• Be yourself. You can aspire to be a better you but don’t try to be someone else.
• It is ok to say “no” to an opportunity that doesn’t fit your blog. Better yet, if you know someone who is a good fit, share their contact info with the PR person who contacted you. Your bloggy friend and the PR company with be thankful.
• Lead with your heart, not you bank account…or lack thereof. I spoke with a few people who felt they had “sold out” to filling their blogs with paid posts that didn’t fit them or their blog just to make a few bucks.
• There is an AMAZING community of mom bloggers out there and it is a wonderful thing to get to know them in real life!
• Don’t be shy, introduce yourself to new people-you never know who you might meet.
• If you do something well, you deserve to be paid for it. What is your time and expertise worth?
• There are some great companies out there who understand social media…there are a lot more we still need to educate.
• The companies that “get it” aren’t just looking for numbers they are looking for engagement. They don’t care if you have 1000 readers if those readers only leave comments on giveaway posts. **Ahem** ask questions and get them involved.

Did you Attend Type-A Mom? Do you have anything to add to this list? Leave me a comment and let me know what you took away from that enlightening conference.

I also want to thank HotelsCombined.com for sponsoring my conference pass. without their help I would not have been able to attend the conference.

The post Type-A Mom Conference Takeaways appeared first on The Mom Maven.

How much money do I need for food and what restaurants are in walking distance for the meals that aren’t included in the conference? During the 3 days of the conference dinner is not included. There are several restaurants in walking distance of the Asheville Renaissance hotel and if you drink water like I do your dinner with tip will cost around $20.00 per night. On a side note, I recommend eating at Pack’s Tavern I ate there twice last weekend and their food was delicious and affordable. The photo is what was left after eating some of the best baby back ribs ever!

What to wear? Do I need dressy clothes for the evening events? Where what you are comfy in. Jeans, capris, skirts whatever works for you. The evening receptions were not dressy either so you don’t need special outfits for them, save the room in your suitcase for the stuff you’ll be bringing home.

What do I need to bring? laptop, business cards, notebook, pens…what else? The what else would be…a smile, a camera and a smartphone. I did bring all of those things, though I desperately need a new camera…any recommendations on an affordable DSLR? Also, I’d like to add What should I leave home? Leave home your shyness and insecurities. I’m not usually good at meeting new people but I did a lot of that at Type-A. On Saturday night I went to dinner with 3 people I met that day…none of whom I was even following on Twitter…but I am now.

If I can’t find a ride to and from the airport…what is that going to cost me? $40 each way! I know that is ridiculous but it is what it is. I was fortunate to have a friend, Jerri Ann, who was on my flight into Asheville and she had a rental car included in her flight package so I was able to ride with her and Connie to and from the airport and it only cost me 1/2 of the fuel costs or a total of $3.00!

Conference newbies should not be afraid of Type-A Mom. I feel it was a great introduction into the world of mom blogger conferences. I’ll definitely be back next year.

Thanks to HotelsCombined.com without their help, I would not have been able to attend this conference. If you are in need of accommodations anywhere in the world check out their search features first!

The post Type-A Mom Conference-Answers to my Newbie Questions appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The Sessions were wonderful and very informative. I learned so much from Sarah Pinnix, Maria Bailey, Ang England, David Griner and others that it will forever change how I write, what I write and how I interact with the blogging community. Friday’s business track was worth the price of the entire weekend and if you are blogging as a business you MUST add this day to your conference pass.

The people is was able to meet were awesome! Type-A is big enough…yet small enough. I was able to meet and actually spend time talking with tons of people. Many were people I knew from Twitter but several were people I honestly had never heard of before and I am glad I can now call them friends. The picture is from our Sunday night dinner at Fiores Italian Restaurant.

The Parties honestly I am not a party girl, I don’t drink but I like to have fun. The evening parties/receptions were the one thing that disappointed me at Type-A. I know it can be expensive to throw a party and the first two parties had sponsors that covered the alcohol but the appetizers and music were seriously lacking. The appetizers weren’t a big deal to me because I went out to eat each night so I wasn’t that hungry but I will say the food combinations were a bit odd to me and lacking in flavor. The music and sound system were just sad. Even at the 80’s party you could really only hear the music if you were at the front of the room and then the music was coming from YouTube videos! Maybe it is because we own an audio company and we rent out sound systems and run sound for events all the time but I expected more from the evening parties…we had more fun in the bar after the parties officially ended!

The Location was nice. The Asheville Renaissance is a nice hotel, and just the right size for Type-A Mom Conference. I stay in a lot of hotels though and I feel the rooms were over priced for the accommodations. The only mirror that is not on the bathroom wall is on the back of the closet door with no electrical outlets nearby so it is virtually impossible for 2 women to get ready at the same time. Our shower curtain was torn in two places at the bottom and there was rust stains on the floor around the toilet. Our housekeeper didn’t seem to like how my room mate, Karon Warren and I put our things on separate sides of the bathroom counter because every day she’d come in to clean and mix all of our stuff together! The city of Asheville is beautiful, this Florida girl just wishes the conference was held a week or two later so I could have experienced Fall for the first time in 9 years! Oh well, now I just need to visit again-with my family.

Kelby did a great job bringing in top-notch speakers and panels. It was great to be able to meet with some of the sponsors and connect withe the brands that were represented. I hope you can attend Type-A Mom Conference next year. I know I will be back.

Did you go to the conference? Please link your wrap-up post in the comments I love reading what everyone else though of this great event.

Thanks to HotelsCombined.com without their help, I would not have been able to attend this conference. If you are in need of accommodations anywhere in the world check out their search features first!

The post Type-A Mom Conference-My Thoughts appeared first on The Mom Maven.

The post I’m Back from Type-A Mom Conference appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Things I still need to figure out:

• How much money do I need for food and what restaurants are in walking distance for the meals that aren’t included in the conference?
• What to wear? Do I need dressy clothes for the evening events?
• What do I need to bring? laptop, business cards, notebook, pens…what else?
• If I can’t find a ride to and from the airport…what is that going to cost me? I think I have a ride from the airport…anyone leaving Monday afternoon? I have a 4:25pm flight.

I know I should probably just relax but a) I am a planner and an organizer so having this many loose ends drives me crazy and b) I honestly have no clue where any “extra” money is going to come from cause hubby hasn’t been paid in months and I don’t get paid again until the first week in October.

Other than the questions I’ve listed above, I am soooooo looking forward to seeing some old friends and making lots of new ones. I am excited to meet some online friends in real life. I can’t wait to learn new things and grow as a writer, reviewer and business owner.

Have you been to Type-A? Are you going this year? Can you answer any of my questions? Are you a business that wants to partner with me, (see my sponsor opps page). Please leave me comments, help me de-stress and prepare for a great weekend of networking with my peers.

The post Type-A Mom Conference is This Week and I Have Questions! appeared first on The Mom Maven.