home. It made the drive back and forth easy. At the kick-off party, they had desserts from Pure Sweetery. Rock'n Raw had to be my favorite. Who would have thought putting avocado and chocolate together, but it's actually pretty delicious!

That night they gave us a goody bag. Here's what I got. I was most excited about the beauty products. I guess that's expected from a beauty blogger.

March 28:
Both 28 and 29th was held at LA Mart.

I love that it was set up with tables. Not only was it easier to take notes, you got to meet the people surrounding you.

* Keynote Speaker: Daniel B Musto (celebrity stylist)

He's such an adorable guy. He told us his experience of how he became a celebrity stylist. He worked with Paula Abdul and dancers from Dancing with the Stars.

* Networking for Bloggers in Social Media Age: Cassie Betts, Mona Shah-Anderson, Michelle Olvera, and Alyssa Curran

They talked about the different social medias and what worked/works for them. It might be Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, and so on. They highly recommend checking your analytic and to see who comes to your blog; age, demographics, and so on. From there, you have an idea how to reach your audience.

* Legal 101 for Bloggers: Rosa Elena Sahagun

She's an experienced lawyer telling us the legal rights as a blogger. She highly recommends that you are specific as possible through your contract.

* Lunch: Stonefire Grill

Whenever I visit my brother in Valencia, we often eat at Stonefire Grill. Their ribs and meat are delicious. Because it's such a heavy meal, I just assumed it was created by a man/men. I'm so wrong and stoked to find out it was created by 2 females. Girl power! After hearing that, I love Stonefire Grill more. They rock and so does the chicken.

* How to Create a Digital Strategy to Promote and Grow Your Blog/Online Business: Stacey Kivel, John Urquizza, and Calvin Lee

They talked about their own experience and how they grew their business. With modern times, we are moving with technology.

* Snack: A Sweet Design

Couple of years ago, A Sweet Design was kind enough to give me cupcakes to review. Oh my gosh, I had such a great experience. They're delicious and just melts in your mouth. So when I heard they'll be there, I was stoked. Let me tell you, they gotten better and I was reminded why I love this place. Everyone needs to experience this place at least once. If you're around Granada Hills, check out A Sweet Design.

Unfortunately, I had to leave after snack. From what I've heard, people toured LA Mart and they had a beauty mini-makeovers/henna tattoos.

March 29:
* Keynote Speaker: Patricia Velasquez

She talked about her experience as a model and entrepreneur. She also created Taya Beauty. I recently learned about this brand at a brunch I attended. It was part of the goody bag and I cannot wait to play around with it.

* Not Just a Blogger - Showcasing Bloggers That Have Used Their Blog to Grow Their Career: Marie Denee, Norah Salazar, Mariane Bacol-Uba, Veronica Pavga

They talked about how they grew their business from blogging, as well as, what social medias did for their business.

* SEO Ranking Factors: Claudia Goffan

I learned a lot from this workshop! I will give you a few tips I learned. For one thing, SEO looks at the amount of words you post. They prefer 1500 words per post and nothing less. We bloggers need to write more! Another thing is to tag your pictures. They didn't give us steps how to tag the pictures, but I highly recommend you research and learn about it.

* Tax Do's and Don't for Bloggers

This is important as bloggers when you do your taxes. You can get refund for spending money on items for your blog (example bubble wraps), at the same time, what you got paid for.

* Lunch: Fresh Brothers

One of the bloggers at the conference highly recommended their meat sliders from Fresh Brothers. When I saw that it was part of our lunch, I was excited. She wasn't kidding it is delicious and so are their pizzas.

* The Ethics of Blogging: Leah Segedie, Teresa Garza, Mariluz Gonzalez, and Luz Rivas

Yes, there are ethics when it comes to blogging. It's not black and white. There's a lot of grays. Readers might think it's so easy just blogging. Trust me it isn't. There's a lot of boundaries bloggers need to be careful about.

* Keynote Speaker: Cha Cha Covers

She talked about her experience and how Cha Cha Covers came upon. If you don't know Cha Cha Covers, they're a water decal brand.

We ended the event with ice cream and a goody bag. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the ice cream. I had to run.

Overall, some were a refresher course but it's always good to get things reminded. I've been blogging for some time and it's amazing how quickly things change. With that said, I still learned a lot especially the different social medias and what SEO looks for. The best part of all these events/conferences in my opinion is getting to know the people. We bond because we have a similar interest, blogging. This conference were mixed with different types of bloggers; lifestyle, food, fashion, and so on. I'm so used to meeting beauty and fashion bloggers that it was nice to see other types of bloggers. Who would have known there's blogs just dedicated to Disney. I love it! Not only that, you run into people you have met in the past. It's always great seeing Beautzy and House of Nakashiima.

Disclaimer: The products mentioned in this post was given to me for attending the conference. I am not affiliated with the companies nor getting paid to advertise the products. This post is written with my honest opinion.