I’m pretty sure that a big part of the success many bloggers have is because they take the time to always advance their skillset. If I were to survey my colleagues, I’m positive they spend a lot of resources on blogging workshops and other events.
Unfortunately, there are two main problems with blogging workshops. The first is that we may feel obligated to attend all the events we can in an effort to learn. This is all fine and dandy until you realize you haven’t taken the time to implement anything.
The second problem is not all blogging workshops are created equal. I’ve definitely attended a few that were a total waste of time.
Here are some of the ways you can determine which blogging workshops to attend and which ones you should pass on. (By the way, this information is also helpful for determining which online classes to invest in.)
What are you trying to accomplish right now?
The best way to determine which blogging workshops to attend is to figure out what your priorities are. What are you currently working toward in your business?
For example, I’m currently working on understanding Facebook ads and boosting posts. When I got an invitation to a local blogging workshop that was all about Facebook and Instagram ads, I knew I had to sign up immediately because it’s the next logical step in my business.
Is this blogging workshop going to help your bottom line?
I’ve attended a lot of blogging workshops that didn’t help me make more money. They didn’t even help me meet people. As a result, I stopped wasting my time and hard earned dollars on blogging workshops that I determined weren’t going to affect my bottom line.
For example, there was a blogging workshop in my area recently about how to be a better food blogger. It would have been cool to go meet people, but the reality is I don’t blog about food so it probably would have been a complete waste of time. How do I know this? Because I’ve already experienced this plenty of times before.
On the other hand, earlier this year when I was working on getting more sponsorship opportunities for my blog, I was invited to a workshop all about sponsorship. I didn’t hesitate to immediately RSVP. The result is I’ve already made over $500 from sponsors since attending that workshop. I’ve also been approached by major companies for more sponsorship opportunities simply from applying some of the strategies I learned in that workshop.
I attended this blogging workshop because I knew it would directly affect my bottom line. Honestly, that’s usually the main determining factor in whether or not I attend local blogging workshops.
What’s the networking like?
Sometimes blogging workshops may not be so great for affecting my bottom line, but they are awesome networking opportunities that in essence could affect my bottom line at some point.
I recently attended a social media conference for this very reason.While the content wasn’t anything earth shattering, but I did meet marketing experts from a local university as well as people who invited me into the local startup scene.
This may not immediately affect my bottom line, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction and I now have local contacts that can help me move my business forward.
